8 TPC Digest T his article describes a qualitative study that investigated the experiences of professional counselors who primarily counsel emerging adult clients. The authors of this study interviewed 11 professional counselors who met the following criteria: graduation from a CACREP-accredited counseling program, a minimum of 2 years of professional counseling experience post-graduation, and a full-time caseload of at least 60% or more emerging adults (ages 18–29). We discuss how counselors who primarily counsel emerging adult clients experience their role. Emerging adulthood represents the ages of 18 to 29 and is a distinct human developmental stage between adolescence and adulthood. Emerging adulthood is distinguished by its five defining features of identity exploration, sense of possibilities, selffocus, instability, and feeling in-between. Identity exploration refers to emerging adults’ process of self-discovery in education, careers, and romantic partnerships. Sense of possibilities refers to emerging adults’ tendency to look to the future optimistically, imagining the many avenues that they may explore in their lives. Self-focus, not to be confused with selfishness, is the normative process in which emerging adults have the opportunity to focus on themselves without parental constraints before they take on the responsibilities of marriage or parenthood. Instability refers to emerging adults experiencing unstable and frequently changing life conditions, such as change in romantic partnerships, transitioning to and from college, or moving in and out of living situations. Lastly, feeling in-between is the developmental limbo between adolescence and adulthood, when emerging adults do not identify as an adolescent or an adult. Matthew L. Nice, Arsh, Rachel A. Dingfelder, Nathan D. Faris, Jean K. Albert, Michael B. Sickels Counseling Emerging Adults: 8 TPC Digest A Phenomenological Investigation of Professional Counselors’ Lived Experiences
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