Abstract
In spring 2022, we conducted a phenomenological investigation on the lived experiences of 12 U.S. school counselors during the COVID-19 global pandemic, triangulating individual interviews and participant drawings to gain a rich, thick, comprehensive account. We found that school counselors perceived their experiences during the pandemic as multifaceted and complex, composed of intertwining initial and ongoing challenges and growth or positives that emerged in the face of crisis and loss. Participants reported these findings across multiple areas of their lives: personal, professional, and at the K–12 educational/societal level. We discuss results within the lens of shared trauma and posttraumatic growth, providing implications for school counselors as they work within the current “new normal” and reverberating impacts of a global pandemic.
Introduction
COVID-19 is a disease from a highly contagious virus (SARS-Cov-2) and was discovered in Wuhan, China, in December 2019; in March 2020, COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], n.d.). Pandemics such as COVID-19 are organized into phases, based on hypothesized cases and risk. Phases include (a) interpandemic (lowest cases and preparation for risk); (b) alert and (c) pandemic phases (highest cases and response to risk), and (d) transition (recovery phase, lowering cases, often multiple waves, eventual return to the interpandemic phase; CDC, 2016).
As COVID-19 quickly spread, organizations globally were impacted, including K–12 schools. In the middle of March 2020 (i.e., the early or alert and pandemic phases), U.S. schools shuttered (Hamilton & Ercikan, 2022), resulting in attempts at online education, homeschooling, gaps in traditional education, and an uptick in mental health concerns. In later stages of the pandemic (i.e., the transition phase), schools across the United States wrestled with when and how to return to in-person learning, including conversations on vaccination, masking, and quarantine policies (Hamilton & Ercikan, 2022). The first 2 years of the pandemic (spring 2020 to spring 2022) saw evolving educational policies and practices.
School counselors are K–12 educational staff members who assisted schools in navigating changes throughout the pandemic (e.g., Limberg et al., 2022; Savitz-Romer et al., 2021; Villares et al., 2022), yet little is known about their lived experiences during this process or how these experiences may impact school counselors currently. To fill this gap in the literature, the present phenomenological study examined school counselors’ (N = 12) personal and professional experiences in the pandemic, by triangulating data from participant interviews and drawings collected in spring 2022. Novel to this study is a robust depiction of school counselors’ experiences throughout the first 2 years of the pandemic, uniquely detailed through interviews and drawings. Also new to this study are the results discussed in the context of shared trauma and posttraumatic growth, providing implications for navigating the present “new normal” facing school counselors. These implications are especially important, given that the impacts of COVID-19 are predicted to be felt for years to come (Hamilton & Ercikan, 2022).
COVID-19: A Collective Global Trauma
According to the National Institute of Mental Health (2022), “a traumatic event is a shocking, scary, or dangerous experience that can affect someone emotionally and physically,” including natural disasters, violence, accidents, and losses (para. 1). In response to traumatic events, individuals can experience challenging or maladaptive responses (e.g., anxiety, grief, and distress) and growth or adaptive responses (e.g., posttraumatic growth: a positive, transformative reaction to a trauma; Holmes et al., 2021; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004). Thus, trauma responses may be viewed as multifaceted, resulting in both maladaptive and adaptive responses.
In a similar vein, COVID-19 is viewed as a collective trauma due to the threats to and actual loss experienced by individuals across the world (Holmes et al., 2021). Specifically, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a global impact on mental health, leading to increases in the following: anxiety, depression, isolation, loss, uncertainty, stress, trauma, violence, and substance abuse (Beckstein et al., 2022; Novacović et al., 2022). The pandemic also interrupted daily functioning and security across many aspects of life, mainly health, work, social, education, safety, and financial (Beckstein et al., 2022; Novacović et al., 2022). Further, the challenges associated with the pandemic were exacerbated for populations who have been historically oppressed, such as Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC), individuals with preexisting health concerns, and other factors such as poverty, racism, and access to resources (Beckstein et al., 2022; Novacović et al., 2022). With these substantial challenges, scholars have also noted areas of growth or positive outcomes that have occurred for some as a result of the pandemic, including expedited medical research, personal reflection and growth, increased time with loved ones and social support, repair to the environment, and gains in technology for work and leisure (Beckstein et al., 2022; Novacović et al., 2022). Overall, COVID-19 as a collective, global trauma has resulted in significant challenge and loss, with some aspects of growth and transformation.
Mental Health Providers: Shared Trauma and Posttraumatic Growth
Mental health providers (e.g., counselors, social workers, and psychologists) have been crucial in response to the mental health implications of the pandemic. However, many of these professionals had a more complex experience with the pandemic. According to Tosone and Cohen-Serrins (2022), shared trauma occurs when a professional (e.g., mental health provider) is exposed to a trauma, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, at the same time as their client. Hence, shared trauma applies to counselors supporting clients during a trauma while simultaneously navigating their personal and professional experiences with that same trauma (Holmes et al., 2021; Tosone & Cohen-Serrins, 2022; Tosone et al., 2016).
Relatedly, an aspect of trauma, including shared trauma, is posttraumatic growth (PTG; Tosone et al., 2016), defined as the “positive psychological change experienced as a result of the struggle with highly challenging circumstances” (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004, p. 1). Scholars suggested that after a traumatic or major crisis event in which one responds with distress (e.g., threat or actual occurrence of death, violence, or significant impacts to safety), individuals make adjustments to their functioning, routine, or identity (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004; Zoellner & Maercker, 2006
To explore the dimensions of PTG, Tedeschi and Calhoun (1996) developed a five-factor assessment, with the following subscales: (a) New Possibilities: new options for one’s life personally and/or professionally; (b) Relating to Others: closer and more meaningful relationships, greater empathy or compassion; (c) Personal Strength: more self-efficacy in one’s own strength or resilience/coping; (d) Spiritual Change: increased existential or spiritual meaning; and (e) Appreciation of Life: clarifying priorities and possessing greater gratitude. As such, PTG can result in transformation across several domains of an individual’s identities and functioning (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004; Tosone & Cohen-Serrins, 2022; Zoellner & Maercker, 2006).
