DIGEST-V7-i4

3 TPC Digest T he development of a healthy professional identity among counselors-in-training (CITs) has long been recognized as a critical component of counselor education, as it establishes students’ sense of belonging to the professional community and provides a frame of reference for understanding the counseling field. A recent transformational model proposed that professional identity in counselor trainees occurs over time through four tasks. Specifically, throughout professional identity development (PID), one moves from (1) an idealistic to a realistic perspective of the field, (2) burnout to rejuvenation, (3) external validation to internal validation, and (4) separated to integrated professional identity. In reflection of these transformational tasks, it is clear that PID encompasses cognitive, behavioral, and affective components. Although the counselor education literature has established approaches for facilitating cognitive and behavioral components of PID (e.g., experiential learning, supervision), there is a dearth of research-based approaches that emphasize methods for fostering the affective aspect. Mindfulness, defined as the ability to pay attention on purpose nonjudgmentally, is well-established as being beneficial for affective growth. However, no study to date has examined how mindfulness may foster PID in counselor trainees. Thus, the current study adopts a qualitative approach, examining six counselor trainees’ perspectives on how mindfulness has contributed to their PID. The results validated the aforementioned transformational model. Given that the participants consisted of CITs during their internship, the majority of individuals indicated perspectives early on the continuum for these transformational tasks. However, participants generally noted a change to more sophisticated perspectives of PID across their master’s-level education. As hypothesized, participants indicated that mindfulness appeared to play an important role in facilitating PID. Specifically, mindfulness facets of acceptance and a here-and-now orientation were beneficial in fostering growth. For example, participants noted that these mindfulness components led to acceptance of responsibilities and expectations of counseling, greater rejuvenation in one’s work, confidence in one’s clinical abilities, and comfort in one’s role as a counselor. In addition to citing mindfulness as important in one’s growth, participants indicated experiential learning, supervision, and participation in professional organizations as contributing to PID growth. In summary, this research indicates that mindfulness may be beneficial to PID in CITs, in addition to experiential learning and supervision. Based on this study, it is recommended that counselor educators integrate mindfulness training into counseling curricula to better facilitate PID in counselor trainees. Further research, specifically experimental and longitudinal designs, is needed to validate a causal relationship between mindfulness and PID in the future. Shengli Dong, NCC, is an assistant professor at Florida State University. Amanda Campbell and Stacy Vance are doctoral students at Florida State University. Correspondence can be addressed to Shengli Dong, 114 Call Street, Tallahassee, FL 32313, sdong3@fsu.edu . Shengli Dong, Amanda Campbell, Stacy Vance Examining the Facilitating Role of Mindfulness on Professional Identity Development Among Counselors-in-Training A Qualitative Approach Read full article and references: Dong, S., Campbell, A., & Vance, S. (2017). Examining the facilitating role of mindfulness on professional identity development among counselors-in-training: A qualitative approach. The Professional Counselor , 7 , 305–317. doi : 10.15241/sd.7.4.305 3 |