The Counselor Self-Reflection Inventory (CSRI)

Abstract

The Counselor Self-Reflection Inventory (CSRI), developed by DeCino et al. (2025), is a specialized 39-item psychological instrument designed to evaluate the self-reflective practice of counselors, counselor educators, supervisors, and counselors-in-training (CITs). The development process involved a thorough literature review on critical self-reflection in counseling and a pilot study that categorized reflective responses into three distinct domains: content, process, and premise. The final structure of the CSRI comprises 12 items dedicated to content reflection, 13 items for process reflection, and 14 items for premise reflection. Validation was conducted using a sample of professional counselors holding a minimum of a master’s degree. Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported a robust one-factor model, confirming the scale’s overall reliability and validity for assessing essential self-awareness skills in professional counseling.

Keywords

Counselors-in-Training, Professional Counselors, Self-Reflection, Transformative Learning Theory, Counselor Education, Clinical Supervision, Identity Development.

Authors

Daniel A. DeCino, Steven R. Chesnut, Phillip L. Waalkes, Reed N. Keen

Purpose

The primary objective of the Counselor Self-Reflection Inventory (CSRI) is to systematically assess the quality and depth of counselors’ self-reflective practice. This assessment is crucial for professional development within the field of counseling.

The scale is intended for use by both practicing counselors and counselor educators to identify specific professional strengths and areas requiring further growth or supervision. Furthermore, the CSRI serves to enhance self-reflective practices among professionals and counselors-in-training, thereby promoting positive professional identity development and improved client outcomes.

Construct

The CSRI measures the psychological construct of professional self-reflection in the context of counseling practice, particularly focusing on how practitioners examine their work, assumptions, and personal impact on the therapeutic relationship. The reflection is structured across three domains, which collectively capture the depth of reflective thought:

• Content Reflection (12 items): Focuses on the “what” of counseling, encompassing factors like client settings, available resources, and factual aspects of client experiences.

• Process Reflection (13 items): Focuses on the “how” of counseling, including the application of conceptualization skills, developmental appropriateness of interventions, and the utilization of professional consultation.

• Premise Reflection (14 items): Focuses on the “why” of counseling, examining underlying personal and professional beliefs, values, and assumptions that shape practice, aligning conceptually with principles of Transformative Learning Theory.

Validity

The validation process incorporated expert assessment to ensure robust Content validity. Content experts with extensive training and work experience in clinical mental health or school counseling reviewed the initial items and provided feedback, leading to the refinement of the final 39-item instrument.

Convergent Validity: Convergent Validity was established by integrating the 6 items of the Self-Awareness and Management Strategies Scale (SAMS; Williams et al., 2003) into the Confirmatory Factor Analysis model. The SAMS items represented a separate, general self-reflection and awareness latent variable, which was allowed to correlate with the single latent factor representing the CSRI. Model fit indices supported this structure well (CFI = 0.961, TLI = 0.958, RMSEA = 0.04 [90% CI[0.033; 0.049]], and SRMR = 0.065). The standardized covariance between the CSRI latent factor and the general self-reflection and awareness latent factor was 0.508, confirming a significant convergent relationship.

Reliability

Internal Consistency: Based on the established single-factor representation of the CSRI, the scale demonstrated acceptable Internal Consistency. The reliability coefficient, calculated using McDonald’s ω, was 0.92 (bootstrapped 95% CI[0.84; 0.95]).

Inter-item correlations were carefully evaluated across the item categories. Items that exhibited trivial to small associations (-0.1 < r < 0.1) with other items were removed from the final scale as they were deemed unlikely to measure the same underlying latent construct. After targeted removal of items 4, 22, 27, and 5 through iterative analysis, the resulting inter-item correlations ranged from 0.133 to 0.549, with a satisfactory average inter-item correlation of 0.345 across the final 39 items.

Factor Analysis

The dimensional structure of the 39-item CSRI was rigorously tested using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The analysis strongly supported a one-factor model of counselor self-reflection, indicating that the scale primarily measures a single overarching construct of reflective practice.

The model fit indices were acceptable and suggested an overall good fit to the data: CFI = 0.961, TLI = 0.958, RMSEA = 0.04 (90% CI[0.033; 0.049]), and SRMR = 0.065. This finding, alongside the standardized covariance of 0.508 between the CSRI and general self-reflection/awareness, confirms the unitary nature of the construct being measured.

