IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

The Impact of Supervision Process toward Counselling Competencies
among Malaysian Trainee Counsellors
Suhaili Arifin
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia
Noor Syamilah Zakaria
Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
Wan Marzuki Wan Jaafar
Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
Nor Mazlina Ghazali
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia
Nor Shakirah Sakari
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia

93

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

Abstract
The main objective of this study is to investigate the level of counselling competencies among
trainee counsellors in supervision. It also aims to analyze the relationship between frequencyof supervisions with counselling competencies. This study was conducted among trainee
counsellors (counselling students) from nine public universities all across Malaysia that offer
bachelor programmes in counselling. The respondents consisted of n=204 trainee counsellors
and n=62 lecturer supervisors who were selected in pairs using stratified random sampling. The
Counselling Competencies Scale was used to assess the counselling competencies of trainee
counsellors. The results of the study revealed that most of the respondents were at the “meets
expectations” level of the counselling competency. The results also showed that there was asignificant relationship between the frequency of supervisions with two sub-scales ofcounselling competency, namely professional behaviour (d=.180, p<.009) and counsellingskills (d=.169, p<.019). This research finding has implications for the training field ofcounselling education in Malaysia. Additional research on other areas, such as the othercontribution factors toward the trainee counsellor’s competency is needed for future studies.
Keywords: Malaysia, supervision, counselling competencies, trainee counsellors

94

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

Our lives today have become more challenging as urbanization and globalization have comeinto the fore. The idea of urbanization and globalization may be intimidating to many, as it is
all about the resistance to change. With globalization, there will be transitions in terms of jobs,
cultures as well as the environments and lifestyles, and in effect, people have to deal with thesechanges. In response to this form of modern lifestyle, nowadays counselling is acknowledged
as a professional service equipped with various approaches and techniques that can assist
humans when dealing with psychological distress and mental health problems (Arifin et al.,2022).
As a result, there is a demand for counsellors in providing research-based and structured
counselling services competently (Farozin, 2019; DepPue & Lambie, 2014; Falender &Shafranske, 2014; Swank et al., 2012; Zakaria, 2013). Therefore, it is worth pointing out that
counsellors shoulder various responsibilities for clients with psychological and mental healthstruggles. Ideally, to become a competent counsellor, all aspects of competence need to be
developed from the beginning of counsellor training and education (Bernard & Goodyear,
2019; McLeod, 2013; Setiyowati et al., 2019; Zakaria & Warren, 2016). Unfortunately, a
trainee counsellor does not develop in a vacuum and requires the readiness to bear
responsibility for personal learning in many areas. As stated by McLeod (2013), educating acounsellor involves many aspects such as the system of education, training, and also support
to produce and maintain the quality of counselling services offered (Zakaria et al., 2017).
Therefore, counsellor education programmes are designed to ensure that their trainees are
efficient, that they can persevere through difficult periods of counselling, exert themselves towork effectively with a complex range of clients, and demonstrate a high level of competence
in dealing with their clients (Zawawi & Al-Ali, 2014). In view of this, counselling internship(Mohd Ali et al., 2020) and supervision process (Alis et al., 2017) are both among the mainelements in counselling degree courses in Malaysia that need to be undertaken concurrently asstated in the Counsellor Training Standard and Qualification (Malaysian Board Counsellors,2015) guidelines.
Counselling internship is a form of post-practicum experience training supervised with the
purpose of enabling students to scrutinize, increase and strengthen the counselling knowledge
and skills application at the professional training hubs (Malaysian Board Counsellors, 2015).
The internship training needs to be executed in any organizations, institutions or clinics that
prepare counselling services and it is part of the supervision process.
Although Malaysian Board of Counsellors has presented a clear guideline, counsellor educatorsand supervisors find it really challenging to develop and empower their trainees’ competency,
due to the complex nature of the supervision process (Arifin et al., 2022). That is why the extent
of the actual competency level achieved by trainee counsellors is still open for debate(Falender, 2014). Additionally, the researchers also found that the studies or writings related
to the topic of trainee counsellors’ competency are also very limited especially in the context
of supervision in Malaysia.

95

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

That said, the past literature shows that most of the studies related to supervision practice havebeen conducted through the lens of Western supervision practices (Falender et al., 2021). In
the context of Malaysia, there are supervision studies conducted by Mat Min (2017), Ahmad(2016), Alis and colleagues (2014), Ghazali (2015), Norwati & Wan Mazwati (2013), Mohd
Nor (2012), Wan Jaafar (2007), and Abdul Ghani (2007). However, none of the studies havefocused on the true competency of the trainee counsellors in supervision. One of the root causes
to this issue is the lack of competency instrument.
There are several instruments labelled as the counselling competency measuring tools such as
Helping Skills System (Hill & O’Brien, 1999), Skilled Counselling Scale (Urbani et al., 2002),
and Counselling Skills Scale (Eriksen & McAuliffe, 2003). However, all the instruments arelimited to only one component namely counselling skills (Lambie et al., 2018; Swank et al.,2012). Until today, there is only one instrument which is Counselling Competencies Scale(CCS) that can measure counselling competency in a comprehensive supervision (Lambie etal., 2018) as utilized in this study. Given that no research has been done in Malaysia toinvestigate the actual mastery level of trainee counsellors on the counselling competency in the
supervision, this study has been conducted to reduce the paucity existing in the previous study
through the following two objectives:
1.
2.

