TPC-Journal-V5-Issue1

The Professional Counselor /Volume 5, Issue 1 160 Limitations and Directions for Further Research A notable limitation to the study was the limited number of participants. Furthermore, students in counselor education programs are asked to intrapersonally and interpersonally reflect on their development within a number of courses and learning experiences. As such, it would be misguided to assume that improvements in professional development across a semester were only due to the contribution of a 2-day seminar. Additionally, results from data in the current study did not support a statistically significant impact in professional development, though a meaningful trend in the data was revealed. The findings must not be overgeneralized; however, the findings can be used to articulate the benefits that the students noted through the self-reported inventory. A follow-up study is currently underway to replicate the original study and identify commonalities as well as differences in findings with another cohort of graduate counseling students. Conclusions As counselor educators, the authors believe that CITs benefit from gaining a deeper understanding of themselves, which in turn can positively impact their personal and professional growth. As indicated in the literature related to counselor identity development, the authors are not alone in thinking that greater self- awareness is connected to increased competence on both personal and professional levels. However, at times counselor training curriculum lacks emphasis on self-awareness and would benefit from increasing opportunities for students to engage in self-reflective and experiential activities. The incorporation of transformational exercises into counselor training curriculum can encourage and enhance positive counselor identity development. In participating in these exercises, CITs deepen their intrapersonal and interpersonal learning and developmental journey, thus potentially enriching the counseling relationship, skills and techniques they will eventually use with future clients. Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure The authors reported no conflict of interest or funding contributions for the development of this manuscript. References 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/j1556-6978.2003.tb01827.x Bernard, J. M. (1997). The discrimination model. In C. E. Watkins, Jr. (Ed.), Handbook of psychotherapy supervision (pp. 310–327). New York, NY: Wiley & Sons. Bhat, C. S. (2005). Enhancing counseling gatekeeping with performance appraisal protocols. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling , 27 , 399–411. doi:10.1007s10447-005-8202-z Blonna, R. (2010). Stress less, live more: How acceptance and commitment therapy can help you live a busy yet balanced life . Oakland, CA: New Harbinger. Bradley, L. J., Whiting, P., Hendricks, B., Parr, G., & Jones, E. G. (2008). The use of expressive techniques in counseling. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health , 3 , 44–57. doi:10.1080/15401380802023605 Brott, P. E., & Myers, J. E. (1999). Development of professional school counselor identity: A grounded theory. Professional School Counseling , 2 , 339–348. Busacca, L. A., & Wester, K. L. (2006). Career concerns of master’s-level community and school counselor trainees. Career Development Quarterly , 55 , 179–190. doi:10.1002/j.2161-0045.2006.tb00012.x