Developing a professional competency model for divorce counselors at The Crisis Intervention Centers

The purpose of this study was to design a model of professional competencies of divorce counselors in crisis intervention centers in Semnan province. This research was conducted with a qualitative approach and with a data-based method (grounded theory) based on interviews with divorce counseling specialists and applicants for consensual divorce following an understanding of their lived experience. For this purpose, by purposeful sampling method, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 6 experts in the field of divorce counseling and 8 couples seeking divorce after participating in divorce counseling sessions. After coding and analyzing the data of expert interviews, 8 main themes and 52 sub-themes were identified. Themes include general competencies, appearance, communication, professional ethics, personality, competencies related to guidance techniques, motivational interventions, and specialized competencies in marital counseling and divorce. From the interviews with divorce applicants, 6 main themes (41 sub-themes) were extracted, such as physical, communication, moral, personality competencies, competencies related to guidance techniques, and specialized competencies in marital and divorce counseling. Finally, the model of professional competence of divorce counselors was developed with the axes of pre-counseling necessities, skills training, couple counseling skills, continuity of on-the-job training experiences and continuous evaluation of professional competence. According to the research findings and considering that recently the judiciary is recruiting and granting employment licenses to divorce counselors to refer divorce cases to them, it is suggested to use this model in order to attract and train specialized staff.