Read the panel discussion transcript (attached file), featuring Counseling faculty members who share their experiences with leadership and advocacy in the following areas, and read the attached articles.
For this assignment of 750 words, address the following: 

Describe an opportunity for leadership and/or advocacy that is of primary interest to you. 
Identify an activity that you learned about through reading the  panel discussion or articles that you knew nothing about. 
Describe an area of advocacy and/or leadership that you feel would be out of your comfort zone or out of reach for you to participate in at the presenttime. 

You may choose from the following: 
A) Leadership.
▪ Advocacy: Promoting advocacy skills within counseling leaders and emerging leaders.
▪ Leadership: Engaging in officer positions or serving on committees in counseling professional association. 
B) Counselor education and leadership within the university. 
▪ Advocacy. 
▪ Leadership. 
C) Supervision. 
▪  Advocacy: Professional licensure issues, including supervision requirements and gatekeeping. 
▪  Leadership: Serving on a state licensing board or working on supervision credentialing standards and best practices.
D) Research. 
▪ Advocacy: Outcome research needed for advocacy with policy makers. 
▪ Leadership: Journal editorial boards. 
E) Counseling practice. 
▪ Advocacy: Clinical issues or populations, particularly social justice concerns. 
▪ Leadership: Administrative roles within a community agency or community. 
F) Advocacy: 
▪  Self-advocacy: Attending to professional development and self-care. 
▪  Advocacy: Client, community, or systemic issues addressed at local, state, and national levels. 
▪  Leadership: Developing and training others to engage in advanced advocacy initiatives (for example, testifying in front  
of Congress as an expert witness, encouraging legislators to co-sponsor bills).
Leadership and Advocacy Panel Discussions
Josh Stanley
All right. Well, I’m so excited to talk with each of you about leadership, and advocacy, and counseling, but before we jump right in, I’m wondering if you could just briefly introduce yourself and tell us about the roles you’ve had in leadership. Whether it’s in Academia, or professional associations, or clinical agencies. Why don’t we start with Dr. Lang?
Amber Lange
Hi there, I’m Dr. Amber Lang. I have had many different kinds of roles that have involved leadership and advocacy from the time that I was a student in my doctoral program. So I have been on state, and local, and national, and actually even international boards here in counseling, through primarily related to the American counseling association.
I also have been the faculty here at Capella for several years. I was the faculty who was in charge of the counseling honor society and helping learners to be able to grow and learn about advocacy and professionalism specific for our profession. Now I am the department chair and I am here for counselor education and supervision, which is the PhD program here for counselors. In that role, I help faculty and still learners in terms of professionalism, leadership, and advocacy for counseling. Thanks, Josh.
Josh Stanley
Thank you. Dr. Kascsak, how about you
Theresa Kascsak
Good morning. So thanks for allowing me the opportunity to just share a little bit about my background. So I think in some ways I come by this a little bit, maybe a different path. So even as an undergraduate, I was very involved in sort of a leadership position in my student government and kind of a tri-institutional campus kind of awareness of effecting change and working with university leadership back then.
I think as I moved into counseling in my master’s program, it was just something that I naturally tended to, and it was also taught to me by my faculty. So since that graduate level, I’ve been very involved at the state and local level with different… With our state counseling association here and also with the association for play therapy. Which is a multidisciplinary group, but to really advance counseling practices in that place.
So as the professional associations, I would say, I just have a lot of experience in just trying to kind of lead, I’ve been president at the state level for a couple of those. Then also I think it’s important to just sometimes be on a committee and just be sort of putting the shovel to the ground and getting some work done.
Also out in the community I have worked as a professional counselor for close to 20 years, have worked as a clinic director, have for a number of years. Then also here in Academia, just a little like what Dr. Lang said, I served as the chapter faculty advisor for our professional counseling association. [inaudible 00:03:51] chapter of CSI, and then I’ve been the faculty chair now for going on a year. I think that’s about it, so thank you.
Josh Stanley
Thank you. Dr. Wayman, how about you? What about your roles in leadership?
Dale Wayman
Yeah, I started in 1982 with my first field experience down at Monterey Mexico. I was getting my associates degree in social sciences and went down there on a field experience and really enjoyed that. So I continued to pursue my interests.
Then in 1989, I got my master’s degree and started teaching at that point. The teaching obviously is advocacy, but some things that really kind of got me started on advocacy was I was approached by a judge in our rural community who wanted to have somebody who would be a guardian ad litem in his court, who had some mental health experience. I developed this friendship with this judge and served under him for seven years as his paid guardian ad litem, giving a voice to children who had been abused and neglected, and doing investigations for the judge.
That really spurred my interest. Then as that developed, I also realized that some of these things that are being made are decisions that maybe I could affect at a base level. So I applied to become a field tester for psych court, which does the Wechsler scales.
So I was field testing the Wechsler scales. So it was really cool. I was field testing kids for this Wechsler intelligence scale to figure out what was wrong with the test, or where were the biases in this test that prevented these kids to be accurately represented from a rural Appalachian culture? That was really amazing. I learned a lot about that and the importance of getting in and getting the norms correct so that we have accurate data when we give an IQ test, because IQ tests had been misused in the past. So leadership, advocating in that area was really important for me.
Then also I’ve been an executive director of a few agencies, clinical director, clinical supervisor. I’ve been a practitioner since 1987. Also I was working for the Department Of Defense over in Western Germany, and I was able to supervise counselors in Europe and Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy. That was a lot of fun.
I’ve been with Capella for about 13 years, but recently I was working with Indiana counseling association and I started out as the membership chair, and the executive director position came open so I applied for that position, with the caveat that I’m not going to be doing this forever. I want to develop this position and have somebody else take this position over, because my primary job was Capella. I didn’t want to put more energy and ICA than my primary job.
So now I’ve resigned at that, and I am now the legislative chair of ICA. What’s neat is a young PhD from Serbia, she is now our executive director and she is taking us in some different areas that we haven’t normally done. So I’m just really glad that she has stepped up and taken over our executive director role.
Josh Stanley
Thank You.
Dale Wayman
Thank You.
Josh Stanley
Dr. Lambert, how about you? What about the roles that you’ve had in leadership?
Simone Lambert
Thank you, Dean Stanley. I’m going to give you a little background and then I would love for you to join in and share a little bit about yourself as well. So my leadership journey of course, was in masters, but really in doctoral work has been the launch or for me. For instance, I was at UNC Greensboro with Dr. Nicholas Back, who was a huge influence for me, but also Jane Myers. She was actually my faculty advisor for Chi Sigma Iota.
So after graduating, of course, I was similar to Dr. Lange, a faculty advisor for Chi Sigma Iota in a number of different universities. Really. It was Dr. Jerry Junkie who kind of tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Hey, what would you like to do at IOC?” Because I had been working with the research division and also the IMFC.
He was president that year and he said, “Would you like to work on a committee?” And I said, “Oh, that sounds amazing.” And so he helped us develop a committee looking at children, adolescents and families with addiction concerns. And so that was really my first launch into IAAOC.
I say that I did IAAOC bingo, which is the International Association of Addiction and Offenders Counselors. I was in just about every leadership role for IAAOC except for journal editor and newsletter editor. But that was my professional home for many, many years. And so IAAOC, after being president of IAAOC, I was voted on to governing counsel for the Americans Counseling Association as an IAAOC representative, and then became the 67th ACA president, which was quite a joy and a highlight of my professional career. Through that, I’ve had many opportunities to be an advocate for the profession, for clients, for communities. And I hope to share some of that with you today, but it’s really been quite a pleasure to not just be able to be active in that world, but also to work with other leaders in our field who are working to advance the profession. And so I’m really excited to be able to share that with you all.
Josh Stanley
Thank you so much. Dr. La Paz, what about you? What about your role in leadership?
Michelle De La Paz:
So I have taken on a few different roles through either CISIC-MIOTO or the state association, Louisiana Counseling Association. I was the LACES president. And also, LACES is Louisiana Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. So I felt like I was able to even push for advocacy of the profession because for quite some time we had some issues being able to be in state agencies when I was getting jobs back when I first got out of school. And so we had to change the law in order to allow for… private practitioners were already able to provide services, but in the state agencies, there was no positions available.
So that was part of what I think led me to, when I went to the dissertation process, I was going to work on adolescents and something related to them but I made the decision that because of my experiences, I wanted to work on professional advocacy. I think that counselors have a unique wellness&helip; We look at it from a wellness perspective. I know we’ve talking about Meyers and Sweeney already. They look at it from that perspective. So I saw someone smiling. Dr. Lambert’s smiling because that’s what we do. So how can we provide that to our clients if we’re unable to be providers for those clients? So that is what I chose to do with the dissertation process.
And I guess in teaching different courses and working as a supervisor in my state, that is what I attempt to impart to them is that we need to advocate for ourselves, but in doing so, we’re advocating for our clients. Look at telehealth. I could get on my soap box. Telehealth right now, if we are unable to provide services in rural areas in states, how can they receive the counseling that we can provide to them from the perspective that we do? So, yeah, I think that’s short and sweet.
Josh Stanley
Thank you. Thank you so much. I’ll just briefly introduce myself. My name is Dr. Josh Stanley and I serve as the Dean for the School of Counseling and Human Services here at Capella. I started as a school counselor when I began my career. So my background is in school counseling. I’ve worked in elementary, middle and high schools. And I spent several years in leadership with the Tennessee Counseling Association, specifically the Middle Tennessee Counseling Association, it was a regional division that we had within that organization. I served as president, and then later I served as an officer and president in the Tennessee School Counselor Association.
The thing that was really important to me about being involved in association-level leadership was advocating for the profession and ensuring that professionals, specifically new professionals, but all of us, had access to high quality continuing education, professional development, and that there was somebody speaking on behalf of counselors across the state and when it came to legislative issues.
So that’s how I got involved in the association work. My career as a school counselor later took me to the district level. I served as a school counseling program specialist, and then to the state level where I served as coordinator of transition services and secondary intervention with the Tennessee Department of Education. While I was in that role, although I loved that role and loved the state level lens, I really missed specifically working within the counseling profession. And so that’s what led me to Capella as a full-time faculty member. Several years later, I became the chair of the School Counseling and Addiction Studies program. And then I served for about six months as interim assistant dean for the Counselor Education and Family Therapy programs. And most recently moved into the dean role.

