Social justice is one of the core values within the counseling profession, as listed in the ACA Code of Ethics (2014). Counselors in training are charged with developing social justice skills that center advocacy and dismantling oppressive systems for clients, students, and communities. Although there is emerging interest in research, models, and frameworks for social justice within the counseling field, people and communities who are racially marginalized still face systemic barriers to accessing mental health services. Additionally, there are systemic barriers within counselor education for counselors in training that are created and maintained by the culture of Whiteness. This constructivist grounded theory study examined the impact of the culture of Whiteness on the critical consciousness (CC) development of counselors in training. CC development is a measure of social justice development through a critical lens of reflection, motivation, and action (Freire, 1970/2020, Castro et al., 2022). In semi-structured interviews with 18 counselor educators, 4 themes, 8 Level 1 subthemes, and 15 Level 2 subthemes emerged from the data analysis of initial, focused, and thematic coding. The results show that the culture of Whiteness and CC development are conflicting constructs, and that the culture of Whiteness impedes CC development through the systems in which it is embedded. Counseling systems are embedded with the culture of Whiteness at every level, including the individual student, instructor, counselor education programs, CACREP, and academia. Additionally, the culture of Whiteness creates and maintains systemic barriers in counselor education, which negatively influences CC development for counselors in training. These barriers include the admissions process, assessment and student performance, the curriculum and counselor education texts, and courses such as Theories, Diagnosis, and Assessment. Counselor educators can begin to counteract these barriers by committing to social justice. Additionally, pedagogical experiences can facilitate CC development for counselors in training, especially critical pedagogical and instructional practices about the culture of Whiteness. This study is one of the first in the field to examine the impact of the culture of Whiteness on CC development. Limitations and implications of this study and recommendations for future research were discussed. [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.]