Effectiveness of Experiential Group Training in Developing Leadership Self-Efficacy of Counselors-In-Training

ABSTRACTCounselor education programs emphasize experiential group training (EGT). With the growing need for online group counseling services, it is unclear how to structure the EGT to improve group leadership self-efficacy of counselors-in-training (CITs). This pilot study used a unique EGT design to provide group membership and group leadership experience to master’s students in both face-to-face and online formats. Master’s students completed pre-and post-intervention measures to evaluate the effectiveness of this EGT in improving group leadership self-efficacy. Results indicated that there was a significant increase in students’ group leadership self-efficacy in both formats of training. Implications for building experiential group training programs are discussed.KEYWORDS: Experiential group trainingcounselors-in-traininggroup leadership self-efficacyonline group counselingface-to-face group counseling AcknowledgmentsThe authors wish to thank all the students who participated in this study.Disclosure StatementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsBilal UrkmezBilal Urkmez is an Assistant Professor in counselor education in the Department of Counseling and Higher Education at Ohio University. Dr. Urkmez holds the Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Counselor Education program from Michigan State University at East Lansing. He also holds an M.A. in Rehabilitation Counseling from Wayne State University in Detroit.Sunder SinghaniSunder Singhani is a doctoral student at Ohio University in a CACREP-accredited Counselor Education and Supervision program. He holds an MEd in clinical mental health counseling from Bridgewater State University, a CACREP-accredited program, and a Master of Liberal Arts degree in Clinical Psychology from Harvard University. He is a National Certified Counselor and a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Ohio. He is a qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher since 2018 and the Founder/President of the Mindfulness-Based Living student club at his university. He is also an NBCC Minority Fellowship Program (Doctoral) Fellow for 2023.