Counselor Education Commons^™

Co-Creando Rituales / Co-Creating Rituals To Hold Our Work As Anti-Oppressive Counselors And Researchers, Ana G. Reyes, Alexandria E. Capraro, Mónica Rodríguez Delgado

The Qualitative Report

Counselors and qualitative researchers have the honor of hearing peoples’ stories and thus have a great responsibility to explore and use clinical and research methodologies that are anti-oppressive, liberatory, and healing. Therefore, in 2019 we began a photovoice project alongside seven queer womxn of color (QWoC) that collaboratively explored their experiences of microaggressions in counseling. Through this journey, we recognized that to be fully present with the “co-researchers’” (participants’) narratives and experiences, we needed to remain attuned and grounded. We engaged in what we now call “rituals” before research team meetings to support our work as counselors and anti-oppressive researchers …

Expanding Frameworks: Conducting Discourse Analysis In Counseling Research, Chloe Lancaster, Melissa J. Fickling

The Qualitative Report

Discourse analysis encompasses a variety of disciplinary approaches that broadly aim to understand how individuals and groups use language to construct and maintain their psychological and social realities. A central concept in discourse analysis is we all use discourse to accomplish our communication goals despite being unaware of most discourses we evoke. While discourse studies could help counseling professionals to better understand how they deploy discourses to maintain identities, inequalities, and status quo, the method is not well-represented in counseling research in the United States. This methodological guide presents an introduction to discourse analysis and an overview of the analytic …

Cultural Competence With Humility: A Pre-Post Cohort Study Of Student Self-Assessments, Michele L. Tilstra, Cara A. Berg-Carramusa, Karen M. Keptner, Tiffany J. Peets

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: The intent of this study is to examine how Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) and Counseling and Human Development (CHD) graduate students who experienced Counselors and Occupational Therapists Professionally Engaged (COPE) in the Community program perceived their self-evaluation of cultural competence with humility (CCH) constructs (cultural awareness, skills, knowledge, and desire) from pre- to post-experience. Methods: Using a pre-/post-test cohort design, researchers used the Modified Cultural Competency Self-Assessment (M-CCSA) to determine if there were changes in ratings after students completed a novel training program. Results: Twenty-five students completed the pre-/post- survey. Overall, the mean M-CCSA total and …

Is Digital Altruism The Same As Offline Altruism?: An Exploration Of Strength-Based Determinants Among Generation Z During Covid-19 Pandemic, Nair Shravya Sunil, Surekha Chukkali

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Digital altruism is a new form of altruism on social media platforms. Social media has been a vital tool for sharing and seeking information for day-to-day situations, enabling people to seek and render help. Engaging in helping behaviour could be purely out of altruism or can be traced back to their professional requirements. Social media platforms have brought out people’s altruistic side on multiple occasions. The present study looked at the altruism levels of Indian Generation-Z social media users and how it is influenced by the users’ strength-based determinants, i.e. empathy, compassion, social justice, optimism, social intelligence, and personality, compared …

College Student Mental Health In The Covid-19 Era: Results Of An Expressive Writing Prompt, Carissa Daniello-Heyda, Kevin Hynes, Rachel R. Tambling

The Qualitative Report

The novel SARS-CoV-2, or coronavirus, has greatly altered the landscape of college life for students across the United States. The ever-present health concerns and quarantine have been linked to increased anxiety, depression, stress, and post-traumatic stress disorder. To this end, we examined the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychosocial health of college students. We explored the impact of COVID-19 on levels of stress and distress in college students using a qualitative expressive writing methodology. Results of this study suggested that the college students included in the sample were moderately distressed – their scores on inventories of depression, anxiety, …

Doctoral Students Balancing The Roles And Relationships Of Counselor Education, Isabel C. Farrell, Casey A. Barrio Minton, Amanda C. Dediego

The Qualitative Report

Aspiring counselor educators in Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP)-accredited programs must learn to be counselors, teachers, supervisors, researchers, and leaders. These roles can overlap, creating multiple complex relationships during their programs. To examine these roles, we conducted a constructivist grounded theory investigation of how counselor education doctoral students (n = 9) balanced multiple roles and relationships and boundary crossings. We utilized chain referral sampling and continued until we reached theoretical saturation. We used semi-structured interviews conducted via videoconferencing (Zoom) for data collection and coded the interviews using two main phases: an initial phase and …

