Continuing Education and Predictors of Self-Reported Professional Competency among Trauma Counselors

Abstract

Currently, there is limited research about outcomes for therapists who choose to engage in professional trainings for ongoing education. Although other professions track this kind of information, there is a dearth of information for mental health counselors. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of counselors’ motivations, previous trainings, learning self-efficacy, and clinical experience to their self-reported clinical competence. Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy and Knowles’s adult learning theory predict that these kinds of background factors influence performance. The primary research hypothesis was that higher levels of clinical training and experience, continuing education experience, intrinsic motivation, and learning self-efficacy would predict higher levels of self-reported clinical competence. A nonprobability, self-selecting sample of 113 trauma counselors from a pool who have participated in professional development activities on brain-spotting therapy were recruited for this study. The online survey included a demographic questionnaire, the Learning Self-Efficacy Scale, the Situational Motivation Scale, and the Counselor Self-Estimate Inventory. Results of multiple linear regression analyses indicated that learning self-efficacy and situational motivation, rather than professional training and experience, were the primary predictors of self-reported professional competency. This study has implications for positive social change in that results may inform practitioners, professional groups, and oversight boards and agencies regarding the relative self-perceived benefits of ongoing professional development trainings for clinical competency among trauma counselors.