MINDFULNESS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELOR EDUCATION

Abstract

Mindfulness, an essential concept in psychological counseling education, includes focusing the individual's attention and being aware of his experiences in the present. Psychological counselor candidates with a high level of mindfulness can be a big plus for themselves and their clients to gain this skill while working as field experts. In this context, this study examines the counselor candidates' mindfulness in counselor education and the relations between self-knowledge and mindfulness. Regarding this aim, we conducted the research with 309 psychological counselor candidates continuing their education at xx University, the Department of Guidance and Psychological Counseling. We used the Integrative Self-Knowledge Scale and the Toronto Mindfulness Scale for data collection. Results showed positive and significant correlations between the self-knowledge of the counselor candidates and their mindfulness. Another finding revealed that the curiosity sub-dimension of mindfulness was a significant predictor of the self-knowledge of counselor candidates. Findings revealed that mindfulness and self-knowledge differed statistically significantly regarding gender and grade level. These results underline that mindfulness, which is influential in developing dimensions such as therapeutic communication and social skills, should be included in counselor training.