“It Is Nice To Be Seen, Not Gazed At”: A Reflection Of Using Photovoice And Critical Participatory Action Research With Queer, Trans, Black, And Indigenous People Of Color In Substance Use Disorder Counseling, Frank Bryan Gorritz, Logan Riddle, Jay Mccalla, Jacklyn J. Byrd

The Qualitative Report

This article focuses on the reflexivity process associated with studying Queer, Transgender, Black, and Indigenous People of Colors’ experiences in substance use disorder counseling. Specifically, this article explores the authors’ experience working with QTBIPOC in substance use disorder counseling, studying QTBIPOC counseling research, researching QTBIPOC lived experiences in substance use disorder counseling, and utilizing QTBIPOC affirming research methods in understanding QTBIPOC lived experiences. This article is especially important as it interrogates what it means to identify as a Queer researcher while studying the lived experiences of QTBIPOC. This article also includes implications for conducting counseling research in studying QTBIPOC lived …

Giving Voices To Jamaican Canadian Immigrant Women: A Heuristic Inquiry Study, Sandra P. Dixon, Dania Amin, Nancy M. Arthur

The Qualitative Report

The Heuristic Inquiry (HI) qualitative method applied in this study explored the role of Pentecostal faith in the post-migration lived experiences of Jamaican Canadian immigrant women (JCIW). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven JCIW whose Pentecostal faith helped them to reconstruct their cultural identity post-migration. The creative flexibility of HI allowed for the integration of the primary researcher’s (i.e., first author's) voice into the study alongside those of the co-researchers. Positioning the study within a postmodern social constructionism theoretical framework created space for multiple realities to emerge that were constructed through social interaction and language. These realities were evident in …

Infusing Military Culture In Multicultural Counseling Frameworks: A Phenomenological Study, Katherine M. Atkins, Toni R. Tollerud, Tilottama Roy-White, Lauren E. Brdecka, Deanna Chrones

The Qualitative Report

This descriptive phenomenological study focused on counselor educators’ (CESs) experiences infusing military culture into counseling curriculum. Specifically, this study sought to learn what counseling programs can do to best prepare counselors-in-training to work with military families. The researchers used the McCracken (1988) method to interview ten participants who had terminal degrees in counselor education or a highly related field, experience providing services to military-connected clients, and were aware of military cultural facets (e.g., implicit and explicit expectations, rules, and ways of being). The findings support the need to redefine multiculturalism and intentional infusion of military culture in counseling curriculum to …

Now What?, David L. Hart Jr, Rebecca J. Armstrong

FDLA Journal

NOW WHAT?

David Hart, Ph.D. and Rebecca Armstrong, Ph.D.

Making the decision to pursue an advanced degree is certainly commendable. To add to one’s knowledge base is ambitious and the results of such a commitment are monumental. However, it goes without saying that in that scheme, life’s challenges are ever-present, and along with other given responsibilities, the concept of time becomes a faded memory. If that is not enough, COVID-19 presented all degree-seekers with issues that seemed insurmountable. Many decided that virtual learning programs would provide an environment that allowed for success in the academic arena despite the forces that …

Trauma-Informed Supervision Experiences: A Preliminary Phenomenological Study, Gina Martin, Gideon Litherland, David K. Duys

The Qualitative Report

Trauma is pervasive in the clinical world of counseling. The current literature indicates adverse effects for survivors of a traumatic event and the counselors listening to the details of traumatic events, but there is a gap in research on the adverse effects trauma in counseling has on supervisors. This study aims to understand the lived experiences of supervisors who have dealt with traumatic experiences in clinical work through interviews with current supervisors of those who work with trauma. The results indicate trauma-informed supervision consists of trauma taking many forms, supervisors (and counselors) using the self in their work, supervisors knowing …

Learning From The Standpoints Of Minoritized Students: An Exploration Of Multicultural And Social Justice Counseling Training, Julie A. Cohen, Anusha Kassan, Kaori Wada

