Date of Award
8-1-2018
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctorate of Education, Ed.D.
College
College of Education
Department
Education
First Advisor
Chad A. Becker, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Joshua M. Johnson, Ed.D.
Third Advisor
Dana Shelton, Ph.D.
Abstract
Eight Counselors in training (CITs) were followed through their professional counseling internships in a holistic outpatient counseling center. All participants were similarly exposed to mindfulness activities including yoga, qigong, meditation, and auricular acupuncture over the course of a semester, then asked to respond to the research question: How do student interns of the study site perceive and describe their lived experience of mindfulness phenomena? Phenomenological methodology was applied to the study and data was gathered through focus group discussion and face-to-face interviews. CITs registered descriptions of mindfulness phenomenon with insight, depth, and meaning. Their descriptions were recorded, transcribed, coded, themed, and distilled to the four invariant themes of Attunement, Allowing, Wellbeing, and Flow. The four themes were consistently reflected in literature and hold promise to the benefits of mindfulness practices for CITs personally and professionally. In sum, this study was a relevant response to the research question. Results of this inquiry, while encouraging, are limited by research methodology, sample size and geographic region. More research is needed to further assess the potential benefit of mindful approaches for therapists and clients alike.