Opening the door to a person-centered experiential training group: a thematic analysis

ABSTRACT

Person-centered experiential growth groups can promote self-awareness, increased authenticity, and improve interpersonal skills. Many counselor training programs require counselor trainees to participate in groups as a member as a form of experiential learning when preparing to be a group leader. However, the literature examining the experiences of counselor trainees in a person-centered experiential growth group is scarce, and little information on how to prepare and implement such a group exists. The purpose of this thematic analysis was to explore the narratives of counselor trainees during a person-centered experiential growth group. A constructivist paradigm guided our inquiry. Participants included six master’s level counselor trainees who attended nine weekly group sessions. We identified three emergent themes through our thematic analysis: prior life experiences, therapeutic factors, and challenges. Findings inform counselor educators and group therapists about the unique learning and personal needs of counselor trainees in a person-centered growth group. Limitations are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Counselor trainees
• person-centered group counseling
• experiential growth groups
• thematic analysis
• narrative research

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).