The Lived Experiences of Clinical Supervision for Stress Mitigation among Master's Counseling Students in Internship

There is limited information on the lived experiences of stress mitigation in clinical supervision for master's-level interns in Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)-accredited counseling programs. There is a need for insight into how policy and supervision practices in counselor education programs can contribute to supporting and educating students during this time of professional and personal development and avoid negative personal and professional consequences. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to gain an understanding of the lived experiences of supervision for master's-level interns in CACREP-accredited counseling programs in relation to utilizing supervision for stress mitigation. This was explored through a transcendental phenomenological approach to answer the research question that directly addressed the purpose. Themes identified from the data collected by interviews were (a) time commitment as a stressor, (b) feelings of imposter syndrome, (c) difficulty talking to others about stress, (d) program and supervisors promote self-care, (e) supervisors are supportive clinically, and (f) supervision is non-structured. The data and themes provided insight into the stressors faced by master's-level counseling interns and their experiences of supervision related to addressing stress. This study contributes to positive social change through knowledge that highlights the common stressors among master's counseling interns and providing insight into how they are experiencing addressing these stressors in supervision. This provides further evidence that proactively incorporating components of self-care and stress management for counseling students is vital. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]