Examining the Roles of Social–Emotional Skills and Career Exploration Among College Students

Oct 1, 2026 | Volume 16 - Issue 3

Aydanur Aydin, Arpita Ghosh

Career exploration is an important developmental task to accomplish while enrolled in postsecondary education for many reasons. These reasons include establishing future career plans and being prepared for career transitions. However, little is known about the factors that inform undergraduate students’ engagement in career exploration practices. Therefore, the purpose of this exploratory study is to examine whether social–emotional skills, specifically emotion regulation, self-awareness, and assertiveness, predicted career exploration among undergraduate students (N = 241). Findings from correlation analyses suggest that career exploration is significantly and positively related to emotion regulation and self-awareness. Multiple linear regression analyses suggest that although self-awareness and emotion regulation significantly predicted career exploration, assertiveness did not contribute significantly to the regression model. Our findings highlight the importance of integrating emotion regulation and self-awareness interventions within professional career counseling services to support undergraduate students’ career exploration. Recommendations for research, implications for counseling practice, and study limitations are discussed.

Keywords: social–emotional skills, emotion regulation, self-awareness, assertiveness, career exploration

Career exploration is an important construct in counseling, particularly for professional counselors, career counselors, and psychologists working in university counseling centers and career services settings. Recent scholarship conceptualizes career exploration as a process that involves self-exploration and environmental exploration (Jiang et al., 2019; Kleine et al., 2021; Lent et al., 2016). Through this process, individuals gather information about the world of work (Kleine et al., 2021); reflect on their interests, values, abilities, and goals; and evaluate potential career opportunities (Jiang et al., 2019; Lent et al., 2016). Career exploration has become increasingly important as college students navigate rapidly changing social and occupational environments that require them to develop professional knowledge while simultaneously managing uncertainty about their future careers (Su et al., 2024). Because some students may find engaging in career exploration challenging, it is important to understand which skills may help facilitate college students’ career decision-making and career exploration processes.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine whether the social–emotional skills, specifically emotion regulation, assertiveness, and self-awareness, predicted career exploration among undergraduate students. We utilized the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) framework developed by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL; 2012). Understanding how these skills relate to career exploration can help counselors and psychologists develop and implement interventions for college students that strengthen their ability to manage emotions, communicate, and address their needs. This, in turn, may help increase clients’ engagement in career exploration and support their adaptive career decision-making and career readiness.

College Students’ Career Exploration
     College is an important developmental period during which career exploration takes place, as students are required to select academic majors and to make initial career decisions (Chen & Kizilcec, 2024; Kleine et al., 2021). The career decision-making process involves students engaging in information seeking, self-reflection, evaluating career alternatives, and planning for future occupational pathways (Jiang et al., 2019; Lent et al., 2016). These activities can help students clarify their career identities and make more informed career decisions (Jiang et al., 2019). University counseling centers often provide career counseling interventions aimed at supporting students’ career adaptability, employability, and transition to the professional world (Carvalho et al., 2023). Despite some of these interventions, students may still experience difficulties with career exploration tasks (Bullock-Yowell et al., 2014; Leung et al., 2011).

Although career exploration interventions have demonstrated benefits, there has been limited attention to the personal characteristics and psychological skills that may facilitate students’ engagement in career exploration. For example, Cheung and Jin (2016) found that participation in a career exploration course increased students’ career exploration behaviors and occupational information seeking, suggesting that structured opportunities can promote exploration. More recently, Soares et al. (2022) conducted a systematic review of career interventions among university students. They found that career interventions were being conducted across a variety of formats, including college courses, individual career counseling, and group career counseling. Studies included in their review also highlighted variation in interventions’ content, including job search training, skills awareness, and career decision-making training. They also found that interventions focusing primarily on providing career information may overlook the role of social–emotional skills that support students’ ability to reflect, regulate emotions, and communicate effectively during the exploration process.

Research about college students’ career exploration has mostly focused on its relationship to other career-related variables. For instance, career exploration has been associated with greater career decision-making self-efficacy (Cheung & Arnold, 2014; Cheung & Jin, 2016), clearer vocational identity (Morgan & Osborn, 2025; Praskova et al., 2015), and reduced career decision-making difficulties (Storme & Celik, 2018). Some research on career exploration has focused on its relationship with college students’ personalities. For example, some studies have shown that personality factors such as agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience are positively correlated with higher levels of career exploration (e.g., Li et al., 2015). Similarly, individuals who are more open to experiences tend to engage more actively in exploration behaviors by seeking feedback, building social connections, and experimenting with different career options (Yang et al., 2024). Research also suggests that conscientious individuals are more likely to engage in structured, goal-directed career exploration activities because these behaviors support planning and decision-making in complex career environments (Lee et al., 2023). In addition, proactive personality and self-esteem have been found to predict greater engagement in career exploration among university students (Cai et al., 2015).

Previous research has mostly examined environmental and personality factors as they relate to college students’ career exploration. However, researchers have not examined the role of specific social–emotional skills, including emotion regulation, assertiveness, and self-awareness, in career exploration. Examining how these specific variables predict career exploration may benefit career counselors by informing counseling interventions, assessment, and case conceptualization related to career exploration.

Theoretical Framework
     Our study was conceptualized within the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) framework, which emphasizes the development of social and emotional competencies that support individuals’ academic, career, and life outcomes (CASEL, 2020). Specifically, we focused on three SEL-related competencies: self-awareness, emotion regulation, and assertiveness. Self-awareness may support career exploration by helping students identify their interests, strengths, and values when making career decisions (Osher et al., 2016). Emotion regulation may facilitate career exploration by helping students manage the uncertainty, stress, and anxiety often associated with career decision-making (Arbona et al., 2021). Additionally, assertiveness may support career exploration by enabling students to seek guidance, communicate career goals, and build professional networks (Nota & Soresi, 2003). By integrating SEL principles, career counselors can design targeted counseling interventions that enhance clients’ social–emotional competencies and support adaptive career decision-making (Durlak et al., 2011).

Self-Awareness and Career Exploration
     Self-awareness is an important construct in career development and is increasingly understood as a key element of effective career exploration, particularly through its role in self-reflection and self-assessment processes. Recent research conceptualizes career exploration as a process that integrates both self-exploration and environmental exploration, through which individuals actively reflect on their interests, values, abilities, and goals while also gathering information about potential career options (Jiang et al., 2019). In this process, self-reflection plays a central role in supporting decision-making and identity development. Through exploration activities, individuals gain a clearer understanding of their interests, values, skills, and career goals, which helps them identify their strengths and areas for development (Kleine et al., 2021; Ran et al., 2023).

Taken together, these findings suggest that self-awareness is closely embedded within the career exploration process itself as individuals continuously reflect on and evaluate their personal characteristics while engaging with career-related information. Therefore, students with stronger self-awareness may be more likely to engage in career exploration because they possess greater understanding of their personal characteristics and how these characteristics align with possible career paths.

Emotion Regulation and Career Exploration
     Emotions are important determinants of the career decision-making process (Di Fabio et al., 2012) and are inevitably part of the workplace experience (Grandey, 2000). Emotion regulation is the process by which individuals manage their emotions, including the emotions they experience, why they have them, and how they express them (Gross, 1998).

Career exploration often involves uncertainty, ambiguity, and evaluating possible future outcomes, which may require individuals to regulate emotions associated with career-related stress and decision-making challenges. Research suggests that being hopeful about the future and having positive emotions about oneself can lead to higher levels of career exploration (Hirschi et al., 2015). Similarly, individuals who experience greater confidence and emotional control may be better equipped to engage in proactive career behaviors, including gathering information and evaluating career opportunities. Despite the theoretical connection between emotion regulation and career exploration, relatively limited empirical research has directly examined this relationship. Recent findings suggest that emotion regulation is significantly associated with career exploration, indicating that students who can effectively manage emotional experiences may be more likely to engage in career-related exploration behaviors (Ali et al., 2023). Given the limited research on emotion regulation within career counseling contexts, further investigation is warranted.

Assertiveness and Career Exploration
     Career exploration is a socially embedded process through which students actively seek career-related information, engage with social networks, and access environmental resources that shape their career development (Lent et al., 2016; Patton & McMahon, 2015). Career exploration behaviors, such as conducting informational interviews, seeking guidance from advisors, and discussing career options with others, require students to communicate their needs, express their interests, and initiate interpersonal interactions (Jiang et al., 2019; Zhang & Huang, 2018). Therefore, individual differences in interpersonal skills, such as assertiveness, may influence the extent to which students engage in career exploration activities.

Assertiveness refers to the ability to express thoughts, needs, and preferences while maintaining effective interpersonal communication (Nota & Soresi, 2003). Within the career development context, assertiveness may support exploration by enabling students to actively seek career information, request assistance, and develop relationships that provide access to career-related opportunities. Supporting this perspective, Nota and Soresi (2003) developed an assertiveness training program for students who are experiencing career indecision and difficulties gathering occupational information. The intervention emphasized skills related to analyzing challenging situations, obtaining relevant information, and communicating effectively with significant others. Findings indicated that developing assertiveness skills enhanced students’ ability to engage with the career exploration process.

More recent research similarly emphasizes the importance of interpersonal resources in facilitating career exploration. For example, Zhang and Huang (2018) found that career-related peer support, including informational support, emotional encouragement, and peer role modeling, was positively associated with college students’ career exploration. These findings suggest that students’ engagement in career exploration may be influenced not only by their internal motivation, but also by their ability to actively participate in interpersonal exchanges and to seek support from their social environments. Therefore, in our study, we examined assertiveness as a potential predictor of undergraduate students’ career exploration. We hypothesized that higher levels of assertiveness would be associated with greater engagement in career exploration behaviors.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of our exploratory study was to examine whether social–emotional skills, specifically self-awareness, emotion regulation, and assertiveness, predict undergraduate students’ career exploration. We aimed to expand the existing career exploration literature by identifying specific social–emotional factors that may contribute to students’ engagement in career exploration behaviors. Our findings may inform career counseling assessment and intervention approaches by highlighting skills that counselors can address to support students’ career development. Our study was guided by the SEL framework. Although assertiveness is not identified as a standalone CASEL competency, it represents an interpersonal skill aligned with SEL-related competencies, particularly social awareness and relationship skills. Our study addresses the following research question: Do self-awareness, emotion regulation, and assertiveness significantly predict undergraduate students’ career exploration?

Based on the previous research, we hypothesized that self-awareness, emotion regulation, and assertiveness would significantly predict career exploration, with assertiveness and self-awareness expected to be stronger predictors.

Method

Procedure
     Our study was reviewed and received an exemption determination from the Institutional Review Board. Potential participants were recruited via snowball sampling during the 2023–2024 academic year. Aydanur Aydin sent a recruitment message via email to 10 academic departments and instructors at a large Midwestern university. The departments and instructors were selected because of the large number of undergraduate students in those departments. The recruitment messages were distributed to initial contacts during a 6-month period. We sent reminders approximately once a month. The recruitment message included an explanation of the study and contained a Qualtrics survey link. Because different departments and instructors passed along the recruitment message, the exact number of departments, instructors, and students who received the invitation is unknown.

Participants
     There were 327 undergraduate students who initially began the survey. Of the 327, 47 participants had incomplete data. Thirty-nine participants did not meet the consent requirements because of procedural irregularities and were excluded. This resulted in a sample of 241 undergraduate students. Student age ranged from 18 to 30 (M = 19.24, SD = 1.81). Of the 241 participants, 150 identified as women (62.2%), 87 as men (36.1%), and four as other (1.6%). Most participants identified as White/Caucasian (n = 170, 70.5%). The remaining participants identified as Hispanic (n = 22, 9.1%), Asian (n = 13, 5.4%), biracial (n = 10, 4.1%), Black/African American (n = 8, 3.3%), Asian American (n = 5, 2.1%), multiracial (n = 4, 1.7%), European (n = 4, 1.7%), Middle Eastern (n = 3, 1.2%), and Native American (n = 2, 0.8%). Participants included those with declared majors (n = 225, 93.4%) and undecided students (n =16, 6.6%). The majority of the participants were freshmen (n = 169, 70.1%), followed by 36 (14.9%) sophomores, 21 (8.7%) seniors, and 15 (6.2%) juniors. The number of participants who reported having a job was 103 (42.7%) while 133 (55.2%) participants did not. The majority of the participants (n = 185, 76.8%) reported not being a first-generation college student while 56 (23.2%) identified as first-generation college students.

