TPC-Journal-V4-Issue1

91 The Professional Counselor \Volume 4, Issue 1 It is important to note the limitations to this preliminary descriptive study. The sample was limited to 27 participants and no in-depth interviews were done in order to more comprehensively understand student and counselor perceptions. There is no basis for suggesting that the results can be generalized to other counselor populations, given that the study was specific to the particular context of one program at a private university. It is imperative to continue the study of counselor professional identity in Mexico with more participants and in- depth interviews. There are several implications for Mexican counselor educators in regard to the development of counselor professional identity. First, there is the understanding that counselors are models in their professional activities including writing, affiliations and certification. It is imperative that educators invite students to get involved in national and international associations; promote practice, research and writing; and exalt the relevance of counselor certification. Prevention—on the one hand a historic activity of many counselors—has proven to be a less important to Mexican counselors. To enhance this concept, the university curricula design may need to emphasize this topic in the thematic content of the program’s courses. Practica and internships might as well include prevention strategies in the student’s roles and functions. Furthermore, an elective course about prevention program design and implementation could be offered. On the other hand, it may be that prevention is a good idea, but not actually practiced by professional counselors because people tend to not pay for preventive services. In summary, counseling students and graduates in Mexico share a common professional identity self- described as empathic, ethical, committed, versatile, trained and supportive. Efforts should be made to continue enhancing counseling core values as the profession continues to grow in Mexico, as well as internationally. Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure The author reported no conflict of interest or funding contributions for the development of this manuscript. References American Counseling Association. (n.d.). 20/20: A vision for the future of counseling . Retrieved from http://www.counseling.org/20-20/index.aspx Andrade, P. P. (1994). El significado de la familia [The meaning of family]. La Psicología Social en México , V , 83–87. Andrade, P. P. (1996). El significado del padre y madre [The meaning of father and mother]. La Psicología Social en México , VI , 337–342. Asociación Mexicana de Orientación Psicológica y Psicoterapia. (2014). Misión y objetivos [Mission and objectives]. Retrieved from http://amopp.org/amopp-p/index.php/amoop-menu/mision-menu Auxier, C. R., Hughes, F. R., & Kline, W. B. (2003). Identity development in counselors-in-training. Counselor Education and Supervision , 43 , 25–38. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6978.2003.tb01827.x Avendaño, S. R., & Ferreira, N. L. (1996). Significado psicológico de corrupción en estudiantes universitarios [Psychological meaning of corruption in college students]. La Psicología Social en México , VI , 132–136. Balduzzi, M. M., & Corrado, R. E. (2010). Representaciones sociales e ideología en la construcción de la identidad profesional de estudiantes universitarios avanzados [Social representations and ideology in professional identity of advanced college students]. Revista Intercontinental de Psicología y Educación , 12 , 65–83. Brott, P. E., & Myers, J. E. (1999). Development of professional school counselor identity: A grounded theory. Professional School Counseling , 2 , 339–348.