NATIONAL FORUM JOURNAL OF COUNSELING AND ADDICTION

VOLUME 6, NUMBER 1, 2017

Impact of the Practicum Experience on Counseling Students

Professional Identity Development

Kristopher K. Garza* Steve F. Bain*

Assistant Professor Associate Professor
Texas A&M University-Kingsville Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Kingsville, Texas Kingsville, Texas

Joseph Ramos Villarreal

Adjunct Professor
Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Kingsville, Texas

*Denotes co-first authors

Abstract

This article examines the perceptions of counseling students regarding their preparation for their
practicum experience. The authors present research relative to the confidence levels and
professional identity of how counseling students perceived themselves before enrolling into their
practicum course. Survey data from 33 participants consisting of pre-and post-assessments were
analyzed to determine the perceptions of their self-confidence and professional identity before
and after their practicum experience.
Keywords: professional identity, practicum, clinical supervision, training, counselor
education

The counseling profession requires specific education and training to prepare

counselor trainees to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to assist individuals
who are struggling with their issues. The knowledge and skills developed by the
counselor trainees help develop self-confidence which in turn helps define their
professional identity. A requirement that is necessary in a masters level counseling
program is that the student must take a practicum course to gain hands-on experience
for the student to attain a professional counselor identity. Nugent and Jones (2009)
defined professional identity as how training and personal characteristics are applied in the
professional setting. Students at this stage in the program often have a lack of self-
confidence and feel that the knowledge they have acquired up to this point is lacking in
terms of preparedness to assist clients. According to Neufeldt (1994),

The practicum experience is critical in counseling students development. Typically,

practicum is initiated after students have completed most of their coursework in a

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counseling program. During practicum, counseling students are able to use their
counseling skills and knowledge with actual clients for the first time. A significant
amount of student learning and development takes place during practicum. Because
practicum is such an important time in counseling students learning experiences,
counselor education programs strive for excellence in facilitating student clinical
experiences during practicum (as cited in DeLorge-Minges, 2012, p. 1).

Students, who enter a practicum course, are often unsure if they are truly ready to
work with clients. What the students have learned and have defined as a professional
identity is based solely on what has been learned in the classroom itself. According to
Dollarhide, Gibson, and Moss (2013), a focus on professional identity for counseling
students has been given consideration and overall counselors and students are
motivated to understand their own individual professional identity. Ponton (2009)
indicated that fulfillment of professional identity is a process that is slowly cultivated.
The practicum experience is where the connections and exchanges occur with
other counselors and are contributing factors to the growth of professional identity
development. Counseling students are encouraged to take advantage of their practicum
experience to apply their developing theories and skills as counselors during this time
of supervision. This is when they grow their theory or alter it to better fit their needs.
The practicum experience allows counseling students to apply their philosophy towards
the culturally diverse clients of their population. Coll, Doumas, Trotter, and Freeman
(2013) indicated that studying the influence of specific counselor training courses and
how they affect professional identity development is essential to counselor trainee
development. Most research has identified that professional development for
counselors begins from the time they are a counselor trainee and evolves throughout
the career life for counselors (Gibson, Dollarhide, & Moss, 2010; Moss, Gibson, &
Dollarhide, 2014; Ronnestad & Skovholt, 2003).
Gibson et al. (2010) indicated that new counselor trainees relied heavily on their
textbook information and professor materials when considering their own counselor
identity due to their inexperience. Without any experience, these counselor trainees
have built a foundation from what was readily available and accessible. Once the
counselor trainees established their experiences and practiced their theory with diverse
clients, their professional identity development was based on those interactions. Fully
understanding and utilizing theoretical orientation is an advanced and complex skill (Bernard &
Goodyear, 2004). Developing a counselor identity throughout a training program along with a
practicum experience and career is not without challenges. Counselor trainees are unaware on
how to handle crisis situations and lack the knowledge of how to utilize proper protocol and
develop a crisis plan.
The current research study examined the significance and implications of the pre-and
post-practicum experience for students, supervisors, and counselor educators. Attention was
given to development of a professional counselor identity, contemporary issues facing counselor
trainees, and practical suggestions for counselor educators and counseling programs. The
understanding of low self-confidence in regards to development of a counselor professional
identity assisted counseling faculty professionals as they sought to improve the confidence levels
of their counselor trainees.
 KRISTOPHER K. GARZA, STEVE F. BAIN, AND JOSEPH RAMOS VILLARREAL
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Practicum

