A Call to the Profession: An IPA Study of Bilingual Counselors’ Experiences With Spanish Counseling and Bilingual Supervision

ABSTRACT Structural barriers, particularly language, limit Latine communities’ access to mental health services in the United States, where 73% of Latine families speak Spanish. Well‐trained Spanish–English bilingual (SEB) counselors are critical to addressing these disparities. This study explored how SEB Latine counselors make sense of their experiences providing counseling in Spanish and seeking SEB supervision in two Southeastern states. Ten licensed SEB counselors with up to 8 years of clinical experience participated in 90‐min semistructured virtual interviews. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) and yielded three group experiential themes: (a) becoming the bridge by providing counseling services, (b) experiencing supervision as both support and tension, and (c) navigating community agencies that enable or hinder SEB practice. The researchers discuss the complexities of bilingual counseling and emphasize the need for linguistically inclusive training, supervision, and systemic support.