Date of Graduation

Summer 2015

Degree

Master of Science in Counseling

Department

Counseling, Leadership, and Special Education

Committee Chair

A. Leslie Anderson

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to obtain a greater insight into the experiences and perceptions of counselor trainees who received training in mindfulness practices. There were three participants, who were enrolled in a graduate level course in counseling micro-skills and were trained in mindfulness practices during this course, chosen for the qualitative study. A phenomenological approach was used to understand the experience of these participants through two interviews and journal entries over a one-week period of time. The interviews concentrated on their thoughts and perceptions about the impact of their training in mindfulness both in their personal and professional lives. A thematic analysis was conducted to find core themes of impacted areas within the participants' experiences. These themes found were: emotional effects, interpersonal relationships, and self-care. The conclusions of this study showed the benefits of mindfulness practices, which included an overall improvement of life for the participants. Future studies may use this as support toward inquiries over the use of mindfulness within counselor development programs and other related areas.

Keywords

mindfulness, counselor trainee development, emotional effects, interpersonal relationships, self-care

Subject Categories

Counseling

Copyright

© Joshua Justin Cook

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