To investigate the level of counselling competency of trainee counsellors in the
supervision process; andTo analyse the relationship between the frequency of supervisions with counsellingcompetencies.
Literature Review

Among the earliest literature found to have discussed counsellor competency was Gross andRobinson (1987). These writers discussed five main components that have to be possessed by
a competent counsellor including (1) have to display accurate professional qualification; (2)professional growth through involvement in professional activities; (3) services can only beoffered by those having acknowledged qualification; (4) always maintaining knowledge andqualification at the best level; and (5) able to help the client resolve the issue more effectively.
In other words, the use of supervision process is a crucial element in counsellor development
during training and throughout the working life of the counsellor (American Counselling
Association, 2014; Bernard & Goodyear, 2019; Malaysian Board Counsellors, 2015; McLeod,
2013). In the supervision process, there are support and education activities from the supervisor
to channel the counselling profession’s knowledge, skills, and attitude (Bernard & Goodyear,2019); professional value and identity (Barton, 2016; Zakaria et al., 2017); as well as
instruction, modeling, and mutual problem-solving to trainee counsellors (Falender &Shafranske, 2004).
Other than that, supervision is also a form of evaluation to the development that has beenachieved by the trainee counsellor throughout their internship training (Bernard & Goodyear,

96

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

2019; Kabir, 2017). Meanwhile, Watkins (2020), found that previous studies had proven thatthe supervision process really helps trainee counsellors to go through with the session, increase
their self-awareness and self-efficacy; have a positive correlation with work satisfaction andable to deal with obstacles and workload effectively.
It can be concluded that one of the main aims in the supervision process is to empower thecompetency of trainee counsellors (Arifin et al., 2022; Falender & Shafranske, 2014; Swank etal., 2012; Vassara & Papavassilio-Alexiou, 2021; Bernard & Goodyear, 2019).
For the competency definition that was first identified in counselling, it was found under thepsychology branch introduced by Epstein and Hundert (2002) which is: “the habitual andjudicious use of communication, knowledge, technical skills, clinical reasoning, emotions,values, and reflection in daily practice for the benefit of the individual and community withcuriosity, self-awareness, and presence” (p. 227).
Nonetheless, this definition received criticism from Ridley and colleagues, (2011), whoquestioned how “the habitual and judicious use” can be illustrated. Even so, terms like “clinicalreasoning, with curiosity, and presence” were also criticized as they had broad meanings, were
ambiguous and vague. Based on the literature survey, early on, counselling scholars only
discussed and put forth the idea that the competency of a counsellor only depends on theirmastery towards counselling skills for instance in Egan (1990), Hill (1990), and Ivey andAuthier (1978).
However, ideas like this contradict the view of McLeod (1992) who opined that the competencyof a counsellor depends on any quality, capability or factor that can influence his or her
effectiveness in doing tasks or playing their role. According to McLeod (2013), the author
identified that there were seven broad areas of counsellor competence namely interpersonal
skills; personal beliefs and attitudes; conceptual ability; personal ‘soundness’; mastery oftechnique; ability to understand and work within social systems; and openness to learning andinquiry.
On the other hand, Ridley and colleagues, (2011), viewed that counselling competency isdefined as a set of micro skills encompassing the cognitive, affective and behaviouralcomponents and involving therapeutic change outcome. Meanwhile, past studies like Balichand colleagues (2015), Carnes-Holt and fellows (2016), Foo and colleagues (2017), Lambie
and fellows (2018), Subarimaniam and colleagues (2020), Swank (2014), Swank and fellows(2012), Warren and colleagues (2012), Warren and fellows (2013), Zakaria and colleagues(2020), and Zakaria and fellows (2022) established that counselling competency means
knowledge, counselling skills, professional disposition, professional behaviour. as well as
ethical sound practice and application.
Based on the discussion above, there are various definitions of counselling competency
established from one scholar to another. There is nothing more critical on counsellingcompetency other than defining the term (Pelling, 2009; Ridley et al, 2011). Up until today,97

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

the researchers have not found, or been informed of, any consensus in regard of what anachievable counselling competency entails (Barnett et al., 2007; Xia et al., 2021).
The difficulty in determining the definition of counselling competency truly shows that theprocess of acknowledging trainee counsellors as competent counsellors is something that isvery much prioritized in this profession. One of the main reasons is because competency is adeterminant to the effectiveness of counselling process and a therapeutic outcome to the client(Ridley et al., 2011; Setiyowati et al., 2019). A counsellor without competency, who provides
the counselling services may harm the clients’ psychology as a whole, can ruin the profession
reputation, and will affect all the counsellors in service (American Counselling Association,
2014; Arifin et al., 2022; Bernard & Goodyear, 2019; Falender, 2014; Malaysian Board
Counsellors, 2015; Zakaria, 2013).
To prevent this from happening, a counsellor competency act has been made effective in
Malaysia in Counsellor Ethics Code (Malaysian Board Counsellors, 2019) under Professional
Competency Section (C.2) Professional Competency, sub-section (C.2.a) Competency Border,
which is: “Counsellor must be carrying out their professional work in the scope of competency
based on education, training, supervision experience, professional accreditation also
appropriate professional experiences. Counsellors should obtain knowledge, personalawareness, sensitivity and skills, all of which are related to their services through various
clients” (p. 28). Hence, promoting counselling competency among trainee counsellors inclinical supervision is very crucial in counsellor training and education programmes.
Methodology
This is a cross-sectional study which employs a quantitative method by distributing the
instruments in the data collection phase. The respondents in this study are 204 trainee
counsellors in their final year of internship and 62 counselling lecturers appointed assupervisors to the trainee counsellors. All respondents are from counselling undergraduate
programmes from nine Malaysian public universities namely Universiti Putra Malaysia(UPM), Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Utara
Malaysia (UUM), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak(UNIMAS), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM),and Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM). All these universities have been
accredited by the Malaysian Qualification Accreditation and the Malaysian Board ofCounsellors. A stratified random sampling procedure was used for the study.

