The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study was to garner a greater understanding of professional counselors' experiences and understandings of the role and boundary changes in their personal relationships following counselor education and preparation. Additionally and interrelatedly, professional counselors' experiences and understandings of close others seeking informal, counseling-related help from them were also explored. Data were collected from eight participants in the form of semi-structured interviews. The participants were licensed professional counselors in Ohio who graduated from CACREP-accredited counseling programs no more than five years before the initial interview date. The data were analyzed using the six steps of IPA. Four superordinate themes and 16 corresponding subthemes emerged from the data. The four superordinate themes included: (a) personal relationship skills and awareness are enhanced by positive personal growth, (b) close others' misperceptions of counseling influence their role expectations, (c) context matters in experiences with non-client, close others seeking informal counseling-related help, and (d) multiple approaches are used for navigating personal relationship boundaries. Findings from the current study contribute to the professional literature beyond the existing anecdotal and ancillary accounts of these phenomena. Moreover, the findings from this study bring additional implications and recommendations for counselor educators and supervisors and continued advocacy efforts to light. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]