Engaging Master’s Level Students in Research at Primarily Teaching-Focused Institutions

Counselor educators at primarily teaching focused institutions often struggle to find both time and interested students to support an active research agenda. Engaging clinically minded students in scientific research is central to their development and also fought with challenges (Jorgensen & Duncan, 2014; Huber & Savage, 2009; Steel & Rawls, 2014). The goal of this presentation is to provide counselor educators with an overview of the literature regarding research identity in Master’s level counseling students, as well as providing them with practical suggestions for increasing research collaborations with their students. The presentation will also include a discussion of shared experiences, a self-reflection activity, and a presentation of practical suggestions for incorporating the presented information into pedagogy and practice

Are You Ready for This? Graduates Self-Perceived Self-Efficacy and Readiness for a Career in Counseling

After graduation, counselor educators and supervisors may have limited contact with alumni who are now working as professional counselors. We spend years helping them learn, develop and grow but are often left wondering how our teaching and supervision influenced them in the “real world”. We mostly learn about alumni outcomes through aggregate assessment data, but qualitatively we may be missing pieces that help us learn more about how to improve ways we teach and supervise to best prepare graduates for this career. This program reviews one method for engaging alumni in a semi-structured interview that helps address this curiosity. Participants will learn about how to effectively connect with alumni and apply results from interview data to programmatic changes that can best prepare students for the field

Exploring Online Communication Patterns: Examining the Relationship Between Empathy, Self-Compassion, Dehumanization, Aggression in Social Media Activity

The goal of the current study was to examine how geographically diverse adult Americans communicate online and what factors influence the tone of their communication. The study explores online communication and connection through social media platforms. The literature reviewed in preparation for the project emphasized the rise of internet aggression and its dehumanizing impact (Twenge, 2013). As Xu, Xu, Li (2016) explain in their summary of internet aggression research, “Internet aggression is regarded as a serious problem in online communities, and it has caused negative consequences in cyber- space” (p.642). The aim of the current study was to further explore factors that contribute to aggressive behavior online. The current study found that individuals with lower levels of empathy are more likely to have higher levels of dehumanizing beliefs and aggressive behavior online. Significant positive relationships were found between self-compassion and empathy, as well as self-compassion being significantly and negatively correlated to aggression. The findings of the current study may support Bandura’s social cognitive theory’s assertion that with a heightened sense of self-worth, individuals are able engage in self-censurer behavior (Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 1996). The study also found that participants with higher levels of trait aggression and dehumanizing beliefs were more likely to be aggressive online. In total, the findings of the current study support the idea that how individuals treat each other online is directly related their perception of and ability to find empathy for others

The Impact of Shame & Empathy on Professional Identity Development

Developing healthy and clinically skilled therapists is the main goal of many counselor educators and supervisors. The aim of this presentation is to explore both the empirical and applied impact of shame and empathy on the professional identity development of counselors, counselor educators, and supervisors. Our aim is to provide both scientific and personal examples of how we can limit the inhibitory power of shame and harness the healing power of empathy