A qualitative metasynthesis of counselor professional identity and qualitative study of how doctoral students experience their professional identity development in a nontraditional counselor education program

Graduation date: 2015The purpose of the dissertation was to gain an understanding of counselor professional identity and identity development, as well as an understanding of the experiences of doctoral students as they develop their professional identity within a nontraditional (hybrid) counselor education (CE) program. This was accomplished through systematic literature review of the qualitative research on counselor professional identity and identity development and the completion of a qualitative grounded theory exploration of doctoral students in a hybrid CE program as they developed their professional identity. The literature review consisted of twelve studies, and identified the areas of counselor professional identity mostly frequently studied and those that had been understudied, it highlighted the most common qualitative methodologies used, and revealed eight overarching themes across the studies reviewed. These results set the foundation for the grounded theory examination of how doctoral students in a hybrid CE program experienced their identity development as they transitioned from practitioner to educator. This grounded theory study looked at the experiences of nine individuals who were either currently enrolled in, or who recently graduated from a hybrid CE doctoral program. Three rounds of semi-structured interviews were completed, audio recorded and transcribed. A member check was conducted by email. Through the coding process, four categories emerged; beginning hybrid doctoral program, learning how to be a counselor educator (CE), connecting with others, and evolving sense of professional identity. Connecting with others developed as the central category because of its essential relationship to the professional identity experience of doctoral students in their hybrid programs. Beginning hybrid doctoral program emerged as the context of this study, and represented the hybrid program and certain experiences and qualities each participant had prior to starting their respective doctoral program. This context proved to be critical in fully understanding the professional identity development of the participants. This study provides a qualitative descriptive view of how doctoral students in a hybrid CE program experience their professional identity development. These findings are relevant to the counseling profession in general, academic program development, counselor educators, and have implications for future research