Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Promoting Awareness Of Self: Cultural Immersion And Service-Learning Experiences Of Counselors-In-Training, Rose Helen Merrell-James, Marcy J. Douglass, Matthew R. Shupp

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Promoting Awareness-of-Self: Cultural Immersion and Service-Learning experiences

Abstract

Counselor education is committed to exploring innovative pedagogy to provide opportunities for counselor trainees to increase multicultural competence. International cultural immersion and service –learning create an environment for counselors-in-training to explore their cultural competence through cultural interactions, relationships, and heightened self-awareness. This exploratory, qualitative, phenomenological study using focus group data collection investigated the lived experience of counselors-in-training through international cultural immersion and service-learning. Awareness-of-self emerged as the overarching theme which included themes of personal and national privilege, cultural encapsulation, sense of belonging, and racism. Subthemes include attitudes and beliefs, cultural norms, time, …

A Multicase Study Exploring Women’S Narratives Of Infertility: Implications For Counselors, Staci L. Born, Christin L. Carotta, Kristine Ramsay-Seaner

Staci Born

Infertility affects 6.7 million women in the United States (Chandra, Copen, & Stephen, 2013). Women’s experiences with infertility are not only influenced by biological health factors, but also by social, cultural, and personal variables. Given the prevalence and complexity of infertility, additional research is needed to further examine the nuances of women’s experiences. The purpose of this multicase study, as informed by four individual cases, was to explore how women construct their infertility narratives. Review of reflective journals found five common elements: (1) Emotional Rollercoaster, (2) Mind-Body (Dis)Connection, (3) Secret Identity, (4) Supportive vs. Constrained Communication Patterns, and (5) Fatalistic- …