Measures
Demographic Questionnaire
     We developed a demographic questionnaire in order to obtain participants’ self-reported information on demographic variables such as age, ethnicity, employment history, major, grade point average, level of education, and year in school. 

Career Exploration Survey
     The Career Exploration Survey (CES; Stumpf et al., 1983) was administered to measure career exploration. Career exploration refers to individuals’ behaviors, attitudes, and responses related to gathering information and learning about potential career options (Stumpf et al., 1983). The CES is a self-reported measure consisting of 62 items. Participants responded to items on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (little) to 5 (a great deal). The measure assesses multiple aspects of the career exploration process, including individuals’ beliefs about exploration, the behaviors and strategies they use while exploring career options, and their reactions to the exploration experience. A sample item is “Initiated conversations with knowledgeable individuals in my career area” (Stumpf et al., 1983).

Our study assessed career exploration using the Environment Exploration, Self-Exploration, Internal Search Instrumentality, and Intended-Systematic Exploration subscales because these subscales capture participants’ engagement in career exploration activities and behaviors. This measure has been used with college students (e.g., Cheung & Arnold, 2014; Guan et al., 2015; Sawitri & Dewi, 2015). Previous research has provided evidence supporting the internal structure of the CES through the identification of multiple dimensions related to career exploration behaviors, beliefs, and reactions (Stumpf et al., 1983).

Convergent validity for the measure is supported by correlations among the CES’s core domains with one another. For example, the domains of Exploration Behaviors, Reactions to Exploration, and Exploration-Related Beliefs were correlated in ways that were expected. Furthermore, self-esteem was significantly correlated with dimensions of Focus and Certainty of Career Exploration Outcome (Stumpf et al., 1983). Each CES dimension demonstrated weak and nonsignificant correlations with social desirability, age, gender, and years of work experience, which provides evidence for discriminant validity (Stumpf et al., 1983). Reliability estimates (Cronbach’s α) ranged from .79 to .92 for the undergraduate sample in the original study (Stumpf et al., 1983). In our study, the CES demonstrated excellent internal reliability in the current sample, as indicated by Cronbach’s alpha
(α = .94; Cronbach, 1951) and McDonald’s omega (ω = .94; McDonald, 1999).

Emotion Regulation Questionnaire
     The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) was administered to assess emotion regulation, which is defined as individuals’ processes for managing emotional experiences and expressions (Gross & John, 2003). The ERQ consists of 10 items with two subscales: Reappraisal and Suppression (Gross & John, 2003). This scale was developed as a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). One sample item from ERQ is “When I want to feel less negative emotion, I change the way I’m thinking about the situation” (Gross & John, 2003).

Previous research has supported the two-factor structure of the ERQ through factor analytic studies demonstrating the distinction between cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression (Gross & John, 2003). Gross and John (2003) found that reappraisal correlated positively with positive affect, well-being, and improved interpersonal functioning, demonstrating convergent validity. Suppression, on the other hand, was correlated with more negative affect and poorer social functioning (Gross & John, 2003). Spaapen et al. (2014) validated a nine-item version of the ERQ (ERQ-9) in two community samples, as did Andrea et al. (2024) with a large clinical sample. Both studies found that reappraisal and suppression showed similar patterns to Gross and John’s original findings. Internal consistency alpha coefficients ranged from .73 to .79. Test-retest reliability was .69 across three months (Gross & John, 2003). The ERQ has been used in a variety of studies with different contexts among college students (Park et al., 2020; Schroder et al., 2015). The ERQ demonstrated acceptable internal reliability in the current sample (α = .76, ω = .77).

The Rathus Assertiveness Schedule
     The Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS) was administered to measure students’ assertiveness, defined as individuals’ ability to express themselves, communicate effectively, and advocate for their needs in interpersonal situations (Rathus, 1973). The measure is comprised of 30 items, and items are scored on a Likert-type scale. Each response ranges from 3 (very much like me) to −3 (very much unlike me). A sample item is “I enjoy starting conversations with new acquaintances and strangers” (Rathus, 1973). Items 1–2, 4–5, 9, 11–17, 19, 23–24, 26, and 30 are reverse scored. A total score is obtained by adding numerical responses to each item after changing signs of reversed items, ranging from 90 to −90 (Rathus, 1973).

The RAS has shown convergent and discriminant validity with college student samples. The original development of the RAS included validation verification by incorporating items derived from the diaries of college juniors and seniors. Additionally, Harris and Brown (1979) found that RAS scores in a sample of college students were significantly correlated with six Class I scales of the California Psychological Inventory, which measures poise, ascendancy, and self-assurance. Rathus (1973) found that the measure’s test-retest reliability over 2 months was .78, internal reliability coefficient was .82, and split-half reliability was .77. This measure has been effectively administered to college students in previous studies with different contexts and cultures (Parray & Kumar, 2016; Toktas et al., 2022). In our study, the RAS demonstrated good internal reliability in the current sample (α = .82, ω = .81).

Self-Awareness Outcomes Questionnaire
     The Self-Awareness Outcomes Questionnaire (SAOQ) is a 38-item measure that assesses self-awareness, which is defined as individuals’ ability to recognize and understand their own thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and personal characteristics (Sutton, 2016). The scale has four factors assessing self-awareness: Reflective Self-Development, Acceptance of Self and Others, Proactivity at Work, and Emotional Costs (Sutton, 2016). Items are rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale from 1 (never) to 5 (almost always). A sample item from the scale is “I’m aware of my abilities and limitations” (Sutton, 2016).

Previous research has supported the four-factor structure of the SAOQ through examination of its dimensions (Sutton, 2016). Internal consistency coefficients were .87 for Reflective Self-Development, .83 for Acceptance of Self and Others, .81 for Proactivity at Work, and .77 for Emotional Costs. All of the subscales demonstrated adequate reliability estimates (a > .70; Sutton, 2016). Validation evidence for the SAOQ focuses on general adult samples and not college student–specific populations (Sutton, 2016). In this study, we used this measure because the items focused on the outcomes of self-awareness. Internal consistency reliability for self-awareness scores was ω = .91. The SAOQ demonstrated excellent internal reliability in our sample (α = .91, ω = .92).

Data Analyses
     Means, standard deviations, and correlations were calculated for each measure. Total scale scores were utilized for all measures in the analyses. Internal consistency reliability was evaluated using both Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega. Following the guidelines proposed by Nunnally and Bernstein (1994), reliability coefficients of .70, .80, and .90 were interpreted as indicating acceptable, good, and excellent internal consistency, respectively. Regression analyses were utilized to answer our research question.

Results

Preliminary Analyses
     Means, standard deviations, and correlation coefficients for independent and dependent variables are presented in Table 1.

Table 1
Descriptive Statistics (N = 241)

Assertiveness Career exploration Emotion regulation Self-awareness M SD
Assertiveness              1  −5.29 22.16
Career exploration             0.095            1 64.96 17.49
Emotion regulation            −.110              .228** 1 45.58   8.10
Self-awareness              .009              .375**         .305** 1 139.35 16.60

Note. Means and standard deviations are of total scores.
**Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Variables were correlated in expected ways. There were statistically significant low correlations between emotion regulation and career exploration (r = .228, p < .01), and self-awareness and emotion regulation (r = .305, p <.01). There was a moderately significant relationship between self-awareness and career exploration (r = .375, p < .01).

Regression Analyses
     Prior to conducting the regression analyses, assumptions of linear regression were examined. Linearity and homoscedasticity were assessed through examination of scatterplots of standardized residuals and predicted values. Normality of residuals was examined through inspection of histograms and normal probability plots. Multicollinearity was assessed using tolerance and variance inflation factor (VIF) values. The Durbin–Watson statistic was examined to assess independence of errors. Results indicated that assumptions of linear regression were adequately met.

To answer the research question, we conducted a multiple linear regression analysis examining whether emotion regulation, self-awareness, and assertiveness predicted career exploration. Career exploration was entered as the criterion variable. Emotion regulation, self-awareness, and assertiveness were the predictor variables. See Table 2 for a summary of the regression findings.

A multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to examine whether emotion regulation, self-awareness, and assertiveness predicted career exploration. The overall regression model was significant, R = .41, R² = .17, adjusted R² = .16, F(3, 237) = 15.74, p < .001, accounting for 16.6% of the variance in career exploration. Results indicated that self-awareness (β = 0.33, p < .001) and emotion regulation (β = 0.14, p = .03) were significant positive predictors of career exploration. However, assertiveness was not a statistically significant predictor of career exploration (β = 0.11, p = .08).

Table 2
Summary of the Multiple Linear Regression Analysis

R R² adj. R² Predictor B SE B   β t    p
0.41 0.17 0.16 — — — — — —
Constant 3.08 9.38 — 0.33 .74
Emotion Regulation 0.30 0.14 0.14 2.21 .03
Self-awareness 0.35 0.07 0.33 5.31 < .001
Assertiveness 0.08 0.05 0.11 1.79 .08

Note. Career Exploration is the criterion variable.

Discussion

The purpose of our exploratory study was to examine whether self-awareness, emotion regulation, and assertiveness predicted career exploration among undergraduate students. Initially, findings from our study suggested significant positive relationships between emotion regulation, self-awareness, and assertiveness with career exploration. There has been limited investigation on the relationship among all of these variables in one study. However, when examined separately, the correlations among each of these variables with career exploration are consistent with previous research. Some of these relationships are supported within the SEL framework (CASEL, 2012; 2020) and align with counseling literature that emphasizes emotional and self-reflective processes in career counseling.

Additionally, findings from the multiple linear regression analyses suggested that emotion regulation and self-awareness significantly predicted career exploration of undergraduate students while assertiveness did not. The finding of self-awareness being a significant predictor of career exploration is consistent with previous research. For instance, findings from Abdullah’s (2018) study with university students identified career exploration difficulties, including limited self-awareness, as barriers to effective career decision-making. Students do not have to know their interests to be able to decide benefits and limitations of a career path. Similarly, recent research suggests that individuals’ career decision-making involves drawing on interests, intuition, experiences, emotions, and skills as part of self-awareness and intuitive processing in their decision-making (Gati et al., 2025; Özek & Ferraris, 2018).

Assertiveness was not a significant predictor of career exploration in this study, which is partially inconsistent with previous findings in the literature. In our study, assertiveness was hypothesized to be a significant predictor, considering how undergraduate students might need this social skill to engage in career exploration, such as seeking guidance, networking, initiating professional conversations, and expressing career-related needs. However, findings indicated assertiveness was not a significant predictor of career exploration. This finding is partially inconsistent with existing literature. For instance, Solberg et al. (1995) stated that there was no direct relationship between assertiveness and the number of career search activities performed. Conversely, Reed et al. (2004) suggested that individuals who were assertive and extroverted were more engaged in information-seeking behaviors as part of their career exploration process.

Lastly, the finding of emotion regulation being a significant predictor of career exploration fills a research gap in the literature. The career exploration process often presents emotional challenges that career counselors directly address. For instance, students may experience emotional challenges during career exploration and job searching, such as uncertainty about the job market, coping with rejection and negative feedback, elevated anxiety about their future, and social anxiety when networking. They may cope with these challenges more effectively if they are able to regulate their emotions.

Previous research suggests that social–emotional skills are important in career exploration activities (Nota & Soresi, 2003). Considering the importance of networking and the influence of social relationships on work, especially regarding finding new job opportunities and learning about specific fields, it is expected that people with more social–emotional skills may be more likely to engage in career exploration activities.

