Date of Conferral

8-13-2025

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Counselor Education and Supervision

Advisor

Sadohl Jones

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be an equal opportunity crisis. There is substantial research to better understand how individuals have reacted to crisis experiences like the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about the lived experiences of clinically licensed counselors during COVID-19. This gap in the literature is important because the increase in the number of individuals seeking counseling to deal with their fears and concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic may have put a strain on counselors that were also experiencing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis was to bridge the gap in the literature and to explore the lived experiences of seven clinically licensed counselors, in solo private practice, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Constructivist self-development theory provided the theoretical foundation for the study. A purposive sample of seven participants were recruited and participated in 60-minute semi-structured interviews about their lived experiences during COVID-19. Findings revealed the clinical counselors’ professional and personal challenges as well as their areas of growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. The interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed the following emergent themes: private practice, COVID-19 quarantine experiences, counselor adaptations to COVID-19, and future research recommendations. The results of this study indicate the need for future research on clinical counselor wellness after a crisis situation. These findings implicate social change by increasing awareness of the possible long-term side effects of working with counseling clients during crisis situations.

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