Related to PTG, scholars have explored mental health providers’ reactions to shared traumas, including natural disasters (e.g., Hurricane Katrina: Lambert & Lawson, 2013; Tosone et al., 2016), large-scale acts of violence (e.g., the 9/11 terrorist attacks: Bauwens & Tosone, 2010; the Virginia Tech Shooting: Day et al., 2017), and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic (Holmes et al., 2021; Litam et al., 2021). For instance, local counselors providing disaster mental health counseling directly after hurricanes Katrina and Rita were twice as likely to experience compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma, compared to a sample of American Counseling Association counselors (Lambert & Lawson, 2013). At the same time, local counselors experiencing a shared trauma reported higher levels of PTG (measured via a PTG inventory), compared to counselors assisting from outside the area (Lambert & Lawson, 2013). In a similar vein, Day and colleagues (2017) described local clinicians’ (e.g., counselors) shared trauma when counseling those impacted by the Virginia Tech shooting. Chiefly, the clinicians shared neglecting their personal needs, not processing their feelings, and a lack of supervisor support. At the same time, they also noted aspects associated with PTG, including stronger professional cohesion with their colleagues and the creation of more personal boundaries around wellness. Overall, scholars have investigated mental health providers’ experiences with shared trauma, noting instances of both challenge (e.g., trauma, blurred professional boundaries, and lack of tending to their needs) and some positive change aligned with PTG (clarifying personal priorities, boundaries, and self-care; greater colleague cohesion; enhanced client empathy; Bauwens & Tosone, 2010; Day et al., 2017; Lambert & Lawson, 2013, Tosone et al., 2016). Thus, the research rooted in mental health providers’ PTG echoes aspects of the instrument developed by Tedeschi and Calhoun (1996).
Scholars have named COVID-19 as the most substantial shared trauma during the last century, likely impacting most if not all mental health providers, including counselors (Tosone & Cohen-Serrins, 2022). Using a national sample, Litam and colleagues (2021) found that counselors’ mental health was negatively impacted by the pandemic, including higher levels of stress and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Holmes et al. (2021) measured PTSD in social workers working during COVID-19, finding the sample had five times greater PTSD than a national population of adults, and seven times greater than social workers in 2015. Due to large-scale traumas, counselors and other mental health providers have experienced shared trauma and PTSD, and also factors associated with PTG, with the COVID-19 literature emerging. However, absent from this conversation on counselors, shared trauma, and PTG are the experiences of school counselors and implications for navigating the present culture and context of K–12 education and the ongoing recovery phase of the pandemic.
COVID-19: Impacts for School Counselors
School counselors are counselors who provide both mental health and educational supports in schools, serving students’ academic, career, and social/emotional needs (American School Counselor Association [ASCA], 2019; Levy & Lemberger-Truelove, 2021). Further, school counselors are leaders and change agents in schools, prioritizing social justice and aiming for equitable educational access for all students (ASCA, 2022). School counselors have been crucial during the pandemic, assisting students, staff, and family members in navigating challenges (Villares et al., 2022). As a result, researchers have begun preliminarily examining school counselors’ roles during the pandemic, including how they have adapted their school counseling practices (Limberg et al., 2022); provided services and encountered burnout (Villares et al., 2022); experienced constraints and supports; and adapted their professional roles (Savitz-Romer et al., 2021). Kruczek and colleagues (2022) compared school counselors’ and principals’ perceptions of their school’s pandemic response.
In looking at findings across these studies, during the initial stages of COVID-19, school counselors found providing counseling services to students challenging, including hindered communication with students and their families (Limberg et al., 2022). Other school counselors reported a lack of support from supervisors/administrators, including limited training (Savitz-Romer et al., 2021). Next, school counselors described engaging in greater crisis management and referrals, with decreased school counseling activities and more ancillary or noncounseling tasks (e.g., taking student temperature checks; Limberg et al., 2022; Savitz-Romer et al., 2021; Villares et al., 2022). Finally, due to the pandemic, some school counselors appreciated greater technology usage and teacher collaboration (Limberg et al., 2022), while others found that technology, internet access, and communication/engagement were substantial challenges, especially for students and families from historically marginalized groups (Kruczek et al., 2022). Overall, scholars have started investigating school counselors’ experiences during COVID-19, focusing on professional responsibilities and conducting this research during the early stages of the pandemic (i.e., the first 3–6 months). This research used quantitative and mixed methods, leaving a need for more qualitative research to glean a deeper understanding.
Rationale and Purpose Statement
The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching effects globally, impacting mental health not only for the lay person, but also for counselors and other mental health providers, resulting in shared trauma among many helping professionals. The research on counselors’ shared trauma and PTG during the pandemic is emerging, with focus generally on clinical mental health counselors. The existing literature on school counselors’ experiences during the pandemic investigates their professional roles only. Given the nature of shared trauma and PTG typically impacting providers personally and professionally, the need remains to expand the current reach to understand school counselors’ experiences beyond work roles, thereby eliciting a more robust, comprehensive understanding of their experiences. Also, the existing school counseling research was conducted in the initial stages of the pandemic (e.g., 2020), leaving a need for more recent research examining school counselors’ experiences across the first 2 years of the pandemic, through various phases. This increased understanding may provide implications for current school counselors as they navigate the new normal of existing society today, and may illuminate the impact of the pandemic, which is predicted to be felt for years to come (Hamilton & Ercikan, 2022). Thus, the following research question guided this study: What were the lived experiences of school counselors during the COVID-19 pandemic? To uphold the purpose of this study, data collection purposefully began in late spring of 2022, to gain an understanding of those first two years of the pandemic.
Method
We conducted a phenomenological investigation of school counselors’ lived experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, based on Moustakas’ (1994) descriptive transcendental phenomenology. Through phenomenological research, scholars aim to glean a thick, rich description of participants’ lived experiences with a phenomenon (e.g., the what and how; Creswell & Poth, 2018; Hays & Singh, 2023). To deepen our understanding of participants’ experiences with the pandemic, we triangulated multiple data sources consisting of individual interviews and participant drawings (Brailas, 2020; Hays & Singh, 2023). Scholars have recommended qualitative methods to glean a nuanced understanding of shared trauma and PTG, including interviews and creative methods of expression beyond the verbal, to aide in participant reflection (Holmes et al., 2021; Tosone & Cohen-Serrins, 2022; Tosone et al., 2016). Participant drawings are one such method to encourage and enhance participants’ sharing of in-depth experiences, and to provide participants with opportunities for reflection beyond the verbal.