Recommendations for Future Research
     Findings of our study support the need for further investigation. Future studies should emphasize developing specific interventions that focus on undergraduate students’ social–emotional skills, specifically emotion regulation and self-awareness. These interventions may involve career counseling, career coaching, or academic advising in order to expand undergraduate students’ career exploration. Future studies should also investigate what other social skills (e.g., communication, adaptability) may be beneficial in the career exploration process among undergraduate students.

In addition to the development of these interventions, studies should empirically investigate their efficacy to determine if they are promoting students’ career exploration behaviors. Future studies could also investigate the development of these specific social skills over time. Researchers are encouraged to longitudinally examine career exploration, emotion regulation, and self-awareness each year an undergraduate student is enrolled to discover changes.

Implications for Practice
     Our study has several implications for professional counseling practice, particularly career counseling. Career counselors may integrate self-awareness and emotion regulation interventions into individual and group career counseling to support clients’ engagement in career exploration. Counselors should recognize that these competencies may include both dispositional characteristics and skills that can develop over time. Therefore, the goal of career counseling interventions may not be to completely change these characteristics, but rather to increase students’ awareness of their internal experiences and strengthen their ability to apply adaptive strategies during career decision-making.

Specifically, counselors may consider assessing clients’ levels of self-awareness and emotion regulation early in the career counseling process to identify potential barriers to career exploration. Students with limited self-awareness may benefit from interventions focused on values clarification, strengths identification, interest exploration, and reflective activities to develop a clearer understanding of their career goals. Similarly, students who experience anxiety, uncertainty, or emotional distress related to career decision-making may benefit from emotion regulation strategies, such as identifying emotional responses, cognitive reframing, and developing coping strategies for career-related stress. Research suggests that these skills can be strengthened through targeted interventions (Bagheri et al., 2016; Jia-Yuan et al., 2022); even brief counseling encounters may focus on teaching practical strategies for recognizing, understanding, and managing emotions that arise during career exploration.

Our findings also suggest that career counselors should conceptualize career exploration difficulties beyond a lack of information or motivation and consider the role of social–emotional competencies in the exploration process. When students avoid career exploration behaviors, counselors may explore whether emotional barriers (e.g., fear of failure, uncertainty about the future, difficulty managing negative emotions) or limited self-understanding contribute to avoidance. Addressing these factors may allow counselors to develop more individualized and effective career interventions.

Group career counseling and psychoeducational interventions may also incorporate SEL-informed activities to address emotional barriers to career exploration. For example, career counseling groups may include structured activities that promote self-reflection, emotional awareness, and coping with career-related uncertainty. Counselors may incorporate experiential activities, such as guided reflection and discussion about previous career-related experiences, to enhance students’ self-awareness during the exploration process. Given the time-limited nature of many college counseling services, these interventions may be most appropriate when framed as opportunities to increase awareness and provide students with practical tools that they can continue developing beyond counseling.

Counselor educators and supervisors may also consider integrating SEL-informed career interventions into training curricula that prepare counselors to address emotional and self-reflective aspects of career development. Training programs may emphasize the connection between social–emotional skills and career development by preparing future counselors to assess these competencies and apply interventions that support students’ career exploration. Additionally, supervisors may encourage counselors-in-training to consider how emotional experiences and self-perceptions influence clients’ engagement in their career decision-making.

Finally, although assertiveness was not a significant predictor of career exploration in our study, counselors should continue to consider interpersonal skills when supporting career development. Career exploration often involves networking, seeking mentorship, and communicating career goals; therefore, counselors should assess whether clients need support developing communication and advocacy skills even when these skills do not directly predict exploration behaviors.

Limitations
     There are several limitations to our study that should be considered when interpreting findings. First, the cross-sectional design of the study limits any ability to draw causal inferences. Although regression analyses identified self-awareness and emotion regulation as significant predictors of career exploration, the directionality of these relationships cannot be established. It is plausible that students who are more engaged in career exploration subsequently develop greater self-awareness and improved emotion regulation, or that these variables mutually influence one another over time. Additionally, the sample was drawn from a single large Midwestern university, which limits the generalizability of the findings to other undergraduate populations. Students at different types of institutions (e.g., community colleges, private universities, non-U.S. institutions) may differ in their levels of career exploration and social–emotional competencies because of contextual, cultural, or institutional factors.

Although this study focused on three social skills—self-awareness, emotion regulation, and assertiveness—career exploration is a multifaceted construct influenced by a broader set of individual and contextual variables. Factors such as personality traits, career decision-making self-efficacy, socioeconomic status, cultural background, labor market perceptions, and access to career resources were not included in our model and may explain additional variance in career exploration.

Lastly, the measurement approach may also represent a limitation. Although well-established instruments were used, each construct was operationalized through a specific self-report scale, which may not fully capture the complexity of the constructs assessed. In particular, the assertiveness measure may not have captured domain-specific or career-relevant assertiveness behaviors, which could have influenced its nonsignificant contribution in the regression model.

Conclusion
     In summary, this study identified an important gap in the literature by examining social–emotional skills and career exploration within a social–emotional learning framework. Emotion regulation, self-awareness, and assertiveness have typically been investigated independently; this study proposed examining these skills together. Our findings suggested significant relationships among career exploration, emotion regulation, and self-awareness. Emotion regulation and self-awareness predicted career exploration significantly while assertiveness did not. These findings highlight the importance of considering social–emotional competencies as an integrated set of skills in understanding college students’ engagement in career exploration. We hope that these findings assist career counselors and counseling psychologists in developing assessment-informed and SEL-integrated career counseling interventions.

Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure
The authors reported no conflict of interest
or funding contributions for the development
of this manuscript.

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Aydanur Aydin, MSc, is a doctoral student in Counseling Psychology at the University of Kansas. Arpita Ghosh, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Psychology in the Counseling Psychology program at the University of Kansas. Correspondence may be addressed to Aydanur Aydin, Joseph R. Pearson Hall, Rm 221, 1122 West Campus Rd., Lawrence, KS 66045-3101, ayda@ku.edu.

A Phenomenological Exploration of Counselors’ Experiences in Personal Therapy

Sep 13, 2024 | Volume 14 - Issue 2

Dax Bevly, Elizabeth A. Prosek

Professional counselors may choose to increase self-awareness and/or engage in self-care through the use of personal therapy. Some counselors may feel reluctant to pursue personal therapy due to stigma related to their professional identity. To date, researchers have paid limited attention to the unique concerns of counselors in personal therapy. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to explore counselors’ experiences and decision-making in seeking personal therapy. Participants included 13 licensed professional counselors who had attended personal therapy with a licensed mental health professional within the previous 3 years. We identified six emergent themes through adapted classic phenomenological analysis: presenting concerns, therapist attributes, intrapersonal growth, interpersonal growth, therapeutic factors, and challenges. Findings inform mental health professionals and the field about the personal and professional needs of counselors. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.

Keywords: professional counselors, self-awareness, self-care, personal therapy, phenomenological

Self-awareness is a fundamental part of the counseling profession. Not only do professional counselors seek to increase the self-awareness and personal growth of their clients, but counselor educators call upon counselor trainees to increase their own self-awareness before entering the field (Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs [CACREP], 2023, Section 3A11). Additionally, counselor educators often recommend self-growth experiences such as personal counseling to increase counselor trainees’ self-awareness in preparation for professional practice (Remley & Herlihy, 2020). Several scholars define counselor self-awareness as the mindfulness of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in the self and in the counseling relationship (Fulton & Cashwell, 2015; Merriman, 2015; Rosin, 2015). Pompeo and Levitt (2014) asserted that self-awareness parallels awareness of personal values and enables counselors to explore best practices in counseling. However, after training, it becomes less clear how, if at all, counselors access their own counseling for self-growth and self-awareness; therefore, we designed the current study to explore how practicing counselors utilize personal therapy.

Correlates of Self-Awareness Among Counselors
     Counselor self-awareness relates to awareness of the counseling relationship, which is helpful to client satisfaction and growth (Pompeo & Levitt, 2014); as such, several researchers have examined the clinical implications of counselor self-awareness, including professional competence, client treatment outcomes, and wellness. For example, Rake and Paley (2009) found that the therapists in their study reported modeling themselves after their own therapist as well as learning about technical aspects of a therapeutic approach. In regard to wellness, Gleason and Hays (2019) found that counselor self-awareness helped identify stressors and needs regarding personal wellness in doctoral-level counselor trainees. Similarly, Merriman (2015) discussed how self-awareness can help prevent burnout or compassion fatigue. Many researchers have investigated the importance of self-awareness as a characteristic of counselors who can competently work with culturally diverse clients (Ivers et al., 2016; Sue et al., 2022). Thus, some evidence of the clinical impact of counselor self-awareness already exists in the literature.

Expanding upon the impacts of self-awareness on the therapeutic relationship, Anderson and Levitt (2015) articulated the importance of self-awareness in how counselors’ social influence impacts the working alliance. Additionally, Tufekcioglu and Muran (2015) described how the working alliance provides a laboratory wherein the client can focus on and more clearly delineate their experience in relation to the therapist’s experience. Thus, the counseling goal of cultivating mindfulness in clients with respect to the details of their own experience involves counselors becoming mindful of the corresponding details of their own experience. Tufekcioglu and Muran argued that every encounter with a client demands the counselor’s self-reflection in the form of greater self-awareness in relation to the working alliance, and maintained that the therapeutic process should involve change for both participants.

Counselors Seeking Mental Health Care
     Counselors can gain self-awareness in a variety of ways, including personal therapy. Mearns and Cooper (2017) stated that the term therapy loosely signifies the receiving of mental health services from any mental health professional who holds a license to practice. We use the word therapist in reference to researchers who did not specify the type of mental health professional (e.g., counselor, psychologist, social worker) who provided therapy to the participants in their study. Several scholars have suggested that therapists who participated in their own personal therapy experienced increased professional development as well as positive client outcomes. For example, VanderWal (2015) found that clients of counselor trainees with personal therapy experience demonstrated reduced rates of distress more quickly than clients of counselor trainees without personal therapy experience. Other researchers have noted the impact of therapy on therapists’ personal growth. Although not specific to professional counselors, Moe and Thimm (2021) conducted a systematic review of the literature regarding mental health professionals’ experiences in personal therapy and discovered benefits related to genuineness, empathy, and creation of a working alliance. Outcomes of this previous research support the positive impact of personal therapy for therapists.

Some counselors may seek personal therapy due to mental health concerns. Therefore, it is worth exploring the needs of this unique population. In one study, Orlinsky (2013) reported that therapists’ most frequently cited presenting concerns were resolving personal problems. Additionally, Moore et al. (2020) reported that counselors experienced interpersonal stress as a response to threatening situations in their clinical work and, in order to cope, neglected their own personal needs. Other investigators found a relationship between higher rates of ethical dilemmas in clinical practice and increased stress and burnout among counselors (Mullen et al., 2017). Robino (2019) introduced the concept of global compassion fatigue, a phenomenon wherein counselors experience “extreme preoccupation and tension as a result of concern for those affected by global events without direct exposure to their traumas through clinical intervention” (p. 274). In this conceptual piece, Robino summarized the literature findings on how indirect exposure of distressing events impact the mental well-being of professional helpers and advocated for the role of self-awareness as an important coping skill. Furthermore, Prosek et al. (2013) found that counselor trainees presented with elevated levels of anxiety and depression, providing further evidence that counselors are at risk for mental health concerns related to occupational and personal stressors.

Purpose of the Study
     The psychological needs of counselors coupled with the emphasis on gaining self-awareness highlight the necessity for counselors’ personal therapy. Self-awareness is an important component of counselor development due to the personal nature of the profession (Pompeo & Levitt, 2014; Remley & Herlihy, 2020). Personal therapy is one way to enhance counselor self-awareness (Mearns & Cooper, 2017). Additionally, counselors may experience a variety of mental health concerns, including compassion fatigue, interpersonal conflict, depression, and anxiety (Moore et al., 2020; Mullen et al., 2017; Orlinsky, 2013; Prosek et al., 2013; Robino, 2019). Researchers have primarily focused on the perceived outcomes of personal therapy, including personal growth, professional development, and positive client outcomes (Moe & Thimm, 2021; VanderWal, 2015). However, scarce research exists regarding counselors’ decision-making processes in seeking personal therapy. Thus, if counselors could benefit from personal therapy, and if little knowledge exists regarding how counselors decide to seek personal therapy, professional counselors, counselor educators, counselor supervisors, and other mental health providers have limited information regarding how to facilitate that decision-making process.

