| This study explored the experiences of counselor educators and supervisors teaching Counselors-in-training (CITs) to be present in practicum contexts. Eight participants were solicited to engage in two phenomenological interviews. Additionally, participants submitted photographs of practicum sites, photographs of an object representing the instruction of presence, and a written description of an experience of presence. To manage bias and crystallize the data, a process of member checking, a researcher journal, and a peer reviewer were employed. Data analysis entailed a process of open coding, identification of meaning units, and formulation of tentative manifestations using Vagle's (2014) post-intentional phenomenology. Six themes emerged that borrowed concepts from Aristotle's Poetics, yet opened up different meanings in the context of practicum instruction. The identified themes were: Ethos: An Abode, Mimesis: Representing Presence, Catharsis: Purging Barriers, Melos: Melody, Phanerosis: Shining, and Peripeteia: The Turning Point. The findings support implications for counselor educators and supervisors teaching the practicum course as well as implications for the field. Specifically, didactic and experiential learning approaches can be integrated into the practicum class to discuss presence as a foundational factor that supports other facilitative conditions. Grounding activities, demonstrations, check-ins, and reflective learning exercises might also be utilized. The profession might utilize presence as an integrative construct that synthesizes disparate elements of counselor training and professional identity. Areas of research include investigations of student perceptions, grounded theory research of the process of learning presence, and quantitative designs. |