98

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

Table 1
Demographic Information of the Respondents
Demographic information
GenderMale
FemaleUniversity
UPSI
UMT
UPM
UM
UUM
UMS
USIM
UNIMAS
IIUM
Race
Malay
ChineseIndia
Other
Settings
Non-governmentalorganizations
Government organizations
Counselling Centre forhigher studies institute
SchoolDemographic information
Supervision frequency
Once
Twice
Three times
Four times
Five times

Trainee counsellor
N (204)
Percentage

Lecturer Supervisor
N (62)
Percentage

36
168

17.6
82.4

20
42

32.3
67.7

12
12
30
44
24
11
23
30
18

6.5
9.7
14.7
21.6
12.9
6.5
11.3
14.7
8.8

10
4
6
8
5
6
8
4

16.1
6.5
9.7
12.9
8.1
9.7
12.9
6.5

169
9
8
18

82.8
4.4
3.9
8.8

57
2
1
2

91.9
3.2
1.6
3.2

13

6.4

39
80

19.1
39.2

72
35.3
Trainee counsellor
N (204)
Percentage
24
91
76
8
5

Lecturer Supervisor
N (204)
Percentage

11.8
44.6
37.3
11.8
2.5

Approval and ethics clearance were obtained before prior data collection progression from the
EthicsCommitteeofUniversiti
Putra
Malaysia,
Referenceno:
UPM/TNCPI/RMC/JKEUPM/1.4.18.2 (JKEUPM). Having received the endorsement,
researchers had asked for permission to conduct the study from the Academic Deputy
Chancellor from every university involved. After it was approved, researchers contacted every
respondent involved and asked for their permission before the instrument was distributed. The
instrument set consisting of two sections was used in this study. Section A includes thedemographic information of the trainee counsellors, consisting of university, gender, race,99

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

internship setting and frequency of supervisions. Section B, on the other hand, includes theCounselling Competencies Scale (CCS) (Swank et al., 2012) were distributed to their lecturers.
For the trainee counsellor respondents, 204 sets of demography instruments were distributed
using the Google Form, whereas for the supervising lecturer respondents, 204 sets of CCS
instruments were sent using express post. The CCS instrument set posted to the supervising
lecturer is based on the frequency of trainee counsellors selected under their supervision. As
an example, three trainee counsellors under the supervision were selected. Thus, three sets of
the CCS instrument will be posted to a supervising lecturer. Also, attached is a prepaid express
post envelope under the name of the principal researcher to make it easier for the lecturer toreturn the instrument set. The CCS is an instrument used specifically to assess the counsellingcompetencies of trainee counsellors in supervision.
The CCS consists of 32 items divided into 4 sub-scales, namely, (1) Counselling Competency;(2) Professional Disposition; (3) Professional Behaviour; and (4) Overall Competencies. The
CCS instrument uses a five-point Likert scale: 8=exceeds expectations; 6=meets expectations;
4=near expectations; 2=below expectations; 0=harmful. A summary of the sub-scales, items,
and CCS scoring methods can be found in Table 2, while the interpretation of the CCS scoresis presented in Table 3.
Table 2Sub-scales of CCS
Sub-scaleCounselling skills
Professional disposition
Professional behaviour
Overall competencies

Items
1 to 1213 to 2223 to 32
1 to 32

Minimum score
00
0
0

Maximum score
96
80
80
256

professional
behaviour0
2 to 20
22 to 40
42 to 60
62 to 80

Overallcompetencies
0
2 to 64
66 to 128130 to 192
194 to 256

Table 3.
Interpretation of CCS score
Competency level
HarmfulBelow expectations
Near expectations
Meets expectations
Exceeds expectations

Counselling
Skills0
2 to 24
26 to 48
50 to 72
74 to 96

professional
disposition0
2 to 20
22 to 40
42 to 60
62 to 80

Data Analysis
Prior to the use of the CCS, the instrument was tested twice in pilot and actual studies with
Cronbach's Alpha (α) statistical tool to determine the reliability of the instrument. Reliability
means that the results obtained with an instrument are consistent and stable (Pallant, 2013). For

100

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

both tests administered, the α-value obtained for CCS instruments was .96. Based on Cohenand colleagues (2007), interpretation α-value of >0.90 indicates very high reliability. This
proves that the CCS is an excellent measurement tool and can be used for the purpose of thisstudy. Data were analyzed using statistical tests such as frequencies, means, and standard
deviations, meanwhile Chi-square (Somer's d) was used to test the relationship between thefrequency of supervisions and counselling competency.
Results
Table 4 shows the analysis findings for the professional behaviour sub-scale with the mean
54.07 (SD=11.58). For this sub-scale, the majority have fulfilled the expectation level which is
129 (63.2%) respondents, followed by 46 (22.5%) respondents exceeding the expectation level,and 27 (13.2%) respondents almost meeting the expectation. Meanwhile, 2 respondents stay below
the competency level, and no respondent obtains a harmful level of professional behaviour.
Table 4
Professional Behaviour Sub-Scale
Levels of professional behaviour
HarmfulBelow expectations
Near expectations
Meets expectations
Exceeds expectations
Total
Mean=54.07

