Wrestling with Values: The Values Integration Process Beyond the Training Years

This manuscript presents the findings of a qualitative study that aimed to illuminate the values integration process among a sample of fully-licensed professional counselors in the early part of their careers. A narrative analysis yielded a collective story comprised of three interlocking themes, highlighting participants’ ongoing wrestling with values in practice, their continued challenges in navigating values conflicts, and their need for additional support in the values integration process beyond their academic training and supervision as provisionally-licensed counselors. A discussion of these results, as well as implications for counselors, counselor preparation, and supervision, are presented.