Research

Current Literature
            Research continues to identify current struggles within the counselor community, including increased burnout, low rates of licensure, and decreased effective skill development among counselors. Since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic, burnout rates for counselors have ranged from 40-48% (Lin, L. et al, 2023). While increased caseload is often considered a primary reason for burnout, research identified the difficulty of client cases to be more associated with burnout rates among counselors (Lee M. K. et al, 2020). As struggles within the world increase, so too do counselor’s vulnerability to countertransference and burnout. Researchers suggest that increased collaboration and supervision for counselors dealing with difficult cases can assist the counselor with managing burnout (Choi et al., 2014).
            While high burnout rates impact current licensed practicing counselors, the Motivo White-Paper has identified that those entering the field are diminishing at alarming rates (McCrickard, R., 2023). In particular, the study found that 57% of introductory counselors seeking full licensure do not go on to obtain it and discontinue their work as counselors. The study observed that reasons behind this low retention rate include: burnout, inadequate pay, lack of professional mentoring support, and etc. Not only is burnout an increased vulnerability in the counseling field, but the career path is additionally struggling with bringing new counselors into the field.
            In addition to increased rates of burnout and decreased rates of clinicians completing licensure, therapeutic capability and development appears within the research to be stymied. Through replicated research, investigators have found that therapeutic competency does not increase through time and with experience (Goldberg, S. et al., 2016 & Germer, S. et al., 2022). Through longitudinal studies, researchers identified that on average counselors slightly decrease in their efficacy over time. These results have led researchers to consider feedback and deliberate practice methods for developing skills throughout time.
            Research continues to identify current struggles within the counselor community, including increased burnout, low rates of licensure, and decreased effective skill development among counselors. In the present study, Do Counselors Develop from Professional Feedback over Recorded Therapy Sessions? A Qualitative Study, researchers, in collaboration with the Peer Reviewed Counselor Organization, seek to identify what benefits, if any, exist for counselors who directly observe and provide feedback over each other’s therapy sessions.

Conclusion
            The Peer Reviewed Counselor is an organization that assists mental health therapists with managing groups where counselors can share recorded therapy sessions with the goal of providing and receiving feedback through collaboration. Current research is being conducted through the Peer Reviewed Counselor, in collaboration with Utah Valley University, to determine if such collaboration aids the current struggles that counselors face, including burnout, retention, and development of therapeutic skills and competencies. The Peer Reviewed Counselor will produce results and further information on the outcomes of the longitudinal studies currently taking place when the studies are complete.

References
Choi, H., Puig, A., Kim, K., Lee, S., & Lee, S. M. (2014). Examining differential effects of internal and external resources on counselor burnout symptoms in South Korea. Journal of Employment Counseling, 51(1), 2–15. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.21611920.2014.00037.x
Germer, S., Weyrich, V., Bräscher, A.-K., Mütze, K., & Witthöft, M. (2022). Does practice really make perfect? A longitudinal analysis of the relationship between therapist           experience and therapy outcome: A replication of Goldberg, Rousmaniere, et al.  (2016). Journal of Counseling Psychology, 69(5), 745–754. https://doi         org.ezproxy.uvu.edu/10.1037/cou0000608
Goldberg, S. B., Rousmaniere, T., Miller, S. D., Whipple, J., Nielsen, S. L., Hoyt, W. T., & Wampold, B. E. (2016). Do psychotherapists improve with time and experience? A    longitudinal analysis of outcomes in a clinical setting. Journal of Counseling    Psychology, 63(1), 1–11. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uvu.edu/10.1037/cou0000131
Lee, M. K., Kim, E., Paik, I. S., Chung, J., & Lee, S. M. (2020). Relationship between environmental factors and burnout of psychotherapists: Meta‐analytic approach. Counselling & Psychotherapy Research, 20(1), 164–172. https://doi org.ezproxy.uvu.edu/10.1002/capr.12245
Lin, L., Assefa, M., & Stamm, K. (2023, April 1). Practitioners are overworked and burned out,   and they need our support. Monitor on Psychology, 54(3).      https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/04/psychologists-covid-burnout
McCrickard, R. (2023). Motivo. Whitepaper, pp 1-26.

If you are a member of the Peer Reviewed Counselor and would like to participate in this study, please notify the host of your group. We value your feedback in the groups and participating in these studies can help to add to the current existing literature about the ways in which to assist Mental Health Counselors.

Conferences Presentations:

RMPA – 4/12/2025
UVU Conference on Mental Health – 10/2025