Researchers employing qualitative investigation typically seek to holistically understand meaning. More specifically, the goal of a phenomenological approach is to capture the experiences and meaning-making from the participants’ perspectives (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). We want to illuminate how professional counselors make meaning of their experiences in personal therapy, as much of the existing literature focuses on trainees, clinical outcomes, or quantitative data. We believe describing the lived experiences, or essence (Moustakas, 1994), of counselors receiving personal therapy may lead to a deeper body of research regarding the perceptions, emotions, and behaviors of this population. The following questions guided our inquiry:

  1. What contributes to counselors’ decisions to seek personal therapy?
  2. How do professional counselors make meaning of their experiences in utilizing
    personal therapy?

Method

Phenomenologists seek to understand the distinctive characteristics of human behavior and first-person experience (Hays & Singh, 2023). Based on an existentialist research paradigm, we wanted to understand how counselors make meaning of their experiences in personal therapy. Because we aimed to describe the lived experiences of counselors receiving personal therapy, descriptive phenomenology answers the research questions appropriately (Prosek & Gibson, 2021). Consistent with descriptive phenomenology, we used Miles et al.’s (2019) adaptation of classic data analysis, an inductive–deductive approach.

Research Team and Reflexivity
     At the time of data collection (pre–COVID pandemic), Dax Bevly, who identifies as a White, Latina cisgender woman in her late 20s, was completing a doctoral degree in counseling. Elizabeth A. Prosek, who identifies as a White, cisgender woman, brought experience in conducting, teaching, and mentoring qualitative research studies. Bevly utilized a research team for data analysis that included four women in their early 20s completing master’s degrees in counseling; three identified as White and one identified as Asian. As instruments in the research themselves, the team needed to embrace their potential influence and impact (Hays & Singh, 2023); therefore, Bevly and Prosek participated in research reflexivity meetings several times during data collection and analysis, where they discussed thoughts and emotions evoked through their participation in the study. Descriptive phenomenology requires researchers to establish epoche, an exchange of assumptions that can be held accountable to bracket or identify throughout the process. Our research team demonstrated epoche by journaling and discussing biases and assumptions regarding the present study throughout the data analysis process. Bevly in particular was especially aware of her own personal biases due to long-term participation in personal therapy, believing it to have highly influenced her personal and professional development in a positive way. Bevly consulted with the research team as we examined experiences, reactions, and any assumptions or biases that could interfere with the coding process during data analysis. The research team members held Bevly accountable for her responses to the research process (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). The four other members of the research team also engaged in the examination of their experiences, reactions, and assumptions or biases during analysis, reporting assumed benefits including increased awareness, higher functioning in relationships, and increased self-esteem. Bevly also utilized the research team for the purpose of engaging in critical discussion during the analysis process in order to develop a trustworthy study. Furthermore, Bevly and Prosek kept a journal in order to document the research team members’ bracketing throughout the study. The journal also noted the connection and validation that Bevly experienced in interviewing participants and the care and mindfulness to not insert her personal experiences, especially regarding the overlapping roles of client and counselor as well as feelings of vulnerability.

Procedure
     We obtained IRB approval before participant recruitment. Eligibility for the study included identifying as a licensed professional counselor (LPC) aged 18 or older who utilized counseling services with a licensed mental health therapist either currently or within the previous 3 years (similar criteria to Yaites, 2015). We used purposive sampling to select participants for this phenomenological study (Hays & Singh, 2023), recruiting participants through email, word of mouth, and networking with LPCs in a 50-mile radius of our institution, which is located in a large state in the Southwestern United States. This radius allowed us to intentionally reach more diverse areas of the geographical region. We also recruited participants through personal contacts and professional counseling organizations. Potential participants completed an eligibility online survey via Qualtrics. We contacted them via phone or email to explain the study and confirm their eligibility. We excluded participants who reported holding expired LPC licenses, experienced therapy more than 3 years ago, or described personal therapy from an individual without a license in a mental health profession. We scheduled face-to-face meetings with participants in their professional counseling office at their convenience. Although participants read and acknowledged the informed consent before meeting face-to-face, we readdressed informed consent before proceeding. Bevly conducted and audio recorded 60-minute interviews with each participant. At the conclusion of each interview, Bevly also facilitated a sand tray activity with the participant.

Participants
     We recruited participants based on gaining depth with adequate sampling (Prosek & Gibson, 2021). Participants (N = 13) identified mostly as White, cisgender women with an average age of 37.23; see Table 1 for complete demographics. Although we sought to recruit participants with diverse social identities, geographic limitations presented a challenge. Thus, our findings should be interpreted with caution, as the external validity, or generalizability, of the findings to other populations or different contexts is impacted by the limited diversity among our participant demographics. Lastly, we asked participants to choose pseudonyms in an effort to protect their anonymity and confidentiality.

Data Sources
Demographic Form
     In order to determine eligibility and collect demographic information, we asked potential participants to complete a Qualtrics survey, an online initial screening tool that included questions about age, gender, racial and ethnic identification, sexual orientation, religious/spiritual identity, number of personal therapy sessions completed, length of time since termination of personal therapy (if applicable), number of years as an LPC, disability status, licensure of therapist, therapist demographic information, and whether or not their counseling training program required personal therapy. The online demographic survey also included information about informed consent and confidentiality. Although it was not required for the study, all participants reported that therapy took place face-to-face. 

Table 1
Participants of the Study

Participant Age Race/Ethnicity Gender Religious/Spiritual Affiliation Sexual Orientation
Alma 37 Latina Woman Christian Heterosexual
Amy 30 Latina Woman Christian Heterosexual
Ashley 29 Multiracial Woman Spiritual Heterosexual
Betty 55 White Woman None Heterosexual
Elenore 30 Multiracial Woman Christian Queer
Felicity 44 White Woman Christian Heterosexual
Jennifer 40 White Woman Christian Heterosexual
Liz 35 White Woman Pagan Bisexual
Lynn 48 White Woman Christian Heterosexual
Michelle 37 White Woman Christian Heterosexual
Rose 30 White Woman Christian Heterosexual
Sophia 35 White Woman None Heterosexual
Thomas 34 White Man None Heterosexual


Semi-Structured Interview Protocol
     We developed a semi-structured interview protocol to guide the interviews. We drafted the questions based on existing literature concerning counselors and personal therapy. The protocol consisted of six open-ended questions and follow-up prompts to understand the experiences of professional counselors who have engaged in personal therapy (see Table 2).

Table 2
Interview Protocol

Grand tour question:
Please tell me about your experience in personal therapy in as much detail as you feel comfortable sharing.
            Follow-up:

What motivated you to seek personal therapy?

What was happening in your life at the time?

How did you go about selecting a therapist?

Can you tell me about what your internal process (thoughts/feelings) was like leading up to your decision to seek personal therapy?
What outcomes did you experience as a result of personal therapy?
How, if at all, has personal therapy affected your personal growth?
How, if at all, has personal therapy affected your own clinical work?
Describe the experience of being both a client and a counselor.

Some literature suggests that counselors feel stigmatized when seeking personal therapy. What do you make of this? How is that similar or different for you?
Is there anything else that you would like to share?

 

Sand Tray Activity
     Hays and Singh (2023) stated that “visual methods in general provide participants the opportunity to express themselves in a nonverbal manner that may access deeper aspects of their understanding and/or experience of a phenomenon” (p. 332). After the semi-structured interview, Bevly invited participants to create their personal therapy experience in a sand tray using the figures and materials provided. This method is consistent with Measham and Rousseau (2010), who used sand trays as a method of data collection for understanding the experiences of children with trauma. The sand trays were documented by digital photos (see Appendix), and participants’ discussions about their creations are part of the audio recordings.

Data Analysis
     We sent the audio recordings to a professional transcriptionist for transcription of each interview and sand tray session. We reviewed transcripts while listening to the recordings for participants’ tone and to verify accuracy. Consistent with phenomenological procedures, the research team conducted data analysis according to an adaptation of classic analysis (Miles et al., 2019), in which three main activities take place: data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion or verification.

Prior to initial coding, the research team completed several tasks in order to develop the preliminary coding manual: taking notes, summarizing notes, playing with words, and making comparisons (Miles et al., 2019). Taking notes involved the research team as well as Bevly’s own independent analysis of a subset of the first three interviews and sand tray explanation transcripts. We divided the transcripts into 10-line segments and wrote notes in the margins. The research team noted our initial reactions to the material.

Summarizing notes involved discussion between the team regarding our reactions to the interview material. We compared and contrasted our margin notes and highlighted shared perspectives and inconsistent viewpoints in a summary sheet. To play with words, we generated metaphors based on our summary sheet. We developed phrases that represented our interpretation of the participants’ interview responses.

During the making comparisons task, we compared and contrasted the key phrases developed in the previous step and grouped them into categories. The team then facilitated reduction of the data as we combined similar phrases and merged overlapping categories. Hays and Singh (2023) asserted the importance of sieving the data to eliminate redundancy. We continued to merge categories and reformat the category headings. From this process, we developed preliminary themes based on the data. To develop initial codes, we established agreement by independently applying the preliminary codes to a subset of three interviews. The research team met weekly to discuss inconsistencies and points of agreement, adjust the preliminary codes, and reapply them to the data subset. We continued to discuss any remaining discrepancies and concerns until we reached a mean agreement of 86% to 90% (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). We reached a mean agreement of 95.1% and then finalized the codes to use in our coding manual.

It is important to note that the research team sensed that we had reached saturation during the final coding process once we began to read the same comments repeatedly in the participant transcripts. In final coding, we applied the final coding manual to each of the interviews and sand tray explanations. We used the same coding manual for both the interviews and the sand tray explanations. The same research team member coded both the interview and sand tray explanation for the same participant. Bevly coded all 13 interviews and sand tray explanations; all four research team members coded the first three interviews and sand tray explanations. Two research team members coded interviews and sand tray explanations 4 through 8, and the other two research team members coded interviews and sand tray explanations 9 through 13. The research team’s finalized codes included the meaning and depth of participants’ experiences in personal therapy. However, if necessary, researchers could still recode during final coding to maintain consistency with the revised definitions (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). When recoding occurred, we reviewed previously analyzed transcripts with the updated codebook on four occasions. Once we completed final coding, Bevly performed member checks with the participants.

Establishing Trustworthiness
     To develop trustworthiness in qualitative research, Lincoln and Guba (1985) presented four criteria: credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. We established credibility in this study through the use of research partners in debriefing, researcher reflexivity, and participant checks. Participant checks occurred after we completed final coding. In this process, we emailed all participants a summary of the identified themes and inquired if the summary portrayed an accurate representation of the experience. Nine out of 13 participants responded and informed Bevly that no adjustments were necessary because the summary adequately captured their experiences. The remaining four participants did not respond to the follow-up email. Additionally, we utilized researcher partners in debriefing and data analysis steps to strengthen the development of the coding manual. In relation to researcher reflexivity, we bracketed our experiences by reflecting on biases and assumptions as counselors who experienced personal therapy through journaling and discussing assumptions with each other, particularly those related to positive personal experience in our own counseling. We demonstrated transferability by openly and honestly providing information about the researchers, the proposed study’s context, the participants, and study methods. This transparency allows readers to have a sense of the context when interpreting findings. We achieved dependability through documenting each task that we completed for the study by keeping an audit trail, allowing for replication. Additionally, the use of multiple data sources, including the demographic survey, interviews, and sand trays, increased the complexity of analysis (i.e., dependability). Also, we provided an in-depth description of our methodology to increase dependability of the study, including information about sample size, data collection, and data analysis that the research team used. Lastly, confirmability was based on an acknowledgement that we, as the primary researchers, cannot be truly objective (Cope, 2014). However, we triangulated the findings using participant checks, consultation with colleagues, and research team consensus to facilitate confirmability.

