The Covid-19 as a Career Shock and Its Effects on Counselors: A Phenomenological Study

Corona epidemic as a global career shock; is one of the context factors affecting the career path of individuals that has strongly affected various jobs, including counseling. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of corona on counselors.

In the present qualitative research, the phenomenological approach was used. for this purpose 15 counselors were selected Using purposive sampling method from among the counselors of the University of Isfahan Counseling Center in 1400. The participants were studied via exploratory and in-depth interviews during a 6-month period. Data were collected, registered, encoded and classified in to 9 main categories.

Through the analysis of participants’s experience 439 primary codes, 9 main themes (Counseling style, quality and effectiveness of counseling, number of clients, type of clients, violation of some ethical principles of counseling, expansion and development of counseling activities, personal and professional growth of counselors, flexibility in time structure and hours of counseling sessions, economic status of counselors) and 22 sub-themes were identified about the effects of corona on counselor .

Corona as an unexpected out-of-control event and among the context factors affecting the career path, is conceptualized as a “career shock” that has affected the counselors during the corona epidemic.