Editorial Perspective: Embracing Changes, Upholding Excellence

Started as the Editorial Assistant, later the Associate Editor, and now the Interim Executive Editor, I have had an incredible experience working for this prestigious Journal. I am humbled and incredibly honored to start my interim editorship. In this editorial, I will introduce the articles in this issue and acknowledge the contributions of previous and current editorial team members.

The current issue contains three research articles that made a significant impact on the counseling literature. The first article, “Factors That Influence the Career Decisions of Mental Health Professionals in Texas,” takes a qualitative approach to explore various factors impacting the career decisions among mental health professionals who recently entered the workforce in Texas (Alvarado & Wong, 2024). The findings of the study help address the mental health professional shortage issue in Texas (Texas Health and Human Services, 2020; U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, 2022, 2023). The second article, “Assessing Clinical Supervisee Interpersonal Games: Implications and Recommendations,” focuses on the four common interpersonal games in supervisory relationships based on Kadushin’s (1999) theoretical model. The researchers conducted a quantitative study evaluating the frequency and intensity of those games through a sample of supervisees and supervisors in a private agency. The authors provided valuable insight for clinical supervisors and informed best practices of supervision in counseling (Coll et al., 2024). The concluding article, “Experiences and Interactions Young Adults Who Participate in Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Perceive as Helpful and Unhelpful,” presents a phenomenological study exploring the helpful and unhelpful interactions experienced by young adults dealing with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). The findings of this study shed light on the advancement and development of effective strategies targeting eliminating NSSI behaviors (Moyer et al., 2024).

As we embrace changes at the editorial board, I want to share a few appreciation notes. First, I would like to thank my predecessor, former Executive Editor Dr. Rochelle Cade, for her exemplary leadership and critical contributions during her tenure. Over the past two years, the editorial team under the leadership of Dr. Cade has produced four issues containing 14 peer-reviewed articles and four meaningful editorials, including an interview with Jan Friese, Chief Executive Officer of the Texas Counseling Association (TCA; Cade, 2022). Additionally, Dr. Cade hosted two editorial board meetings at the TCA Professional Growth Conference and developed the first Guidelines for Editorial Board. She was an Editor who adopted a developmental approach and emphasized inclusiveness and advocacy. Within my one-year interim tenure, I would like to continue this vision. Being the current TCA President-Elect and future TCA President, Dr. Cade continues to provide endless support to the development of the Journal.

Second, I commend the former Editorial Assistant, Anumbano Ali, for her outstanding technical skills and tremendous devotion to supporting the Journal in the past year. She passed on her torch to Jasmine Reynolds, a doctoral student in Counseling and Supervision at Tennessee Tech University, who is the new Editorial Assistant and is equipped with excellent copyediting and communication skills. Last but not least, I also want to express my profound appreciation to all the editorial board members who devoted countless hours reviewing manuscripts and providing valuable suggestions to authors. Together, they have upheld the excellence of the Journal and helped authors get their scholarly work published in high quality.