How beginning counselors learn: The interaction of personal and professional experiences in counselors with an experiential orientation

Abstract

Research suggests that the way counselors work is influenced not only by training and practice but also by their personal experiences and qualities. In this study, we aimed to explore how beginning counselors with an experiential orientation integrate the experiences from different sources (e.g. training, supervision, individual therapy, practice, and their personal life) and how they utilize them in practice. Seven in-depth interviews with beginning Gestalt-oriented counselors were conducted and grounded theory method was used for analysis. The results show that personal experiences and qualities play an important role in shaping the way beginning Gestalt counselors work. We conceptualized two main components of counselors’ working style – Personal Core and Professional Extension, and 10 specific types of interaction between these components which were subsumed into two broad categories: (1) cultivation of personal qualities and (2) adoption of new competencies. These findings challenge earlier assumptions that beginning counselors simply imitate their trainers, supervisors, and senior colleagues. Implications for further research and use in practice are discussed.

Keywords:

• beginning counselors
• counselor development
• counselor training
• personal and professional experiences
• working style

Notes

1. Counseling and psychotherapy are not formally distinguished in the Czech Republic at the time when this article is being composed and we consider counseling/psychotherapy as one broad profession. For the sake of consistency, we used the words “counseling” and “counselor” throughout the article, except for quotes in which the participants explicitly used “therapy” or “therapist.”

2. In Gestalt therapy, therapeutic experimentation is a specific way of intervening where the therapist actively transforms the therapeutic situation and suggests a certain change of expression or behavior to the client (Roubal, 2009). A new experimental situation, which enhances a client’s awareness here and now, is creatively co-created during experimentation.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Czech Science Foundation [grant number GAP407/11/0141].