| Both the counseling and counselor education fields assert to increase diversity when considering representation of practitioners and educators to provide culturally sensitive and considerate care to diverse clients (Meyers, 2017). Relatedly, Black doctoral students represent 25.09% within counselor education programs highlighting a lower prevalence of the Black identity within counselor education when considering the inclusion of diverse narratives (CACREP, 2018). This grounded theory study proposes a model for usage to provide context surrounding the process of professional identity development of Black doctoral students in counselor education to aid their faculty’s brainstorming of strategies for support and retention of current and future Black doctoral students. Keywords: counselor education, professional identity development, Black doctoral students in counselor education |