Identifying Dynamics of Counseling Leadership: A Content Analysis Study

By: W. Bradley McKibben, Lindsey K. Umstead, L. DiAnne Borders

This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article:

McKibben, W. B., Umstead, L. K., & Borders, L. D. (2017). Identifying dynamics of counseling
leadership: A content analysis study. Journal of Counseling & Development, 95(2), 192-202.
doi:10.1002/jcad.12131,

which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12131. This article
may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions
for Self-Archiving.

***© American Counseling Association. Reprinted with permission. No further
reproduction is authorized without written permission from Wiley. This version of the
document is not the version of record. Figures and/or pictures may be missing from this
format of the document. ***

Abstract:

The authors synthesized counseling leadership literature to identify themes of counseling
leadership. Using an inductive approach to content analysis, the authors analyzed 11 empirical
articles, 9 conceptual articles, and 13 leadership profiles. Results yielded 24 emergent leadership
themes that were sorted into 3 groups. Findings pave the way for more comprehensive research
on counseling leadership and allow for increased intentionality in teaching, training, and
practicing counseling leadership.

Keywords: counseling leadership | content analysis | leadership

Article:

Leadership is essential for continued success of the counseling profession (Chang, Barrio
Minton, Dixon, Myers, & Sweeney, 2012; Paradise, Ceballos, & Hall, 2010). Counselors have
been called to lead in areas of advocacy and social justice (Paradise et al., 2010), school
counseling (Dollarhide, 2003; R. E. Lewis & Borunda, 2006), professional identity and
professional advocacy (Myers, Sweeney, & White, 2002), and the counseling relationship
(Jacob, McMaster, Nestel, Metzger, & Olesky, 2013), among others. Accordingly, authors have
increasingly highlighted the importance of training counselors as leaders (e.g., Chang et
al., 2012; Paradise et al., 2010; Wahesh & Myers, 2014). Professional organizations such as the
American Counseling Association (ACA), Chi Sigma Iota (CSI), the Association for Counselor
Education and Supervision (ACES), and the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
offer formal leadership training experiences via workshops and fellow programs. The 2016
Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP; 2015)
Standards delineate leadership-specific learning outcomes for graduates of accredited doctoral
programs (e.g., leadership theories and development), as well as leadership-related learning
outcomes (e.g., advocacy) for graduates of accredited master’s programs. Yet questions still

needing answers are (a) What exactly is counseling leadership? and (b) How do we know that we
are training leaders optimally?

Sweeney (2012) defined leadership as actions taken by counselors that contribute to their
capacity to serve others in a competent, ethical, and just manner. Yarborough (2011), however,
contended that more than a definition is needed to teach and train leadership; one first must
identify the necessary ingredients of effective leadership. To date, counseling leadership
primarily has been informed by theories (e.g., transformational theory; Jacob et al., 2013) and
philosophies (e.g., servant leadership; CSI Academy of Leaders, 1999; Greenleaf, 1977) external
to counseling. Although these theories and philosophies are helpful (T. F. Lewis, 2012), theorists
have proposed that leadership dynamics present differently based on contextual influences
(Eberly, Johnson, Hernandez, & Avolio, 2013; Emery, Calvard, & Pierce, 2013). Thus, external
leadership theories, models, and philosophies may not accurately or completely describe how
counseling leadership occurs because professional counseling is a distinct discipline from those
in which most leadership theories were developed (e.g., business, military). Currently, there is no
comprehensive description of leadership that accounts for the professional context of counseling
(e.g., volunteer-based; developmental, relational training; professional and client advocacy).

To address contextual limitations of leadership theories, Eberly et al. (2013) proposed that
common factors of the theories be used to understand leadership dynamics within a given
context. In other words, leadership is viewed optimally as a process involving multiple people
(e.g., leaders, followers/dyads, groups) interacting directly and indirectly in various ways (e.g.,
behaviors, cognitions, affect). McKibben (2016) noted that Eberly et al.’s (2013) process
orientation of leadership aligns with professional counselors’ attunement to content and process
in the counseling relationship. Thus, researchers need to identify the content and processes of
counseling leadership before they can be taught and studied as part of a complex social system in
which a leader operates. Initial descriptions of counseling leadership include advocacy and social
justice (Smith & Roysircar, 2010), mentorship (Black & Magnuson, 2005; Gibson, Dollarhide, &
McCallum, 2010; Luke & Goodrich, 2010; Portman & Garrett, 2005), modeling (Luke &
Goodrich, 2010), passion (Black & Magnuson, 2005; Magnuson, Wilcoxon, & Norem, 2003),
professional identity (Gibson et al., 2010; Luke & Goodrich, 2010; Magnuson et al., 2003),
service (CSI Academy of Leaders, 1999), and vision (West, Bubenzer, Osborn, Paez, &
Desmond, 2006). Lacking, however, is a synthesis of leadership dynamics that can be infused
into a contextually sensitive leadership model specific to the counseling profession, thus
optimizing the intentionality and accuracy of counseling leadership training and research.

Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to identify themes in the counseling leadership
literature that compose counseling leadership content and processes. We sought to answer
Yarborough’s (2011) call to identify the ingredients of leadership in counseling by identifying
common factors across the counseling leadership literature. This study was guided by two
research questions: (a) What leadership dynamics are specified in the counseling leadership
literature? and (b) What are the common themes across leadership dynamics?

Method

We used content analysis to identify themes in the dynamics of counseling leadership. Content
analysis allows researchers to make valid and reliable inferences from text and to examine
existent and emergent categories (Krippendorff, 2013). We used an inductive coding approach to
allow themes to emerge without the constraints of an a priori theory (Krippendorff, 2013). The
first two authors served as coders; the third served as auditor. We were affiliated with the same
university in the southeastern United States as a doctoral student (first author), master’s student
(second author), and faculty member (third author).

Data Utilized

We followed four guidelines for content analysis from Krippendorff (2013). Unitizing refers to
determining what will be analyzed. Our units were full-length articles published in counseling
journals that specifically addressed counseling leadership. Sampling refers to determining a
sampling method of the units. We sought to locate all available units by conducting searches in
ACA division, CSI, and NBCC journals, as well as the PsycINFO database, using the
keyword counseling leadership. The search yielded 11 empirical articles, nine conceptual
articles, and 13 leadership profiles. One article in a noncounseling journal that specifically
addressed school counseling leadership was also included. Recording refers to how data are
recorded so that they are transferable among coders. In this study, the data were written text (i.e.,
Results sections of empirical articles and the entirety of conceptual articles and leadership
profiles).

The empirical articles were published between 1974 and 2013; all but two were published
between 2003 and 2013. Research methodologies were six qualitative, three quantitative, one Q-
methodology, and one mixed methods. There were a total of 703 participants (115 men [16.4%],
424 women [60.3%], and 164 participants [23.3%] whose sex was not reported) across the
empirical studies. Although several studies included culturally diverse samples, more than half of
the participants (n = 373, 53.1%) were White, 89 (12.7%) were African American, four (0.6%)
were Latina/o, three (0.4%) were Asian American, two (0.3%) were biracial, and 12 (1.7%)
indicated their race/ethnicity as other; four studies (n = 220, 31.3%) did not include or had
incomplete race/ethnicity information. (Percentages do not total 100 because of rounding.)
Researchers in four studies reported age ranges (25 to 80 years); in one, they reported a mean age
of 49.5 years.

Conceptual articles were published between 1982 and 2014; all but one were published between
2003 and 2014. In six, authors transposed external leadership theories, models, or practices onto
counseling leadership, two detailed multicultural leadership (e.g., Black men, women, American
Indians), and one advocated for increased counselor leadership training. Leadership profiles,
published between 1998 and 2014 in the Journal of Counseling & Development, described
contributions of high-profile leaders in the counseling profession. Eighteen men (60.0%) and 12
women (40.0%) were profiled; some profiles discussed more than one leader. Of the leaders
profiled, 10 (33.3%) were White, two (6.7%) were African American, one (3.3%) was Asian
American, and 17 (56.7%) did not indicate the leader’s race/ethnicity. Most had served in
positional leadership (e.g., counseling organization president) and as counselor educators.

Data Analysis

Reducing refers to the process of inferring and representing categories from the data. A
leadership dynamic was allowed to emerge from the data if it could be identified clearly as a
leadership behavior, cognition, affect, trait, or value (see Eberly et al., 2013). In addition, to
more accurately describe counseling leadership as a social dynamic, we allowed leadership
dynamics that described counseling leaders, followers/dyads, groups, and contexts to emerge.
Using an inductive approach, the coders randomly selected two articles as a pretest and coded
them together to enhance consistency. Next, they analyzed the remaining articles independently,
coming together after every third article to reach consensus. Using ReCal (Freelon, 2013), we
calculated overall interrater reliability at .79 (.86 for empirical articles, .71 for leadership
profiles, and .83 for conceptual articles). The auditor reviewed coded data for each group of
articles (empirical articles, leadership profiles, and conceptual articles, respectively) and
provided feedback.

