The Experiences of Counselors-in-Training in a School-based Counseling Practicum

Counselor education programs often must choose between providing in vivo faculty supervision or a community-based setting. Programs that combine both elements have shown positive preliminary findings related to counselor development; however, the in-depth experiences of students in such programs have not been explored. This phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of counselors-in-training who participated in a school-based counseling practicum with in vivo faculty supervision. Researchers identified six themes, including continuum of support within relationships, operational challenges and concerns, needs and challenges of the community, working with children, expectations and realities, and counselor identity development. Implications for counselor education and research are provided

The Experiences of Counselors-in-Training in a School-based Counseling Practicum

Counselor education programs often must choose between providing in vivo faculty supervision or a community-based setting. Programs that combine both elements have shown positive preliminary findings related to counselor development; however, the in-depth experiences of students in such programs have not been explored. This phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of counselors-in-training who participated in a school-based counseling practicum with in vivo faculty supervision. Researchers identified six themes, including continuum of support within relationships, operational challenges and concerns, needs and challenges of the community, working with children, expectations and realities, and counselor identity development. Implications for counselor education and research are provided

Fear and Psychopathology During the COVID-19 Crisis: Neuroticism, Hypochondriasis, Reassurance-Seeking, and Coronaphobia as Fear Factors

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a rise in psychological distress worldwide. Although fear appears to be a major contributing factor, there has been no systematic research to determine which specific facets of fear predict psychopathology during the coronavirus crisis. The present study is the first to examine which fear factors uniquely predict clinical levels of depressive symptoms and generalized anxiety. Data were collected from 256 adults in the United States recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) during the coronavirus pandemic. The results from logistic regression analyses demonstrated that neuroticism, coronaphobia, and hypochondriasis were fear factors that predicted pandemic-related psychopathology in adults. These findings suggest that mental health professionals should screen individuals for this set of fear factors when choosing appropriate assessments and interventions for treating people who are suffering during the crisis. </jats:p

Complicated Grief: An Evolving Theoretical Landscape

The bereavement literature has proliferated in recent decades, generating a shift from conceptualizing grief as a stepwise, uniform process to an idiosyncratic experience that varies among individuals. Among the most notable developments is the empirical exploration of complicated grief—a protracted, debilitating, sometimes life-threatening response to the death of a loved one—and the testing of novel interventions to treat it. This article provides counselors with recommendations for identifying and treating complicated grief

Caring for Caregivers: Multiple Losses, Diminished Social Support, and their Associations with Depression in Family Caregivers

The present study investigated the association between family caregiving-related losses, diminished social support, and depression in 533 adult family caregivers living in the United States. Results suggested that 62.66% ( n = 334) of participants were considered at risk for depression. Results from structural equation modeling (SEM) approaches revealed that caregiving-related losses were a strong predictor of depression, explaining 47% of a total variance. A lack of social support was also a predictor of depression in this sample, increasing total variance accounted for to 51%. We discuss clinical implications, including strategies for coping with caregiving-related losses and their correlates. </jats:p

Vicarious Grief in Supervision: Considerations for Doctoral Students Supervising Counselors-in-Training

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about collective experiences of grief; thus, counselors-in-training (CITs) and their doctoral student supervisors may encounter increases in grief-oriented clinical work. In considering how to support CITs’ work with grieving clients, doctoral supervisors should be prepared to help CITs manage experiences of vicarious grief (VG). Given the ubiquity of loss and the limited amount of grief-specific coursework in counselor training, CITs could benefit from exploring their experiences of VG with their doctoral supervisors in clinical supervision—a core area of training for doctoral students enrolled in counselor education programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. In this manuscript, we (a) provide an overview of the literature on VG, (b) discuss the potential impact of VG on CITs, (c) present a case study illustrating attention to VG in supervision, and (d) provide practical strategies doctoral supervisors can employ when addressing VG in supervision, drawing on Bernard and Goodyear’s discrimination model.</jats:p