Findings

The research team identified six major themes and 11 subthemes (see Table 3). The six major themes were: (a) presenting concerns, (b) therapist attributes, (c) intrapersonal growth, (d) interpersonal growth, (e) therapeutic factors, and (f) challenges. We present the subthemes in more detail in the following sections using participant data as supporting evidence.

Table 3
Themes and Subthemes 

Themes Subthemes
Theme 1: Presenting concerns Subtheme 1a: Mental health

Subtheme 2a: Life transitions
Theme 2: Therapist attributes Subtheme 2a: Practicality

Subtheme 2b: Quality
Theme 3: Intrapersonal growth Subtheme 3a: Cognitive

Subtheme 3b: Emotional
Theme 4: Interpersonal growth Subtheme 4a: Personal

Subtheme 4b: Professional
Theme 5: Therapeutic factors Subtheme 5a: Nurturing

Subtheme 5b: Normalization

Subtheme 5c: Vulnerability

Subtheme 5d: Transference
Theme 6: Challenges Subtheme 6a: Finances

Subtheme 6b: Stigma

Subtheme 6c: Role adjustment

 

Theme 1: Presenting Concerns
     Presenting concerns included participants’ thoughts and feelings prior to engaging in personal therapy. Participants shared their decision-making processes and motivations leading to the initiation of personal therapy. Participants described two subthemes that captured their motivation to engage: mental health concerns and life transitions. Mental health concerns represented grief, trauma, anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, and relational stressors. For example, Michelle shared:

I would say those were the times when it was like I was pulled to my end, and so the depression, it was like I needed something else more than just the regular support from family and friends and then the miscarriages. It was like I felt so isolated, and then with my dad dying it was like I, gosh, this is . . . it was like both of them dying so close together.

     Participants also described life transitions that served as motivation to engage in personal therapy, such as changes in relationships, careers, and living arrangements. As Lynn represented,

some of that was related to like, as a result of the divorce. I’ve moved three times in the past, like sold a house and moved out of it or kind of moved into storage while in that house in order to be able to stage it and sell it. Then out of the house into an apartment, out the apartment into a rent house. And so there’s been a lot of upheaval for me and for my child.

     Presenting concerns may also be interactional in nature. For some participants (n = 10), life transitions overlapped with their mental health concerns, such as a career change triggering anxiety. However, the remaining three participants cited either mental health concerns or life transitions as a reason for initiating personal therapy. All participants differentiated their experience of internal mental health distress and external life stressors.

Theme 2: Therapist Attributes
     As participants reflected on the different feelings and thought processes they experienced during the initiation of personal therapy, they also shared different attributes they looked for in a therapist. Two subthemes emerged: practicality and quality. Practicality involved factors such as location and affordability. Quality consisted of therapist credentials, training, experience, and specialty areas. All participants shared factors related to both subthemes, including Liz and Alma:

So I was like, “Okay. Well I know this person, I know this person, I know this one. Oh. I don’t know this person, okay. Let’s see if they have an opening.” I wanted someone that was close to my work because it’s easier for me just to go straight from work considering working at a hospital, I can work ridiculously long hours. Sometimes, you know, 12-hour days . . . so I needed someone in [city withheld], and I needed someone I didn’t know. (Laughs) And they took my insurance. (Liz)

I really wanted somebody who was not an intern and not a grad student. I need somebody who was fully licensed. I was looking for somebody who’d done their own work. I wouldn’t really know, but I can kind of tell. I was looking for somebody who had done their own work, their own process, and somebody who’d work with therapists. And so the first therapist that I found, she’d been a therapist for about 12 years. She had a successful private practice on her own. (Alma)

     Some participants (n = 8) prioritized affordability and location over other attributes, while other participants (n = 5) emphasized education, specialty area, and recommendations as their way of selecting therapists. Each participant highlighted their need for accessibility and a good fit into their hectic schedules and personal lives. Participants described these factors as a method of narrowing down the pool of possible therapists.

Theme 3: Intrapersonal Growth
     All participants expressed changes in thoughts related to self that were associated with increased perspective represented by the theme of intrapersonal growth and narrowed into subthemes of cognitive and emotional. Participants specifically reported cognitive intrapersonal growth through internal changes such as awareness, mindfulness, and a sense of purpose as outcomes of receiving personal therapy. Twelve participants described these cognitive changes as a positive experience. Jennifer described the experience as distressing due to the increased awareness of unpleasant knowledge of self and others:

I think a lot of self-awareness in the sense of why I function the way I function and an understanding of why, not only the why, but what I was needing and what I was seeking. And so, just a greater understanding of those pieces that I really had no awareness of before that. . . . I had a little awareness of it, I should say. I probably knew a little bit, but I don’t think I trusted myself in seeing that, trust in myself, trust in my intuition, and trust in my decision-making.

     All participants described emotional intrapersonal growth within themselves related to regulation, stability, and expression as a result of personal therapy. Participants reported a decrease in distressing emotion, increased attunement to their emotional well-being, and an increased ability to express emotions in a healthier manner. Additionally, participants experienced fewer negative feelings toward themselves, including Thomas, who shared, “Back then I was just hiding from a lot of pain. I was hiding a lot of pain. So now I’ve been able to work through that in therapy, I’m just more emotionally attuned in general.”

All participants expressed the overlap between cognitive and emotional intrapersonal growth; furthermore, participants explained how this intrapersonal growth that occurred as a result of personal therapy carried over into other relationships. Participants shared that these internal benefits influenced external factors in their lives. Thus, the theme of intrapersonal growth led directly into the fourth theme, interpersonal growth.

Theme 4: Interpersonal Growth
     All participants shared interpersonal growth, changes in relationships, and depth of social connection, both in their personal relationships and their professional relationships with clients. Participants reflected on how their growth affected relationships with romantic partners, family, friends, and clients. As a result, the two subthemes of personal relationships and professional relationships arose in the data, as expressed by Betty and Thomas:

I believe that it helped me connect with people on a deeper level. Because it’s hard to empathize or connect with someone if you can’t feel yourself. ‘Cause if you can’t feel yourself, you can’t feel what they’re feeling either. So, with my kids, I would be able to first of all, set firmer boundaries with them. And they would take me more seriously. And I’ll then also be able to connect more. And in another area, I was able to learn to ask for help. . . . instead of trying to always take care of things and handle things by myself, and to actually feel safe enough to ask for help. (Betty)

I could empathize. I could play the role of counselor and do my job, but I wasn’t doing it, like “for real for real” . . . I was falling out of what I really needed to be doing, and now I’m able to sit with clients, and every now and then my mind wanders to “oh, I gotta do this or that,” but I’m quick, I become aware of it more quickly, and I’m able to feel deeply with clients. . . . I have sessions all the time now where I’m tearing up with my clients and just feeling so moved by them. And also, I cry more in my personal life and professional life. (Thomas)

     Twelve participants experienced their interpersonal growth as helpful in alleviating their presenting concerns. The remaining participant described the interpersonal growth as tense and uncomfortable. All participants explained that their interpersonal growth in personal relationships was connected to interpersonal growth in professional relationships with their clients. For example, increased boundaries with family extended to increased boundaries with clients. Participants shared that the relationship with their therapist acted as a surrogate for relationships with other people in their lives, which emerged in the therapeutic factors theme.

Theme 5: Therapeutic Factors
     All participants reported avenues of healing within the context of the therapeutic alliance that led to the changes in self and in relationships. Participants reflected on how engaging in the relationship with their therapist facilitated their intrapersonal and interpersonal growth. This theme included four subthemes: nurturing, normalization, vulnerability, and transference. Seven participants described their therapist as nurturing or felt nurtured throughout the process of personal therapy. Participants reported that nurturing meant feeling safe with, trusting of, and cared for by their therapist. This atmosphere of nurturing helped participants foster the courage to take risks without fear of judgment or criticism, as expressed by Jennifer:

I felt prized, and loved, and 100% accepted. And nothing was abnormal or weird, like, what I shared. . . . her response was always super supportive. . . . My schedule was really odd, and so she made it work for my schedule. So, sometimes we met at 7:30 in the morning. Which I really appreciate. Sometimes we met at 8:00, sometimes we met at 2:00 in the afternoon . . . and I never felt like that was a burden . . . she never made it sound like I was burdening her . . . and I’m super appreciative for that.

     All participants reported that their therapist, in different ways, normalized their experience. Many participants (n = 12) believed something was atypical or flawed about their personhood for needing personal therapy. Receiving help triggered feelings of stigma, self-rejection, or self-criticism. Thus, a large part of participants’ healing process was feeling normalized by the therapist. Thomas shared:

There’s even been times when I’ve asked her, like, “do I fit a diagnosis? Like, what’s wrong with me?” You know, there’s even been times when I’ve kind of demanded from her, like “what, what’s the deal? I’ve been seeing you for 2 years, tell me what’s wrong with me.” And she won’t do it. She will not do it, and she’s just like, “No, that’s not what I do.” And so that’s helped me immensely. She’s like “everything you’ve told me, every, everything fits.” And it’s helped me to see it that way.

     Participants also reported feeling vulnerable as the client and described the feeling of opening themselves to the presence and feedback of another as uncomfortable but also inducing growth. Participants described this level of vulnerability as it related to their counselor identity; they explained that they were most accustomed to structuring the session and managing the time and felt more comfortable in the therapeutic relationship in the role of counselor. As the client, participants experienced a new kind of vulnerability that led to intrapersonal and interpersonal growth due to the reversed power differential, as described by Betty:

When I’m the client, it’s like, “I don’t know where we’re going, I don’t know what’s gonna come up.” It’s kind of scary sometimes. Like you know? He’s the guy with the flashlight, and I don’t know where he’s, what’s gonna happen sometimes. Like what’s going to get uncovered, [what] I’m suddenly gonna become aware of or feel, or something. So it’s a little scary.

     Several participants (n = 9) shared that healing occurred as a result of therapeutic transference in the relationship with their therapist. Participants reported perceiving the therapist as a significant relationship in their life, sometimes describing their therapists as a parental presence. At times, the therapists themselves were the healing catalyst, acting as a substitute for redirecting emotional wounds. This subtheme also encompassed feelings of attachment. In many cases, participants’ early attachment figures were either emotionally or physically unavailable or harmful. Participants explained that their therapists acted as a healthy attachment figure and described this aspect of the relationship as reparative. Some participants shared feeling re-parented by their therapist, like Michelle:

She probably was the age of my mom at the time, and so I felt very nurtured by her in a way that, like I always wanted to be nurtured by mom but it hadn’t happened like that. . . . I mean, there was that transference kind of feeling that was happening, but it was very positive and she was very warm, and I feel like that relationship was so healing and allowed me to process through more things, feeling supported and encouraged by someone who is kinda like my mom but not my mom, almost like it was like a reparative thing within the relationship.

Theme 6: Challenges
     Two participants shared that personal therapy was a purely positive experience without negative or uncomfortable feelings. However, 11 participants reported challenges during the course of therapy that inhibited their healing processes. These challenges included three subthemes: finances, stigma, and role adjustment, as explained by Felicity, Michelle, and Rose:

Um and then I kind of thought I was done and then I realized it was like, okay I have to add the money aspect, because every time I’m just like ugh, because I am perpetually broke. And so, I added the money like off to the side just like it’s not really part of the process but it’s this thing that exists that I can’t erase. (Felicity)

There is a stigma like that if you need to go see someone that you’re somehow like inadequate to deal with your own stuff, or that you’re crazy or that you’re really far gone, like only people who are really far gone need to do that, but I still think it’s a pride thing, you know? (Michelle)

It’s weird and it’s distracting as a client because . . . I know what she’s doing. Why is she doing that? Huh. Like it’s a good place to run to if you don’t want to go where they’re trying to take you; you can go into your analytical, left brain, logical mode. Oh, I know exactly, and you feel like an expert. You know what they’re doing. They’re not pulling it over on you. (Rose)

     Five participants discussed the idea of stigma related to their counselor status. The remaining participants (n = 9) explained that they did not personally feel stigmatized, but were aware of the stigma that existed with regard to counselors who receive personal therapy. All participants shared that they would attend personal therapy longer or more frequently if not for financial barriers. Additionally, each participant described the difficulty of experiencing the identity of both client and counselor.