Score
0
2 to 20
22 to 40
42 to 60
62 to 80

Frequency
%
0
0
2
1.0
27
13.2
129
63.2
46
22.5
204
100%
Standard Deviation=11.58

Table 5 illustrates the analysis outcome for the counselling skills sub-scale. Based on the tablebelow, the mean score for counselling skills is 65.73 (SD=12.70). The majority of the
respondents for the counselling skills have met the expectation which is 140 respondents(68.6%), 44 (21.5%) respondents exceed the expected competency level, and 20 (9.8%)
respondents reach close to the competency level. Meanwhile, no respondent has obtained
counselling skills score under the competency level and at a harmful level.
Table 5Counselling Skills Sub-Scale
Levels of counselling skills
HarmfulBelow expectations
Near expectations
Meets expectations
Exceeds expectations
Total
Mean=65.73

Score
02 to 24
26 to48
50 to 72
74 to 96

101

Frequency
%
0
0
0
0
20
9.8
140
68.6
44
21.5
204
100%
Standard Deviation =12.70

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

Looking at Table 6 representing the distribution of the professional disposition sub-scale forthe respondents (trainee counsellors), all in all, the mean of the professional disposition subscale is 58.66 (SD =10.76). The majority of the respondents have met the expected competency
level with 109 (53.4%) respondents, followed by 78 (38.2%) respondents exceeding the
expected competency level. Next, 17 (8.3%) respondents reach close to the competency level,and no respondent is found below the competency level and harmful level for this sub-scale.
Table 6
Professional disposition sub-scale
Levels of professional disposition
HarmfulBelow expectations
Near expectations
Meets expectations
Exceeds expectations
Total
Mean=58.66

Score
0
2 to 20
22 to 40
42 to 60
62 to 80

Frequency
%
0
0
0
0
17
8.3
109
53.4
78
38.2
204
100%
Standard Deviation=10.76

Table 7 shows the distribution for the overall competencies level of the trainee counsellors insupervision. The mean score for overall counselling competencies is 178.46 (SD= 32.03). The
majority of the respondents meet the expected competency level which is 140 (68.6%)
respondents, while 53 (26.0%) respondents exceed the expectations, and 11 (5.4%) respondents
have nearly met the expectation as their counselling competency level. No respondent has
obtained the score under the counselling competency level and harmful level.
Table 7
Distribution of overall competencies
Levels of counselling competency
HarmfulBelow expectations
Near expectations
Meets expectations
Exceeds expectations
Total
Mean=178.4

Score
02 to 64
66 to 128130 to 192
194 to 256

Frequency
%
0
0
0
0
11
5.4
140
68.6
53
26.0
204
100%
Standard Deviation =32.03

Next, in Table 8 below, we have the findings for Somers’ d tests analysis. Based on thefindings, there is a relationship between total supervision received with two counsellingcompetencies level sub scales among trainee counsellors namely professional behaviour andcounselling skills. The results indicate that the higher frequency of supervision (more than onetime) received by counsellor-in-training is found to be statistically significant and this meansthat they are more competent in professional behaviour (d = .162, p < .009), and counsellingskills (d = .143, p < .019) compared to their peers who received supervision only once.

102

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

Table 8The Relationship between the Frequency of Supervision and Counselling Competencies

Frequency ofsupervision

Professional Behaviour
Exceeds
Meets
Near
Below
expectations expectations expectations expectations

Once
Twice
Three times
Four times
Five times
Total (204)

4
12
28
2
0
46

Once
Twice
Three times
Four times
Five times
Total (204)

3
16
23
1
1
44

17
3
65
14
38
9
5
1
4
0
129
27
Counselling Skills
20
1
67
8
43
10
6
1
4
0
140
20

0
0
1
0
1
2

d/sig

.162 / .009*.143/.019*

Discussion
This study is conducted to identify the level of counselling competencies among Malaysian
counsellors-in-training, also to determine its association with the frequency of supervisions
received. For the first objective, the result in this study indicates that the majority of the
respondents have met the expected competency level in the overall CCS sub-scales with themean 67.73 (counselling skills); 58.66 (professional dispositions); and 54.07 (professional
behaviour) respectively. This result is relatively similar to that of DePue and Lambie (2014)
that examined the impact of a training experience including supervision process toward trainee
counsellors’ levels of empathy and their counselling competencies. This study used the same
instrument which is CCS and the measurement was made twice during the training in themidterm and final supervision period. The respondents involved 87 University-Based
Community Counselling and Research Center trainee counsellor-respondents.
The results indicate that the trainee counsellors’ overall counselling competency sub-scales in
midterm supervision are mostly at the “meets expectations” level with the mean very similar
to this study for counselling skills=64.05; professional disposition=59.66; and professional
behaviours=58.48 respectively. Meanwhile, the study finding is also in line with another study
conducted by Yaumas and colleagues (2018). This study involved 145 final year trainee
counsellors that were randomly selected in Faculty of Tarbiyah and Education in Islamic
University of Raden Intan Lampung. Generally, the result of the study reveals that most of the
trainee counsellors possessed an average or simple level basic counselling competence withthe mean ranged from 61 to 80. In addition, none of the respondents acquired the highest
competencies with the mean ranged from 81 to 100 which indicates that the majority of the103

