50 The Professional Counselor | Volume 12, Issue 1 with mental illness, or emotional deprivation. Each question that is answered in the affirmative results in one “ACE,” with respondents’ scores ranging from 1 to 10. Studies have found that ACEs have a doseresponse effect; therefore, every point increase can significantly raise the chance of experiencing negative mental and physical health effects into adulthood (Boullier & Blair, 2018; Campbell et al., 2016; Merrick et al., 2017). Additionally, individuals with four or more ACEs are significantly more likely to suffer from mental illness or substance addiction, be further traumatized as adults, and succumb to an early death (Anda et al., 2007; Metzler et al., 2017). More recently, researchers have found that Black and Latinx individuals have significantly higher rates of ACEs compared to White individuals (R. D. Lee & Chen, 2017; Merrick et al., 2017; Strompolis et al., 2019). In a study involving 60,598 participants, R. D. Lee and Chen (2017) discovered not only that Black and Hispanic participants had higher rates of ACEs, but also that there was a correlation between ACEs and drinking alcohol heavily. In a sample of 214,517 participants across 23 states in the United States, Merrick et al. (2017) found that racially minoritized individuals, sexual minorities, the unemployed, those with less than a high school education, and those making less than $15,000 a year had significantly higher rates of ACEs than White individuals, heterosexuals, the employed, and those with higher education and income, respectively. Zyromski et al. (2020) noted that the preponderance of ACEs within marginalized communities, such as ethnic minority populations, make ACEs “a social justice issue” (p. 352). There is scarce research related to the potential impact of ACEs on practitioners and graduate students in helping professions. Thomas (2016) evaluated the rates of ACEs with Master of Social Work (MSW) students, discovering that MSW students were 3.3 times more likely to have four or more ACEs compared to a general sample of university students. Similarly, counselors-in-training are not immune to the effects of childhood adversity; in fact, researchers noted that counselors-in-training may pursue a counseling degree because of personal trauma that drives their aspirations to help others (Conteh et al., 2017). Evans (1997) found that 93% of counselors-in-training reported at least one traumatic experience in their lives, while Conteh et al. (2017) discovered that 95% of counselors-in-training reported between one and eight traumas throughout their lifetime. Considering these results, researchers have suggested that practitioners with a history of trauma may be vulnerable to re-experiencing trauma with clients, which could negatively impact client care and increase the rate of counselor burnout (Conteh et al., 2017; Thomas, 2016). Because the rates of ACEs in practicing MHCs are unknown, it is difficult to determine how ACEs may play a role in impacting CS, burnout, and STS. Furthermore, we lack research on early developmental factors that may contribute to CS, burnout, and STS. Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) In recent years, childhood development researchers have explored protective factors that may reduce the harmful effects of ACEs. In 2018, Crouch et al. (2019) examined the relationship between two protective factors and their mitigating effects on individuals reporting at least four ACEs. In a sample of 7,079 respondents, the researchers discovered that individuals who reported growing up “with an adult who made them feel safe and protected were less likely to report frequent mental distress or poor health” (Crouch et al., 2019, p. 165). Bethell et al. (2019) found significant correlations between seven positive interpersonal experiences with family and friends and decreased negative effects of ACEs. They also discovered that these factors have a dose-response effect in relation to ACEs so that with each additional PCEs, the harmful effects of ACEs are lessened. The discovery of PCEs has become important in understanding developmentally protective factors that guard from the damaging effects of childhood adversity. Specifically, higher rates of PCEs decrease the chances of mental health disorders of adults, even in those with higher numbers of ACEs (Bethell et al., 2019). An examination of the rates of PCEs in MHCs may provide insight into the well-being of counselors.
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