Novice school counselors’ countertransference management on emotional exhaustion: The role of daily emotional processes

The present study aimed to examine the role of daily emotional processes in the relationship between countertransference (CT) management and emotional well-being in novice school counselors. We collected data for 7 consecutive days from 305 novice school counselors in South Korea. Multilevel mediation analyses revealed that novice school counselors with low CT management ability were less likely to be aware of their emotions, increasing their daily emotional exhaustion. In contrast, novice school counselors with a high level of CT management ability were more likely to engage in daily decentering and, in turn, were less likely to experience daily emotional exhaustion. Although emotional inhibition (lack of emotional awareness) significantly exacerbated emotional exhaustion over time, decentering was not related to emotional exhaustion over time. The practical and theoretical implications of this study are discussed.