Researcher Reflexivity
Reflexivity statements are routinely used to disclose researchers’ positionality and biases, providing a lens to view the study. During this investigation, both members of the research team were in counselor education programs (as faculty and doctoral student, respectively), having a multitude of interactions with preservice and practicing school counselors through their teaching, training, and leadership. Both were also practicing school counselors and hold identities rooted in school counseling, social justice, equity, access, and systemic change. Last, both researchers also experienced the COVID-19 pandemic as helping professionals.
Researchers’ positionality can also be understood within the lens of their research paradigm and philosophies of science (Creswell & Poth, 2018; Hays & Singh, 2023). In tandem with phenomenological inquiry, we subscribe to a social constructivist approach, recognizing multiple contextual realities and how participants construct knowledge. Pertaining to axiology, we believe that individuals’ reality is impacted by their values and assumptions. Ontologically, we perceive that reality is subjective and context is crucial in understanding constructs. Epistemologically, we see knowledge as unlimited and created through the research process.
Given our experiences, biases, research paradigms, and beliefs, we heavily engaged in reflexivity during the study, such as through journaling, research team discussions, and with a peer debriefer and external auditor. As we developed the study, we acknowledged our assumptions that school counselors hold unique and important roles, which likely impacted their personal and professional experiences during the pandemic. Due to limited existing research, we were unclear and open to their experiences during COVID-19. Beginning in data collection and throughout the study, we recognized that we identified with the experiences of many participants (e.g., holding a helper role during the pandemic; experiencing stress, strain, resilience, and growth). Hence, we processed our personal reactions that emerged during the study, setting aside our experiences to prioritize those of participants.
Participants
As is common in phenomenological investigations, we developed a purposive sample of participants who experienced the phenomenon under investigation as of spring 2022 (Hays & Singh, 2023). The inclusion criterion was: individuals who were employed for at least one year as a practicing K–12 school counselor in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. In keeping with scholarly recommendations for phenomenological research, this study consisted of 12 participants (Creswell & Poth, 2018; Hays & Singh, 2023). Nine participants identified as female and three as male, with ages ranging from 29 to 56 years. These school counselors reported having 1–31 years of school counseling experience. They self-identified their race/ethnicity as: African American/Black (N = 2), Asian (N = 2), Latina/o/x (N = 2), and White (N = 6). Participants represented seven states and described their school sites as rural (N = 3), suburban (N = 5), and urban (N = 4), with six reporting receiving Title I funds. The population at these sites ranged from 200 to 2400 students. Given the traumatic nature of the pandemic, and to uphold the ethical research tenets of avoiding participant harm, we collected data in April and May of 2022, more than 2 years after the start of the pandemic (during the recovery or transition phase).
Data Collection
Prior to data collection, we received approval from our human subjects review committee. To recruit participants, we advertised through professional networks including social media, professional development, email lists, and organizations. We asked all interested individuals to complete a brief online survey to provide them information on the study, screen for inclusion criteria, and collect demographics and interview availability. Data were collected through semistructured individual interviews that lasted approximately 1 hour via Zoom, a university-sponsored audio/video platform.
When developing the interview protocol, we reviewed common interview structures in phenomenological investigations. In alignment with a social constructivist perspective, we provided broad, open-ended questions/prompts in each interview, encouraging participants to share their constructed meaning and experiences (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Specifically, we asked broad questions that would help illuminate participants’ lived experiences, giving them flexibility to guide their narrative. We began every interview with: “When you hear the phrase ‘school counseling during the COVID-19 pandemic,’ what comes to mind?” We then asked probing follow-up questions based on participant response, such as: (a) “As a school counselor, did you experience/perceive any challenges as a result the pandemic? If so, please share those,” and (b) “As a school counselor, did you experience/perceive any positive experiences as a result the pandemic? If so, please share those.” At the end of the interview, we followed a postinterview approach to collecting participant drawing data, adding drawings to semistructured interviews for a richer understanding of the given phenomenon (Brailas, 2020). We provided the following prompt: “In this interview, you’ve described your experiences as a school counselor during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now I invite you to draw these experiences. Please get out a blank, white, standard piece of paper and draw your experience. Please let me know when you are done.” After completion, participants verbally described their drawing as part of the interview.
In advance of the interview, participants received an informed consent and all interview questions/prompts. After the interview, we transcribed all audio recordings and participants took a photograph of their drawing and emailed it to us.
Relevant to data collection, we observed that, given the intense nature of the pandemic, the data collection process provided an opportunity for participant reflection. At the conclusion of interviews and in follow-up/member checking emails, the participants often expressed appreciation for reflecting on their experiences during the pandemic, such as: “Talking this through has really helped closure for me … It helped normalize what I have gone through” (PA09); “Looking back, so many things felt terrible last year, but talking about it now … helped me … make meaning” (PA04); “I appreciate the opportunity to share my experience … Sometimes it feels like we sat in silence so much and just did the job. Being able to speak about it is really helpful. Thank you” (PA10).
Data Analysis
We analyzed data using Creswell and Poth’s (2018) steps to a phenomenological study, based on Moustakas’ (1994) transcendental approach. Mainly, we (a) set aside or bracketed researcher biases, assumptions, and experiences, to prioritize participants’ experiences; (b) collected data from participants who experienced the phenomenon; (c) conducted systematic data analysis, from narrow to broader units of analysis; and (d) developed textural and structural descriptions (i.e., the overarching essence of what and how participants experienced the phenomenon). First, we familiarized ourselves with the interview and drawing data, individually reviewing all transcripts and drawings multiple times and discussing our reactions and biases as a research team, and strategies to bracket our assumptions. Next, the first researcher reviewed the first transcript and drawing, engaging in horizonalization, or highlighting meaningful statements (Creswell & Poth, 2018; Moustakas, 1994). Subsequently, the second researcher engaged in consensus coding, reviewing the first transcript and drawing with the horizons, noting instances of agreement and disagreement. During lengthy research meetings, we consensus coded, discussing each discrepant horizon until reaching intercoder agreement (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Next, we compiled the horizons from the first transcript and drawing into a codebook. We repeated this consensus coding process for the remaining transcripts and drawings. After completing horizonalization, we each reviewed the codebook, individually grouping horizons into clusters or themes and subthemes. During several more research meetings, we compared themes, subthemes, and corresponding horizons across all data (transcriptions and drawings), until reaching consensus. Last, the first researcher used the themes and horizons to write the textural and structural descriptions and the overarching essence, which the second author reviewed and amended (Creswell & Poth, 2018; Moustakas, 1994).
