Professional Identity Development of International Counselor Education Doctoral Students

ABSTRACT The current study examined perceptions of professional identity among international counselor education (CE) doctoral students. A Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) design was used to explore the experiences of 13 international CE doctoral students. All participants had a clear understanding of the emerging nature of their professional identities, cited the impact of engaging in professional development opportunities, and described the importance of faculty relationships to their professional identity development. Many participants also described how their values resonated with the CE field and perceived other support systems (e.g., peer, family, community) as important to their professional identities. Implications and recommendations are discussed.