The Experiences of Clinical Mental Health Counselors Treating Clients for Process/Behavioral Addictions

ABSTRACT

Process/behavioral addictions (PBAs) have become more frequently identified and diagnosed within the previous decade. For this reason, licensed counseling professionals (LCPs) are likely to work with clients with PBAs. In this study, we examined the experiences of LCPs treating clients with PBAs. Through constant comparison analysis, findings include three major themes, each with several subthemes. Treatment implications and the importance of education about PBAs for counselors in training are discussed. We advocate for continued training and research about PBAs for professional counselors to provide best practices to their clients.

KEYWORDS:

• Clinical mental health counselors
• process/behavioral addictions
• experiences
• qualitative research
• constant comparison analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Partial funding for this study was obtained from a Chi Sigma Iota Chapter Award.