Trustworthiness
We utilized several trustworthiness strategies congruent with a phenomenological tradition to increase the rigor of the study, based on constructs of credibility, transferability, dependability, confirmability, and authenticity (Hays & Singh, 2023). We used bracketing in individual reflexive journaling and during research meetings and with our peer debriefer and external auditor, with the goal of increasing our awareness and decreasing the impact of our biases and assumptions (Creswell & Poth, 2018; Moustakas, 1994). We conducted member checking at several points during the study. During the interviews, we reflected content for participant confirmation; we emailed participants their transcript for accuracy and expansion; and we shared the final results with all participants, soliciting their feedback. All participants engaged in member checking (e.g., one shared their appreciation for reflecting on their experiences; other participants expressed confirmation of the data). We utilized all member checking feedback.
Next, we engaged in multiple types of triangulation (Creswell & Poth, 2018; Hays & Singh, 2023): researcher triangulation (i.e., reaching consensus on all data analysis) and data source triangulation (i.e., developing results across transcripts and drawings). Further, we provided a reflexivity statement, to communicate our positionality. Common in qualitative research, we utilized a robust description of the method and results. Finally, we used a peer debriefer and an external auditor; both are doctoral-level school counselor educators with experience in qualitative research and the research topic. The first reviewed the themes and subthemes and provided feedback on the overall results, the literature review, discussion, and concepts of trauma (their area of expertise). The second reviewed our audit trail (i.e., field notes, coded transcripts, codebook, results, and method), providing feedback, such as confirmability and rival explanations, and offering their expertise of school counseling during the pandemic. Both also reviewed and provided feedback on our findings, in the context of our self-identified biases, assumptions, and attempted bracketing.
Results
In describing their experiences with COVID-19, school counselors shared two themes that were multifaceted, or experienced across multiple areas of participants’ lives: personal, professional, and at the K–12 educational/societal level. Specifically, these themes were: (a) multifaceted challenges that were initial and ongoing and (b) multifaceted growth or positives that emerged in the face of crisis and loss. In looking at these two themes comprehensively, the essence, or overall findings of this study are: the pandemic as a complex, evolving new normal: intertwining challenges and positives. Next, we detail these two themes through participant quotes; these themes are also depicted in participant drawings, with examples shown and described further in the essence section.
Theme 1: Multifaceted Challenges During the Pandemic
In the first theme, school counselors described the challenges of the pandemic as all-encompassing, traumatic, and impacting several aspects of their lives: (a) personal, (b) professional, and (c) in the greater society.
Subtheme 1A: Personal Challenges
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, school counselors reported a range of feelings: isolation, frustration, loss, anxiety, being overwhelmed, struggling with mental health, and trauma. For instance: “It’s a global trauma, there’s no getting around …. It’s life and death situations almost on a daily basis” (PA07), and “a lot of anxiety and stress … it was scary and heartbreaking” (PA10). PA05 said: I got really sad and emotional…. I had those kids [students] for 3 years and I didn’t get to say goodbye…. That really hurt … I slipped into a depression … knowing I would never get those memories back…. I was going through grief … I lost myself.
Similarly, PA04 stated: “This year I’ve lost it in front of people…. cried or had a panic attack…. I couldn’t hold it together anymore…. I usually wouldn’t cry in front of co-workers and I found myself doing that a lot more this year.” In examining these feelings, the school counselors also communicated the challenges of meeting their own personal needs, as well as those of their students. For instance: “A lot of what the students were feeling, I was feeling…. It’s heartbreaking and triggering to think about the students’ experiences … all their grief and loss” (PA03). PA04 related: “This year I’ve felt more vicarious trauma…. I found myself crying over students, whereas I’ve never done that before.” Finally, PA09 detailed: “I was struggling with the volume of everything going on [personally and professionally]…. I lost my grandfather during COVID. I was struggling with focusing [at work] … getting a therapist to support me.”
Subtheme 1B: Professional Challenges
Beyond their personal struggles, the school counselors described professional struggles during the pandemic, such as the inability to meaningfully connect with students, and being taxed by too many professional roles. PA08 prioritized “the relationships that I have with my students” yet during the pandemic, was hindered by remote education: “Through the pandemic, not being with them was negative … a disconnect from those kids, not being able to see them and interact with them.” PA10 also described “not being certain how to meet student needs…. Heartbreaking not knowing what was going on with students behind the scenes [at home, during remote learning]. Not being able to reach them.” In a similar vein, PA05 stated: “You can’t build a relationship through a computer. I can’t pull a kid from their classroom to sit on my couch and have conversations about academics, home, and life.”
Not only did school counselors struggle to access students due to school closures, they also relayed being overburdened by tasks due to the school’s pandemic response. PA07 was “asked to do things that are not within our roles, contact tracing, calling parents … [assisting with] the COVID isolation room.” Relatedly, PA11 expressed the challenges with using Zoom professionally: “I had never done a Zoom [meeting] before…. I had to learn how to do counseling lessons online. I didn’t know how to set up my Google Classroom.” Similarly, PA07 reported: “Since we had the shutdown, I have not stopped working. During my spring break, I came to the school to distribute computers for kids…. I taught students with autism for 4 weeks.” PA06 mentioned the high volume of work and the blurred boundaries between home and work: “I was on my computer all day … working in my unfinished basement … everything around me was storage. I had the Christmas tree, boxes of old stuff.”