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

respondents did not master the competencies completely. However, this study did not report
the number of the students for each counselling competency score obtained.
Another study conducted by Alis and colleagues (2017) examined the associations between
self-reflection with counselling competencies consisting of (1) performing helping skills; (2)managing the counselling process, and (3) handling challenging counselling situations. There
were 100 trainee counsellors from four public universities in Malaysia namely UMT, UPSI,UPM and UM involved in this study selected through the stratified sampling technique.
Interestingly, their study findings were slightly different compared to this study with the
majority of the respondents which is 65% had high competency level and 35% had moderatecompetency level, with the mean 263.23. Meanwhile Wan Jaafar (2011) investigated thetrainee counsellor competencies through their counselling performance. The respondents
consisted of 100 trainee counsellors who underwent counselling internship for 12 weeks. They
were chosen through the stratified sampling from three universities in Malaysia namely UPM,
UM and UMS. The result is also quite similar to this study with the majority of the trainee
counsellor competencies at a moderate level with counselling skills=50.61; counsellingknowledge=47.25; interpersonal=49.22; and general performance =49.22 respectively.
According to these findings, it seems that there was a variation in the levels of competencies
possessed by trainee counsellors during the supervision. This is related to the fact that most of
the researchers have administered different psychometric properties and employed varying
competencies cut-off points. For example, other than this study, DePue and Lambie (2014) had
also used Counselling Competencies Scale (CCS), whereas Wan Jaafar (2011) adopted theCounsellor Performance Inventory (CPI) where the measurement was implemented throughthe supervisor’s lens of evaluation. Meanwhile, Yaumas and colleagues (2018) used unnamed
psychometric properties, and Alis et al., (2017) administered Counsellor Activity Self-Efficacy
Scale (CASES) respectively. The measurement tools that were used in both of these studies are
based on the counsellor-in-training self- rated evaluation. Despite the different cut-points, there
is still a similarity with the past studies in terms of the competency of the trainee counsellors
who have gone through the internship and obtained supervision. The majority were at the goodand moderate levels and none had been at the lowest or harmful level. Only few trainee
counsellors were found to obtain the highest competency level.
In a similar vein, for the second objectives, this study finding indicates that the frequency ofsupervisions received had a significant association with the two counselling competencies subscales namely counselling skills and professional behaviour. This study’s findings were parallelwith DePue & Lambie (2014) to see the impact of practicum experience for the counselling
students towards the empathy level and counselling competency. The outcome from the workby DePue and Lambie (2014) shows that there is an increase in the empathy level andcounselling competency among the trainees at the end of the semester, compared to the middleof the semester after they have been supervised throughout the practicum. Other than that, thestudy finding is also consistent with the study by Swank (2014) that attempts to compare thelevel of counselling competency evaluation between the supervisor and the counselling
practicum students. There are two evaluations which is in the middle of the semester and the104

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

end of the semester, using Counselling Competencies Scale (CCS). The finding from Swank(2014) shows that there is an addition to the competency score at the end of the semester
compared to the mid-semester, based on the evaluations given by the supervisor and thecounselling students. Next, the finding also supports the finding from Alis et al., (2017) where
there is a connection between self-reflection and competency among the trainee counsellors
who are being supervised. The finding from Alis and colleagues (2017) shows that thecompetency level self-reflection ability of the trainee counsellors has increased after they havegained the experience being in the counselling session a few times in the supervision.
Based on the second objective findings, it proves that there has been an increase in thecompetency of the trainee counsellors in line with the increased frequency of supervisions
undertaken. This is due to the fact that the data in this study and in previous studies such as
Yaumas and colleagues (2018), DePue and Lambie (2014), Swank (2014), and Alis andfellows, (2017) were gathered at the end of the internship after the trainee counsellors had dealt
with a lot of issues in the supervision and having undergone the supervision process with theirrespective supervisor. Normally, early on in the training, whether in the internship orpracticum, trainee counsellors will have to confront a lot of challenges like anxiety and fear
(Bernard & Goodyear, 2019; Kurtylmaz, 2015; Tsai, 2015), certain difficulties such as being
unclear about their role (Babcock, 2014; Olk & Friedlander, 1992) and various issues insupervision relationships (Bernard & Goodyear, 2019; Falender, 2014; Ladany & Malouf,
2010; Mohd Ali et al., 2020). However, multiple studies have also proven that the supervision
process can also increase the level of competence of trainee counsellors in terms of theincreased skills in carrying out the session, increasing the level of awareness and self-efficacy
and it is related positively with the satisfaction of the trainee counsellors (Subarimaniam et al.
(2020); Watkins, 2020); higher empathy level (DePue & Lambie, 2014); and better selfreflection (Alis et al., 2017; Arokianathan et al., 2020; Zakaria, 2013).
This is due to the fact that in the internship training, every trainee counsellor will be provided
with a counselling lecturer from their university, as their main supervisor (Mohd Ali et al.,2020) and a site supervisor as the second supervisor throughout the internship training period.
During the supervision, the supervisor is responsible in assisting the development of the trainee
counsellors such as making observation, evaluation also giving feedback towards the skills,
theory, intervention and many other competency components that need to be mastered bytrainee counsellors when undergoing the counselling session (Bernard & Goodyear, 2019;
Kabir, 2017; Falender, 2014,; Malouf & Ladany, 2010). Other than that, the supervisor willtransfer the competency needed by the trainee counsellors to ensure that they are able to executethe counselling session effectively.
At the same time, trainee counsellors have the opportunity to discuss any issues that clients are
not able to handle, or any shortcomings or difficulties with the supervisor during thesupervision. Indirectly, all the activities that happen in the supervision process are those thatwill, in the end, contribute to the increased level of competency for the trainee counsellors.
Therefore, the supervision process is pivotal and significant in developing the competency of
trainee counsellors during internship/practicum (Arifin et al., 2022; Bernard & Goodyear,