Discussion

We aimed to answer two overarching research questions: 1) What contributes to counselors’ decisions to seek personal therapy? and 2) How do professional counselors make meaning of their experiences in utilizing personal therapy? The results of the current study are both similar and contradictory to previous literature. For example, many researchers have demonstrated evidence of counselor burnout and compassion fatigue (Moore et al., 2020; Robino, 2019; Thompson et al., 2014). Participants described feeling burned out and lacking in empathy as motivations to seek personal therapy. Additionally, Day and colleagues (2017) outlined behavioral symptoms of burnout and compassion fatigue, including mood changes, sleep disturbances, becoming easily distracted, and increased difficulty concentrating. Many participants shared similar symptoms when discussing thoughts and feelings in their decision-making processes to initiate personal therapy, as well as when describing their mental health concerns. Therefore, it is important to assess counselors for levels of burnout and compassion fatigue in addition to raising awareness of their signs and symptoms.

The subtheme of stigma in participant voices within the current study is consistent with the existing literature. Kalkbrenner et al. (2019) found that stigma was one of three primary barriers to counseling among practicing counselors and human service professionals. Participants in our study described the general stigma and personal shame in seeking mental health treatment. Furthermore, participants differentiated between general stigma regarding mental health and stigma specific to counselors. Based on this finding, counselors may experience greater stigma than the general population when seeking personal therapy due to their professional identity. We would also like to note the research team’s personal reactions of feeling affirmed and normalized, as we had all experienced some level of stigma in seeking our own therapy—hearing and reading the participants’ experience of stigma created increased feelings of universality among our team.

With regard to theories about the working alliance, Mearns and Cooper (2017) described the notion of working at the intimate edge of the ever-shifting interface between client and counselor, referring to both the boundary between self and other and the boundary of self-awareness. Most notably in our study, the subtheme of professional interpersonal growth illuminates how the self-awareness gained in therapy impacted participants’ clinical work, supporting the working alliance theory, outlined by Mearns and Cooper (2017), which posits that expanding self-discovery and becoming more intimate with one’s own experience through the evolving relationship with the other increases intimacy in interpersonal relationships as one becomes more attuned to the self.

Aligned with the concept of professional growth, many researchers have emphasized that personal therapy was an educational or training experience for therapists and added to their professional repertoire of knowledge and skills (Anderson & Levitt, 2015; Moe & Thimm, 2021). However, these findings are not congruent with the experiences of participants in the present study. Although participants reported enhanced professional growth in terms of boundaries with clients and professional advocacy outside of the therapeutic relationship, participants shared that the intellectual aspect of personal therapy within the relationship served as a barrier to the healing process. All participants expressed a desire or intent to release themselves of their counselor identity while experiencing the client role. Thus, some counselors may not see personal therapy as a means for education or professional role modeling and instead find those aspects as distracting to the experience. It is also interesting to note that our research team’s perspectives mirrored this varied experience; through our journaling and discussion, we acknowledged that some research team members shared the experience of participants in our study, while other members felt more similarly to the preexisting literature’s conclusions.

Limitations and Future Research
     The current study includes many strengths, such as the rigor we followed and trustworthiness we demonstrated. However, some limitations exist. Firstly, we collected data prior to the pandemic; a replication study post–COVID-19 could shed light on specific factors related to how the pandemic has impacted counselors’ experiences in personal therapy. Additionally, we used a single interview design, which limits the amount of extended field experience with participants. Participants may have offered more intimate and sensitive information after spending more time in the interviewing process. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic of the study, we worked to establish trust and build rapport with the participants by using introductory questions at the beginning of the interview. Researchers may collect richer data through the use of longitudinal studies that examine participants’ experiences in personal therapy over time and with other data sources. Despite plans to recruit a sample that was diverse in terms of age, gender, ethnic identification, sexual orientation, and religious/spiritual orientation, participants in this study were similar to each other. Only one participant identified as a man, and the majority of participants (n = 9) were White. We attempted to rectify the above limitations through networking with licensed professional counselors who worked in a variety of counseling settings. However, future researchers could examine the experience of counselors who identify as men or non-binary, as well as counselors of color.

Implications for Counselors
     The knowledge gained from our study offers both suggestions for how clinicians can approach counselors in personal therapy and broader advocacy for the profession to increase engagement in counseling. In terms of clinical practice, participants often emphasized the struggle in assuming the client role, as they were most comfortable with the typical power differential in their professional work. This phenomenon was especially salient in the participant voices of this study; vulnerability and role adjustment were crucial themes of their experience. Therefore, it may behoove clinicians to maintain awareness of this possibility or discuss it within personal therapy. For example, Moore et al. (2020) suggested engaging in conversations about interpersonal stress, self-care, and burnout within the supervision relationship; however, we purport that clinicians of clients who are also counselors could facilitate intentional space to address these issues in counseling. That being said, mental health professionals may find benefit in balancing attending to the person of the counselor with focus on professional identity due to the barrier of role adjustment presented in this study. Neswald-Potter and colleagues (2013) suggested the use of the Wheel of Wellness Model developed by Witmer and Sweeney (1992) to facilitate an integrated approach in promoting wellness in counselors: spirituality, self-direction, work and leisure, friendship, and love. Finding meaning in all life tasks could assist clinicians in balancing professional and personal concerns in working with counselors as clients. Wellness is often associated with self-care practices in counseling.

Self-care is not a novel topic of discussion in counselor training or professional practice. However, in light of this study’s findings, we aim to describe therapeutic interventions for mental health professionals who may have counselors as clients. Coaston (2017) summarized much of the literature on self-care for counselors and recommended several strategies for interventions in three main areas: mind, body, and spirit. Concretely, interventions may include mindfulness, boundary setting, time management, cognitive reappraisal writing activities, stretching, moral inventory, and listing life principles (Coaston, 2017; Posluns & Gall, 2020). Finally, Bradley et al. (2013) outlined a variety of creative approaches to counselor self-care, as well as facilitative questions that may lend well to opening dialogue in a therapy session. Example questions include: (a) What are the indications that you are doing well and healthy? (b) Which things in the environment can be changed to help you continue to grow? and (c) Do you experience this emotion or pattern of emotions frequently? How did you respond? These suggested self-care interventions are only useful if counselors attend personal therapy, and in the results of our study, participants described how stigma remained a barrier.

Clinicians may consider normalizing thoughts and feelings related to stigma in order to encourage engagement in counseling. Sommers-Flanagan and Sommers-Flanagan (2018) defined normalization as the therapist’s use of indirect or direct statements that reframe client problems as contextual responses to the difficulties of life. Therapists use normalization to depathologize client concerns and convey implicit acceptance of the person of the client. Varying degrees of normalization skills include psychoeducation, reframing, and self-disclosure (Sommers-Flanagan & Sommers-Flanagan, 2018). Reducing the stigma of accessing counseling as a counselor may need to begin with normalizing it during training. Knaak et al. (2014) reported that the most effective anti-stigma interventions incorporate social contact, education, personal testimonies, teaching skills, and myth-busting. Therefore, creating space for anti-stigma interventions in professional development activities (e.g., conference presentations, continuing education sessions) as well as incorporating these strategies into counselor training (e.g., class or group supervision) may advocate for engagement in counseling across the counselor profession spectrum. Additionally, a follow-up study examining counselors seeking therapy to improve their own clinical efficacy with clients may also serve as a way to decrease stigma.

Lastly, we believe that the findings of our study support the need for and advocacy of personal therapy after graduate training. Unlike counselor trainee program requirements that often mandate a certain number of hours in personal therapy, fully licensed professional counselors are not regulated by licensing boards with regard to continuing personal therapy. Policy changes that include a personal therapy requirement in a similar vein as continuing education credits may positively impact counselor stigma and wellness.

Conclusion

Counselors face many challenges in their clinical work, including occupational stressors and the need for self-awareness (Moore et al., 2020; Mullen et al., 2017; Prosek et al., 2013; Robino, 2019; Thompson et al., 2014). The current descriptive phenomenological study serves to provide an understanding of the lived experiences of counselors who utilize personal therapy, including their motives to engage and meaning made while engaged. We offer clinical suggestions within the counseling relationship, steps to reduce stigma, and recommendations for facilitating self-care strategies among counselor trainees and professional counselors directly from voices of counselors who have accessed personal therapy.

 

Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure
The authors reported no conflict of interest
or funding contributions for the development
of this manuscript.

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Appendix



 

Dax Bevly, PhD, is core faculty at Antioch University Seattle. Elizabeth A. Prosek, PhD, NCC, LPC, is an associate professor at The Pennsylvania State University. Correspondence may be addressed to Dax Bevly, Antioch University Seattle, School of Applied Psychology, Counseling, and Family Therapy, 2400 3rd Ave #200, Seattle, WA 98121, dbevly@antioch.edu.

Global Compassion Fatigue: A New Perspective in Counselor Wellness

Nov 29, 2019 | Volume 9 - Issue 4

Ariann Evans Robino

 

Explanations of compassion fatigue generally consider the client–counselor relationship as the primary source of challenges to wellness. Because of the nature of the current sociopolitical climate and the increased exposure through media, the counseling profession should consider expanding the influences on compassion fatigue related to current events. This article introduces the concept of global compassion fatigue (GCF), a phenomenon that provides an opportunity for counselor self-awareness. Implications for adopting GCF into the counselor impairment literature include understanding how global events impact counselor development and clinical practice as well as the importance of maintaining a wellness lifestyle to protect against its effects. Counselors’ involvement in advocacy and social justice are also explored as contributors to GCF.

 

Keywords: global compassion fatigue, counselor impairment, advocacy, self-awareness, wellness

 

 

Counselors and counselors-in-training (CITs) feel the weight of societal stressors. According to the ACA Code of Ethics, “promoting social justice” (American Counseling Association [ACA], 2014, p. 3) is a core value of the counseling profession. Furthermore, because of its impact on the profession, scholars have declared social justice as the fifth force in counseling (Ratts, 2009; Ratts, D’Andrea, & Arredondo, 2004). Representatives from ACA have acted in accordance by addressing the federal government’s recent prohibition of specific language associated with diverse populations (Yep, 2017) as well as releasing a statement of support shortly after the 2016 presidential election calling on all counselors to remain strong in their beliefs and actively assist those in need (Roland, 2016). Similarly, the closing keynote speaker at ACA’s Illuminate Symposium on June 10, 2017, Dr. Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, encouraged attendees to take action against human rights offenses through vocal opposition in multiple settings, including social media (Meyers, 2017). These positions demonstrate the desired role of counselors to engage in advocacy and activism for global issues.

 

Natural disasters, threats to civil rights, violence, terrorist attacks, and animal welfare concerns are simply a few of the powerful issues that humans face as highly social and emotional beings. Although advocacy is one avenue of handling the emotional unrest related to these events, the complex nature of counselors’ personal and professional identities presents an invitation to consider these sensitive issues currently faced by society. Professional counselor identity allows counselors to make meaning of their work during these times of strong emotion (Solomon, 2007). Considering how these events affect both counselors’ and CITs’ personal lives and clinical practice produces opportunities for counselor professional development and greater self-awareness. The purpose of this article is to explore global compassion fatigue (GCF), a phenomenon related to the human condition and how global events impact professional counselors and other helpers. This article begins with a review of current counselor impairment concepts as well as the role of wellness in managing these conditions. Then, the reader is introduced to GCF and how a review of the literature supports the examination of this new concept. Next, I provide a detailed conceptualization of the phenomenon and implications for the field. Finally, suggestions for future research are provided.

