Counselor wellness has a direct impact on the quality of services clients receive, but little is known about the overall wellness of counselors. This study begins the process of better understanding counselor wellness by examining responses to a national survey that assessed both counselor wellness and impairment variables.

A sample of 506 professional counselors who were members of the American Counseling Association completed measures of professional quality of life, career‐sustaining behaviors (CSBs), and wellness. Significant differences were found both within the sample based on caseload characteristics and between the participants and available norm groups. Counselors with high wellness scores engaged in more CSBs and reported higher positive professional quality of life factors (compassion satisfaction). Implications for counselors, counselor training, and research are discussed.

This study is a follow‐up to Sackett, Lawson, and Burge's (2012) study that explored the meaningful experiences of clients and counselors‐in‐training (CITs). Using the previous study's themes of clients’ experiences in counseling with CITs as a launching pad, the authors examined in greater depth the meaningful experiences of clients who are in counseling with CITs through qualitative phenomenological interviews. Findings, as well as implications for counselor education, supervision, and counseling, are discussed.

Professional counselors who provided services to those affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita completed the K6+ (screen for severe mental illness), the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, and the Professional Quality of Life Scale. Results indicated that participants who survived the hurricanes had higher levels of posttraumatic growth than participants who served as volunteers. Both volunteer and survivor-volunteer participants were susceptible to compassion fatigue. To further resiliency, self-care strategies were found to minimize burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious traumatization.

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