Instrument

Test Type: Original

Format: Items are rated on a 6-point scale (Rating Scale).

Language Available: English

Population Group: The CSRI is designed for use with a human population, specifically counseling professionals, including both males and females.

Age Group: The scale is applicable across various adult age groups: Adulthood (18 years & older), Young Adulthood (18-29 years), Thirties (30-39 years), Middle Age (40-64 years), and Aged (65 years & older).

Population Details: The validation sample consisted of professional counselors with a minimum of a Master’s Degree who actively utilize self-reflective practice in their work. The reported age range of respondents was 24–79, and reported gender identities included Non-Binary individuals.

Test Methodology: The development and validation methodology included comprehensive steps: test validity assessment, content validity assessment via expert review, convergent validity analysis, test reliability assessment, calculation of internal consistency (using McDonald’s ω), factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis.

Keywords

Counselor Education, Professional Development, Self-Assessment, Transformative Learning Theory, Clinical Supervision, Counselor Identity, Rating Scale.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier:

• Steven R. Chesnut: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6164-7823

• Phillip L. Waalkes: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2956-5078

Affiliation Email addresses:

• DeCino, Daniel A.: [email protected] (University of South Dakota)

• Chesnut, Steven R.: University of Missouri-Kansas City

• Waalkes, Phillip L.: University of Missouri-St. Louis

• Keen, Reed N.: Division of Counseling and Psychology, University of South Dakota

Correspondence Address:

DeCino, Daniel A.: University of South Dakota, Division of Counseling and Psychology in Education, 414 E. Clark St., Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, 57069, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: Contact Publisher

Fee: No

Test Year: 2025

Reference’s

DeCino, D. A., Chesnut, S. R., Waalkes, P. L., & Keen, R. N. (2025). Development and initial validation of the Counselor Self-Reflection Inventory for counselors and counselors-in-training. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 58(1), 7–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481756.2024.2364587

Items of the the Counselor Self-Reflection Inventory (CSRI)

Counselor Self-Reflection Inventory (CSRI)

Instructions: The following statements cover self-reflective practice in counseling. Indicate how accurately each statement describes you as a counselor when reflecting about your work. Please rate your responses honestly rather than how you wish they were about your reflective practice.

Use the following scale:
1 = Very untrue of me
2 = Untrue of me
3 = Somewhat untrue of me
4 = Somewhat true of me
5 = True of me
6 = Very true of me

When I think about my work with clients, I reflect on …

1. What settings impact clients.

2. Why my counseling approach might influence clients.

3. What about my personality impacts my clients.

4. What about my gender, race, and other identities matter in counseling.

5. Why self-care helps me be available to clients.

6. How I can help clients find resources.

7. What resources I need to effectively serve clients.

8. How I can use my professional relationship with clients to improve their relationships.

9. What options are available to help clients.

10. Which people are important to clients.

11. Why ethical decision making might impact clients.

12. How I can use my consultation with colleagues to help clients.

13. How I can use my conceptualization skills to help clients.

14. How I can help clients understand systems that influence their well-being.

15. Why I empathize with clients.

16. What cultural factors influence clients.

17. Why my counselor presence impacts clients.

18. How developmentally appropriate are my interventions with clients.

19. What facts of clients’ experiences are important.

20. Why my reactions to clients during counseling matter.

21. What about my appearance influences my clients.

22. How I can use my culture to help clients.

23. What about my training impacts my clients.

24. Why my life experience impacts my work with clients.

25. How I can do better next time I meet with clients.

26. Why thinking about my clients outside of work might help me be a better counselor.

27. How I can use my values to help clients.

28. Why my values might impact the counseling session.

29. Why being helpful is important to me as a counselor.

30. What types of conflict impact clients.

31. What about my office setting impacts my clients.

32. How I can help clients use insights gained from counseling to improve their lives.

33. Why my counseling experience matters.

34. How I can assist clients to move forward with life.

35. Why it is important to remember each client is unique.

36. Why differences between the client and I are important.

37. How I can help clients use their culture to improve their lives.

38. Why my counseling techniques might impact clients.

39. How I can help clients with their issues.