DIGEST - Volume 11, Issue 2

4 TPC Digest 5 TPC Digest Samara G. Richmond, Amber M. Samuels, A. Elizabeth Crunk Vicarious Grief in Supervision Considerations for Doctoral Students Supervising Counselors-in-Training | TPC Digest 5 | TPC Digest Read full article and references: Richmond, S. G., Samuels, A. M., & Crunk, A. E. (2021). Vicarious grief in supervision: Considerations for doctoral students supervising counselors-in-training. The Professional Counselor , 11 (2), 161–172. doi: 10.15241/sgr.11.2.161 T Loss and grief are unequivocally part of the human experience. Ranging from loss of a loved one through death, non- death loss, normal life transitions, or collective grief experiences, individuals can expect to encounter loss and grief across their life span. Approximately 10% of bereaved individuals experience complicated grief , also referred to as prolonged grief disorder or persistent complex bereavement disorder , a protracted, debilitating, and sometimes life- threatening grief response. Therefore, counselors and other helping professionals should be prepared for loss and grief to present as a common client concern. Further, not only should clinicians be aware and skilled in navigating loss and grief with clients, but so too should supervisors who work with counselors-in-training (CITs) or early career clinicians. In paying particular attention to current collective and global grief due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to consider the potential pervasiveness of loss and grief clinicians are being asked to manage. More specifically, for students in training, doctoral student supervisors and their master’s-level CITs, it is crucial to consider their preparedness for managing grief within the therapy room and the vicarious effects of navigating this clinical content. Prior literature within the counseling field has largely focused on vicarious trauma —the negative emotional or psychological changes experienced by counselors resulting from repeated engagement with clients’ trauma-related stories, memories, pain, and fear—and we propose that loss and grief can also elicit unexpected grief responses that have the potential to impact counselor well-being and the quality of care they can deliver to clients, known as vicarious grief (VG). Supervision, a principal element of training for counselors as well as a core area of doctoral training defined by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), provides substantial opportunity to explore VG responses. Specifically, as we consider the role of doctoral student supervisors working with CITs within an academic setting, supervision creates opportunities to connect clinical practice to classroom learning and promote personal growth in the service of clients’ needs. As previous research has highlighted the challenges CITs often experience when engaging with loss and grief content, we suggest that training for doctoral student supervisors should include instruction and experiential opportunities exploring how to leverage supervisory roles and relationships to best support ethical clinical care. T hrough application of the discrimination model of supervision, the supervisory roles of counselor, consultant, and teacher can inform doctoral student supervisors in addressing VG with CITs. Each of these roles, along with common factors such as the supervisory alliance, provides doctoral student supervisors with necessary tools to support CITs in processing and responding to VG. As coursework in grief and loss is not currently required by CACREP, it is the goal of this discussion to encourage greater attention to the topic of VG within doctoral student education, particularly within supervision courses, to provide doctoral students with ample opportunity to engage in self-study and experiential learning that supports their ability to engage in meaningful supervision with CITs, ultimately supporting counselor and client well-being. Samara G. Richmond, MA, MS, NCC, LGPC, is a doctoral candidate at The George Washington University. Amber M. Samuels, MS, NCC, LGPC, is a doctoral candidate at The George Washington University. A. Elizabeth Crunk, PhD, NCC, LGPC, is an assistant professor at The George Washington University. Correspondence may be addressed to Samara G. Richmond, 2136 G St NW, Washington, D.C. 20052, sgelb@gwmail.gwu.edu.