Counseling Higher Education Students: Counselors' Positive Experiences

Concept mapping was used to illuminate counselors' positive experiences of providing counseling/psychotherapy to students in higher education. Counseling professionals (N = 65) in 23 colleges and universities responded to the question "What are the positive aspects that motivate you to provide counseling/ psychotherapy to students?" From these responses, statements were generated and sorted, and their importance was rated. Using multidimendional scaling and a cluster analysis statistical program to analyze participant sorts, a concept map comprised of 10 thematic clusters was generated. Clusters centered on four positive aspects: the counselor, the counseling process, the client, and the work environment. Implications for promoting a supportive workplace for counseling professionals in postsecondary settings are discussed, as are suggestions for further investigation.