TPC Journal-Vol 9- Issue 4-FULL ISSUE

294 The Professional Counselor | Volume 9, Issue 4 Supervisors need to find ways to raise awareness of compassion fatigue and its protective factors with CITs. For instance, during internship experience, supervisors may develop a site training including compassion fatigue awareness for CITs, as CITs should be prepared for the possible emotional and psychological consequences in working with trauma survivors. Student counselors also should be encouraged to advocate for themselves when they notice symptoms of compassion fatigue. Supervisors might consider the administration of the ProQOL scale regularly to assess both organizational and individual risks (Newell & MacNeil, 2010). Additionally, supervisors can use the ProQOL scale with their supervisees to start a conversation about compassion fatigue. Although the ProQOL is not a diagnostic test, the 30-item self-report scale can be utilized readily as a conversation starter in supervision sessions. The results suggested that empathy and supervisory working alliance did not predict CITs’ compassion fatigue level. However, wellness and resilience are significantly related to contributing to it. Therefore, both counselor educators and supervisors might consider enhancing CITs’ resilience and wellness a worthwhile endeavor. For example, Miller and Sprang (2017) developed a component- based practice and supervision model to reduce compassion fatigue for use in training, supervision, and clinical practice. A tool like this one can be added to existing training curricula and supervision practice to improve CITs’ resilience and wellness. Limitations The results of this study aim to provide greater clarity regarding the predictive factors of compassion fatigue among CITs. However, interpretation of results should take into consideration the limitations that emerged because of uncontrollable influences and choices we made. The study was limited in its ability to represent all CITs throughout the United States, as we utilized a convenience sampling approach. Additionally, we gathered data through self-report questionnaires, which introduce the possibility of response bias in the findings. Although we assumed participants answered each question honestly, they might not have been honest in their responses because of the fear of being perceived as weak or less competent. It is important to note that being in an internship class might also increase participants’ interest in the profession as they currently are engaged in the practice of counseling. Therefore, participants might have had a higher level of enthusiasm and reported less compassion fatigue. Also, individuals who suffer from compassion fatigue might have preferred not to respond to these items. Finally, although participants were enrolled in an internship class, each participant may have different numbers of hours of client experience. Future Directions for Research Additional research should be conducted to expand and clarify the current research findings of compassion fatigue among CITs. A phenomenological study using a qualitative research method is recommended to expand the findings of this current study. Future researchers may use the ProQOL scale to assess CITs’ level of compassion fatigue and then conduct interviews with the volunteer participants reporting a higher level of compassion fatigue to better understand CITs’ experience with compassion fatigue and its contributing factors. The data collected through a qualitative study may provide greater insight into the phenomenon of compassion fatigue among CITs. Additionally, researchers can replicate the present study with early-career counselors who have recently graduated, because of the noted intensity of those first years after graduation (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2016). Therefore, future researchers exploring novice counselors’ experiences with compassion fatigue will help counselor educators and supervisors better understand when counselors may start developing compassion fatigue symptoms, as well as how they cope with the symptoms.