New Horizons in Counselor Pedagogy: The Intersection of Constructivist Concepts and Phenomenological Awareness

Abstract

This article explores how distinct epistemological assumptions in constructivism and phenomenology influence pedagogical approaches in counselor education. Ideological parallels akin to the humanist tradition are drawn, as are irreconcilable distinctions. Practical implications of each are discussed in relation to 3 important counselor training areas: theoretical orientation, psychological concepts, and self‐awareness.

Cognitive Complexity: Differentiation and Integration in Counseling Practice and Training

“…We have argued that differentiation and integration are distinct cognitive skills that grow under different learning conditions. The skill of differentiation develops from clinical experience and training approaches that help counselors gain a multiplistic perspective (Wilkinson & Hanna, ). Integration, however, requires the ability to translate abstract concepts into immediate experiences that can, in turn, refine or expand the articulation of those abstractions.…”

“…Phenomenological methods offer a means to help counselors grow abductive reasoning, and thus integrative complexity, by learning how to examine psychological phenomena that counseling theories are designed to explain (Wilkinson & Hanna, ). As a result, case conceptualizations can be grounded in well‐articulated, higher order constructs that enhance the odds that an integrated abductive reasoning process will result in nuanced clinical conclusions.…”

“…Whereas exposure to multiplicity enhances differentiation by means of assimilative and accommodative constructivist processes, exposure to specificity enhances integration by means of a phenomenological approach to growing abductive reasoning. To enhance integrative complexity, counselors must confront their presuppositions about human experiences rather than simply assimilate or accommodate abstractions into unarticulated higher order constructs (Wilkinson & Hanna, ). We will now review how the phenomenological method and exposure to specificity might affect pedagogical, supervision, and clinical practices.…”

“…The skills of differentiation alone might be sufficient to make clinical choices in a fully controlled environment. However, counselors tend to operate with incomplete information that requires leveraging subjective insight and rational inferences to make clinical decisions (Wilkinson & Hanna, ). Effective maneuvering in the ambiguous territory of counseling practice requires the skill of integration to organize highly differentiated factors into complex and accurate mental models that can guide counseling practice.…”

“…Both clinical practice and training may naturally result in the growth of differentiation via exposure to multiplicity , or the broadening of conceived possibilities for a construct (Wilkinson & Hanna, ). Exposure to multiplicity is a constructivist process, suggesting that counselors assimilate new information into existing mental models or accommodate existing mental models based upon new data.…”