Using the auditor’s feedback, the coders grouped the emergent data into 24 themes and then
reduced the themes into categories based on commonalities among the themes (Research
Question 2). Given the limited leadership experience of the coders at the time of this study, we
sought to optimize the credibility of the conclusions through feedback from counseling leaders.
Although participant checks, validation, and coanalysis (Morrow, 2005) were not possible in this
study given that the sources were text based, it was possible to triangulate information from
another source (i.e., leaders). Thus, we asked seven counseling leaders, selected based on their
range of leadership experience as counselor educators and service at the local, state, regional,
and national levels (1 to 20+ years), to synthesize the 24 emergent themes into categories. On the
basis of their feedback, themes were grouped into three categories.

Results

On the basis of a systematic coding procedure, we identified 24 themes that described leadership
dynamics in the counseling profession (Research Question 1), which were then grouped by
commonalities into three broad categories (Research Question 2). The leadership values and
qualities category described the construct of leadership dynamics rather than leader qualities or
skills. The second category, personal and interpersonal qualities, detailed intrinsic abilities that a
leader brings to leadership endeavors. In contrast, the final category, interpersonal skills, referred
to concrete skills that leaders apply in interactions with others.

Leadership Values and Qualities

Themes in this category reflected qualities that define what counseling leadership looks like
(e.g., mentorship) and how counselors understand leadership to occur. This category is distinct
from the other categories in that the focus is on leadership as a construct rather than a leader as
an individual. We provide examples of how leaders operationalize each theme, but these themes
were sorted into this category based on how they describe counseling leadership.

Professional identity. Professional identity was defined as holding values consistent with the
counseling profession; being dedicated to promoting human worth, dignity, and potential;

believing in holism and development; having a strong interest in a unified profession and a
strong professional identity; having prevention and systems orientations; being professionally
involved in counseling organizations (e.g., Black male leaders emphasized involvement in the
Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development); and providing a research database
for what counselors do (e.g., Gibson et al., 2010). Counseling leaders placed client welfare as a
primary goal through the delivery of optimal counseling services. They firmly believed in core
guiding principles of the profession and actively promoted a unique counselor identity through
professional activity. An important notion was the belief that a professional counselor identity
was stronger than counseling affiliations (e.g., counselor first, school counselor second).

Advocacy. Advocacy contained two subthemes: professional advocacy (i.e., promotion of and
advocacy for the profession) and social justice (i.e., advocacy for clients and communities).
Professional advocacy was characterized by contacting, discussing, or debating issues
confronting the profession with colleagues; making contributions to professional practice and
policy; engaging in political advocacy for the profession; and advocating on the behalf of
counseling programs (e.g., school counseling programs). For example, Cooper and Dean (1998)
highlighted that Theodore Miller advocated for student affairs in counseling by often discussing
its importance with others. Similarly, counselor educators focused on the quality of counselor
education programs, whereas journal editors shaped and refined research articles, thus ensuring
interest in and scientific accuracy for readers and bridging research to practice.

Social justice was characterized by advocating for social issues, attending to cultural worldviews,
taking on a diversity/multicultural orientation, maintaining a concern for cultural competence,
promoting social justice, and recognizing oppression. Counseling leaders held a community
orientation, recognized the importance of inclusion and having people from diverse backgrounds
in leadership positions, and focused research on women and minority groups. They infused
cultural aspects into their work, adopted cross-cultural perspectives in professional organizations,
established organizations and programs dedicated to multiculturalism and social justice,
addressed the needs of women in counseling, identified and took action to change systemic
conditions, and spread out leadership to promote equality.

Vision. Vision emerged as a group process in which the leader is a facilitator of vision rather than
a sole creator. This theme reflected the time-limited design of most counseling leadership
positions (e.g., West et al., 2006). In the beginning of a leadership term, counseling leaders had a
preliminary vision for an organization; articulated and communicated that vision to a group;
inspired a shared vision among the group members; and carried out a vision congruent with the
values, philosophies, and commonalities of self and the group (West et al., 2006). In the middle
of a term, they continued to communicate and build an ongoing vision. At the end, they
communicated the vision to incoming leaders and stakeholders to ensure continuity of the vision.

Modeling. Counseling leaders modeled active involvement in the profession (e.g., organizational
service), wellness, genuineness, humility, and personal accountability. Leaders accomplished this
by setting an example of what is expected and by being transparent. For example, Black and
Magnuson (2005) found that, among female leaders, “it was as if the leaders were transparent in
many of their dealings with others, thus providing an excellent role model for genuineness,

humility, and personal accountability” (p. 340). Students often saw counselor educators or
experienced mentors as model leaders (Gibson et al., 2010; Luke & Goodrich, 2010), a notion
echoed by Magnuson et al. (2003): “We might assume that each class a counselor educator
teaches, each supervision session a supervisor conducts, or each encounter between an
experienced and novice counseling practitioner becomes an opportunity to model attributes that
contribute to leadership” (p. 50).

Mentorship. Counseling leaders built relationships with mentees, empowered mentees to find a
voice, challenged mentees, emphasized the learning aspect of a mentoring relationship,
developed strong leaders, and encouraged mentees to find allies and support and adopt roles such
as being a change agent. For example, Borders and Cashwell (2014) noted that Nicholas Vacc
“had an uncanny knack for seeing the ‘growing edge’ for students personally and gently inviting
them in this direction” (p. 351). Counseling leaders exhibited an intense desire to encourage,
educate, and empower mentees in support of their personal and professional growth. Among
counselor educators, student mentorship was described as a first priority, especially in the
context of teaching. Formal programs were also noted as potentially valuable sources of
mentorship (e.g., Luke & Goodrich, 2010; Maples & Maples, 1999; Portman & Garrett, 2005).

Service. Counseling leaders actively served the profession via local, national, and international
involvement; viewed service as an opportunity to give back; prioritized service despite time
constraints; and thought globally and acted locally. Leaders continued in service efforts despite
potential difficulties. For example, pretenure counselor educators reported that service (e.g.,
organizational service) was viewed positively by others but was not as important to the tenure or
promotion process as research and teaching activities; these leaders continued to engage in
service despite timing and financial challenges (Gibson et al., 2010).

Deal with difficulty and setbacks. This theme dealt specifically with difficulties and setbacks
experienced during leadership efforts, particularly early in one’s career. For example, counseling
leaders encountered financial constraints and systemic hindrances (particularly for school
counselors; e.g., not allowed to self-define role). In counselor education, some leaders faced
adversity from other faculty, particularly related to race/ethnicity, sex, and religion. Counseling
leaders were aware of the systems stacked against them (e.g., racism), as well as gaps in their
experience of self, role, responsibility, personal expectation, credibility, professional
relationships, and preparation for leadership. In other words, counseling leaders experienced
disequilibrium in the many aspects involved in leadership and their understanding of it. In
addition, leaders experienced anxiety, frustration, and pressure to perform, although some used
internal anxiety as a catalyst for self-reflection and growth. Some leaders endured difficult early
experiences (e.g., Nassar-McMillan, 2001), such as a struggle to advocate while also being
accepted by the dominant culture, but resiliency was also common in these experiences.

Leadership-specific cognitive complexity. Leadership-specific cognitive complexity referred to
the process of identifying and integrating information related to a leadership endeavor. Leaders
demonstrated intelligence, prolific conceptual skills, an ability to see the big picture, and an
ability to analyze relevant information while remaining flexible in decision making. For
example, West et al. (2006) found that leaders considered commonalities among followers,

understood organizational resources, and maintained awareness of external pressures faced by an
organization. Similarly, Dollarhide (2003) described essential qualities for school counseling
leadership:

If school counselors are to be leaders of school counseling programs and transformation efforts,
understanding the contexts in which leadership occurs (Bolman & Deal, 1997), the activities
involved in each context, and the skills required for those activities can be a way of
conceptualizing and applying effective leadership of school counseling programs. (p. 304)

Finally, Smith and Roysircar (2010) noted that African American leaders were aware of
diversity, racism and discrimination, culture, minority status, and self as a diverse individual; this
awareness prompted leaders to act flexibly in navigating personal and dominant cultures. In
summary, counseling leadership involved attending to multiple pieces of information and making
decisions based on one’s understanding of how all the information fit together.

High standards for self and others. This theme involved a leader holding and communicating
high standards for self and others (e.g., strong drive and work ethic). A counseling leader was
described as an individual who had high, progressive ideals; was willing to expand leadership
skills and continue learning; and attended to details. In addition, leaders established professional
credibility combined with trust by working hard, stepping out of their comfort zone, and taking
pride in accomplishments.

Passion. Passion was described as a positive affect for, or energy toward, the profession,
productivity, teaching and writing, service, leadership, and the professionalization of counseling.
Counseling leaders demonstrated commitment, intensity, purpose, and motivation. For example,
Black and Magnuson (2005) highlighted passion as a personal attribute among accomplished
female leaders, who were described as energetic, persistent, committed, invested, and prolific.

Sense of humor. This theme emerged consistently in the literature as a value or trait in counseling
leadership. Optimally, humor was used appropriately or intentionally. For example, Sam
Gladding noted in a leadership profile that he preferred to use humor in a counseling relationship
at critical points when working to define a problem with a client (e.g., Haight &
Shaughnessy, 2006). Gladding noted, “I will sometimes use an exaggeration in counseling to
help a family realize what they are doing… . What I am trying to get to when I use an
exaggeration is a different perspective” (p. 118).

Creativity/innovation. Leaders approached situations in inventive ways. Counseling leaders
brought a fresh approach to leadership, engaged in pivotal efforts to transform the leadership
process, and approached problems with creative solutions to achieve great outcomes. For
example, a practitioner may use creative strategies to stimulate awareness and change (e.g.,
therapeutic reframe, metaphors, a focus on the here and now). A counselor educator might use
symbols or metaphors to capture and hold students’ attention. Counseling leaders also held
innovative ideas on gender issues, career development, international counseling, and
organizational leadership.

