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Article Excerpt
The authors attempted to gain an understanding of critical incidents (CIs) from the perspective of novice counselor trainees during their 1st year of supervised clinical practicum. Journals kept by 9 trainees in master's-level counseling programs were qualitatively analyzed using the discovery-oriented research methodology (A. Mahrer, 1988). One hundred fifty-seven CIs emerged in 5 major categories: (a) professional identity, (b) personal reactions, (c) competence, (d) supervision, and (e) philosophy of counseling. Implications of the findings are discussed for counselor development theory and research, as well as counselor training.
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Beginning counselors may encounter a number of critical incidents (CIs) that can have lasting influences on their perceptions of the therapeutic process, their beliefs about themselves as therapists, and their understanding of counseling as a profession (Skovholt & McCarthy, 1988). In the current study, we explored CIs from the perspective of novice counselor trainees who were engaged in their first experience of clinical practicum. For this article, we defined critical incidents as significant learning moments, turning points, or moments of realization that were identified by the trainees as making a significant contribution to their professional growth.
Although evidence suggests that there are differences in CIs among counselor supervisees of varying levels of experience (e.g., Ellis, 1991; Heppner & Roehlke, 1984), much of what is known about CIs for novice counselors in general has been articulated theoretically. For example, Sank and Prout (1978) conceptualized a number of CIs for beginning therapists (e.g., countertransference, unfamiliar client experiences, sensitive issues in therapy, new techniques, contemplating one's own therapy, supervision), and they used case examples to illustrate their salience. Fontaine and Hammond (1994) acknowledged the existence of a dichotomy in what is emphasized in counselor education research, typically either (a) broad concepts and theory or (b) specific behavioral skills. They suggested that it is equally important to educate beginning counselors about the counseling process; their counseling "maxims" served as suggestions to beginning counselors regarding how to monitor their own personal process, client process, and process that contributes to forward therapeutic movement. Morrissette (1996) also discussed CIs in counselor development, such as emotional overinvolvement and sexual attraction in counseling, countertransference, competency-based anxiety, conflicts with supervisors and clients, and vicarious traumatization. However, this list of CIs was developed through "informal conversations and observations" (Morrissette, 1996, p. 32) of trainees, which makes it difficult to understand data collection and analysis, as well as the relevance of these issues for trainees. In sum, although theoretical contributions offer a framework from which to understand potentially relevant issues in counselor development, researchers must be cautious in overrelying on anecdotal and narrative information and seek empirical support for these assertions. The areas of supervision and marriage and family therapy (MFT) have spearheaded the translation of theoretical discussions of CIs into empirical investigation. In their test of Loganbill, Hardy, and Delworth's (1982) counselor development model, Heppner and Roehlke (1984) described self-awareness, professional development, competency, and personal issues as representing major categories of CIs for novice counselor supervisees. Further, beginning and advanced practicum supervisees were found to experience more self-awareness CIs than predoctoral interns, providing empirical evidence for the existence of differences in supervisory CIs across supervisees with varying levels of training. Rabinowitz, Heppner, and Roehlke (1986) used process and outcome measures to further investigate these differences. Beginning and advanced supervisees regarded supervisory support and their supervisors' nonjudgmental attitudes and respect for differences between the supervisees and their clients as significantly more important than did predoctoral interns. In addition, competence was a significantly more important issue for beginning supervisees than for either advanced supervisees or predoctoral interns. Ellis's (1991) research partially supported these findings but was primarily focused on supervisor trainees within the contexts of counselor and supervisor supervision. Ideally, supervision can provide a valuable forum for discussing and managing CIs, but mounting evidence suggests that negative and insignificant supervision experiences are increasingly common (e.g., Gray, Ladany, Walker, & Ancis, 2001; Ladany, 2004). There may also be a number of important issues that supervisees avoid discussing in supervision (Ladany, Hill, Corbett, & Nutt, 1996). Furthermore, trainees may find themselves in other contexts that facilitate their experience and awareness of CIs. Thus, it makes sense to extend the exploration of CIs outside the realm of supervision. In keeping with this, a few researchers have explored CIs specifically for novice trainees and have extended their investigations beyond supervision. Lee, Eppler, Kendal, and Latty (2001) studied the personal learning journals of 1st-year MFT students in which they reflected on daily CIs that "captured something important in terms of [their] professional development" (p. 53). Major themes were identified as peer relations, sources of stress, and criticisms of the program. Bischoff, Barton, Thober, and Hawley (2002) took a slightly different approach in their qualitative investigation of the events and experiences that influenced "clinical self-confidence" in MFT students in the 1st year of clinical contact. Four categories were identified: supervision, client contact, feedback and vicarious learning from peers, and personal life stress. More recently, Furr and Carroll (2003) used a phenomenological approach to examine CIs influencing the professional development of master's-level school and community counseling students. Their preliminary results consisted of the following CI categories: value conflicts, cognitive development, competency beliefs, professional development, perceived support and obstacles, personal growth in and outside of the program, and skill development. However, their final analyses included reconceptualizing these CIs and categories within a specific theoretical framework, resulting in clusters labeled "beliefs," "cognitions," "affect," and "behavior." Although these qualitative studies have expanded on findings from previous survey methods, it is important to note some limitations of these studies. For example, Lee et al.'s (2001) CI categories were initially developed by the trainees themselves, and although they helped to capture a subjective account of experience, this method also raises questions about the reliability and rigor of analyses. Bischoff et al.'s (2002) study investigated a specific construct (clinical self-confidence) and trainee population (MFT); given the current state of CI research, we believe it would be beneficial to explore these experiences from a broader perspective that includes various...
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