Before students enter a practicum course, they take prerequisites based on the Council for
Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) or non-CACREP
standards depending on the university counseling program. The purpose of these courses are to
develop counseling students in the areas such as introduction to counseling, counseling theory,
counseling strategies, group counseling, career counseling, ethical and legal issues, along with
special topic courses that relate to the students interests. According to Hodges (2016),
Beginning a practicum represents a major step in development. Although previously students
may have practiced in-class techniques with peers and made recordings of mock counseling
sessions with friends, the student will now begin counseling actual clients (p. 1). The
practicum experience in this study stands alone from the internship experience due to the
universitys counseling students being part of a non-CACREP institution that is in the process of
writing the self-study for CACREP accreditation.
Examining the relationship between counseling students in training and a professional
identity starts at the beginning of the counseling program and is refined during the practicum
experience. Beginning a practicum experience represents a major step in the students
development (Hodges, 2016). Prior to the practicum experience, counseling students have only
been able to practice their theory and techniques in a classroom setting among their peers.
These counselors-in-training review preparation videos and practice mock counseling sessions.
When this beginning process of discovering their identity is completed, counselor trainees begin
to work with clients. The initial practicum tends to be the most challenging experience in the
curriculum and may cause counseling students to question their self-confidence. The initial
experience at the onset of practicum can leave the most resilient of students feeling
overwhelmed by the demands of the counseling relationship (Hodges, 2016).
A counseling students growth and development is a crucial part of the practicum
experience. For many counseling trainees, the impact begins to shape the foundation of their
professional identity. Counseling trainees realize they are no longer in the safety of the
classroom setting but beginning to operate as counselors with all the responsibilities and duties
expected by clients, faculty, supervisors, and themselves. The practicum course is a critical
component of the degree program for counselor trainees and counseling programs work hard to
make the clinical experience a quality program. By this point in their counseling education, the
counselor trainees have completed the majority of the course work in their program and are
ready to apply their classroom skills and knowledge towards working with clients in their
community (Neufeldt, 1994). Counseling students who have gone through a successful
practicum experience are expected to feel more confident and have better knowledge of their
role as a counselor in therapy. It is anticipated that students feelings of anxiety and worry about
their performance in clinical supervision will decrease.

Purpose of the Study

According to Hill, Sullivan, Knox, and Schlosser (2007), CACREP and state licensure
boards play a significant part in driving counselor educators to improve and produce superior
training programs. The practicum course is key to the counselor education program because it
focuses on helping trainees use what they learned in the classroom when they begin working
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with their clients. The purpose of this study was to explore the confidence levels of graduate
counseling students taking a practicum course as they search to identify a professional identity.
The pre-and post-assessments were used to measure the following: self-assured levels within
their counseling skills, theoretical knowledge, application of techniques, assessment and values
of ethical practice, management of boundaries, personal strengths, and the ability to advocate for
their clients. The purpose of the pre-and post-assessments were to assess any differences prior to
the start of the practicum experience (course). This instrument was developed using the input of
the counseling faculty and related to the Student Learner Outcomes within the syllabi.
Descriptive statistics were used to gather measures of central tendency and the characteristics of
the data such as the differences in the means of the pre-and post-assessments. The information
analyzed at the end of the assessment allowed the researchers to identify statistically significant
differences in students self-confidence and self-efficacy.
The objective of the researchers and this research study were to correlate the students
practicum experiences with their levels of professional confidence within the pre-and post-
assessments. The researchers expected the data to provide counselor educators clear insight as
they seek to improve the graduate counseling program. Core counseling faculty should be able to
identify ways to enhance the academic and clinical elements of the program to ensure students
have optimal opportunity to develop their professional identity and skill sets within the
counseling profession.