Subtheme 1C: Societal-Level Challenges
According to the school counselors, the pandemic magnified existing societal issues, particularly pertaining to systemic inequities and mental health. As PA03 said: The pandemic brought to light inequities our families experienced … immigrant families, undocumented families, their identities put them at a greater risk of experiencing pandemic effects … losing their jobs, not having access to healthcare or basic needs. If they got sick, they had to deal with it.
Many participants believed the pandemic also magnified students’ mental health concerns, with statements such as: “The problems within children are becoming bigger … because of the issues already there [with] families and kids, then COVID magnified their issues” (PA01). Further, PA12 shared the substantial increase in suicidality: “[From September until] late to mid-October, we had more suicide assessments … across the department of seven counselors … than we had in the entire previous years.” The school counselors also relayed the impacts of “gap in our socialization … learning loss … lack of motivation … absences. There’s a lot that happened and now we’re seeing the ramifications” (PA11). Finally, according to PA06, “Our kids came in as if they hadn’t been in school 3 years. The 10th graders are like seventh graders, academically, socially, emotionally. For the first half of the year, I felt like I was working with middle schoolers or upper elementary kids.” These magnified challenges occurred not only in students, but also across K–12 education: “Adults are tired. There’s low morale…. Teachers are struggling in our district and the country. What’s the future of education?” (PA04).
Theme 2: Multifaceted Growth During the Pandemic
Interwoven with challenges, school counselors’ journey with the pandemic included areas of growth across several parts of their lives: (a) personal, (b) professional, and (c) K–12 school/societal.
Subtheme 2A: Personal Growth
Participants shared that being a school counselor gave them a purpose and a distraction during an extremely stressful time, the early phases of the pandemic. Some noted that this coping mechanism provided them with an escape and opportunities for growth: “That was my way to cope, keep myself busy…. I was working way past my hours. And that’s how I kept my mind off [the pandemic] … it gave me a purpose” (PA03). PA09 also discussed their purpose: “The reason I do this [work], being a minority in a predominantly White school district, [is] to serve all students, make a difference in students’ lives that look like me.” They then discussed the impact of remote learning, during the pandemic: I was a fraction of myself…. I was in a funk I couldn’t snap out of…. When I was able to [go back to in-person learning], I felt rejuvenated…. The relationships with students helped me become reconnected to my purpose…. There’s a lot of good takeaways [from the pandemic]…. I’m happy for the growth.
Working in the pandemic could be all encompassing with blurred professional boundaries. As a result, many participants responded by purposefully redefining and creating healthier work boundaries. As PA02 discussed: I have to set boundaries … maybe we didn’t before [the pandemic]. When we were teaching from our living rooms it was hard to create boundaries because you’re living where you’re working. I’m guarding my time [now] … taking back power in how we structure our availability.
PA01 described having to “understand what worked for me, in terms of self-care … learn what boundaries were…. I had to learn the hard way because if I wasn’t taking care of myself, it would seep into other areas of my life.”
When talking about setting healthier boundaries, participants also expressed areas in which they grew, becoming healthier school counselors and people, evaluating and changing their priorities and perspectives. For instance: “I lost myself at the end of that school year [during school closures/remote learning]. I had to redefine who I was and what I can and can’t control” (PA05). Another participant, PA09, stated: “I’m appreciative of having the opportunity to become a better version of myself…. I’m making progress.” One school counselor found that everything was stripped away [during the pandemic]. Then you could see … for ourselves, for our students … what’s the most essential things to get back to … focus our time on? It helped clear away the clutter. Look at the most valuable things. (PA10)
Others also discussed their positive growth: I’m taking better care of myself … more [self] forgiving … instead of apologizing for not being good enough. Like that serenity prayer, “accept the things you cannot change, but the courage to change.” There are things that I can change, and now is a great time to advocate for students and opportunity gaps. The pandemic has widened them. (PA07)
Finally, PA04 discovered seeing others making decisions they may not have made [before the pandemic]…. My husband and I got married during the pandemic…. We went into lockdown together and were like, “I wouldn’t have made it through without you.” … It strengthened our relationship and we realized we were ready for marriage…. Also, the extra time helped me cultivate a life outside of work. I started voice lessons, crocheting … reading for pleasure…. Without the pandemic I would’ve kept pushing myself all the time…. It’s helped me shift priorities.
Subtheme 2B: Professional Growth
School counselors also described professional growth that occurred from the pandemic. They appreciated gaining collaboration with other school counselors, families and community members, and students, and enhancing this collaboration through using technology. Regarding school counselor collaboration, PA01 said: I connected with other school counselors from neighboring schools; we had breakfast together and talked. It was refreshing to hear their perspectives of what they were going through [in the pandemic]…. It was relieving to vent … exchange ideas and resources.
According to PA09: Everyone was in the same boat of figuring out creative new ways [to perform our job]…. If it wasn’t for my counseling team being a united front and supporting each other, I don’t know if I would’ve gotten through [the pandemic].
Participants also developed innovative ways to collaborate with their school community, taking advantage of this sense of togetherness. As PA08 shared: “Teamwork is one of those things that comes through … our school counseling team … working with our administrative team. Everyone is ‘all-hands-on-deck’.” According to PA03: “The phrase, ‘it takes a village’ was the most outstanding phrase for this time…. Every person had a role to support students, our tech team, counseling team, custodians.” PA03 continued: We shifted our services from students to community and families … the whole child…. We knew that students weren’t the only ones quarantining at home…. We did virtual paint nights … 100 families showed up. Virtual game nights … I’m working with families at risk of becoming homeless.
School counselors also engaged with students in new ways as a result of the pandemic. For example, PA06 reported: I was mailing things home. I even mailed confetti in envelopes for kids that got accepted to colleges. I said, ‘Can you take a picture and throw it [the confetti] up? Send it to me because I’m excited for you.’ You had to think about different ways to connect.
Last, the use of technology also assisted in school counselors’ collaboration. As PA05 said: Educators tried out different ways to engage students. Reinventing [how] we are doing presentations to students … through Zoom…. Record videos on the college process. Instagram. Do a trimester check-in with students [virtually] … see how things were going with school and home.
