| A high percentage of the general population are trauma survivors(Briere &Scott, 2014; Felitti, et al., 1998), a high percentage of counselors-in-training (CITs) are trauma survivors(Black, Jefferys & Hartley, 1993; Fussell & Bonney, 1990;Pope & Feldman-Summers, 1992;Thomas, 2016), and a high percentage of counseling clients will be trauma survivors(Felitti, et al., 1998; Webber, Kitzinger, Runte, Smith, & Mascari, 2017). During counselor education programs, CITs will likely reencounter past traumatic experiences through education and clinical experiences(Carrello & Butler, 2015; Shannon, Simmelink, Im, Becher & Crook-Lyon, 2013). Ethical and professional standards dictate counselors must connect empathically and genuinely with clients while not becoming impaired or perpetrating client harm(American Counseling Association [ACA], 2014; Branson, 2019).These multiple converging realities create a unique phenomenon of CITs reencountering trauma during their education, yet little is understood about how this process impacts personal or professional development. Current literature supports notions of wounded healers but also warns against vicarious trauma and countertransference. The purpose of this research study was to gain insight into the process of CITs reencountering trauma during their educational experience. Utilizing a constructivist grounded theory approach (Charmaz, 2014), nine participants were interviewed and offered two separate member check opportunities. After data analysis, a theoretical model was developed detailing the process of reencountering trauma during a counselor education program. Implications and recommendations for educators, supervisors, counseling programs, researchers and survivor-clinicians/survivor-CITs are provided. Key Words: counselor education, trauma-informed education, constructivist grounded theory |