Methods

The research was quantitative in nature using survey design methods to gather the data
from the participants. The participants were graduate students involved in either their first or
second part of their practicum course in the Counseling and Guidance program from a south
Texas university. Each practicum course requires one hundred and sixty contact hours with fifty
of those being direct hours or actual face-to-face with the clients. Students were working with a
wide range of clients involving settings within school districts, community counseling entities,
university counseling centers, and private counseling practices. All practicum placement settings
had to meet the 2016 CACREP Standards for practicum experiences (Section 3, A-V).
The research study was conducted during one semester in which the students were
provided pre-and post-assessments during the beginning of the semester and during the latter part
of the semester. The graduate students completed a pre-assessment instrument before they began
their practicum to gather perceptions and descriptions on the knowledge gained in the other
courses to prepare them for this step in which they will be interacting with clients. Toward the
end of their practicum semester, a post-assessment instrument was administered to gather their
perceptions as to the degree in which their coursework prepared them for the practicum
experience and if they felt prepared to attend to clients.
To determine reliability of the instrument that was used in this study, item-analysis using
the reliability procedure of a single construct measure was used. The researchers wanted to
conclude whether one or more items on the pre-and post-practicum assessments measured be
deleted or revised to obtain a new measure of counseling and guidance students practicum
experiences. Item analyses were conducted on the 20 items assumed and hypothesized to assess
graduate counseling and guidance students perceptions and readiness for the practicum
experience in counseling with clients. All the correlations were greater than .35 except for 4
items which were the following: There is at least one course I wish I could retake to help me
 KRISTOPHER K. GARZA, STEVE F. BAIN, AND JOSEPH RAMOS VILLARREAL
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better prepare for the practicum course (r = -.38), I have a thorough understanding of my
theoretical approach (r = .07), I understand that taking care of myself is important (r = .25),
and I currently incorporate self-care strategies (r = .22). These four items differed in content
and scope from the other 16 items in that they took into account that the graduate counseling
students might not have known the answer, may have misunderstood the question, or may have
needed to look it up in their textbooks. These questions encompassed the students knowledge
from the perceptions of their own capacity and from what they recall from their coursework.
These questions have no significance with the practicum experience other than providing support
to the other 16 questions that do focus on their experiences with clients.
Based on the results, the four items that assessed self-care and course reflection
information will be eliminated from the scale and assessment instrument for future study.
However, these items represent an important part of student knowledge of pre-and post-
practicum preparation. Additional items were expected to be developed in the future to create a
separate scale to assess self-care and course preparation for the practicum experience. Item-total
correlations for the revised 16-items scale yielded that no other correlations were less than .30.
The question, I feel confident in developing an intervention plan for a suicidal client (r = .38)
was retained since the scales contents do not differ and fall within a similar construct from the
other 15 items. The revised scale instrument was not renamed but remained under the same
name, the Pre-and Post-Practicum Scale Assessment. Coefficient alpha for the Pre-and Post-
Practicum Scale Assessment was .86 respectively. Since the same sample of students were used
for both the pre-and post-assessments, to conduct the item analysis, and to analyze coefficient
alpha, the reliability estimate is likely to be an overestimate of the population coefficient alpha.
The assessment instruments asked students about their preparedness before and after they
had their experience in their practicum course. The variables which categorized the data were
used to identify the readiness of the counseling students entrance into the practicum course,
which included Professional Identity, Course Preparation, Ethical Standards, Self-Care
Strategies, Crisis Intervention, Multicultural Awareness, Interviewing skills, Assessing and
Managing Suicide Risk, Collaboration and Research, and Advocacy. Two types of statistics were
used which were descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations), and a paired-samples t-
test to describe the characteristics of each survey item and test the differences in means of the
pre-and post-assessments. The researchers designed the following assessment instrument items
in a Likert-scale type of format with the responses of strongly agree, agree, disagree, and
strongly disagree.

Professional Identity

I am cognizant as to my professional role as a counselor.

I have a thorough understanding of my theoretical approach.

Course Preparation

My coursework at this university has satisfactorily prepared me for the practicum

experience.
There is at least one course I wish I could retake to help me better prepare for the
practicum course.
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Ethical Standards

I have a clear understanding of my ethical responsibilities and how to address ethical

dilemmas.
I am aware of the best practices for ethical decision making.