Similarly, according to PA02: Counselors are in charge of student success team, child study…. [Early in the pandemic] everything had to be over Zoom. More parents have attended [meetings] because they didn’t have to leave the house or get transportation…. Parents attend meetings that previously wouldn’t have…. I’m seeing such positive results in parent attendance.
Subtheme 2C: School/Societal-Level Growth
School counselors described growth due to the pandemic in the greater society, such as K–12 schools. For instance, participants perceived a greater appreciation for school counseling, and for youth mental health and social/emotional learning. PA09 described a positive of the pandemic: “With our campus, we ended up getting a therapist. We [now] have therapists in all our high schools.” They also stated that “our admin [now] believes in the role of the school counselor…. He realized how important social/emotional things were.” Next, PA01 appreciated debunking [school counseling] myths…. I have a lot of conversations with parents about my role. I’m not reaching all parents, but I’m making progress…. I’m introducing the idea of counseling to families or kids … [they are] seeing it’s not so scary; it’s beneficial.
Relatedly, PA07 reported: When we came back [to in-person learning], the strategic plan of the school district and school focus on social/emotional health. Where [before], social/emotional health and our services were an outlier. Now they are an integral in the district plan. That is a positive outcome. Next, another school counselor noted: This is the first year we [the district] included social and emotional leads, which are teachers who assist the counseling department. She does daily [student] check-ins. Then, when something isn’t right, I follow up…. It is a successful addition to the two counselors [in my school]. (PA11)
Participant PA02 reported that “social/emotional learning is coming to the forefront. It’s finally getting the attention it deserves. And it took a huge global crisis for people to validate the work that we’ve been doing.”
With the improvements to the negative stigma around school counseling, mental health, and social/emotional learning, the participants in the present study also relayed improvements in school policies and procedures. As schools transitioned back to in-person learning, many examined and then changed their school’s preexisting protocols. When the peak of the pandemic subsided, many schools found the protocols helpful, and maintained them. For instance, “even our dismissal procedures and parent pick-up procedures, some of those procedures had to change [when we returned to in-person learning] and we’re seeing the benefit now” (PA02). In a related vein, PA12 said a positive to the pandemic was being able to reimagine education … having some of your higher-ups, your educational leaders, put in place waivers on some nonessential requirements…. For example, in 2020, students were awarded the standardized testing credit if they passed the class. Then they weren’t stressed with having to take a standardized test. These 2 years, seeing a lot of those weird requirements and policies that we put students through, just ceased or paused.
Last, according to PA10: We relied on old systems that may not be best practice, but we don’t want to let them go…. [Since the pandemic] we were able to look at, “What is actually most efficient or best practice?” Best thing for us to get our jobs done, and best for students … we went away from paper scheduling and had everything through Google Forms in an electronic format. And it’s the best thing. It simplified our process and made us more efficient.
Overall Essence: Complex “New Normal”: Interweaving Challenges and Benefits
The essence captures the overarching results, highlighting the pandemic as a complex, evolving “new normal” for the present sample, rooted in intertwining challenge and positives (Themes 1 and 2). As such, this essence builds on the two themes, showing how the challenges and benefits exist together. Specifically, this essence is demonstrated in the drawings in Figures 1–4, to be viewed alongside the following descriptive school counselor quotes. Resiliency, bouncing back and growing through experiences. I drew a bouquet of flowers, symbolizing community. But also, there’s wilting flowers and petals have fallen off, acknowledging the different challenges that people experienced. Thriving through this pandemic … growing together and trying to hold one another up (PA03). Drawing by Participant 03. We’re the pirates, that’s the ocean theme. You’re being rocked by waves, trying to keep the sail up. There’s black rain clouds looming. You never know when it’s going to rain on you … you worry about it all the time. And then this bottom rock … there is something we hold to with the anchor, that will keep us from sinking or being thrown around…. I’m trying to look for when the sun will come out. The future will be bright and positive, I’m not going to be stuck here forever. I’ll be able to start moving and pull up the anchor. But right now, [we are] stuck and being tussled around, trying not to sink (PA07). Drawing by Participant 07. I divided the paper in half, this darkness/cloudy storm, lightning, that’s the darkness and difficulty. At the same time, there were bright spots, grass growing, flowers, blue sky, and birds singing in spite of the darkness and difficulty. The hurricane is swirling around you, but there’s safety and calm in the middle of it. We have to remain in the calm eye of the storm because the storm doesn’t stop, and there’s always going to be some sort of storm. We can’t avoid it, but we can find bright calm spots to hold onto and center ourselves in. That’s how I felt: In spite of the storm, I saw bright spots. (PA10). Drawing by Participant 10. I used the colors of the rainbow. However, my initial feeling [was], “This is chaos. What’s going on? How are we going to do this?”… I don’t think there’s sunshine and rainbows yet, but it wasn’t all black and gloomy…. Being able to make those connections again, to be together [after returning to school], that’s the happy part, where the colors come in. To get back to normalcy. It took a lot. Not always sad, and some good (PA06). Drawing by Participant 06.
Overall, the challenges and growth areas noted by participants made up a sense of “new normal,” which was continually evolving. This sense of normal was also different across participants, as they/their communities appeared to be at different places in the recovery phase of the pandemic. For instance (via the quotes and drawings above), participants shared silver linings of the pandemic (e.g., technology, collaboration, boundaries, and wellness), with challenges largely decreasing over time. However, others shared the continuing challenges they were still facing at the time of the interview. For instance, a school counselor communicated that one of their students had attempted suicide the day before and became tearful in discussing the current challenges at their school (we ended the interview then, out of concern for this participant). Relatedly, PA06 communicated: “Nothing was clear. We’re coming out of that now and it’s a little more clear … but things are not back…. There’s never going to be the ‘old normal.’” Similarly, PA12 said, “One of the most difficult things is this push for ‘normal.’ Nothing is normal.” Overall, this essence is composed of the intertwining challenges and positives, in the context of a varied new normal, providing considerations for current school counselors, whose work may be impacted by the pandemic for years to come.