105

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

2019; DePue & Lambie, 2014; Swank et al., 2012). In addition, their competencies during aninternship will bring positive results to counselling services specifically toward clients(Spielberger, 2020), whereas the lack of supervision will expose adverse effects and be harmful
to them (Wheeler & Richards, 2007). As supported by Bernard & Goodyear (2019) supervision
is the “gatekeeper” in the counselling profession that preserves the welfare of the clients.
Limitation and Recommendation
In this study, mere attention has been given to the level of competency of the trainee counsellors
in Malaysian public universities. To enhance counselling training in Malaysia, this study
recommends that it is carried out as well at private universities with full accreditation from
Board of Counsellors Malaysia. Other than that, future researchers are also recommended tolook into other factors that may influence competency such as personality, experience as aclient self-exposure, transference, satisfaction and expectation towards the supervision process
and others contributing to the trainee counsellors’ competency in the supervision process.
Next, in this study, data were only gathered once, which is at the end of the semester. Thus, in
our next study, it is proposed that the data are to be gathered twice and conducted as alongitudinal study, which is the middle of the internship semester and at the end of theinternship semester. By conducting this type of study, the trainee counsellors’ mastery levelcan be more precisely determined.
Conclusion
There is a consistent, albeit subtle, reminder throughout this current study that the supervision
process is the mainstay that aids the development of the professional identity of every trainee
counsellor through their increased competency. Being a competent counsellor does not only
mean mastering the skills per se, but also encompassing the supposed components ofcompetency. The results of this study have provided a general overview of the counsellingskills of counsellor-in-training in Malaysia. The result shows that most of the respondents meetthe expectations of counselling skills, professional behaviour, professional disposition, andoverall competencies at the fourth level. It is also revealed that trainee counsellors in Malaysia
have the prerequisites to become a competent counsellor. Additionally, there is a significant
mention of the implications for trainee counsellor education, and supervision practice. This isbecause the frequency of supervisions appears to be one of the important factors in thedevelopment of trainees’ counsellor competencies. With these given circumstances, thesupervisors need to carry out sufficient frequency of supervisions as dictated in the Board ofCounsellors Malaysia’s guideline. It is fundamental for the trainee counsellors to master thetheory, concepts, and application of counselling to provide the best counselling sessions. Thus,
as building trainee counsellor competence is a challenge for the supervisor, concerted efforts
towards the evaluation, enrichment and consolidation towards a standard counsellingcompetency that need to be achieved are vital to be executed continuously in the counsellor
education and training programmes.

106

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

References
Abdul Ghani, F. (2007). Pola keperluan penyeliaan guru bimbingan dan kaunseling sepenuhmasa di Sekolah Menengah Malaysia. (Thesis). Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
Ahmad, N. (2016). Meneroka penggunaan model penyeliaan kaunseling dalam kalanganpenyelia latihan profesional di universiti awam. (Thesis). Universitiy Malaya, Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia.
Alis, N., Wan Jaafar, W. M., & Ayob, A. (2014). The influence of self-reflection towards
counselor trainee self-development. Middle East Journal of Scientific Research, 85–88.
Alis, N., Wan Jaafar, W. M., & Mohd Ayob, A. F. (2017). Kompetensi kaunseling melalui
refleksi kendiri: Satu Kajian terhadap kaunselor pelatih. Jurnal Pembangunan
Sosial, 20, 105–115. https://doi.org/10.32890/jps.20.2017.11542.
American Counseling Association (2014). Code of ethics. American Counseling Association.
https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119221548.ch7
Arifin, S., Abdullah, S. S., Min, R. M., Ramely, F., Harun, M. M., & Nor, S. B. M. (2022).
Counseling Competencies Scale (CCS) psychometric properties: Application for
trainee counselors in Malaysia. International Journal of Advanced and Applied
Sciences, 9(11), 144–152. https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2022.11.018
Arokianathan, N., Zakaria, N. S., & Subarimaniam, N. (2020). Ethical issues in counselling:
A systematic review of literature. Journal of Critical Reviews, 7(13), 585–590.
https://doi.org/10.31838/jcr.07.13.104
Babcock, S. A. (2014). Counseling students experiences of ambiguity. (Thesis). The
University of Florida.
Balich, R., Warren, J., Weatherford, J., Zakaria, N. S., & Schwede, D. (2015). Year two: The
impact of addictions education and experiential activities on attitudes of students.
Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 7(1), 68–82.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-03-2014-0034
Barnett, J. E., Doll, B., Younggren, J. N., & Rubin, N. J. (2007). Clinical competence forpracticing psychologists: Clearly a work in progress. Professional Psychology:
Research and Practice, 38(5), 510–517. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.38.5.510
Barton, B. (2016). Growing through supervision. In: Zhang, N. & Parsons, R.D. (Eds.), Field
experience: Transitioning from student to professional. 134–162. Sage Publications.
https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483398709.n6.
Bernard, J. M., & Goodyear, R. K. (2019). Fundamentals of clinical supervision. (6th ed.).
Pearson.
Holt, K. C., Warren, J., Maddox, R. P., Morgan, M., & Zakaria, N. S. (2016). Usingbookmarks:An approach to support ethical decision in play therapy. International
Journal of Play Therapy, 25(4), 176–185.
Cohen, L, Mannion, L, & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education. (6th ed.).
Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203029053

