30-5 Is It an Unrecoverable Error?-The Discrepancy between Intention and Action in Experienced Counselors

This study aimed to explore seasoned counselors' experiences of discrepancy between intention and action in the counseling process. Data were collected from five experienced counselors via in-depth interview and interpersonal process recall (IPR) interview; that is, the experiences include memory of the past and current counseling experiences.The results are as follows. In contents, the seasoned counselors' experiences of discrepancy between their intentions and actions were ”feelings of getting stuck” and ”hoping to be better”. In properties, the experiences of discrepancy were cracks rather than unrecoverable errors. The contributing factors of discrepancy were the counselors' idiographic verbal expressions, the lack of confidence, quick temper, inappropriate rationale, negligence of counseling situations, and the lack of motivation of client. The three channels in which counselors discovered the experiences of discrepancy were: self awareness, others' comments, as well as behavior observation and evaluation. As soon as counselors became aware of the discrepancy, they started the process of coping. The strategies of coping were ”introspection, assessment, and hypothesis testing”, ”positive regard for discrepancy”, and ”in pursuit of excellence”. When coped successfully, they became skilled and matured experts. And, the discrepancy always became the impetus to change in counseling process.Both intention and action were important predictors of counseling outcomes. The experiences of discrepancy were filled with powerful action because corrective process started immediately as soon as counselors acknowledged the discrepancy. In the development of professionalism, the phenomenon of discrepancy can be useful for the experts and novices. Findings of the study are also relevant to supervision and counselor education.

Keywords
discrepancy、the discrepancy between intention and action、experienced counselor

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