Status Update: Still ABD. The Lived Experience of Counselor Educators in Extended Dissertation Circumstances

The United States of America produces approximately fifty-one thousand all but dissertation (ABD) students a year (Sternberg, 2014). This researcher sought to add to the limited literature on why ABD students take five or more years to complete a dissertation in Counselor Education. The work was completed as a collection of personal stories, gaining insight into (1) the lived experience of ABD Counselor Educators who struggle to complete a degree and (2) the thoughts of the individuals regarding what support would have been helpful to complete their dissertation sooner. The findings include the application of Flynn et al. (2012) The Emergent Theory of the Initiation, Management, and Completion of the Dissertation Within Counselor Education and Supervision in making recommendations for both struggling ABD students and Counselor Education programs trying to increase the numbers of completed dissertations.