Wellness. Wellness contained four emergent subthemes: work–life balance, social support,
spirituality, and self-care. Work–life balance included notions that balance, wellness, and family
are important. Counseling leaders strived for balance but sometimes struggled to integrate
lifestyle and leadership. Social support came from colleagues, friends, church, and family.
Important people in leaders’ personal and professional lives anchored, supported, challenged, and
surrounded them (Meany-Walen, Carnes-Holt, Barrio Minton, Purswell, & Pronchenko-
Jain, 2013). Social support was particularly important for African American leaders. For
example, Don C. Locke noted,

I remember when I was in college, there were a couple of women who would bake a cake for me
every time I went home… . This was their way of saying to me that we support you, we believe
in you, and this is what we can do to support you. (Vereen, 2010, pp. 377–378)

Spirituality was an important value for many counseling leaders. Mary Thomas Burke shared,
“Well, I see spirituality as the essence of my being … manifested by the essence of another
person’s being and by helping make that person whole” (Nassar-McMillan, 2001, p. 499). Self-
care included notions that one must be whole, integrated, and genuine. Leaders emphasized self-
care and advocated for holistic life planning and wellness.

Personal and Interpersonal Qualities

Themes in this category described abilities that a leader brings to leadership. In contrast to the
leadership values and qualities category, this category described qualities of an individual leader.
In contrast to the interpersonal skills category, these qualities were sorted according to
dispositional qualities that reflect one’s personhood rather than concrete skills.

Intrinsic motivation. This theme emerged only in empirical articles and leadership profiles.
Leaders derived personal fulfillment from leadership opportunities and found enjoyment in
leadership itself. They received joy and intrinsic rewards from serving the community, watching
others grow, and seeing or being a part of change. Such motivation was self-reinforcing and
described as a felt sense. For example, Black and Magnuson (2005) noted that the female leaders
they interviewed “passionately described a deep sense of intrinsic motivation, investment,
persistence, and commitment” (p. 340).

Authenticity. Authors used the term authenticity as a trait-based quality within the leader.
Accordingly, Goldman and Kernis’s (2002) definition of dispositional authenticity—the
unhindered operation of one’s true or core self in daily activities—was used to organize codes in
this theme. The authentic process has four components: awareness, unbiased processing,
behavior, and relational orientation (Goldman & Kernis, 2002). Awareness consisted of self-
awareness and insight, particularly when operating from a relational self. Unbiased processing
involved engaging in and applying reflective thinking and striking a balance between individual
responsibility for change and external validation. Authentic behavior included preferring
nonhierarchical communication, acting congruently, offering leadership contributions that
reflected one’s intrinsic personhood, staying true to oneself, maintaining a sense of character, and
living what one believed. Relational orientation consisted of being transparent and
genuine/authentic in dealing with others, and reinforcing others’ self-concepts.

Humility. Leaders demonstrated humility in their perspective of and actions toward leadership
efforts. Counseling leaders attributed successes to serendipity or luck, recognized themselves as
only a small part of the world, did not consider themselves a pioneer, believed that they were
being led by others, considered themselves confident but not arrogant, listened to the wisdom of
teachers, and respected others. In addition, leaders avoided boasting achievements, seldom
sought the spotlight, worked hard behind the scenes, and strived to be a good follower.

Intentionality. Counseling leaders thought and acted strategically. Leaders stayed cool under
pressure, acted thoughtfully and decisively, revised timelines to achieve goals, seized
opportunities, engaged in strategic planning, and remained persistent in pursuing change. They
intentionality made meaningful and relevant interventions, dealt with administrative situations,
and built consensus among followers. For example, West et al. (2006) noted that leaders
intentionally built consensus around a vision “when what is common among members is
emphasized” (p. 9).

Dependability. Counseling leaders valued completing tasks, holding positions, interacting with
students, and producing scholarly works; being informed and trustworthy; and being committed
to a professional philosophy. Followers, in turn, perceived the leader as trustworthy and
dependable. In essence, counseling leaders delivered and followed through on promises and
commitments to others and the tasks at hand.

Leadership development catalysts. Contextual forces clearly affected counseling leadership
development. Five subthemes, grouped by timing, reflected past contextual influences that
fostered the emergence of counseling leadership: …

78 JOURNAL OF MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT • April 2018 • Vol. 46

articles

© 2018 American Counseling Association. All rights reserved.

Received 12/29/14
Revised 05/10/16

Accepted 08/05/17
DOI: 10.1002/jmcd.12094

Counselor–Advocate–Scholar Model:
Changing the Dominant Discourse

in Counseling
Manivong J. Ratts and Arie T. Greenleaf

Discourse represents the languages, ideas, and images that together shape
one’s understanding of the world. In counseling, discourse determines
clinical practice. The authors posit that dominant discourse in counseling
promotes an intrapsychic status quo that discounts the relationship be-
tween individuals and their environment, which often leads to office-bound
interventions that are inadequate in addressing issues of oppression. The
counselor–advocate–scholar model (Ratts & Pedersen, 2014) is introduced
to expand current discourse to include advocacy and research to better
address systems of oppression.

Keywords: social justice, advocate, multiculturalism, discourse in counseling

El discurso representa los idiomas, ideas e imágenes que, en su conjunto,
dan forma a nuestra comprensión del mundo. En la consejería, el discurso
determina la práctica clínica. Los autores proponen que el discurso dominante
en la consejería promueve un status quo intrapsíquico que no tiene en cuenta
la relación entre los individuos y su medio, lo que con frecuencia lleva a in-
tervenciones limitadas a la oficina que no resuelven de forma adecuada los
problemas relacionados con la opresión. Se introduce el modelo consejero-
defensor-investigador (Ratts & Pedersen, 2014) para expandir el discurso
actual de forma que incluya la defensoría e investigación, y así abordar mejor
los sistemas de opresión.

Palabras clave: justicia social, defensor, multiculturalismo, discurso en la
consejería

Much has been written over the last decade highlighting the need to encourage and help professional counselors and psychologists embrace the role of social change agent and become advocates for
social justice. A growing body of scholarly literature supports this important
(Baluch, Pieterse, & Bolden, 2004; Greenleaf & Bryant, 2012) but often over-
looked counseling component: advocating for social change. The research in
this area grew from a greater awareness of how oppression can affect human
development and lead directly to the psychological, emotional, and behavioral
problems clients present within the counseling dynamic (Baum, Garofalo, &
Yali, 1999; Dohrenwend, 2000; DuBois, Burk-Braxton, Swenson, Tevendale,

Manivong J. Ratts and Arie T. Greenleaf, Department of Leadership and Professional Studies, Seattle
University. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Manivong J. Ratts, Department of
Leadership and Professional Studies, Seattle University, 901 12th Avenue, Loyola Hall, Room 216, Seattle,
WA 98122 (e-mail: [email protected]).

JOURNAL OF MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT • April 2018 • Vol. 46 79

& Hardesty, 2002; Perlow, Danoff-Burg, Swenson, & Pulgiano, 2004). This
awareness spawned the social justice counseling movement that has taken
shape over the last decade.

Despite evidence indicating that adverse social factors are often to blame
for the creation and perpetuation of the various life problems experienced
by clients (Klonoff, Landrine, & Campbell, 2000; Krieger & Sidney, 1996),
and despite increasing calls for counselors to intervene in the social milieu
(Lee, 2007), the counseling profession continues to focus almost exclusively
on office-bound strategies to address systemic-based problems. The fact still
remains, however, that few counseling professionals consider social justice ad-
vocacy a critical function in their everyday work. Greenleaf and Bryant (2012)
proposed that a major reason why social justice advocacy has failed to make
significant inroads into the counseling practice has to do with the constraining
effects of its dominant language, or discourse. That is, the popular discursive
frameworks (i.e., theories, models, and constructs) used by counselors today
invariably lead to viewing the causes behind clients’ problems as uniquely in-
trapsychic, or internal. By extension, the selection of goals and interventions
is also overwhelmingly intrapsychic in their orientation. It is this dominant
discourse that leads to interventions that are primarily office based.

It is important to note that not all counseling theories are composed of in-
trapsychic language and meaning. Narrative therapy, for example, pays close
attention to the dominant discourses that may oppress (Combs & Freedman,
2012). In narrative therapy, “a major therapeutic emphasis is placed on helping
people escape the subjugating grasp of the dominant discourses of the culture”
(Gergen, 1999, p. 173). Likewise, feminist theory emphasizes analyzing power
in relationships and contexts: “Experience must be contextualized to truly
understand its complexities and meanings” (Norsworthy & Khuankaew, 2006,
p. 432). These theories, as well as others that focus on raising client awareness
of, and resistance to, the harmful effect of oppressive discourses, represent a
clear, yet still minority voice in the profession. However, one limitation is that
these theories do not give sufficient attention to working outside the office
setting in part because of the dominant discourse in counseling that heav-
ily promotes office-bound interventions. Some client issues, as we highlight
later in this article, require intervention that goes beyond talk therapy alone.

The neglect by many counseling professionals to address the issue of oppres-
sion and its effect on their clients has, thus, to do with the widespread use of
intrapsychic-based theories, models, and constructs that together dominate the
professional discourse (Greenleaf & Williams, 2009). These systems of thought
and knowledge, as Foucault (1969) labeled all theoretical texts that purport
to explain “reality,” have created and fostered a commonly held perception
that client problems are fundamentally intrapersonal in nature (i.e., cogni-
tive, emotional, social, physical, and spiritual). That is, the predominant root
cause of the problems clients bring to counseling is perceived to be located
within a client’s own entity, regardless of any external, influencing factors.
Consequently, because the locus of the problem is internal, interventions

80 JOURNAL OF MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT • April 2018 • Vol. 46

that focus on intrapersonal change are the only ones deemed necessary or
essential to help clients reach their goals. From this limited, individualized
perspective, social justice advocacy is considered largely superfluous, or even
professionally inappropriate (Canfield, 2008) for helping clients address what
is perceived to be a personal problem. We argue that it is this dominant dis-
course in counseling that keeps counselors from working in the social milieu
to address oppressive environmental barriers. The assumption is that issues
of oppression are not easily resolved simply by using intrapsychic measures
promoted by dominant counseling discourse. Because of its restrictive model,
direct counseling by itself has a limited impact on the contextual environment.

