Exploring Counselor Trainees’ Professional Irrational Beliefs and Emotional Struggles: A Document Analysis

The counselors themselves have more influence on the success of the counseling process than the techniques or skills they use. Counselors’ expectations of themselves and their clients may facilitate or jeopardize this process. The purpose of this study is to explore the irrational beliefs held by counselor trainees and to examine the emotional struggles associated with these beliefs. This study employs a qualitative approach, specifically a document analysis. In this context, the study examined 56 self-evaluation reports written by 9 counselor trainees. All trainees are enrolled in a Guidance and Counseling undergraduate program at a university in Türkiye as part of the Individual Counseling Practicum course. The data in this study were analyzed inductively. As a result, three main themes were identified: “Unreasonable Expectation of Achievement from Oneself,” “Unreasonable Expectation of Motivation, Commitment, and Achievement from Clients,” and “Expectation of an Irrational Level of Respect, Acceptance, and Love from Clients.” In conclusion, the findings revealed that counselor trainees hold irrational beliefs about themselves and their clients, which are accompanied by emotional struggles. Based on these findings, several recommendations are provided for counselor trainees, counselor educators, and researchers.