Investigating of the counselor candidates' problem solving skills and counseling self-efficacy perceptions in relation to autonomy, supervision experiences and counseling ethics

The aim of this study is to investigate counselor candidates' perception of problem solving skills and counseling self efficacy in terms of gender, type of supervision, number of clients and sessions during pre-practicum, satisfaction with supervision and additional learning expreriences about counseling ethics. Predictors of perception of problem solving skills are also investigated. Participants are 258 seniors who studies in Guidance and Psychological Counseling bachelor program in eight public university of Turkey. Participants were administered Problem Solving Inventory, Counselor Activity Self-Efficacy Scales, Autonomy Scale and Demographic Data Form. In order to analyse the data independent samples t test, one way ANOVA and regression analyses were conducted. Results revealed that counselor candidates' perception of problem solving skills did not differ significantly in terms of gender, type of supervision, number of clients and sessions during pre-practicum, satisfaction with supervision and additional learning expreriences about counseling ethics. On the other hand, counseling self efficacy differed significantly in terms of gender, satisfaction with supervision and additional learning expreriences about counseling ethics. Lastly, counseling self efficacy predicted perception of problem solving skills significantly while autonomy, gender, type of supervision and additional learning experiences about counseling ethics did not.