A Qualitative Case Study on the Experiences of Military Counselors: Focusing on Counseling Experiences of Soldiers with Borderline Intelligence

This study aimed to explore the experiences of military counselors from various perspectives and to deeply explore their experiences focusing on meeting and counseling borderline-level intelligence soldiers while working as military counselors. To this end, three military counselors with experience counseling borderline-level intelligence soldiers were selected and the study was conducted using a qualitative case study method. The research results yielded three primary categories, five middle categories, and 16 subcategories. The three primary categories were: ‘Military life of soldiers with borderline intellectual functioning as perceived by military counselors,’ ‘Counseling experiences of military counselors with soldiers who have borderline intellectual functioning,’ and ‘Areas for improvement identified by military counselors through their counseling experiences with soldiers with borderline intellectual functioning.’ Military counselors met borderline-level intelligence soldiers through the initial counseling process and observation of those around them, and during the counseling process, they came to recognize the various difficulties they experienced in military life. The military counselors felt rewarded by the fact that they played a supporting role through continuous counseling for soldiers with borderline intelligence during their military life. However, they experienced various difficulties in counseling due to the characteristics of borderline intelligence, and they recognized that efforts were needed to support soldiers with borderline intelligence at the individual and institutional levels. Based on these research results, practical and institutional supplements that should be considered in the future to support soldiers with borderline intelligence adapting to military life were proposed.