Voices from the Field: Defining Moments in Counselor and Therapist Development

All professional counselors can identify a number of key turning points in their careers: moments, interactions, and processes that crystallized key realizations for them regarding their practice with clients, work with students, or self-understanding. The sharing of these defining moments among counselors can lead to the building of a community in their profession and the prompting of their own growth as helpers. This text is a collection of essays written by graduate students and counseling professionals describing their experiences related to entering the counseling profession, work in individual and group counseling, and difficult moments they have faced in their practices. Along with these essays, the editors present discussion questions and suggestions for the reader on how to articulate and write about their own experiences, allowing them to shape these lived experiences into useful tools for development.

Michelle Trotter-Mathison, PhD, is a psychologist at Boynton Health Center and lecturer at the University of Minnesota. Julie M. Koch, PhD, is an assistant professor in the School of Applied Health and Educational Psychology at Oklahoma State University. Sandra Sanger, MA, is a doctoral candidate in the Counseling and Student Personnel Psychology Program at the University of Minnesota. Thomas M. Skovholt, PhD, ABPP, is Professor of Counseling and Student Personnel Psychology at the University of Minnesota and a Licensed Psychologist.