Tolerance of Ambiguity, Perfectionism, and Counselling Self-Efficacy Among Trainee Counsellors in India

Title

Tolerance of Ambiguity, Perfectionism, and Counselling Self-Efficacy Among Trainee Counsellors in India

Creator

Raju, Pooja; Sudhesh, N.T.

Description

Background: The presence of a wide gap between the need and availability of mental health counsellors has been a constant challenge in the Indian mental healthcare system. Considering the inherent complexity within the counselling profession and with literature evidence indicating that the fear stemming from the ambiguity of the counselling process, professional requirements, and internship experiences influences counsellors career decisions, it becomes crucial to focus on important factors at play. Methods: This research aimed to investigate the relationships between tolerance of ambiguity, perfectionism, and counselling self-efficacy among trainee counsellors in India. A quantitative correlational cross-sectional design is employed. The participants constitute post-graduate students pursuing their final year of master's in counselling psychology, counselling specialization or applied psychology programmes. Participants were recruited using a purposive sampling technique (N = 435). The scales administered are as follows: (i) Multiple Stimulus Types Ambiguity Tolerance Scale-II (MSTAT-II), (ii) Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) and (iii) Counsellor Activity Self-Efficacy Scale (CASES). Findings: The findings indicate that intolerance of ambiguity significantly correlates negatively with counselling self-efficacy, as demonstrated by Pearson correlation analysis (r = ?0.254, p < 0.001). Regression results showed that tolerance of ambiguity significantly predicted 6% of counselling self-efficacy. Furthermore, an independent samples t-test indicated gender differences, with female trainee counsellors (M = 37.6; SD = 6.84) having a higher tolerance of ambiguity than males (M = 34.9; SD = 6.85); and male trainee counsellors (M = 256.3; SD = 47.36) having higher counselling self-efficacy than females (M = 219.2; SD = 55.11), with a medium to large effect size. Discussion: This study has implications for counsellor training and allows for a deeper understanding of counsellor self-efficacy, providing insight into the current status of counselling trainees in India. Efforts should be taken to reduce ambiguity in educational and training experiences and improve tolerance and self-efficacy among male and female trainees. 2025 British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

Source

Counselling and Psychotherapy Research;Volume;25;Issue;1;Article No.;e70013;

Date

01-01-2025

Publisher

John Wiley and Sons Inc

Subject

ambiguity; counselling; post-graduate students; training

Coverage

Raju P., Christ University, Bengaluru, India; Sudhesh N.T., Christ University, Bengaluru, India

Rights

Restricted Access; Hardcopy may be available in the library

Relation

ISSN: 14733145;

Format

online

Language

English

Type

Article

Identifier

https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.70013

https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105000816746?origin=resultslist