107

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

DePue, M. K., & Lambie, G. W. (2014). Impact of a university-based practicum experienceon counseling students’ levels of empathy and assessed counselingcompetencies. Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation, 5(2), 89–
101. https://doi.org/10.1177/2150137814548509
Egan, G. (1990). The skilled helper. (4th ed.). Brooks/Cole.
Epstein, R. M., & Hundert, E. M. (2002) Defining and assessing professional competence.
JAMA. 287(2), 226–35. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.287.2.226.
Eriksen, K., & McAuliffe, G. (2003). A measure of counselor competency. Counselor
Education and Supervision, 43(2), 120–133. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.15566978.2003.tb01836.x
Falender, C. A. (2014). Clinical supervision in a competency-based era. South African
Journal of Psychology, 44(1), 6–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246313516260
Falender, C. A., & Shafranske, E. P. (2014). Clinical supervision and the era of competence.
In W. B. Johnson & N. J. Kaslow (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Education andTraining in Professional Psychology, 291–313. Oxford University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199874019.013.022
Falender, C., Goodyear, R., Duan, C., Al-Darmaki, F., Bang, K., Çiftçi, A., & Partridge, S.
(2021). Lens on international clinical supervision: Lessons learned from a crossnational comparison of supervision. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 51(3),181–189. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-021-09497-5
Falender, C. A., & Shafranske, E. P. (2004). Clinical supervision: A competency-based
approach. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10806-000.
Farozin, M. (2019). Counsellor professional identity of counsellor profession education.
Cakrawala Pendidikan, 38(1), 104–119. https://doi.org/10.21831/cp.v38i1.22515
Foo, F. M., Hassan, S. A., Abu Talib, M., & Zakaria, N. S. (2017). Perfectionism and maritalsatisfaction among graduate students: A multigroup invariance analysis by counselinghelp-seeking attitudes. Polish Psychological Bulletin, 48(2), 301–306.
https://doi.org/10.1515/ppb-2017-0034
Gross, D. R., & Robinson, S. E. (1987). Ethics in counseling: A multiple role perspective.
Therapeutic Advances in Chronic Disease Journal, 15(1), 5–15.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1046171X.1987.12034287
Hill, C. E. (1990). Exploratory in-session process research in individual psychotherapy: A
review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58(3), 288–294.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.58.3.288
Hill, C. E., & O'Brien, K. M. (1999). Helping skills: Facilitating exploration, insight, andaction. American Psychological Association.
Ivey, A., & Authier, A. (1978). Microcounselling: Innovations in Interviewing, Counselling,
Psychotherapy and Psychoeducation (2nd ed.). Thomas.
Kabir, S. M. S. (2017). Supervision in counseling, 21-34 in Essentials of Counseling,
Supervision as Collaboration in Human Services. Abosar Prokashana Sangstha,
Banglabazar, Dhaka.
Kurtyilmaz, Y. (2015). Counselor trainees’ views on their forthcoming experiences inpracticum course. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 61, 155–180.
http://dx.doi.org/10.14689/ejer.2015.61.9.

108

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

Ladany, N., & Malouf, M. A. (2010). Chapter 15, Understanding and conducting supervisionresearch. 353- 388 in Ladany, N., & Bradley, L.J. (2010). Counselor supervision.
(4th ed.). Routledge.
Lambie, G. W., Mullen, P. R., Swank, J. M., & Blount, A. (2018). The counselingcompetencies scale: Validation and refinement. Measurement and Evaluation inCounseling and Development, 51 (1), 1–15.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07481756.2017.1358964
Malaysian Board of Counsellors (2015). Standard and requirements of the counselor
training. Malaysian Board of Counsellors.
Malaysian Board of Counsellors (2019). Counselor code of ethics. Malaysian Board ofCounsellors.
Mat Min, R. (2017). Kecekapan kaunselor: Kemahiran kaunseling dan hubungan terapeutik.
Jurnal Kaunselor Berdaftar, 1(1), 1–8.
McLeod, J. (1992). What do we know about how best to assess counsellor competence?
Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 5 (4), 359–372.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09515079208254481
McLeod, J. (2013). An introduction to counselling. McGraw-Hill Education.
Mohd Ali, N., Hassan, S., Jailani, O., Zaremohzzabieh, Z., & Lee, Z. (2020). The impact ofsupervisory styles on satisfaction of undergraduate counselling interns in
Malaysia. Asian Journal of University Education, 16(3), 138–147.
https://doi.org/10.24191/ajue.v16i3.11079
Mohd Nor, M. Z. (2012). Pola Penyeliaan Praktikum Guru Bimbingan dan Kaunseling
Sekolah Rendah. (Thesis). Universiti Malaya.
Nor Mazlina, G. (2015). Influence of supervisory relationship and supervision contextual
factors on supervision outcomes among trainee counsellors. (Thesis). Universiti Putra
Malaysia.
Norwati, M., & Wan Mazwati, W. Y. (2013). Feelings and experiences of counselingpracticum students and implications for counseling supervision. Journal of
Educational and Social Research, 3(7), 731–736.
https://doi.org/10.5901/jesr.2013.v3n7p731
Olk, M., & Friedlander, M. L. (1992). Role conflict and ambiguity in the supervisory
experience of counselor trainees. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 39, 389–
397. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.39.3.389
Pallant, J. (2013). SPSS survival manual: A step by step guide to data analysis using IBM
SPSS (4th ed.). Allen & Unwin.
Pelling, N. (2009). Counsellor competence – A survey of Australian counsellor self-perceived
competence. The Professional Counsellor, 2, 1–8.
Ridley, C. R., Mollen, D., & Kelly, S. M. (2011). Beyond microskills: Toward a model ofcounseling competence. The Counseling Psychologist. 1–40.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000010378440.
Setiyowati, A. J., Pali, M., Wiyono, B. B., & Triyono, T. (2019). Structural model ofcounseling competence. Cakrawala Pendidikan, 38(1), 45–62.
https://doi.org/10.21831/cp.v38i1.21509.

