DIGEST-Volume10.4-FULL

1 TPC Digest his special issue of The Professional Counselor features 14 articles on doctoral counselor education and supervision (CES) designed to inform and support faculty, staff, and administrative efforts in starting or revitalizing doctoral degree programs in counselor education and supervision. This lead article serves as an introduction to this valuable collection of articles, as well as a summary of their key findings. The professional literature contains little about the development and implementation of CES doctoral programs, despite the fact that CES programs are a vital component to the counseling profession. Unlike other counseling degree areas, a CES degree prepares the counseling professional to train and supervise entry-level counselors, ensuring a reliable pipeline and high standards for each new cohort of counselors. This special issue seeks to fill some of that knowledge gap and move counselor educators into a better position to consider all aspects of a doctoral CES program. The articles in this special issue collectively address numerous topics pertinent to high-quality doctoral programs in CES. Through the work of more than 40 counselor educators and student researchers, seven key themes for faculty and staff to consider during program development were brought to light: (a) the current state of research, (b) doctoral program demographics and distribution, (c) defining quality, (d) mentoring and gatekeeping, (e) increasing diversity, (f) supporting dissertation success, and (g) gaining university administrator support. Based on the articles presented in this issue, our lead article explores critical themes and principles for faculty and administrators to follow when starting and operating doctoral CES programs and for students to reflect on when selecting a doctoral counselor education program. In our conclusion, we offer future directions for research emerging from the contributions to this special issue. We recognize the urgent need for expanding the literature on doctoral CES program development and appreciate the vital contribution of this special issue to that literature, as well as the opportunity to highlight future directions for research. William H. Snow, PhD, is a professor at Palo Alto University. Thomas A. Field, PhD, NCC, CCMHC, ACS, LPC, LMHC, is an assistant professor at the Boston University School of Medicine. Correspondence may be addressed to William Snow, 1791 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304, wsnow@paloaltou.edu. T William H. Snow, Thomas A. Field i t Introduction to the Special Issue on Doctoral Counselor Education