Role Play in Counselor Education and Supervision: Innovative Ideas, Gaps, and Future Directions

Abstract

Ideas for using role play in counselor education have been discussed in the literature. While there are “how-to” suggestions for using role play, rather than students' personal material, or “real” play in the classroom, a lack of “how-to” articles exists for using role play in counseling supervision. Literature on role play in counselor education and supervision is reviewed with an aim to highlight innovative ideas and gaps. Two case studies are provided describing the use of role play in supervision. Critical questions and future research directions are provided related to using role play in counselor supervision.

KEYWORDS:

• role play
• creativity
• counseling
• counselor education
• counselor supervision
• experiential learning

The author would like to thank L. DiAnne Borders for her feedback and suggestions.