Discussion
Mirroring Shared Trauma and Posttraumatic Growth
Shown through their drawings and interviews, the school counselors in the present study perceived their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic as multifaceted and complex, occurring across many areas of their lives (personal, professional, and educational/societal). For instance, pictorially, participants shared a struggle between negative and positive forces (e.g., a bouquet of flowers, both blooming and wilting; a ship at sea, struggling through storm and sunshine). Overall, this struggle or dichotomy appears to be aligned with the literature describing individuals’ reactions to traumatic events: that individuals can respond to traumatic events both with distress and positively, with transformation or PTG (Holmes et al., 2021; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004). Further, our results also parallel the constructs of shared trauma, going through a crisis or trauma event while supporting clients through the same event (Holmes et al., 2021; Tosone & Cohen-Serrins, 2022; Tosone et al., 2016). Research on shared trauma experiences of counselors/mental health providers during COVID-19 is emerging (e.g., Beckstein et al., 2022; Novacović et al., 2022), with more scholarship existing for other collective traumatic events, such as natural disasters and mass violence (e.g., Bauwens & Tosone, 2010; Day et al., 2017; Holmes et al., 2021; Lambert & Lawson, 2013; Litam et al., 2021; Tosone et al., 2016). When beginning this study, we did not intend to study trauma or PTG, but that is where our participants led. To our knowledge, this is the first study to find school counselors’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic aligned with the concepts of shared trauma and PTG, offering a new perspective to the existing literature. This provides not only a better understanding, but also the possibility for implications or next steps for school counseling in this new normal.
Multifaceted Impacts: Personal, Professional, and K–12 Educational/Societal
The pandemic has impacted all areas of individuals’ functioning, including social, work, financial, health, and more (Beckstein et al., 2022; Novacović et al., 2022). Similarly, the participants in our study also described COVID-19 as impacting them in multiple arenas. We discuss participants’ experiences personally, professionally, and at the educational/societal level, in the context of alignment with shared trauma and PTG.
Personal Experiences
Across the world, the pandemic had a starkly negative impact on mental health (Beckstein et al., 2022; Novacović et al., 2022). Thus, it makes sense that the school counselors in our sample shared similar struggles throughout the pandemic, describing their grief, confusion, anxiety, exhaustion, and trauma. In alignment with a hallmark of shared trauma (Tosone & Cohen-Serrins, 2022), the school counselors also noted the compounded challenge of meeting their own needs during the pandemic while simultaneously meeting students’ needs. In addition to these challenges, the school counselors also communicated a number of positives on the personal level associated with being a school counselor during the pandemic. Their job often gave them a sense of purpose and a distraction from the stress and strain of the pandemic, demonstrating that for many, school counseling is more than a job—it is an identity or purpose that helped them cope (e.g., “I was working way past my hours. And that’s how I kept my mind off [the pandemic]…. It gave me a purpose” [PA03]). Next, in many cases, school counselors believed that COVID-19 forced them to develop healthier boundaries and clarified priorities. Through experiencing the pandemic, they became more mindful of how they spent their time in and out of work, and developed more self-compassion and enjoyment. These findings mirrored the PTG scale (identifying new options for their life personally and professionally, developing a new appreciation for life, clarifying priorities; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996), and also overlapped with PTG results from the local clinicians responding to 9/11 (Bauwens & Tosone, 2010) and the Virginia Tech shooting (Day et al., 2017), mainly emphasizing greater wellness, self-care, and boundaries.
Professional Experiences
The school counselors expressed several professional challenges during the pandemic. Due to remote learning and school closures, they missed their traditional interactions with students and felt their relationships and engagement weakened; similar findings were also discussed by scholars examining school counselors’ roles during the initial phases of the pandemic (Kruczek et al., 2022; Limberg et al., 2022). Related to other school counseling research (Limberg et al., 2022; Savitz-Romer et al., 2021; Villares et al., 2022), the school counselors in our study engaged in a multitude of ancillary or non-school-counseling roles (e.g., contract tracing, distributing technology, and long-term special education substitute teaching). Due to these substantial work constraints, some described a constant workload and poor boundaries between work and home, similar to the experiences of clinicians working in the aftermath of 9/11 (Bauwens & Tosone, 2010). Due to the limited student access, school counselors developed creative ways of connecting with their students (e.g., mailing confetti-filled letters), including their innovative uses of technology (e.g., Zoom, Google, and Instagram). The latter extends Limberg et al.’s (2022) research, as our study showed that the creative use of technology took place throughout the pandemic and continued into the current recovery phase. Another positive professional outcome was developing stronger professional collaboration with other school counselors, families, and students. Throughout the pandemic, participants felt a greater sense of community and comradery, or “we are all in this together” to serve the greater school community, families, and the whole child. These results echo the PTG research on increased professional cohesion, from clinicians working through the Virginia Tech shooting (Day et al., 2017), and affirm school counselors experiencing greater teacher collaboration during the initial phases of the pandemic (Limberg et al., 2022).
Educational/Societal-level Experiences
According to the literature, individuals from historically marginalized identities, including those who are BIPOC, have experienced greater systemic inequities in education, resources, and opportunities as a result of the pandemic (Hamilton & Ercikan, 2022; Kruczek et al., 2022). The school counselors in our study perceived similar trends, that the pandemic magnified inequities toward some school families, such as immigrant and undocumented families, who have greater job, home, medical, and food instability and lack of access; this study also highlighted school counselors’ desire to address these systemic inequities. These results reinforce school counselors’ priorities, primarily the use of a social justice lens to decrease systemic educational and societal barriers impacting K–12 students and schools and obstructing access and opportunity goals (ASCA, 2022). Hence, the school counselors in our study recognized the inequities in society, which were magnified by the pandemic, and the need to work to dismantle these inequitable systems to best serve every student.
Next, school counselors reported a rise in students’ mental health concerns (e.g., increased rates of suicide attempts and completions, maladjustment, and poor social skills), trends that, unfortunately, have also been demonstrated in the literature (Hamilton & Ercikan, 2022). Relatedly, a bright spot of the pandemic was schools and the greater society giving greater priority to mental health and social/emotional learning (SEL). Although school counselors have been highlighting the importance of mental health and SEL for years (ASCA, 2019; Levy & Lemberger-Truelove, 2021), the pandemic seemed to accelerate these efforts. Relatedly, Limberg and colleagues (2022) shared that due to the pandemic, school counselors were finally being recognized as mental health experts. Finally, the school counselors appreciated new school policies and reimagining of education that resulted from the pandemic, even upholding those improved policies after the crisis phase of the pandemic.