Self-Care Strategies

I understand that taking care of myself is important.

I currently incorporate self-care strategies.

Crisis Intervention

I understand the proper steps in handling a crisis.

I feel equipped to handle a crisis situation should it occur.

Multicultural Awareness

I feel prepared to address cultural differences.

I am aware of my cultural biases and prejudices.

Interviewing Skills

I am confident that I use active listening skills.

I feel confident in establishing rapport and creating a helpful climate with a client.

Assessing and Managing Suicide

I know the warning signs to look for in clients who are suicidal.
I feel confident in developing an intervention plan for a suicidal client.

Collaboration and Research

I have a strong desire to stay current on counseling research

I believe it is important to collaborate with my colleagues and peers on current
developments in the field of counseling.

Advocacy

I feel a strong desire to advocate for the needs of my clients.

I see myself in a position of leadership and capable of making positive change for the
community and clients of which I serve.
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Results

Thirty-three graduate counseling and guidance students completed the pre-assessment

instrument in which all students were present on the day the pre-assessment was administered
while 31 graduate counseling and guidance students completed the post-assessment instrument.
The indication for the latter smaller sample size was due to a couple of students being absent
during the day the post-assessment was administered. The research also took place during one
semester in which 33 graduate level counseling and guidance students were enrolled in the
practicum course.
A paired-sample t-test with the application of repeated measures design was conducted to
determine if students felt prepared for their counseling duties before they enroll in their
practicum course or whether they feel prepared after their practicum experience. The two
statistical measures were used for validity and reliability measures within the data set (see Table
1).

Table 1

Descriptive Statistics of Pre-and Post-Assessments (N = 33)

Descriptive Statistics for the Variable Professional Identity

Variable Pre-Assessment M SD Post-Assessment M SD
Professional Role 1.76 .502 1.52 .508
Theoretical Approach 2.06 2.27 1.90 .651

Descriptive Statistics for the Variable Course Preparation

Variable Pre-Assessment M SD Post-Assessment M SD
Preparedness of coursework 1.64 .699 1.50 .509

Descriptive Statistics for the Variable Ethical Responsibilities

Variable Pre-Assessment M SD Post-Assessment M SD
Understanding of Ethics 1.64 .742 1.48 .508
Ethical Decision-Making 1.79 .696 1.61 .558

Descriptive Statistics for the Variable Self-Care Strategies

Variable Pre-Assessment M SD Post-Assessment M SD
Care of Self 1.30 .529 1.27 .521
Self-Care Strategies 1.73 .801 1.45 .624

Descriptive Statistics for the Variable Crisis Intervention

Variable Pre-Assessment M SD Post-Assessment M SD
Knowledgeable in a crisis 2.00 .750 1.87 .670
Equipped in a crisis 2.09 .631 2.10* .746
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Table 1 Contd

Descriptive Statistics of Pre-and Post-Assessments (N = 33)

Descriptive Statistics for the Variable of Multicultural Awareness

Variable Pre-Assessment M SD Post-Assessment M SD
Cultural Differences Prep. 1.73 .674 1.65 .661
Aware of Biases/Prejudices 1.52 .566 1.68* .599

Descriptive Statistics for the Variable of Interviewing skills

Variable Pre-Assessment M SD Post-Assessment M SD
Active Listening Skills 1.52 .566 1.42 .502
Creating a Helpful Climate 1.52 .508 1.32 .475

Descriptive Statistics for the Variable of Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk
Variable Pre-Assessment M SD Post-Assessment M SD
Warning signs awareness 2.12 .650 1.90 .651
Intervention Plan 2.48 .939 2.29 .739

Descriptive Statistics for the Variable of Collaboration and Research

Variable Pre-Assessment M SD Post-Assessment M SD
Current in Counseling Research 1.39 .556 1.35 .486
Collaboration with Colleagues 1.30 .467 1.16 .374

Descriptive Statistics for the Variable of Advocacy

Variable Pre-Assessment M SD Post-Assessment M SD
Advocate for clients 1.33 .479 1.16 .374
Counseling Leadership 1.27 .452 1.39* .558
*Statistically significant

