“It's Like Learning a Whole New Language”: Bilingual Counselors-in-Training in a Spanish Internship Course

Abstract

This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of bilingual Spanish-speaking counselors-in-training (BS-CITs) enrolled in a Spanish internship course within a Bilingual Counseling Certificate program. Participants included nine master's-level counseling students who completed individual, semi-structured interviews. Using Moustakas's modification of Van Kaam's phenomenological method, we present three themes: (a) linguistic and cultural responsibilities in bilingual counseling, (b) experiences in the Spanish internship course, and (c) growth and constraints throughout internship experiences (a) linguistic and cultural responsibilities in bilingual counseling, (b) supportive learning in a fully immersive Spanish internship course, and (c) growth and constraints throughout the internship experience. Findings highlighted persistent language anxiety, challenges in translating clinical terminology, and navigating cultural nuances in counseling. Participants identified Spanish-language clinical assignments, bilingual supervision, and peer support as critical facilitators of development. Results underscore the importance of intentional, programmatic bilingual training that integrates direct clinical practice in Spanish, culturally responsive pedagogy, and bilingual supervision. Implications for counselor educators and supervisors include developing structured Spanish-language clinical opportunities, expanding bilingual supervision capacity, and explicitly addressing language anxiety and advocacy in training to better prepare counselors to serve Spanish-speaking communities.