109

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

Spielberger, S. L. (2020). School psychology interns: Examination of the psychometricproperties of the adapted supervisee disclosure scale [Thesis]. Fordham University.
Subarimaniam, N., Zakaria, N. S., & Wan Jaafar, W. M. (2020). Multicultural competency,
spirituality, and self-efficacy in dealing with legal and ethical issues. PERTANIKA
Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 28(2), 1371–1387.
Swank, J. M. (2014). Assessing counseling. competencies. A comparison of supervisors’
rating and student supervisees’ ratings. Counseling Outcome Research and
Evaluation, 17–27, https://doi.org/1177/2150137814529147
Swank, J. M., Lambie, G. W., & Witta, E. L. (2012). An exploratory investigation of thecounseling competencies scale: A Measure of counseling skills, dispositions, andbehaviors. Counselor Education & Supervision, 51, 189–206.
Tsai, P. (2015). Trainee’s anxiety and counseling self-efficacy in counseling sessions, Iowa
States University. [Thesis]. https://doi.org/10.31274/etd-180810-4254
Urbani, S., Smith, M. R., Maddux, C. D., Smaby, M. H., Torres‐Rivera, E., & Crews, J.
(2002). Skills‐based training and counseling self‐ efficacy. Counselor Education andSupervision, 42(2), 92–106. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.15566978.2002.tb01802.x
Vassara, M., & Papavassiliou-Alexiou, I. (2021). Supervision in counseling andpsychotherapy: A qualitative study of Greek supervisors' experiences and practices.
Hellenic Journal of Psychology, 18(1), 63–89.
Wan Jaafar, W. M. (2007). Pengaruh perkembangan penyeliaan dan efikasi swadiri
kaunseling terhadap prestasi kaunselor pelatih. (Thesis). Universiti Putra Malaysia.
Wan Jaafar, W. M. (2011). The counseling performance among trainee counselor in
Malaysia. Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, 512–516.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.10.100
Warren, J., Cisler, A., Weatherford, J., & Zakaria, N. S. (2013). Assessing the impact ofaddictions education on attitudes of students: A preliminary investigation. American
Alcohol and Drug Information Foundation, 57(3), 18.
Warren, J., Zavaschi, G., Covello, C., & Zakaria, N. S. (2012). The use of bookmarks inteaching counseling ethics. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 7(2), 187–201.
Watkins, J. C. E. (2020). What do clinical supervision research reviews tell us? Surveying thelast 25 years. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 20(2), 190–208.
https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12287.
Wheeler, S., & Richards, K. The impact of clinical supervision on counsellors and therapists,
their practice and their clients. A systematic review of the literature. Counselling andPsychotherapy, 7(1), 54–65, https://doi.org/10.1080/14733140601185274.
Xia, W., Li, W. H., Liang, T., Luo, Y., Ho, L. L., Cheung, A. T., & Song, P. (2021).
Adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the Chinese counseling competencies
scale-revised. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 688–539.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.688539
Yaumas, E. N., Syafril, S., Mohd Noor, N., Mahmud, Z., Umar, J., Wekke, I., & Rahayu, T.
(2018). The importance of counseling basic skills for the counselors. International
Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics, 119(18), 1195–1207.

110

IAFOR Journal of Education: Studies in Education

Volume 11 – Issue 3 – 2023

Zakaria, N. S. (2013). Counseling ethics education experience: An interpretive case study ofthe first year master’s level counseling students (Doctoral dissertation). ProQuest
Dissertations and Theses (UMI 3562075).
Zakaria, N. S., Saripan, M. I., Subarimaniam, N., & Ismail, A. (2020). Testing EthoshuntTM
as a gamification-based mobile application in ethics education: Mixed methods pilot
study. Journal of Medical Internet Research-Serious Games Journal, 8(3), e18247.
https://doi.org/10.2196/18247
Zakaria, N. S., Subarimaniam, N., Wan Jaafar, W. M., Mohd Ayub, A. F., & Saripan, M. I.
(2022). Conceptualization and initial measurement of counseling ethics competency:
The influence of spiritual and self-efficacy. European Journal of Training andDevelopment. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-02-2020-0016
Zakaria, N. S., & Warren, J. (2016). Counseling ethics education: Teaching and learning
development reformation. In I. H. Amzat, & B. Yusuf (Eds.), Fast Forwarding
Higher Education Institutions for Global Challenges: Perspectives and Approaches,
83–96. Singapore: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-603-4
Zakaria, N. S., Warren, J., & Bakar, A. R. (2017). Counseling ethics education for enhanced
professional identity and development: Guidance and counseling teachers lifelong
learning acquisition empowered. In I. H. Amzat, & N. P. Valdez (Eds.), Teacher
Empowerment for Professional Development and Practice: Perspectives AcrossBorders, 153-166. Singapore: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4151-8
Zawawi, J. A., & Al-Ali, T. M. (2014). Jordanian counsellor trainees’ self-efficacy andperformance: The impacts of supervision. European Journal of Business and Social
Sciences, 3(2), 69–93.
Corresponding author: Suhaili Arifin
Email: suhaili@umt.edu.my111