 

Understanding Compassion Fatigue

 

Compassion fatigue research spans the literature of multiple disciplines, including nursing, social work, and counseling (Compton, Todd, & Schoenberg, 2017; Lynch & Lobo, 2012; Sorenson, Bolick, Wright, & Hamilton, 2016). Counselors typically understand compassion fatigue as an event occurring as a result of counselor–client interaction. Charles Figley (1995) first defined the concept of compassion fatigue as “a state of exhaustion and dysfunction—biologically, psychologically, and socially—a result of prolonged exposure to companion stress and all that it evokes” (p. 253) and conceptualized it as a response to the emotional demands of hearing and witnessing stories of pain and suffering. Symptoms of compassion fatigue include re-experiencing the client’s traumatic event, avoidance of reminders of the event and/or feeling numb to those reminders, and persistent arousal (Figley, 1995). Researchers carefully note the differences between compassion fatigue, vicarious traumatization, and burnout (Lawson & Venart, 2005; Meadors, Lamson, Swanson, White, & Sira, 2010). Vicarious traumatization, defined as a significant altering of cognitive schemas and a disruption of an individual’s sense of identity, worldview, and meaning, occurs as a result of empathic engagement with the traumatic experiences of a client (McCann & Pearlman, 1990). Vicarious traumatization symptoms involve a more covert change in thought and cognitive schema rather than an observable experiencing of symptomatology (Jenkins & Baird, 2002). Burnout is a process that occurs because of occupational stressors such as high caseloads, low morale, and minimal support (Maslach & Jackson, 1981). It is associated with emotional exhaustion, strain, and overload in addition to a reduction in personal accomplishment and job satisfaction (Maslach, 1982). Counselors are more likely to experience compassion fatigue, vicarious traumatization, and burnout when they have a previous history of personal trauma (Baird & Kracen, 2006), high emotional involvement with clients (Adams, Boscarino, & Figley, 2006), fewer perceived coping mechanisms (Baird & Kracen, 2006), and lower self-awareness (P. Clark, 2009). However, the goal of this article is to expand upon the phenomenon of compassion fatigue as distinguished from these other explanations of impairment to understand better how global events outside of the counselor–client dyad impact counselors. Although other impairment concepts hold value and applicability to counselors, compassion fatigue and its relationship to emotional suffering as a result of a desire to help others most closely aligns with the concept presented in this article. When considered in the context of counselors, an awareness of compassion fatigue, its effects, and how to mitigate those effects is vital for client welfare.

 

Counselor Impairment and Wellness

 

According to the ACA Code of Ethics, counselors should “monitor themselves for signs of impairment from their own physical, mental, or emotional problems” (ACA, 2014, p. 9). The ACA Code of Ethics dedicates an entire section to counselor impairment (C.2.g.), which states that, in the interest of client protection, counselors should cease providing services while impaired, seek assistance to solve issues of impairment, and assist colleagues and supervisors in recognizing and rectifying their own impairment (ACA, 2014). When counselors are impaired, it can result in significant harm to clients through an interference with the counseling process, trust violations, and ethical breaches (Lawson, Venart, Hazler, & Kottler, 2007). Adopting an alternative lens for viewing the impairment literature presents an opportunity for counselors to monitor themselves and others for potential issues as indicated by the ACA Code of Ethics (ACA, 2014). In addition, the ACA Code of Ethics guides counselors to “engage in self-care activities to maintain and promote their own emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual well-being to meet their professional responsibilities” (ACA, 2014, p. 8). As self-advocacy for wellness can promote better professional practice within the counseling community (Dang & Sangganjanavanich, 2015), counselors are encouraged to avoid and rectify issues of impairment through positive, health-promoting strategies.

 

Recognizing this area of need within the profession, ACA established the Taskforce on Counselor Wellness and Impairment in 2003 to address the needs of impaired counselors (Lawson & Venart, 2005). The taskforce identified goals for education for counselors on impairment and how to prevent it, securing treatment for impaired counselors, teaching self-care strategies, and advocating within the organization and at both the state and national levels to address issues associated with impairment. Although the taskforce focused on the broader topic of impairment, compassion fatigue remains a component of this experience. The creation, cultivation, and maintenance of a wellness lifestyle is a primary means of addressing and rectifying counselor impairment and compassion fatigue (Lawson & Venart, 2005).

 

Wellness is defined as “a way of life oriented toward optimal health and well-being in which body, mind, and spirit are integrated by the individual to live life more fully” (Myers, Sweeney, & Witmer, 2000, p. 252). Wellness and prevention are core components of counselors’ professional identities (Mellin, Hunt, & Nichols, 2011). As a result, researchers have studied the benefits of wellness strategies for counselors (Cummins, Massey, & Jones, 2007), counselor educators (Wester, Trepal, & Myers, 2009), and CITs (Yager & Tovar-Blank, 2007). Additionally, Figley (1995) specifically identified poor self-care as a primary risk factor for experiencing compassion fatigue, and Chi Sigma Iota’s (CSI; n.d.) advocacy themes, specifically Theme 6, outline the need for advocacy related to prevention and wellness for clients and counselors (Lee, 2012). The development of a taskforce, the extensive literature associated with compassion fatigue and wellness, and CSI’s identification of wellness as an area of advocacy indicate a clear relationship between counselor experience and counselor practice. Based on previous research, ACA’s stance on counselor self-care, and humans’ innate desire to engage in complex processes to achieve optimal functioning and well-being, it is beneficial for counselors to consider a new phenomenon related to their consistent exposure to global issues through media and social media. Counselors currently conceptualize compassion fatigue as a linear process occurring as a result of the cumulative direct exposure to clients’ distressing experiences. This article presents an expanded perspective on counselor compassion fatigue occurring as a result of exposure to current events and issues. Furthermore, this article offers a language for this experience as well as a conceptualization of the phenomenon.

 

GCF

     I suggest the term global compassion fatigue to describe the process by which an individual experiences extreme preoccupation and tension as a result of concern for those affected by global events without direct exposure to their traumas through clinical intervention. GCF requires examining compassion fatigue outside of client-specific experiences and within a larger context. This invites counselors and CITs to explore how they are human and existing in a conflicted, polarized, and oftentimes troubling world.

 

Figure 1 provides a visual depiction of these constructs. After exposure to a traumatic global event, humans experience an acute stress-related psychological response (Holman, Garfin, & Silver, 2013); for counselors this may manifest as GCF because of their foundational helping skills rooted in the ability to feel and exhibit empathy for the issues faced by others (A. J. Clark, 2010). Once this response occurs, counselors can utilize wellness and self-care strategies and engage in social justice advocacy efforts as deterrents to GCF. If they bypass these methods, they might experience the extreme preoccupation and tension that are indicators of GCF. However, counselors can interrupt and manage their GCF by moving to wellness and advocacy strategies.

 

Figure 1. Process of GCF. After media exposure to a global event and engaging in an emotional response, counselors can immediately experience GCF. Wellness and advocacy are two methods of either addressing GCF after experiencing it or through prevention to deter the experience.

 

 

 

GCF differs from vicarious traumatization in that it does not denote permanent change in cognitive schema; rather, a counselor can experience GCF transiently and in response to significant global and communal events. Counselors experiencing GCF do so outside of clients’ presenting problems. Although no current counseling literature describes this phenomenon, Stebnicki (2007) proposed the concept of empathy fatigue, which “results from a state of emotional, mental, physical, and occupational exhaustion that occurs as the counselors’ own wounds are continually revisited by their clients’ life stories of chronic illness, disability, trauma, grief and loss” (p. 318). Whereas GCF does bear similarity to empathy fatigue, empathy fatigue remains related to an occurrence resulting from direct clinical exposure (Stebnicki, 2007), and GCF involves counselor introspection unrelated to session content. Relatedly, Bayne and Hays (2017) recently conducted a study to conceptualize the conditions of empathy within the counseling process. They developed an exploratory model of counselor empathy that acknowledges the multidimensionality of the empathic process, including the variables associated with counselor impairment. GCF proposes that counselors’ intense emotional experiences related to global concerns are associated with empathy and a desire to help those directly affected. Current events that may cause a counselor to experience GCF include politics, natural disasters, violence (including mass shootings), terrorist attacks, threats to human rights, and animal abuse.

 

Compassion fatigue research is the best point of reference when considering the experience of GCF. Compassion fatigue manifests through physical, psychological, spiritual, and social symptoms (Lynch & Lobo, 2012), and counselors experiencing GCF also can exhibit these symptoms. However, counselors must consider the source of their feelings of fatigue. For example, Coetzee and Klopper (2010) noted, “compassion fatigue is caused by the prolonged, intense, and continuous care of patients, use of self, and exposure to stress” (p. 239). I suggest that GCF involves a similar experience, although as a result of continuous concern for other beings, a desire to help recover from or solve the issues affecting those beings, and repeated exposure to current events harming individuals on a large scale. Additionally, ACA’s Advocacy Competencies call for professional counselors to engage in systemic and sociopolitical advocacy on a continuum ranging from the microlevel (i.e., the individual) to the macrolevel (i.e., the public; Lewis, Arnold, House, & Toporek, 2003). Therefore, it is a counselor’s duty to remain aware of systemic, environmental, and political factors impacting clients in addition to immersing themselves in advocacy and mechanisms for change. Such actions may leave counselors susceptible to impairment in response to global issues, although moving from awareness to action also can help prevent or mitigate GCF.

 

Researchers have explored the effects of distressing events on helping professionals. Early research described the relationship between clergy members’ compassion fatigue and their time spent with trauma victims following the September 11th terrorist attacks (Flannelly, Roberts, & Weaver, 2005). Counselors responding after a natural disaster (Lambert & Lawson, 2013) and trauma counselors (Sansbury, Graves, & Scott, 2015) are populations often researched in the compassion fatigue literature. For example, Day, Lawson, and Burge (2017) reported the results of a qualitative research study exploring compassion fatigue and shared trauma in clinicians providing services after the shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007. Day et al. raised an interesting point between a counselor’s direct and indirect exposure to global events as well as the level of impairment resulting from the experience. Given the possibility that unresolved trauma can cause issues in functioning, direct exposure to an event removes the possibility that a counselor is experiencing GCF. This shared trauma may result in similar symptomatology, but these symptoms are attributed to the commonality of the trauma experience (Figley Institute, 2012).

 

From a different framework, researchers have explored the experiences of non-counselors when exposed indirectly to traumatic global events. Although many Americans were not in New York at the time of the September 11th attacks, nor were they likely to have known someone associated with the attacks, the stress of the event was felt across the country in the form of trauma symptoms (Schuster et al., 2001). Individuals living in Britain also experienced psychological changes as a result of the vicarious media exposure to these terror attacks on America (Linley, Joseph, Cooper, Harris, & Meyer, 2003). Similarly, college students at a separate university described an increase in acute stress symptoms as they learned about the shootings at Virginia Tech on television (Fallahi & Lesik, 2009). This research indicates that individuals can experience emotional duress in response to indirect exposure to global or national issues. Ultimately, it is important to remember that, despite extensive training and experience, counselors are humans navigating a society that can upset them in various ways. GCF awareness furthers counselor insight and promotes opportunities for evaluating self-care, wellness, and efficacy under these conditions. Such awareness requires an understanding of the role media plays in individuals’ experiencing of traumatic global events.

 

The Impact of Media

Previous researchers evaluated the impact of television viewing on an individual’s stress symptoms and levels of vicarious exposure (Fallahi & Lesik, 2009; Linley et al., 2003), suggesting that the role of technology can significantly affect a counselor’s ability to create boundaries and step away from the tragic circumstances occurring in the world around them. With 62% of adults obtaining their news from social media sites in 2016, an increase from 49% in 2012 (Gottfried & Shearer, 2016), it is clear that regular social media use can result in high levels of exposure to distressing news content. Additionally, four out of five adults in the United States reported constantly “checking” their cellular phones for emails, text messages, and social media (American Psychological Association, 2017). This same survey also described higher stress levels in the “constant checker” population than those using technology less frequently.

 

Researchers have discovered a link between emotional well-being and use of television media. Schlenger et al. (2002) found a statistically significant relationship between the levels of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and the numbers of hours spent watching television coverage of the September 11th terrorist attacks when assessing the psychological reactions of 2,273 adults residing in major metropolitan cities in the United States one to two months after the attacks. Fallahi and Lesik (2009) also identified a problematic association between indirect exposure to a tragic event through news media sources and symptoms of acute stress disorder.