The purpose of this article is to help broaden, even transform, the current
counseling discourse so that a new reality can take root, one that supports
social justice advocacy as a “normal” and even expected counseling interven-
tion. For social justice to continue to grow, there needs to be more practical
schemas that provide an alternative discourse for how counselors can operate
from a social justice framework with clients. Such schemas can help balance
and, ultimately, alter the dominant discourse of intrapsychic practices in
counseling. First, we examine the current dominant discourse in counsel-
ing and its consequences related to social justice advocacy. We explain the
consequences of an intrapsychic discourse to elucidate how counselors have
been socialized to consider only one preeminent and professional approach
to use in their practice. We also review conceptual schemas in the counsel-
ing literature that identify alternative roles counselors should enact to move
beyond the dominant discourse of intrapsychic practices. We then illustrate
how to use the counselor–advocate–scholar (CAS) model developed by Ratts
and Pedersen (2014) with clients. We choose the CAS model for this article
because there is no literature to date that operationalizes the CAS model. We
hope that such an example will illustrate the need for more social justice–based
schemas that can be used by counseling practitioners.

consequences of the
intrapsychic discourse

The dominant intrapsychic discourse in counseling constrains knowledge
of the interdependent relationship between humans and their social envi-
ronment by presenting clients’ problems as symptoms of internally based
biological and/or psychological disorders (Greenleaf & Bryant, 2012). The
intrapsychic perspective in counseling has roots in the medical model, which
tends to ignore sociocultural factors in explaining human development issues.
Consequently, with individuals’ mental health divorced from the ecological
systems surrounding them, traditional psychotherapeutic interventions are
perceived to be all that is necessary to help clients overcome their issues. This
dominant discourse embodied in the numerous subdiscourses (e.g., the Ameri-
can Psychiatric Association’s 2013 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental

JOURNAL OF MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT • April 2018 • Vol. 46 81

Disorders, 5th edition; popular counseling theories, models, and constructs)
that counseling professionals use to conceptualize the nature and cause of
their clients’ problems creates a blueprint or script from which counselors
operate. This script focuses almost entirely on intrapersonal change, and very
rarely on removing social toxins in the client’s environment.

Discourses continuously compete with one another for power and influence
(Foucault, 1991, 1998). This suggests that, over time, even the most entrenched
systems of knowledge will undergo transformations or, in some instances, be
replaced altogether by rival discourses. We see this transformation with the
evolution, and sometimes competing theories, of the psychoanalytic, cognitive-
behavioral, existential-humanistic, multicultural, and social justice counseling
“forces” in the field. When this occurs, new assumptions and truths can spread
out and, in the process, change how reality is both perceived and acted upon.

It is important to note that research supports the efficacy of traditional
psychotherapeutic interventions; however, there are limitations to what talk
therapy alone can accomplish. Although clients often experience meaning-
ful therapeutic breakthroughs in the context of the counseling office, the
influence of social toxins on clients’ well-being will continue to exist (Ratts,
2009). Hence, the change clients experience in therapy may be short-lived.
We see this in high recidivism rates for addictions and in the revolving door
nature of mental health agencies. Moreover, research into why counseling is
effective has shown that extratherapeutic factors play a larger role in clients’
progress in therapy than factors associated with traditional talk therapy (Dun-
can, Miller, Wampold, & Hubble, 2009). That is, what takes place outside the
four walls of the counselor’s office in the context of people’s lives is often
just as important, and sometimes more critical, than what happens within a
client’s counseling session. This perspective suggests that nonconventional
interventions that focus on altering clients’ contextual circumstances are
potentially more impactful than interventions designed for intrapersonal
change. Thus, the challenge for many helping professionals is determining
whether clients are best served through individual counseling, social justice
advocacy, or some combination of the two.

a need for a new discourse
in counseling

Ever since the creation of the counseling profession, there has been ongoing
debate over the professional counselor’s role. Initially, this debate centered
on conventional roles counselors perform in education settings: personal
counseling, career counseling, consultation, assessment and research, program
development, and psychotherapy (Atkinson, Kim, & Caldwell, 1998). There
are those who argue that counselors should play a more conventional role in
providing individual counseling (Canfield, 2008). Others argue for alternative
roles that better address social justice issues (Vera & Speight, 2003). Although

82 JOURNAL OF MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT • April 2018 • Vol. 46

the need for counselors to be change agents is not new (Atkinson, Froman,
Romo, & Mayton, 1977; Cook, 1972; M. Lewis & Lewis, 1971), such calls appear
to have gained traction in recent years. As a result, terms as “social change
agent, activist, consultant, and social advocate” are being used synonymously
with the term “counselor” (Ratts, 2009, p. 165).

Although much has been written about the need to incorporate social
justice in the counseling literature (Ratts, 2009; Toporek, Gerstein, Fouad,
Roysircar, & Israel, 2006), these calls have not made significant inroads in
clinical practice. We argue that the lack of social justice in clinical practice is
partly because the current discourse on social justice counseling lacks practi-
cal schemas that provide counseling practitioners visual illustrations of how
to apply social justice in practice. Instead, what has largely been written is
abstract and focused mainly on defining and determining the relevance of
social justice in the field (Ratts & Pedersen, 2014).

While limited, there are conceptual schemas delineating the various roles
counseling professionals need to play to address multicultural and social
justice issues in counseling. These conceptual schemas call on counselors to
expand their roles beyond the conventional counselor role when working with
marginalized communities. Atkinson, Thompson, and Grant (1993) developed
a three-dimensional model that called for the following roles to address the
needs of racial/ethnic minority clients: (a) adviser, (b) advocate, (c) facilitator
of indigenous support systems, (d) facilitator of indigenous healing systems,
(e) consultant, (f) change agent, (g) counselor, and (h) psychotherapist.
Their model takes into consideration the locus of problem etiology, the level
of client acculturation, and the goals of counseling in determining what roles
are enacted. A strength of the three-dimensional model is that the roles take
into consideration office-based and out-of-office-based interventions. Grieger
and Toliver (2001) argued that college counselors needed to incorporate
the roles of mental health provider, consultant, trainer, social change agent,
administrator, educator, and collaborator to respond to issues of diversity on
college campuses. Their model takes into consideration the need for alterna-
tive roles in order to attend to the issues of diversity on college campuses. A
strength of Grieger and Toliver’s model is the recognition that different tasks
require professional counselors to play different roles. Ratts and Pedersen’s
(2014) CAS model delineates the relationship between counseling, advocacy,
and scholarship (see Figure 1). One strength of the CAS model is that it
examines the interdependent relationships among the roles of counselor,
advocate, and scholar. A limitation is that the CAS model does not identify
what competencies are required to fulfill the roles of counselor, advocate, or
scholar. What perhaps make the CAS model distinct from the other afore-
mentioned models are that (a) it includes a component on scholarship, (b)
it illustrates the interdependent relationship within each roles, and (c) it is
practical. These distinctions are what make the CAS model promising and
why we focus on illustrating its application in clinical practice in this article.

JOURNAL OF MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT • April 2018 • Vol. 46 83

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The CAS model provides helping professionals with a conceptual framework
to integrate the counselor, advocate, and scholar roles (see Figure 1). The
CAS model is an outgrowth of the scientist–practitioner–advocate training
model developed by Mallinckrodt, Miles, and Levy (2014) at the University
of Tennessee Counseling Psychology program. Ratts and Pedersen (2014)
reconceptualized Mallinckrodt et al.’s model to better refl ect the counseling
profession and to focus on practicing counselors in the fi eld. The CAS model
provides a conceptual framework of the different roles helping professionals
need to play in general, and the symbiotic relationship between counseling,
advocacy, and scholarship in particular. The assumption is that certain situ-
ations will dictate that counselors take on the traditional role of counselor

FIGURE 1

Counselor–Advocate–Scholar Model

Note. Reprinted with permission from Counseling for Multiculturalism and Social Justice:
Integration, Theory, and Application (p. 53), by M. J. Ratts & P. B. Pedersen, 2014, American
Counseling Association. Copyright 2014 by the American Counseling Association. Revised
from “The Scientist–Practitioner–Advocate Model: Addressing Contemporary Training Needs
for Social Justice Advocacy” (p. 26) by B. Mallinckrodt, J. R. Miles, & J. J. Levy, 2014, Training
and Education in Professional Psychology, 8, 303–311.

Counselor

Counseling informs
advocacy and
advocacy informs
counseling.

Advocate Scholar

Counseling informs
scholarship and
scholarship informs
counseling.

Advocacy informs
scholarship and
scholarship
informs advocacy.

Multicultural
and Social Justice

Praxis

84 JOURNAL OF MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT • April 2018 • Vol. 46

by providing counseling in the office setting. Other situations will demand
that counselors work in the community in the role of advocate to address
systemic issues that affect clients. Whether serving in the role of counselor or
advocate, the need to ground practice with research is becoming increasingly
important in a culture of accountability and tight fiscal restraints.

The CAS model provides a discourse that fosters recognition of these mul-
tiple roles and their value as they relate to addressing social justice issues
(Ratts & Pedersen, 2014). For example, counseling can help clients gain
insight into how oppressive systems and structures impede on human growth
and development, which in turn can lead counselors to embrace the role of
advocate to address systemic barriers. Likewise, working as an advocate in the
community offers counselors insight into how to best serve clients within the
counseling realm because they see firsthand the debilitating effect oppression
has on clients. These experiences also provide counselor advocates with rich
opportunities to conduct research to test out the efficacy of counseling and
advocacy interventions. The relationship between the roles of counselor, ad-
vocate, and scholar is discussed in further detail in the following paragraphs.