The Qualitative Report

The results of a feminist research endeavour that explored multicultural (MC) counselling and social justice (SJ) training experiences from the standpoint of eight culturally non-dominant doctoral students are presented. Participants represented students within the five counselling psychology programs accredited by the Canadian Psychological Association. Specifically, the research aimed to address the following research question: How do counselling psychology doctoral students who self-identify with non-dominant cultural identities perceive their experiences of MC and SJ training? This research adopted a feminist standpoint theory epistemology to guide an interpretative phenomenological analysis to reflect the culturally rich, complex, and situated experiences of participants, while …

A Need Of Further Training For Marriage And Family Therapy Students’ On Food Addiction And Related Eating Disorders, Darren D. Moore, Chichun Lin, Clinton Cooper

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this study was to explore Marriage and Family Therapy students’ perspectives regarding food addiction and associated eating disorders, as a clinical treatment issue. In a standard addictions course housed in a Marriage and Family Therapy program approved by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE), 20 students completed a qualitative survey where they reflected on the topic of food addiction, Binge Eating Disorder, and Bulimia Nervosa, within the context of individual, couple, and family relationships. In the study four major themes emerged, which included (1) Defining Food Addiction, (2) Perceptions of Eating …

The Phenomenological House: A Metaphoric Framework For Descriptive Phenomenological Psychological Design And Analysis, Katheryne T. Leigh-Osroosh

The Qualitative Report

Descriptive phenomenology investigates the essence of how phenomena are consciously experienced (Giorgi, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012; Moustakas, 1994; Vagle, 2018). Researchers wishing to conduct descriptive phenomenological studies may struggle to find answers to the complex questions that arise. Misunderstood concepts and practices may lead to philosophical conflict, ultimately threatening validity and rigor. This manuscript provides readers a metaphoric framework “the phenomenological house” to understand and analyze Giorgi’s phenomenological psychological conceptualization of essence as a universal structural description of how a phenomenon is lived. Ultimately, the phenomenological house provides a pathway for qualitative researchers to navigate descriptive phenomenology and contribute to …

Exploring The Program-Site Alliance: Building Partnerships Between Counseling Programs And Fieldwork Sites, Tamara Tribitt, Steven J. Moody

The Qualitative Report

Practicum and internship experiences are critical in students’ professional development in counselor education programs, and the dynamics that occur between programs and field sites can impact these experiences. A program-site alliance is a measure of how well these entities work together. Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, the authors interviewed five site supervisors and found five themes (Site Supervisor Role, Communication Within the Program-Site Alliance, Independent Mutualism, Regulated Support, and Inconsistency Between Program-Site Alliance) capturing the essence of the program-site relationship. The authors explore implications for practice and future research.

Sacred Medicine: Indigenous Healing And Mental Health, Sonia Lucana, John Elfers

The Qualitative Report

This participatory action research was designed to create guidelines and strategies to improve the delivery of mental health services to immigrants from Central and South America to the US. The demand for appropriate strategies for addressing the mental health needs of this population is increasing. This study recruited 17 traditional healers and their clients in the US and Peru to share their understanding of mental health needs, the conditions for which someone might seek treatment, and those aspects of traditional cosmology and practice that could inform modern approaches. The findings identified patterns of generational trauma still evident from colonialism, the …

A Critical Imaginal Hermeneutics Approach To Explore Unconscious Influences On Professional Practices: A Ricoeur And Jung Partnership, Rosa Bologna, Franziska Trede, Narelle Patton

The Qualitative Report

Professional relationships are at the heart of professional practice. Qualitative studies exploring professional practice relationships are typically positioned in either the social constructivist (interpretive) paradigm where the aim is to explore actors’ subjective understandings of their relationships and relational practices, or in the critical paradigm where the aim is to reveal objective unconscious structures and hidden power plays influencing actors’ practices. This paper introduces critical imaginal hermeneutics as a systemic philosophical and methodological approach situated on the juncture of the social constructivist and critical paradigms where the dual aim is to explore both actors’ subjective understanding and meaning-making processes associated …

