The Professional Counselor | Volume 14, Issue 2 173 Finally, Rene and Dorothy provided examples of the ways that negative counseling experiences inspired them to become counselors to increase Black representation in the field. Rene, a 29-year-old female counselor, shared, “In my own journey, I saw how difficult it is to find counselors who had similar identities. And that furthered my already very strong desire to be in the helping profession . . . be a part of that as well.” Dorothy, a 45-year-old counselor, offered a similar sentiment: I had experiences growing up that led me to therapy personally. And it was really difficult to find a therapist who I could identify with, who I didn’t have to explain in detail about why something was upsetting to me. And I had some experiences that were so difficult that I didn’t return to counseling for several years. And so that was a real driving force in me deciding to enter this profession a little bit later in my life. Because I wanted to be able to offer that to people in similar situations. Personal and Professional Convictions (Secondary Motivator) The responses from the contributors in our study indicated that they had personal and professional convictions that motivated them to become professional counselors. Throughout their stories, it was clear to our team that the contributors possessed personal and professional values that inspired them to take action (i.e., become counselors) which allowed them to experience personal and professional congruence. We interpreted the contributors’ personal and professional convictions as a consequence of two factors: 1) they all possessed altruistic dispositions, and 2) they all possessed values of justice and equity. Evidence of the influence of altruistic dispositions on the contributors’ convictions and ultimate choice to become counselors were present in the following ways. Michelle, a 26-year-old counseling student, simply stated, “You know . . . it’s also just wanting to help people and wanting to show people compassion. And teach them that compassion for themselves. That’s big for me.” Likewise, Morris, a 22-year-old master’s student, shared, Most of the time, my friends didn’t want to go to the counselors either. So we ended up just being there for each other and just trying to solve each other’s problems or give each other advice. So I just realized maybe I should seek this in a professional way. Destiny, a 33-year-old counselor educator, supervisor, and clinician, reiterated this point, noting that she had “this compulsion to kind of really help people, to really just talk, and recognizing that . . . my empathy was so innate, and just other effective qualities that you would consider to be associated with a counselor.” The contributors to this study also clearly valued equity and justice for individuals and communities, which guided their personal and professional convictions and ultimate decisions to become counselors. One example of this is from Aisha S., a 36-year-old counselor educator and supervisor. She described her motivation to be a counselor as being connected to a greater purpose, sharing, “What else stood out for me from those experiences that made me consider professional counseling . . . was being able to . . . think about how I can engage in advocacy efforts at the local level, at the grassroots level.” Ada, a 28-year-old counselor and counseling doctoral student, shared a similar narrative that centered justice and equity as salient forces among her personal and professional convictions:
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