 

Therefore, if a counselor or CIT is particularly sensitive to the content to which they are exposed through the media, they increase their risk of experiencing GCF. Conversely, social media also might provide an opportunity for community and connection in the face of global issues. The idea of community is no longer constrained within the bounds of physical associations; rather, the internet provides access to distant communities and relationships (Gruzd, Wellman, & Takhteyev, 2011). Supporters and activists involved in the Black Lives Matter movement are an example of such a community. Black Lives Matter erupted on social media as a Twitter hashtag created to raise awareness for and demonstrate protest against police brutality on members of the Black community (Petersen-Smith, 2015). Through this online movement, individuals were able to exhibit solidarity and take a stand against racism toward Black people with their use of social media (Schuschke & Tynes, 2016). Similarly, the #MeToo internet-based movement brought attention to women’s rights and sexual violence (Hostler & O’Neil, 2018), and social media platforms also provide a method of addressing the stigma of mental health and addiction (de la Cretaz, 2017).

 

ACA has an active social media presence through online pages and forums on their website, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn (ACA, 2017). The ACA Code of Ethics (ACA, 2014) states that counselors will use social media only when it is in the best interest of the client while protecting their identity and well-being (Section H). This is another example in which a position is based on a situation specifically involving the client and counselor. Although researchers have explored the role of social media in counselor education (Tillman, Dinsmore, Chasek, & Hof, 2013) and recommendations have been made for using social media ethically in clinical practice (Giota & Kleftaras, 2014), researchers have yet to explore how social media affects practicing counselors on an emotional level. Adopting GCF into the counselor impairment literature would suggest a need for ACA to also establish recommendations for counselors’ social media use and how excessive exposure to global events can affect their work as counselors.

 

A New Perspective

As social beings dependent upon one another for survival, humans have an evolutionary and biological drive to feel connected and invested in others. Specifically, humans are interested in the welfare of others on a neurological level (Lieberman, 2013). Counselors and CITs can feel a need to help others based on evolutionary compulsions rooted in social psychology. However, they also can feel this drive to an amplified extent because of their consistent demonstration and use of empathy, a foundational helping skill that allows counselors to “enter the client’s phenomenal world, to experience the client’s world as it were your own without ever losing the ‘as if’ quality” (Rogers, 1961, p. 284). Although all humans are susceptible to experiencing fatigue as a result of high exposure to global issues through media, not all humans work in a helping profession based in the empathic experience. Therefore, similar to the need for counselors to monitor themselves for impairment as a result of direct engagement with clients’ presenting issues, counselors also need to monitor for impairment from global issues. Regardless of continuous exposure to distressing global events, counselors continue to help others on a consistent basis. This indicates a critical need for counselors to understand their relationship to social media and the global events to which they experience an emotional response.

 

Symptoms of GCF can manifest similarly to traditional compassion fatigue. These symptoms can include emotional and physical exhaustion associated with care for others, desensitization to stories and experiences, poorer quality of care, feelings of depression or anxiety, increased stress, difficulty concentrating, and preoccupation (Figley Institute, 2012). Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the counselor to understand the source of these symptoms. Unlike counselors’ direct work with clients in which there may be greater opportunities to assist in managing or addressing a pain-inducing problem, emotional and cognitive responses to global issues present a different type of challenge. Managing issues in which a person may perceive little control and direct influence can cause responses such as rumination (Nolen-Hoeksma, Wisco, & Lyubomirsky, 2008) and fear (Pain & Smith, 2008). Although counselors can experience these feelings regarding clients (Sansbury et al., 2015), there are greater opportunities for direct interaction with the client needing assistance. In most cases, counselors are unable to directly impact the people involved in the global events to which they are continuously exposed through media and social media. Optimal human functioning involves integration of the mind, body, and spirit (Myers et al., 2000). GCF can impact this integration when counselors are unable to live fully through the exhaustion of exposure to global events. Wellness strategies and forms of advocacy can prevent or rectify these experiences. Myers et al. (2000) acknowledged that “global events, whether of natural (e.g., floods, famines) or human (e.g., wars) origin, have an impact on the life forces and life tasks depicted in [wellness models]” (p. 252). In addition, advocacy in the wake of social events can provide feelings of efficacy and social connection (Scott & Maryman, 2016). This new perspective provides implications for the profession of counseling, including recommendations, cultural considerations, and areas of future research.

 

Implications for Counselors

 

In a “plugged-in” society, it is possible to become overwhelmed with the daily stream of news and information. Additionally, counselors can be at higher risk of experiencing impairment because of their empathic nature (Figley, 1995) and ethical duty to engage in social justice for causes that improve equity for individuals and groups (ACA, 2014). As leaders and advocates, GCF may be present in counselors’ daily clinical work. Licensed counselors in private practice may not be receiving ongoing supervision (Bernard & Goodyear; 2014); therefore, no external individual is monitoring how they are managing GCF and its effects. Counselors outside of supervision must exercise great care to practice self-awareness and approach others for assistance. Furthermore, counselors in high-volume settings often work with large caseloads that present with complex issues (Belling et al., 2011; Lombardo, 2018), and it may be easy for them to ignore their own needs while addressing the needs of others. Given the critical period of counselor development, GCF also must be considered within the context of counselor education. GCF during the formative period of graduate-level education in counseling can impede overall skill development. As new counselors find themselves more likely to experience compassion fatigue (Figley, 1995), the same may hold true for GCF. GCF may result in a type of developmental stalling in which counseling students feel an “empathy overload.” Such an overload of empathic emotions may impede the student’s transformation into a counselor. This provides implications for counselor education programs to measure students’ responses to emotionally distressing stimuli (O’Brien & Haaga, 2015) of both clinical and global nature as well as openly and unashamedly discuss signs and symptoms of impairment (Merriman, 2015).

 

I propose that counselors can manage GCF similarly to compassion fatigue because of the possibility of the two phenomena appearing symptomatically similar. However, GCF requires a greater level of self-awareness, recognition, and acceptance in order to address it. Counselors must learn how to distinguish between the two concepts and understand the possibility for overlap. A number of tools used to manage compassion fatigue can be used for GCF. Supervision, personal counseling, and consultation are all avenues of accountability, monitoring, and fidelity to the profession (Bernard & Goodyear, 2014). Although advocacy can be another tangible method of preventing or mitigating GCF, activism can cause emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion (Chen & Gorski, 2015); therefore, advocacy paired with careful attention to wellness can allow counselors to be most effective in helping to address global issues (Roysircar, 2009). Self-care practices and a wellness lifestyle may also act as protective factors to GCF. Myers et al. (2000) noted, “If one’s spirituality is healthy . . . [it] provides a firm foundation and core for the rest of the components of wellness” (p. 258). This indicates counselors developing an optimistic outlook in response to global events creates greater buffering or management of GCF. Similarly, these authors also state that self-direction allows a person to “move smoothly through time and space”
(p. 258). The cumulative pressure of global stressors necessitates firm self-direction to maintain focus in the chaos of present time and space. Wellness is cumulative and enhances longevity for professional practice (Myers et al., 2000). Ultimately, counselors are ethically responsible for ensuring they practice healthy boundaries and work within their competencies (ACA, 2014). An open dialogue with colleagues, self-awareness of strong responses to global events, pursuing systemic change through advocacy, and cultivating personal wellness encourage management of GCF (Robino & Pignato, 2017).

 

GCF holds particular relevance for counselors of color. Individuals from historically marginalized populations must understand, identify, and address their experiences and the effects of systemic and individualized racism as well as the psychological trauma of oppression and marginalization (Carter, 2007). The number of publicized events that occur in relation to civil rights issues and social justice concerns warrant additional consideration of GCF in specific populations. For example, police brutality against Black males can cause GCF in many counselors, particularly in counselors of color because of the negative psychological health outcomes for communities of color that stem from racism and discrimination (Carter & Forsyth, 2009; Comas-Díaz, 2016). Furthermore, violence (e.g., the Charleston, South Carolina, shooting targeting a specific religious group consisting of people of color and the Charlottesville, Virginia, protests that resulted in the death of a counter-protester) and localized natural disasters (e.g., fires in Tennessee and the Western United States that affected entire communities and hurricanes like Harvey, Irma, and Maria that caused devastation in the Southern United States and Puerto Rico) also increase the risk of GCF in counselors indirectly or somewhat directly exposed to these events. At the time of this writing, the president of the United States has signed an Immigration Executive Order (Executive Order No. 13,769, 2017) that calls for banning residents of certain Middle Eastern countries from entering the United States. In addition, the public expressed outrage at the removal of children from families seeking asylum at the U.S.–Mexico border (Goldstein, 2018). Such traumatic events become a systemic, multi-level public health issue (Magruder, McLaughlin, & Elmore Borbon, 2017) and increase the possibility of GCF among concerned individuals, including counselors and counseling students.

 

     The emergence of this concept paves the way for a broad range of research avenues. First, I recommend the study of GCF in counselor education programs. With CITs particularly sensitive to the nuances of the counseling profession (Bernard & Goodyear, 2014), the critical period of graduate education requires an examination into how GCF can affect counselor development. Second, the management of GCF calls for greater practice of self-care and exercising of insight. For example, researchers could explore the use of mindfulness and reflexivity in assessing how to treat counselors impacted by global events. Additionally, future research could explore the relationship of counselors’ social media use and GCF experiences. Statistics indicating the increase of social media as a news source (Gottfried & Shearer, 2016) raise questions of how counselors are impacted by their own internet activity. Researchers also could investigate counselor advocacy on social media. Although this article proposes that counselors may experience frustrations that contribute to GCF as a result of social media exposure to distressing global events, Dr. Holcomb-McCoy described social media as a tool for advocacy (Meyers, 2017), which may help in mitigating GCF. Such studies may assist counselors in delineating between GCF and other phenomena of impairment.

 

Finally, greater research is needed to assess and measure GCF. No accurate measurement yet exists for the phenomenon of GCF. Compassion fatigue measurements assess the negative aspects of helping others through direct contact (Figley, 1996). For GCF, this does not address the negative aspects of compassion for indirect exposure to global events. The Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R; Weiss, 2007) measures the subjective distress associated with a traumatic event. However, the IES-R measures symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. Although it captures the experience of an external global event, it does not capture the transient, yet profound, emotional experience of GCF. The answer to assessing GCF may lie in the development of an instrument that combines compassion fatigue assessments and the IES-R to measure GCF symptoms as it relates to global events.

 

Conclusion

 

     This article introduces the concept of GCF into the counseling literature. By expanding the literature on other explanations of impairment, we broaden opportunities for self-awareness and professional development. Previously researched impairment concepts require an expansion into this new perspective by incorporating the effects of exposure to current events. This new phenomenon also contributes to counselor wellness research and the importance of maintaining a healthy wellness lifestyle as a deterrent to GCF. Adopting this concept and language into the literature on impairment and wellness encourages further consideration of counselor health, counselors’ management of distressing global events, and how this may impact both counselors and clients as humans.

 

As counselors become competent in their roles as advocates for social justice, their involvement in critical global events necessitates attention to the cumulative toll such a role may entail. In addition, consistent exposure to emotionally debilitating global events through social media places counselors in a peculiar position in which they must balance their need to remain informed of events and their need to remain healthy and well. Counselors carry the extra responsibility of remaining present and empathic with their clients while also protecting the empathy they experience for the world around them. Counselors’ marginalized and impacted cultural identities also factor into their experiences of GCF. In this regard, wellness becomes not simply an ethical duty, but also a professional imperative in the interest of both counselor and client welfare.

 

 

Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure

The authors reported no conflict of interest

or funding contributions for the development

of this manuscript.

 

 

 

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Ariann Evans Robino, NCC, is an assistant professor at Nova Southeastern University. Correspondence can be addressed to Ariann Robino, 3301 College Avenue, Maltz Building, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314, arobino@nova.edu.