At times, we all ponder the world around us. We ask questions like: “How does THAT relationship work?” and “What might be the cause of THAT?” and “How can THAT situation be explained or defined?” Believe it or not, these are the types of questions that drive the work that researchers do.
Imagine for a moment that you are a researcher, and that you have all possible resources available to you for research. What would you want to know about the world around you? About relationships? About people? What phenomena might you seek to understand or to explain?
If you were to be able to uncover the answers to your questions, what would that mean for you? How would the ability to do that influence your identity as a professional counselor? How would it influence your counseling practice?
Finally, to what extent do you see yourself as a future researcher-practitioner? Is this an identity that you think you can integrate into your overall identity as a professional? Is it even important to try to do so?