Counselling as a calling: Meaning in life and perceived self-competence in counselling students

Both meaning in life (MIL) and perceived self-competence (PSC) have been linked to a sense of calling, and better well-being. To the authors' knowledge, no study has examined MIL or PSC in counselling students. Current counselling students (N = 292) were asked whether studying counselling brought them MIL, and completed the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, and an adapted Perceived Competence Scale for Counselling Students (PCS-CS). Results showed that students with a higher sense of MIL had a higher level of PSC. Over 95% of participants found meaning in their study of counselling, implying that many found it to be a calling. The PCS-CS was found to be reliable, and implications include its potential usefulness in future research on PSC in counselling populations. With MIL and PSC being linked to better workplace well-being, this study implies that trainee counsellors have high levels of these protective factors, with further research warranted to establish whether this is also the case for counselling professionals.