Bourdieu And Jung: A Thought Partnership To Explore Personal, Social, And Collective Unconscious Influences On Professional Practices, Rosa Bologna, Franziska Trede, Narelle Patton

The Qualitative Report

This paper introduces a thought partnership between Pierre Bourdieu and Carl Jung used to explore clinical play therapists’ understanding and critical reflexivity of unconscious influences on their relational practices with parents. The partnership is situated within a broader methodological partnership between Paul Ricoeur and Jung discussed by the authors in another paper in this issue. The purpose of the Bourdieu and Jung partnership is to design a comprehensive theoretical tool kit that enables the exploration of the interrelated nature of personal, social, and collective unconscious influences on professional practices. The paper discusses seven Bourdieusian and ten Jungian thinking tools and …

Consequences Of Sexism In Counselor Education: A Collective Analytic Autoethnography, Michael P. Chaney, Alcia A. Freeman, Jennifer Boswell, Stephanie Crockett, Erin Binkley

The Qualitative Report

In this article we used collective analytic autoethnography to explore experiences and perceptions of sexism among five counselor educators. Based on analysis of narrative data, we introduced a model that illustrates how sexism was experienced and given meaning by participants. Sexist events lead to positive (empowerment, sexism externalization, advocacy, and relationships with others) and negative (low self-confidence, internalized sexism, negative affect, institutional sexism) consequences within their personal and professional lives. Implications of this model are discussed and directions for future research are presented.

Exploring Relationships Between Needs And Solutions In Solution Focused Brief Therapy: A Recursive Frame Analysis, Annette Bovee-Akyurek, Ronald J. Chenail, Kara Erolin

The Qualitative Report

Focus is a critical component in solution focused brief therapy (SFBT; de Shazer et al., 1986), yet little research has been conducted on how SFBT therapists utilize the clients’ focus on their awareness of needs to relationally build solutions (Reiter & Chenail, 2016). To address this gap, we reviewed the notion of utilizing clients’ focus in SFBT conceptually and presented the results of our discovery-oriented qualitative study of a classic training case conducted by one of SFBT’s co-developers, Insoo Kim Berg (1994). We explored how Berg appeared to demonstrate relationally focused solution development. The findings suggest that Berg’s therapeutic style …

Exploring Counselors’ Personal Guiding Theories: A Qualitative Study In Portraiture, Amy L. Barth, Jane E. Rheineck, Carrie Merino Dr.

The Qualitative Report

A personal guiding theory of counseling is an important component of professional identity development for counselors. We utilized the qualitative methodology of portraiture to explore how professional counselors understand their own personal guiding theories of counseling. Three research portraits are shared that demonstrate how participants use the counseling relationship as the means to incorporate their personal guiding theories into their work with clients. Implications for counselors and counselor educators and future research are presented.

A Practical Resource For The Social Sciences: A Book Review Of Bruce Friedman’S The Research Toolkit - Problem Solving Processes For The Social Sciences, Sarah E. Faubert

The Qualitative Report

Bruce D. Friedman provides an invaluable resource for social science researchers and practitioners to add to their “toolkit.” This book provides practical and straightforward guidance for understanding and conducting qualitative and quantitative research. As a social science researcher, sessional instructor, and doctoral student, reading this book answered important questions I had regarding the research process and implications of social science research. This review will discuss the primary tenets of the book as well as the relevance of this toolkit for student-researchers.

Pedagogical Perspectives On Counselor Education: An Autoethnographic Experience Of Doctoral Student Development, Anna Elliott, Beronica M. Salazar, Brittany L. Dennis, Lynn Bohecker, Tiffany Nielson, Kirsten Lamantia, David M. Kleist

The Qualitative Report

There is minimal literature related to understanding what training factors contribute to the development of qualified counselor educators. Specifically, we wondered if counselor education doctoral students are effectively prepared for their roles as instructors. We chose an autoethnographic phenomenology method as a means for exploring the experiences of doctoral students’ pedagogical development in a doctoral instructional theory course. We sought to understand the essence of our experience through written reflection, photography, and group reflective processes. Analysis revealed the value we all obtained through the instructional theory course, experiential learning, and self-reflection, which contributed to increased self-efficacy as emerging counselor educators. …

The Development Of Self-Efficacy To Work With Suicidal Clients, Gregory M. Elliott, Richard W. Audsley, Lisa Runck, Ashley A. Pechek, Adriana De Raet, Angelica Valdez, Brandon J. Wilde

The Qualitative Report

Suicide is a public health crisis which counselors must be prepared to address. In this grounded theory study, the researchers advance a model to show how counselors develop self-efficacy to work with suicidal clients. Counselor educators may use this model to improve programmatic training and supervision of students.