Counselor role. There are many benefits to serving in the role of counselor and
using counseling as a platform to assist clients. Counseling, when grounded in
multicultural competence, can help clients gain insight into how oppression
affects psychological well-being. Counseling can also be used as a tool to help
externalize the oppression and privilege clients have internalized. Unlike the
predominant counseling discourse, which focuses on helping clients adapt
to their oppressive environment (Prilleltensky, 1994), counseling interven-
tions and strategies in the CAS model are focused on client empowerment
(Ratts & Pedersen, 2014). The concept of client empowerment is not new.
Empowering clients in counseling permeates the multicultural, feminist, and
social justice counseling literature (Crethar, Torres-Rivera, & Nash, 2011).
Similarly, narrative therapy, relational–cultural theory, and feminist therapy
are also empowerment-based theories. Each of these theories helps clients see
their world more contextually, focuses on client strengths, gives attention to
cultural factors, externalizes client problems, and provides clients with tools
for social change.

Advocate role. As advocates, helping professionals use their positions to influ-
ence policy and work with community leaders to change oppressive systemic
barriers. Toporek (2000) added, “Counselors are in positions of institutional
power and privilege in relation to clients. This asserts that counselors have
access to resources and policies in a way that is different from those available
to clients” (p. 6). In the role of advocate, counselors work in the community
to alter oppressive systems and structural barriers that affect clients (Ratts &
Pedersen, 2014). Counselors are also in ideal positions to serve as advocates
because of their training in consultation, collaboration, leadership, and ad-
vocacy (Ratts, Toporek, & Lewis, 2010). These skills, when utilized in the role
of advocate, can be effortlessly transferred to addressing community-based

JOURNAL OF MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT • April 2018 • Vol. 46 85

issues. For example, it may be appropriate to work alongside clients outside
the therapeutic setting to address immigration issues affecting clients as part
of a counseling session.

Scholar role. As a practice-oriented profession, counseling is guided by theo-
retical concepts that shape counseling and advocacy practice. In order for
counselors to liberate themselves from the dominant discourse around coun-
seling practice, Ratts and Pedersen (2014) argued for a need to embrace the
role of scholar. They asserted that scholars are critical thinkers who are not
bound by popular counseling discourse because they are in a constant quest
for the truth. Through critical thinking, scholars apply the process of inquiry
needed to question established theories, practices, and the status quo in the
hopes of creating new knowledge to promote social change. This involves
using research to inform practice and using practice to inform research.
Moreover, scholars understand that practice and scholarship go hand-in-
hand (Ratts & Pedersen, 2014). Both counseling and advocacy provide rich
data that practitioners can use in research. In turn, research can be used to
determine best practice as it relates to counseling and advocacy.

Multicultural–social justice praxis. At the heart of the CAS model is the rec-
ognition that society is multicultural and that achieving social justice has a
far-ranging, consequential effect on individuals and society. Lee (2007) added
that counselors have an ethical responsibility because of their position in
society to be helping professionals who are multiculturally and social justice
competent. Whether in the role of counselor, advocate, or scholar, multicul-
tural and social justice competence requires that cultural factors and issues of
equity be integral throughout the helping process (Ratts & Pedersen, 2014).
This perspective requires a commitment to discard the dominant discourse
of value neutrality. Moreover, it requires a willingness to speak out in the face
of injustice and tailor interventions to align with clients’ culture.

OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK

The challenge for the helping professional in this new discourse is determin-
ing which role best fits the situation at hand: counselor, advocate, or alternat-
ing between both roles while integrating the role of scholar. For example,
a client issue may dictate office-based individual counseling one week (e.g.,
helping a Vietnamese-speaking client understand the process of applying for
housing), while the next week the situation may require that counseling take
place outside of the office setting in the form of advocacy (e.g., meeting the
Vietnamese-speaking client at an apartment complex to serve as a transla-
tor for housing application). This challenge can be addressed by pairing
the CAS model with the biopsychosocial perspective in counseling (Ratts &
Pedersen, 2014; see Figure 2). The biopsychosocial perspective argues that
human development issues cannot be fully understood without considering
biological, psychological, and sociological factors. The assumption is that
biological, psychological, and sociological variables are interconnected and

86 JOURNAL OF MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT • April 2018 • Vol. 46

influence one’s lived experiences. For example, research has demonstrated that
poverty (sociological) can affect cognitive functioning (psychological; Mani,
Mullainathan, Shafir, & Zhao, 2013) and can lead to respiratory problems
(physiological; Cohen et al., 2013). When helping professionals ignore the
influence of biological, psychological, or sociological factors, which is often
the case with the current discourse in counseling, they run the risk of doing
more harm than good. Helping professionals may inadvertently use biologi-
cal explanations to explain a sociological phenomenon, thereby leading to
interventions that miss the mark.

Determining the extent to which client problems are biologically,
psychologically, or sociologically based can help counselors establish whether

FIGURE 2

Operationalizing the Counselor–Advocate–Scholar Model

Note. Reprinted with permission from Counseling for Multiculturalism and Social Justice:
Integration, Theory, and Application (p. 56), by M. J. Ratts & P. B. Pedersen, 2014, American
Counseling Association. Copyright 2014 by the American Counseling Association.

Referral and/
or attempt
individual

counseling

Is the issue biologically based? Is the issue psychologically
based?

Is the issue sociologically
based?

Yes No

Explore
psychological

and
sociological

factors

Attempt
individual

counseling

Explore
biological and
sociological

factors

Attempt
advocacy

counseling

Explore
biological and
psychological

factors

If individual
counseling is
unsuccessful

explore
advocacy

counseling

If individual
counseling is
unsuccessful

explore
advocacy

counseling

If advocacy
counseling is
unsuccessful

explore
individual

counseling

Yes No Yes No

Determine the root of client problems

Counselor Advocate Scholar

JOURNAL OF MULTICULTURAL COUNSELING AND DEVELOPMENT • April 2018 • Vol. 46 87

to intervene at the individual or community level and the roles helping
professionals need to play (Ratts & Pedersen, 2014). For example, if clients
present with biological symptoms, such as unexplained stomach pains,
collaboration with a medical professional may be necessary along with individual
counseling. This approach requires helping professionals to serve as counselors
or advocates. If a client’s problem is psychological in nature, then individual
counseling and serving in the role of counselor may be warranted. However,
if the client’s problems are sociologically based, then efforts should focus on
altering environmental barriers. This approach requires helping professionals
to play the role of advocate. Certain situations may also call for both office-
based individual counseling and out-of-office-based advocacy counseling.
In such instances, helping professionals may alternate between office-based
counseling sessions one week and out-of-office advocacy counseling the next
week, serving as both counselors and advocates. Ratts and Pedersen (2014)
added that altering the direction of the helping process may be necessary if
clients are not experiencing therapeutic change. For example, if individual
counseling does not address client problems, then advocacy counseling may
be appropriate. Similarly, if advocacy counseling is not leading to the change
clients seek, then exploring individual counseling would be appropriate.
Interventions, whether they are office-based or community-based, should
always be grounded in scholarship.

The decision to work in the office setting, out in the community, or in some
combination of the two should be done in collaboration with clients (Ratts &
Pedersen, 2014). Clients should be an active part of the helping process. This
new discourse is based on the belief that when clients are active participants
in the therapeutic experience, they gain a sense of personal responsibility
because they have taken ownership of the helping process. They also derive
empowerment from making decisions that positively affect their lives. In
exploring the risks, benefits, and limitations of both individual counseling
and advocacy counseling, clients can make informed decisions concerning
what benefits them personally. Next, we present a fictional case study to …

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Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy

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Growing Leaders: The Parallels of Professional
Identity and Leadership Identity Development in
Counselors

Donna M. Gibson

To cite this article: Donna M. Gibson (2016) Growing Leaders: The Parallels of Professional
Identity and Leadership Identity Development in Counselors, Journal of Counselor Leadership and
Advocacy, 3:1, 31-40, DOI: 10.1080/2326716X.2015.1114435

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/2326716X.2015.1114435

Published online: 17 Mar 2016.

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Growing Leaders: The Parallels of Professional Identity and
Leadership Identity Development in Counselors
Donna M. Gibson

Department of Counselor Education, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

ABSTRACT
Within the counseling profession, an increase in counselor professional
identity development research has been reported. Leadership skills have
been assumed to be part of a counselor’s identity; however, leadership
identity development of counselors has not received significant attention in
the literature. In this article, parallels between professional identity and
leadership identity of counselors are explored, and recommendations for
supporting this development are provided.

KEYWORDS
Leadership identity
development; professional
identity development

Introduction

Servant leaders are first interested in the needs of others. They place themselves in positions of leadership so
that others might benefit. Leadership per se is not the goal. That fits for me. I do not see myself as a leader
though I have served in many leadership positions. I see myself as an advocate, and leadership positions are the
avenue through which advocacy is implemented (Jane E. Myers, as quoted in Nichols & Carney, 2013, p. 244).

Dr. Jane E. Myers recognized a specific purpose in her leadership activities. She saw it as a
mechanism for advocacy within and for the counseling profession. Although she may have not
perceived herself to be a leader, many in the counseling profession did view her as one. In advocating
for the profession, her roles as leader, professional counselor, and educator were intertwined in her
identity, which influenced the profession significantly. The resulting effects leave the question of how
this identity develops in counselors and how it can be nurtured. Specifically, are professional identity
development and leadership identity development of counselors linked? Based on Dr. Myers’ focus
on developing counselors, educators, and leaders, it appears that there are linkages to these
processes, which will be highlighted in this article.

