ABSTRACT
The profession of counseling has grown quickly during the past 20 years, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics promoting it as a rapidly expanding profession. Coincidentally, graduate counseling programs have multiplied, most particularly in school counseling and clinical mental health counseling. Yet, as important as job potential, counselors must of necessity examine the relevance of meaning and purpose in their own lives if they are to assist their clients. This inaugural chapter will assist readers and professional and potential counselors explore their inner selves. Themes explored within the chapter are existentialism, meaning vs. meaninglessness, the existential vacuum, and the importance of life purpose for counselors.