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

The Qualitative Report

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- …

Godspeed: Counselor Education Doctoral Student Experiences From Diverse Religious And Spiritual Backgrounds, Alyse M. Anekstein, Lynn Bohecker, Tiffany Nielson, Hailey Martinez

The Qualitative Report

Amidst growing literature regarding the importance of spirituality within counseling and counselor education, little is known of the experiences of doctoral students regarding their religious and spiritual backgrounds while matriculating through their doctoral program. This research explored the experiences of four researcher-participant counselor education doctoral students from diverse religious and spiritual backgrounds. This exploration deepened their understanding of the role their religious and spiritual identities played in their thoughts, emotions, challenges, and strengths of their experiences. A phenomenological autoethnography method was used for this study. A unique data analysis procedure was developed called Integrative Group Process Phenomenology (IGPP), which was …

Translation And Validation Of An Online Suite Of Assessments In American Sign Language, Deb Guthmann, Janet Titus, Jared Embree, Josephine Wilson

JADARA

Abstract

This article reports on a National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) Disability and Rehabilitation Research Project (DRRP; Federal Grant # 90DP0067). The project is being conducted by investigators in the Substance Abuse Resources and Disability Issues (SARDI) Program in the Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University (WSU), in collaboration with nationally recognized experts on Deaf culture and substance abuse/mental health. The goal of this DRRP is to develop and test an online suite of instruments in American Sign Language (ASL), validated for deaf consumers, assessing substance use, mental health, and occupational interests. The …

Acculturation And Filial Piety As Mediators Of The Relationship Between Caregiver Burden And Gender-Role Expectations In Hispanic-American Rehabilitation Services Students, Roy K. Chen, Bryan S. Austin, Chien-Chun Lin

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Hispanic-Americans are the largest ethnic minority group in the United States. The need to care for older Hispanics has become an important issue as they now enjoy longer life expectancies due to better access to healthcare and less labor participation in hazardous occupations. The present study examined whether the association between caregiver burden and gender-role expectations is mediated by acculturation and filial piety. Method: The sample consisted of 93 Mexican-American rehabilitation services students enrolled at a large public university in Texas. The four instruments used in the study were the Zarit Burden Interview, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, the Acculturation …

Perceptions Of Being A Woman And Strategies For Women’S Body Image Resilience, Lauren L. Mclean, Amanda C. Laguardia

The Qualitative Report

Although the negative effects of female body objectification are well established, there is a lack of qualitative research examining how women can develop resiliency against body image issues and low self-esteem. Through the current phenomenological qualitative study, we sought to explore how participants defined being a woman, particularly a woman with healthy self-esteem. In addition, we explored several resiliency strategies, based on Choate’s (2005) theoretical model of body image resilience, that women could potentially use to combat some of the effects of objectification. Results indicated that female participants experience normative beliefs and gender expectations that a woman with a healthy …

Walking On Eggshells: The Lived Experience Of Partners Of Veterans With Ptsd, Tiffany A. Beks

The Qualitative Report

This phenomenological study examined the descriptions of lived experience among female partners of veteran men with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) via internet discussion forums. Personal, self-initiated written accounts of 30 partners were analyzed with respect to meaning, challenges, coping responses, and role in veterans’ healing and rehabilitation. Following data analysis, five descriptive themes emerged: all-consuming effect of the illness, walking on eggshells, ambiguous loss, alone, and facing PTSD as a unit. The central meaning of these themes describes the widespread priority of the veterans’ illness, and the resulting isolation, grief, and apprehension experienced by intimate partners as they assume …