Professional identity development

In the counseling literature, professional identity development research delineates this process in
counselors, counselors-in-training, and doctoral students (Calley & Hawley, 2008; Dollarhide,
Gibson, & Moss, 2013; Gibson, Dollarhide, & Moss, 2010; Levitt & Hermon, 2009; Luke &
Goodrich, 2010; Moss, Gibson, & Dollarhide, 2014). According to Nugent and Jones (2009),
professional identity development integrates the individual’s view of one’s personal self and is
attributed to his or her professional training within a specific professional context. This integration
results from a developmental process that is both intrapersonal and interpersonal. Intrapersonally,
individuation occurs as counselors cycle through autonomy and dependence while learning and
acquiring new skills (Auxier, Hughes, & Kline, 2003; Brott & Myers, 1999). This internal process is
negotiated within individuals while they receive diminishing levels of instruction and supervision
over time in order to develop autonomy and individuation. Concurrently, counselors are immersed

CONTACT Donna M. Gibson [email protected] School of Education, Virginia Commonwealth University, PO Box 842020,
Richmond, VA, 23284-2020.
© 2016 Chi Sigma Iota

JOURNAL OF COUNSELOR LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY
2016, VOL. 3, NO. 1, 31–40
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2326716X.2015.1114435

in the professional counseling culture and/or community where they are acculturated in the beliefs,
values, and attitudes of the profession as part of the interpersonal process of professional identity
development (Dollarhide & Miller, 2006; O’Byrne & Rosenberg, 1998).

According to Gibson et al. (2010), the process of professional identity development cycles
throughout the training and careers of counselors. For counselors-in-training, their identities trans-
form from an individual to a systemic perspective based on how they view their responsibility for
learning and how to acquire knowledge. Over time and experience, they rely less on expert knowl-
edge for definitions of counseling and grow more autonomous and confident in their counseling
knowledge, abilities, and skills. This leads to recognition of the support and mentoring of the
professional counseling community for continual learning, training, and development to validate
their practice and connect them culturally to the profession.

As they progress in their careers, professional counselors experience a “higher order integration of
professional selves” (Gibson et al., 2010, p. 4). In essence, counselors have to negotiate both
interpersonal (i.e., mentors, supervisors, professional organization membership, family) and intra-
personal factors (i.e., professional development, training, administrative and professional responsi-
bilities that require leadership) shaping their identities. Idealism about the counseling profession
morphs into a sense of realism through administrative and leadership responsibilities, and autonomy
continues to evolve and helps in the process of individuation. Counselors who have at least 5 years of
experience may begin to burn out in their position but can rejuvenate themselves through their work
with clients or through new training opportunities and specialty areas within the profession. If they
are rejuvenated, they have also been successful in integrating personal and professional aspects of
their lives and do not compartmentalize their identity as a separate work “self” from a personal
“self.”

Counselor professional identity development over time represents a transformational process of
the holistic identity of an individual, including the professional and personal aspects of the indivi-
dual’s life. This has led to a greater understanding of the training and supervision needs of
counselors-in-training and practicing counselors. Furthermore, the influence of intrapersonal and
interpersonal factors on this development could be applied to other types of development important
in the profession of counseling, including leadership identity development.

Leadership identity development

Unlike the research available regarding counselor professional identity development, there is limited
research on leadership identity development of counselors. The majority of the existing counseling
literature focuses on leader characteristics, qualities, and beliefs (Black & Magnuson, 2005; Myers,
2012; West, Bubenzer, Osborn, Paez, & Desmond, 2006). However, Luke and Goodrich’s (2010)
study on the impact of student involvement in Chi Sigma Iota International Honor Society (CSI) on
future leadership contributions highlighted how both intrapersonal (i.e., thoughts and feelings) and
interpersonal (i.e., experiences within the honor society chapter or counseling community, interac-
tions with those in the profession) factors were motivation to pursue more leadership activities. In a
mixed-methods study examining both quantitative and qualitative survey data of appointed and
elected leaders of the American Counseling Association (ACA), ACA divisions, ACA state and
regional branches, and CSI, Meany-Walen, Carnes-Holt, Barrio Minton, Purswell, and Pronchenko-
Jain (2013) found that leadership interests were present prior to the participants’ attendance in a
counselor education graduate program. In addition, the majority of participants reported that they
received personal support (i.e., friend or family member) in reaching their leadership goals.

Although limited, these studies indicated that intrapersonal and interpersonal factors are impor-
tant in the leadership identity development of counselors. However, much of the literature has
focused on the past and current influences and experiences of leadership identity development, with
the exception of Luke and Goodrich’s (2010) study, which included an examination of motivation
for future leadership involvement. The idea of “self as leader” is a part of self-concept and what

32 D. M. GIBSON

Markus and Nurius (1986) called one of the possible images or “selves” that people have about what
they may become in the future. “Possible selves play a key role in identity change because images of
future selves act as attention screens and motivational devices, shaping one’s interpretations of, and
responses to, unfolding opportunities or constraints, and serving as incentive for future behavior”
(Markus & Nurius, 1986, pp. 955–956). Ibarra, Snook, and Ramo (2010) proposed that an indivi-
dual’s identity transitions while exploring new possible selves through leadership behaviors and
experiences. These new possible selves are refined through social and emotional feedback on
leadership tasks (Ibarra, 1999). Emotional feedback is an internal process for the individual, and
social feedback is provided by others who interact with the individual in specific contexts (i.e.,
coworkers, supervisees, family, friends). In essence, this transitional identity process and feedback
shape and develop the type of leader the individual will become.

Similar to Dr. Jane Myers’ ideas about the purpose of leadership, Ibarra et al. (2010) proposed
that leadership refers to behaviors that depart from routine. This type of leadership creates new
learning and innovation that can influence social systems by motivating others to act and/or
become change agents. Therefore, skills are a foundation, but there is an intersection of skills and
interpersonal competencies that motivates others to create change and depicts the relationship
between being and doing as a leader, but this does not occur overnight. There is a process of
identity transition that begins with the individual’s current identity finding dissatisfaction with
expectations for self, organization, and/or profession (Kets de Vries, 2006). Individuals will
integrate new ways of thinking with new ways of doing and often find themselves in informal
leadership positions. Feedback on this new behavior is sought from new networks of individuals
that result in individuals making new meaning of who they are and who they want to become
(Ibarra et al., 2010). They begin to relinquish the old “self” and are less committed to their old
norms and reference groups.

As individuals practice new behaviors and begin to lead more, they may be uncomfortable
because their identity is in limbo or they feel like they have multiple identifies with none confirmed
(Ibarra, 2003; Settles, 2004). Internal and external feedback is sought and utilized by the individual to
confirm a leader identity (Ibarra, 1999). Huising (as cited in Ibarra et al., 2010) concluded that
internalizing an identity of leader as a change agent was not contingent on the individual acquiring
and using specific knowledge but had role models and a reference group that enacted and supported
change.

Based on this conceptualization of leadership identity development, the way an individual
perceives his or her possible selves is key to transitioning or transforming identity to one of
leader. Initially, beliefs and values may be questioned due to disagreement with the norm being
practiced, but this is when beginning leadership skills emerge. Connecting with role models or a
reference group that supports change and provides feedback to the emerging leader helps the
leader commit to this identity, which effects change (Van Dierendonck, Stam, Boersma, De
Windt, & Alkema, 2014).

Parallels of professional identity and leadership identity development

As counselors, we learn that intentionality in the use of theory, skills, and techniques is as significant
as the counseling relationship in affecting outcomes. Intentionality and relationship are components
that complement and support each other in helping clients. Similarly, intentionality in growing
leaders within counselor education programs and throughout the profession is equally important.
There are several important parallels of professional identity and leadership identity development
that can provide a guide on how to promote both with counselors. Identifying these parallels can
influence counselor training, advisement, extracurricular experiences, supervision, and mentoring
for counselors-in-training and professional counselors. Professional counseling organizations have a
role in promoting both professional identity and leadership identity; hence, the need to understand
and nurture these processes is relevant.

JOURNAL OF COUNSELOR LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY 33

Developmental processes

One of the first parallels to note is that both are truly developmental processes that may or may not
be cyclical in nature. Individuals can cycle through stages of autonomy and validation depending on
their roles in professional identity development (Gibson et al., 2010). Juggling multiple identities in
leadership and professional identity development is to be expected while the individual is trying to
commit and/or find confidence in a newer or transformed identity. For example, a new practicing
counselor often wrestles with the new counselor identity, feeling insecure in the role, which is a
similar feeling to that of a new counselor-in-training. This is similar to a school counselor who has
grown discontented with how students and faculty are taught about microagressions. The school
counselor may have attended several workshops on this topic and feels comfortable in creating
classroom lessons and a teacher in-service on the topic, so he asks the principal if he could take the
lead in handling this at the school. This would be a new role, in addition to his current one, so he
may feel unsure about how he will be received by the faculty in providing the in-service, but is
willing to provide it for them.

How individuals cope with these different identities and roles depends on how developmentally
ready they are to new experiences and opportunities (Ibarra et al., 2010). It can also depend on if these
are anticipated or unanticipated changes. For new counselors, new careers are ones that they have
anticipated due to being in graduate program training for a career in counseling. In contrast, school
counselors may have not anticipated the imminent need to lead training at their school but may feel
comfortable with the amount of professional experience and training on the topic they have received.

Transitional guidance

A second parallel of professional identity and leadership identity development is the reliance on
experts, experienced guides, supervisors, teachers, mentors, and/or faculty during specific transi-
tional periods of development (Dollarhide et al., 2013; Gibson, Dollarhide, Leach, & Moss, 2015;
Gibson et al., 2010; Ibarra et al., 2010; Moss et al., 2014). In counselor education programs, students
rely on faculty and supervisors as they progress from a reliance on expert/book knowledge to
counseling clients in practicum and internship. Typically, they continue to be supervised in early
career experiences and may continue to utilize peer supervisors throughout their careers. For those
in leadership positions, some level of expert support is sought, and a reference group may form. An
example of this could be a CSI chapter’s executive council. The president of the chapter does not
become president immediately but is acculturated into the position. As president-elect, he or she
begins to attend the council meetings, consults with the current chapter president and immediate
past-president, consults with the chapter faculty advisor, and consults with the CSI headquarters
office, if needed. If the executive council is found to be supportive of the new president’s leadership,
then they may become a reference group for the individual as he or she explores more leadership
opportunities (Ibarra et al., 2010).