A paired-samples t-test was also conducted to determine the degree counseling graduate students
enrolled in the program felt prepared for the role of their counseling duties both before and after
their practicum experience. The paired-samples t-test allowed the researchers to identify the
extent or degree their coursework experience prepared them for the practicum experience in
working with clients. Pre-and post-assessments were completed by the graduate counseling
students. The results indicated that the mean of all the pre-assessment items (M = 57.60, SD =
12.80) was significantly greater than the mean of all the post-assessment items (M = 50.00, SD =
10.01), t(19) = 7.13, p < .01. The standardized effect size index, d, was 1.24 for the pre-
assessment and d was 1.28 for the post-assessment with a small overlap in the distributions for
the 10-point Likert ratings from the pre-and post-assessments, as shown in Figure 1.
 KRISTOPHER K. GARZA, STEVE F. BAIN, AND JOSEPH RAMOS VILLARREAL
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Figure 1. Boxplots of the practicum course pre-assessment and post-assessment ratings.

The 95% confidence interval for the mean differences between the two ratings was 5.69
to 10.41 respectively. This suggested that counseling and guidance students for this particular
cohort had positive perceptions that they were prepared for the role of their counseling duties
before they enrolled in their practicum course. As indicated by the survey instrument most
students felt ready and had a positive outlook on their practicum experience. The results
indicated by examining the mean differences between each variable that students went into the
practicum experience with high aspirations to start their practicum experience with the new
knowledge gained from their coursework. The post-assessment indicated that after the students
went through their experience of practicum, most students felt prepared to handle a crisis should
it occur under the crisis intervention variable. According to the ACAs Encyclopedia of
Counseling a crisis is identified as a time-limited period of upset and disequilibrium triggered
by a precipitating event during which individuals typical methods of coping and problem
solving fail them (Wachter, 2009, p. 131). These experiences would include a variety of
situational and psychiatric crises and particularly suicidal situations. Counseling students had
high self-confidence in this area and felt prepared for these types of situations. Respondents also
were aware of their biases and prejudices under the variable of multicultural awareness after their
practicum experiences than before they entered. The respondents also envisioned themselves in
positions of leadership and felt they were more capable of making a positive change for the
communities in which they served after their practicum experience than before their practicum
experience.

Conclusions

The practicum experience, which can also be referred to as clinical supervision, is

widely viewed as a pivotal experience in counselor training (Borders, 2009, p. 536). The
practicum experience has been shown to increase student counselors professional capacities
including self-efficacy. Ikonomopoulos, Vela, Smith, and Dell'Aquila (2016), concluded:
longitudinal findings showed that counseling students perceptions of self-efficacy increased
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over the course of the program, primarily as a result of clinical experiences (p. 162). It is
incumbent upon universities and counselor educators to ensure the practicum experience
provides the ultimate in hands-on learning. Supervision, feedback, and analysis of practical
scenarios must be designed to equip the practicum student to bolster his or her professional
acumen and proficiency. The research indicated that more needs to be done to maximize the
practicum experience of counseling students. Practical applications in the practicum experience
such as role-playing and other hands on practices need to be implemented throughout the
students academic experience for the student to gain a maximum benefit. It is important for
faculty members (particularly those who are counseling practitioners) to incorporate case
scenarios and real-world examples in their courses to prepare students to be adept and capable
professionals.
The limitations of this study include the relatively low number of respondents and the
fact the study was conducted in only one semester. Additionally, the pre-and post-assessments
need to be refined and administered over a number of semesters to longitudinally determine its
validity and reliability. This study could include a larger number of counseling programs and
students in South Texas, Texas, the Southwest region, and the nation as a whole. The researchers
recommended future studies in working with practicum students to gain insight into their
experiences and use that information to help improve the programs curricula. Future research
may look into a qualitative type of research study in which to interview students and gain their
perspectives on how the program overall assisted to help them with their practicum experiences.
Finally, this study further encourages all counselor educators to be vigilant in the design,
implementation, and assessment of practicum engagement to maximize the potential of
successful student preparation and augmentation of their professional identity.

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