A Qualitative Study on the Problems Encountered by Counselor Trainees in Individual Counseling and Their Solution Suggestions

Abstract

This research aims to examine the problems and proposed solutions encountered by prospective psychological counselors during individual psychological counseling sessions, within the framework of the Integrative Developmental Model. This research is a qualitative study, and the study group consists of 21 prospective who actively conduct individual psychological counseling processes within the scope of the Individual Psychological Counseling Practice course. Data were collected from participants through a semi-structured interview form and analyzed using content
analysis techniques. According to the research results, 10 of the participants did not experience problems in establishing a therapeutic relationship, but 8 of the participants encountered clientrelated resistance and lack of trust issues in the process of establishing a therapeutic relationship. In terms of skills and technical application, 9 of the participants were found to have difficulty with advanced intervention techniques such as confrontation and deepening. Regarding ethical
issues, 12 of the participants did not experience any boundary violations, but the main risk encountered was requests for communication outside of the session. The primary solutions to these problems include supervision support, reviewing theoretical resources, and strengthening the structuring process within the therapy sessions. Based on these findings, it is recommended that supervision processes in psychological counseling training be restructured and that applied training policies aimed at developing candidates' advanced skills be prioritized.