Differing Journeys and Appreciating Reflection
While studying commonalities of participants’ lived experiences, we emphasize that many had different experiences within the recovery phase of the pandemic and a mixed state of experiencing the current new normal. These findings reiterate the concept of the pandemic being composed of phases (CDC, 2016), which different groups experience differently, such as the more profound and chronic pandemic impacts on historically marginalized groups due to systemic inequities (Hamilton & Ercikan, 2022). The pandemic experiences reinforced school counselors’ recognition of and commitment to decreasing systemic inequities impacting K–12 schools and communities.
Finally, throughout interviews and member checking, school counselors often appreciated the opportunity in this study to reflect on their experiences with the pandemic—speaking to their lack of time and opportunity previously to process their pandemic experiences. This finding echoes clinicians who experienced the shared trauma of 9/11 (Bauwens & Tosone, 2010) and the Virginia Tech shooting (Day et al., 2017), such as a lack of time to process their feelings and experiences, due to the fully encompassing nature of the experience.
Limitations
Although researchers determined themes across participants, these findings may not necessarily be represented of all school counselors, as experiences may vary based on their own and their school’s access to resources and degree of marginalization. Further, as the pandemic is constantly evolving, the results should be taken as a snapshot at one point in time (late spring 2022). Last, while the findings were discussed in the context of trauma and PTG, we did not ask participants directly about these concepts, leaving a need for greater research in these areas specifically.
Implications and Future Research
While society transitions into increased phases of recovery from the pandemic, the reverberations of COVID-19 may be felt for years to come (Hamilton & Ercikan, 2022). As such, we can consider current implications from this study and those for the future. First, based on (a) school counselors’ mental health concerns in the pandemic, (b) their descriptions aligned with shared trauma, and (c) their lack of previous reflection/consultation/clinical supervision regarding the pandemic, we recommend that school counseling leaders (administrators and organizational leaders) assess their school counselors’ present needs. This recommendation includes assessing the needs of the school counselors’ schools and communities because some school communities were or are still disproportionately negatively impacted by the pandemic (schools with high percentages of BIPOC communities, individuals with preexisting health concerns, and other factors such as poverty, racism, and access to resources; Beckstein et al., 2022; Novacović et al., 2022). Based on these results, leaders can offer individual and/or group counseling and clinical supervision to process school counselors’ pandemic experiences and ensure that these supports are in place for future shared traumas. Further, workplaces can support healthy work/life balance, boundaries, and engagement in nonwork activities. In offering these supports, leaders can offer differentiation based on school counselors’ needs and the needs of their populations.
Second, three benefits were mentioned repeatedly: increased awareness and support for school counseling/SEL/mental health; positive changes to school policies; and greater collaboration between school counselors, families, school staff, and students, including creative uses of technology. Thus, due to the impact of the pandemic—mainly the high mental health needs in schools and now the greater prioritization of mental health—school counselors and educational leaders should use this opportunity to continue promoting the benefits of school counseling and advocating for more of school counselors’ time to be used actually serving students (mental health and SEL), rather than in ancillary, non-school counseling roles. Further, advocacy can address the need for more allied mental health providers to work in tandem with school counselors. Greater mental health/SEL and technology can also fit into the more effective and efficient school processes that developed.
Finally, according to our findings, while many schools/communities have returned to a “new normal” or recovery phase of the pandemic, this has not occurred equitably across all K–12 schools/communities; the impacts of the pandemic may be felt in different ways by different communities. The results of our study reinforce the U.S. educational and societal inequities that have historically been present, were magnified during the pandemic, and are still present today. With this study, we add to the clarion call to dismantle inequitable and unjust systems in education and our society at large that lead to gaps in access and resources, especially for those from historically oppressed identities (Hamilton & Ercikan, 2022). Interrupting inequitable, oppressive, and racist structures is especially fitting for the school counseling profession, given our prioritization of social justice. Specifically, ASCA’s (2022) school counseling ethical standards names school counselors as “leaders, advocates, collaborators and consultants who create systemic change to ensure equitable educational outcomes through the school counseling program” (p.1). As such, school counselors must continue their advocacy across multiple levels: students, schools, communities, and beyond.
Although the results of our study align with concepts of shared trauma and PTG, this was not the initial goal of the study. In the future, we suggest that scholars examine school counselors’ shared trauma and PTG directly, such by using a quantitative assessment on a national sample (i.e., using a PTG Inventory, similar to Lambert and Lawson [2013]), and even replicating the current study with other samples. Last, we suggest an exemplary case study investigating model schools/communities that were successful in dismantling inequitable systems during and after the pandemic, to learn from their practices.
Conclusion
Previous research has studied school counselors’ professional roles early in the pandemic, but this is the first known study to investigate their experiences during a later pandemic phase (i.e., recovery phase) and to reach beyond work roles, examining school counselors’ experiences more robustly. This study led to a novel understanding, that school counselors’ experiences (a) were aligned with concepts of shared trauma and PTG and (b) were multifaceted, complex, and impacted multiple aspects of their lives. We also saw the participants in this study struggle in the complicated recovery phase of the pandemic, adjusting to a “new normal.” As we remain in that mode today, a year after data collection and three years after the start of the pandemic, this reality is especially important, as some scholars predict we will be coping with the aftermath of the pandemic for years (Hamilton & Ercikan, 2022). In our sample, we saw that this new normal (i.e., the present needs depicted by participants) was not the same for all school counselors or all school communities. Rather, participants and researchers acknowledged that this new normal appears ripe with inequities, across different school communities.
As we continue to wrestle with the aftershocks of COVID-19, we are left asking: What occurred these last couple years, and what have we learned? What do school counselors now need? How do we support school counselors, in this new normal, so they can continue their crucial work meeting the complex and multifaceted needs of their students, schools, and communities? And because the impact of the pandemic has not affected all schools equally, how can the school counseling profession continue to advocate to develop more just and equitable systems in K–12 schools, and beyond?
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
