| Although the profession of school counseling has existed for over a century, there are still philosophical differences and competing professional identity models that have led to conflicts regarding how school counselors should be trained. In particular, school counselor educators working in multi-specialization counselor education programs often face the challenge of balancing school counseling among other specialties and feel that school counseling students are left with less content and training applicable to the school setting. As a result, there is a concern that counselor education programs do not always meet the unique needs of school counseling students. Given these concerns, school counselor educators often find themselves engaging in professional advocacy regarding the role and professional identity of school counselors. This phenomenological study explored the experiences of five school counselor educators who have engaged in professional advocacy within multi-specialization CACREP-accredited counselor education programs resulting in five essential themes: (a) Navigating the Context of the Program, (b) Bridging Theory to Practice, (c) Educating Colleagues, (d) Advocating Within the Training Program, and (e) Ongoing Commitment. Finally, implications and recommendations for the field of counselor education are provided. |