This study examined the predictive relationship between mindfulness and counseling self-efficacy and the potential mediating effects of attention and empathy. Master's-level counseling interns and doctoral counseling students (N = 179) were surveyed to determine levels of mindfulness, attention, empathy, and counseling self-efficacy. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients revealed significant pairwise relationships between the 4 variables of interest. A multiplemediator path analysis supported the hypotheses that mindfulness is a significant predictor of counseling self-efficacy and that attention is a mediator of that relationship. Results suggest that mindfulness may be an important variable in the development of key counselor preparation outcomes.

Training in intrapersonal and interpersonal attunement is often overlooked in medical training, leading to resident burnout and negative patient outcomes. An empathy course based in relational mindfulness may be a viable strategy for programs looking to attend to their residents' emotional health and bridge the empathy training gap.

Given the increased attention to spirituality in the counseling literature, with a primary emphasis on helping clients find their spiritual path, it is important for counselors to be aware of one potential pitfall of the spiritual path, namely spiritual bypass. Spiritual bypass occurs when clients seek to use their spiritual beliefs, practices, and experiences to avoid genuine contact with their psychological “unfinished business.” The purpose of this article is to define spiritual bypass, discuss the necessity of healing at the cognitive, emotional, and physical levels, as well as at the spiritual level for holistic wellness, and provide examples of clients in spiritual bypass.

Spirituality often is conceptualized as a vital, if not essential, aspect of holistic wellness. The spiritual lives of counselors and counselors-in-training, therefore, are considered with an emphasis on healthy spiritual practices that encourage mindfulness, heartfulness, and soulfulness.   People say that what we're seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we are seeking is an experience of being alive, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.

Counselor mindfulness practice may help cultivate common therapeutic factors (e.g., empathy, working alliance). Researchers in this quantitative research study identified significant relationships between therapist mindfulness and client perceptions of the therapist's way of being and the working alliance. The impact of meditation training on these variables was also explored.