Development of Professional Identity for Counseling Professionals: A Mindfulness-Based Perspective
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Development of Professional Identity for Counseling Professionals: A Mindfulness-Based Perspective Shengli Dong 1 & Linda Miles 2 & Neil Abell 3 & Jadelyn Martinez 1
# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract Professional identity development (PID), which involves transformational learning, is crucial for counselors and trainees. However most current training approaches focus more on specific tasks related to PID without focusing on the transformational learning aspect. Mindfulness is an important component for transformational learning; however, limited effort has been focused on its likely impact on PID. This conceptual article describes the need for integrating mindfulness into PID, and explains applications of mindfulness practices in assisting counselors to enhance development of a professional identity in the course of completing transformational tasks through a transformative learning process. Recommendations for future practice and research are included. Keywords Mindfulness . Professional identity development . Counselors and trainees . Transformational tasks . Transformative learning
Introduction Professional identity development (PID) is pivotal to counselors and trainees (Corey et al. 2010; Granello and Young 2012), and can be defined as the Bsuccessful integration of personal attributes and professional training in the context of a professional community^ (Gibson et al. 2010, pp. 23–24). The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs’ (CACREP) standards (2016) highlight the important role of professional identity
* Shengli Dong [email protected]
1
Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems, Florida State University, 3206J Stone Building, 1114 W. Call Street, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4453, USA
2
Miles and Associates, Tallahassee, FL, USA
3
College of Social Work, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
Int J Adv Counselling
in training professional counselors, and describes eight core areas (such as professional counseling orientation and ethical practice, social and cultural diversity, and assessment and testing) that address the fundamental knowledge and skill base for professional counseling identity development (CACREP 2016). Researchers have emphasized the significance and value of PID in counselor education (Gibson et al. 2010; Luke and Goodrich 2010), and highlighted that the process of PID should start from the onset of a training program and continue over the entire course of one’s professional career (Auxier et al. 2003; Brott 2006). When a counselor trainee or a new professional does not develop a strong sense of professional identity or is not well integrated into the profession, it could contribute to role confusion (Studer 2007), potentially jeopardizing the quality of counseling services provided (Pistole and Roberts 2002). Therefore, Levitt and Jacques (2005) have stressed that counselor educators and supervisors need to recognize the importance of trainees’ needs in regard to identity developme
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