These supports provide validation of skills over time, but they also validate identity and confirm
that choosing to be a counselor or to be a leader is congruent with the individual’s values and beliefs
(Ibarra et al., 2010). According to relational-cultural theory (RCT; Jordan, 2009), individuals find
meaning about their selves in relation with others. Therefore, supportive individuals are chosen due
to similar beliefs and values where new ideas, beliefs, and behaviors can be explored in a safe space.
This also includes peers who are experiencing similar transitions who can validate the insecure
feelings but also offer resources as a reference group. For example, counselor education doctoral
students seek more peer than faculty support and validation as they near the end of their doctoral
programs (Dollarhide et al., 2013). With questions about career opportunities and conducting a
research study for the first time, doctoral students find the similar thoughts and feelings from their
peers as more comforting and supportive. It may produce some level of equilibrium for students
when they are feeling insecure.

34 D. M. GIBSON

Professional experience

Experience is the third parallel of professional identity and leadership identity development. Nothing
confirms values, beliefs, and identity more consistently than experience. For counselors-in-training
and practicing counselors, working with clients confirms the counselor’s skills and motivation to
work as a counselor (Gibson et al., 2010; Moss et al., 2014). Many times, it prevents burnout and can
rejuvenate the counselor by providing direction for professional development. In terms of leadership
experience, new leaders feel more secure in utilizing new leadership behaviors in liminal experiences
that provide a level of psychological safety that is free from permanent consequences due to the
leadership behavior (Ibarra & Petriglieri, 2010; Kets de Vries & Korotov, 2007). For example, role-
playing leadership through role-plays and scenarios can offer individuals freedom to try different
types of leadership and to be creative in thinking outside the norm. Similar to counselors-in-training
practicing skills in simulated counseling sessions, supportive individuals can provide feedback to
leaders in leadership simulations for them to integrate this information into how they are making
meaning of their selves as leaders.

Personal and professional congruence

Finally, a significant parallel of professional identity and leadership identity development is how the
career and personal aspects of an individual’s life become more congruent with each other over time.
As discussed earlier regarding juggling multiple identities as a new leader and new counselor,
compartmentalization of personal and professional roles occurs because the individual is trying on
new roles and is insecure at this stage. With time and experience, both leaders and counselors
compartmentalize less and become more congruent in how the interpersonal and intrapersonal
factors of their lives interact and represent them in an authentic way (Ibarra et al., 2010; Moss et al.,
2014). For counselors with 20 or more years of experience, there is recognition that the counselor
identity is a core part of who they are along with other life roles. However, these counselors also
recognized both professional and personal limitations in their lives and how there is an interaction
effect between these limitations that is reminiscent of a systems perspective. Likewise, development
of a leader of change is based on a systems perspective that the leader can influence and motivate
others (Huising, as cited in Ibarra et al., 2010). This occurs mainly through interpersonal interactions
and networking as the leader integrates new self-conceptions of self as leader (Brown & Starkey,
2000; Ibarra, 1999). Lord and Hall (2005) noted that a leadership role needs to become part of one’s
self-identity in order to develop and practice complex leadership skills. In the next section, several
identity development strategies are discussed, and a list is offered in the appendix.

Identity development strategies for counselors and leaders in counseling

With the identified parallels of professional identity and leadership identity development, there are
several implications for integrating strategies to promote this development in counselors-in-training
and practicing counselors. Recognizing that there are innate attributes and early life experiences that
contribute to this development, there are contextual and environmental contributions for new and
experienced counselors that can be utilized to support professional identity and leadership identity
development. Vitally important is the role of the professional community, including professional
organizations, supervisors, and mentors.

Supervision and sense-of-self as counselor

Due to the developmental nature of counselor and leader identity formation, counselor educators,
supervisors, and professional leaders need to recognize supports that are required in the early stages
of identity development and how to assess the readiness of the individual to engage in more

JOURNAL OF COUNSELOR LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY 35

counselor/leader behaviors. This is where new students/counselors/leaders need expert information
and direct supervision. In counselor education programs, new counselors-in-training are involved
primarily in coursework and are not engaged with clients to practice skills. New practicing counse-
lors are supervised typically for licensure or induction certification. Because counselors-in-training
and new practicing counselors are required to have supervision, they have an expectation that this
will occur and that it will support their new identities as counselors. Counselor educators and
supervisors are encouraged to not only work on skills-related issues but to check in with students
and supervisees on the evolving sense of self as counselor. Questions to ask supervisees may include:
How does this match your expectations of being a counselor? How are your values and beliefs
affected by your work and view of self as a counselor? How are you working through the difference
of expectations versus reality? How can I (supervisor) support you, and what do you think you need
at this time? How does the counseling community/professional organizations support your devel-
oping identity as a counselor?

A developing self-awareness

Because self-awareness is heightened at these early stages of professional identity and leadership
identity development, attention to awareness of racial and gender identity, personal values, and
integrity should be assessed and evaluated consistently with students and new counselors (Komives,
Owen, Longerbeam, Mainella, & Osteen, 2005). New information and experiences may have students
and counselors reexamining these aspects of self, which can influence how they view their selves as
leaders. Advisors for counselors-in-training can explore these new ideas about self and self-as-leader
and how it integrates with their past experiences with leadership. Exploring alternative definitions of
leadership with both students and new counselors can be processes that occur in advising and
supervision.

Professional counseling organizations and activities

In addition, opportunities to connect with the counseling community should be integrated into the
counselor education programming as well as through supervision. For example, student organiza-
tions such as a CSI chapter and/or other student counseling organizations are local opportunities for
students to be engaged with student leaders and have possible exposure to the surrounding
counseling community through interactions with professional counselors in agencies and schools.
For programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational
Programs (CACREP), professional identity development standards require student exposure to
professional counseling organizations such as CSI, ACA, ACA divisions, and ACA regional chapters.
CSI (international and chapter-level) and ACA (i.e., national and state-level) have specific student
and new professional opportunities that promote professional identity and leadership identity
development. Creating a culture of professional organization involvement through professional
presentations, journal manuscript submissions, and committee involvement solidifies professional
identity as a counselor and promotes professional development in leadership in these organizations.
If this has not developed during graduate school for the new counselor, then supervisors and
counseling peers can encourage involvement in these organizations as well as offering service within
the work setting that may require leadership. With all of these activities, the central goal is to help
counselors-in-training and new counselors build confidence in their roles as counselor and leader
that will lead to enhanced professional identity and leader identity development.

Mentoring professional counselors

Although advisors, professors, and supervisors are assumed to be present for students and new
counselors, this cannot be assumed for more-experienced counselors and counselor educators. Based

36 D. M. GIBSON

on research with experienced counselors and counselor educators (Gibson et al., 2015; Levitt &
Hermon, 2009; Moss et al., 2014), mentors and peers influenced both their professional identity and
leadership identity. Support for identity transitions within the counseling profession was sought and
provided through these relationships. For example, a professional counselor with 20-plus years of
experience found support through her peers in transitioning the focus of her practice from one
specialty area to another as her own values and interests changed. A tenured full professor of
counselor education reported that he relied on his relationships with peers he connected with
through professional counseling organizations to support his development through leadership
activities.

Regardless of the research that indicates that these relationships and support occur, there is a lack
of research on development and maintenance of peer-mentoring relationships for tenured faculty
and experienced counselors. Research on the importance of mentoring counselor education junior
faculty (Borders et al., 2011; Magnuson, 2002; Magnuson, Black, & Lahman, 2006; Magnuson, Shaw,
Tubin, & Norem, 2004) and early leader development (Komives et al., 2005; Kram & Kahn, 1994) is
prevalent, but this has not extended to mentoring more-experienced faculty or professional counse-
lors. Beyond conducting more research in this area, one recommendation is to place a moratorium
on assuming that this occurs within the profession or is not needed. As a profession, more training
and professional development needs to be offered on mentoring throughout careers. Because it is a
developmental process, mentoring needs may change throughout the professional careers of coun-
selors and counselor educators. Making this a specific focus of interest networks of ACA and the
Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) will promote more discussion,
recommendations, networking, and research in this area. CSI can provide professional development
opportunities through conference presentations, webinars, and journal articles. Topics could include:
The Importance of Mentoring, Choosing the Right Mentor at the Right Time, Making the Most out
of Mentoring, Differentiating Between Mentoring and Supervision, Mentoring Leaders, Leaders as
Mentors, and Mentoring Needs of Experienced Counselors. At the individual level, professional
counselors and counselor educators need to be intentional in seeking mentoring, offering mentoring,
and acknowledging that mentors and mentoring needs will change over time in the profession. For
example, a state-level ACA leader who wants to be more involved in national ACA leadership needs
to find mentoring for achieving that goal and could offer mentoring to those individuals who are
involved in state-level leadership. In essence, both informal and formal forms of mentoring are
needed for experienced counseling professionals.

Mentoring throughout an individual’s professional career is the support that a counselor needs to
develop a more fully integrated identity of counselor and leader. As more and varied experiences
with clients and in leadership roles are collected, counselors grow more confident and competent in
their skills in these areas. The professional counseling community becomes the counselors’ reference
group in personal and professional aspects. Within this community, there may be a specific leader-
ship reference group that supports the counselor’s leadership activities and is congruent with the
values of self as …