Counselor Education Commons^™

Professional Dispositions In Counselor Education: Building Consensus, Examining Lived Experience, And Advancing Relational Gatekeeping, Jina Yang

Dissertations, 2020-current

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate how Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)-accredited programs identify, implement, and assess essential professional dispositions among master’s-level counselors-in-training (CITs). The dissertation includes three components that examine conceptual, experiential, and consensus-based perspectives on professional dispositions within counselor education. The first component presents a conceptual framework for implementing gatekeeping practices that reflect the values of the counseling profession. Drawing on Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT), the article proposes gatekeeping strategies that emphasize mutuality and connection while accounting for sociocultural contextual factors and fostering psychological safety within the hierarchical dynamics inherent in evaluative …

Toward Evidence-Based Disposition Assessment In Counselor Education: Advocating For Established Measures And Evaluating The Psychometric Properties Of The Pdca-Ra, Laura Rendon Finnell

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Professional dispositions are recognized as an essential component of counselor competence and are now explicitly included within accreditation standards. However, questions remain regarding how these characteristics should assessed in ways that are fair, systematic, and supported by empirical evidence. This two-manuscript dissertation focused on professional disposition assessment in counselor education. The first manuscript provides a conceptual examination of professional dispositions, counselor competence, and gatekeeping responsibilities while reviewing established disposition assessment instruments in counselor education. The manuscript advocates for the use of established disposition measures rather than relying solely on locally developed assessment procedures. The second manuscript presents an empirical evaluation …

A Content Analysis Of Doctoral-Level Counselor Education Remediation Policies, Lena Salpietro, Madeline Clark, Rosalyn Zacarias

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

We conducted a Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) content analysis of handbooks (N=54) from CACREP-accredited doctoral counselor education and supervision programs. The purpose of this study was to better understand how counselor education programs communicate remediation policies and procedures and what specific elements are included in handbooks. Our findings revealed that while dismissal policies, dispositions, due process, and evaluation procedures were commonly included, there was significant variability in the inclusion of other domains, such as retention policies and definitions of remediation. Notably, only one handbook included all ten documented domains. The study highlights a need for more comprehensive and standardized remediation …

Evaluating Competencies In Counseling Students: Comparing Adjunct And Core Faculty Ratings, Mark D. Newmeyer, Kaitlyn C. Stafford, Peter J. Buckingham, Karen E. Fischer, Meredith D. Mcdaniel, Rhys P. Wilson

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

This study examines the differences in how adjunct and core faculty evaluate counseling students using a brief version of the Counselor Competencies Scale-Revised (CCS-R). Data from 647 evaluations of 433 students were analyzed. The results show that adjunct faculty, particularly those with master's degrees, tend to rate students significantly higher on professional counseling dispositions than core faculty, raising concerns about the consistency of gatekeeping in counselor training programs. These findings suggest a need for the standardization of counseling disposition evaluation practices to maintain high training standards. Implications for student-to-faculty ratio requirements are discussed.

Counselor Educators' Experiences Within The Faculty Microsystem During Gatekeeping, Victor Chang, Deborah J. Rubel

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

Gatekeeping is a responsibility for all counselor educators (CEs). Little is known about how CEs work with their colleagues to enact gatekeeping in counselor education programs. This grounded theory study explored 12 diverse CEs’ gatekeeping experiences, creating an ecological model of the Faculty Microsystem during gatekeeping that illuminates important conditions, processes, and interactions during gatekeeping in counselor education. Implications for counselor educators and doctoral students on the nature of collaboration during gatekeeping are described.

Gatekeeper, Keep Thyself: How Impairment Impacts The Integration Of Counselor Wellness Competencies, Curtis Lee Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study examined counselor educators’ beliefs regarding the importance of Counselor Wellness Competencies (CWCs) and how effectively they teach them to their counselors-in-training (CIT). This study focused on significant relationships between the importance and effective teaching, self-care, and burnout. Counselor educators who place higher importance on the CWCs reported having higher self-efficacy in teaching them. The findings suggest that counselor educators with more self-care behaviors experienced less burnout and were better able to show congruence between the importance and effective teaching of the CWCs. The conclusion of this report explores limitations and directions for future research.

Addressing Gatekeeping Challenges In Counselor Education: A Grounded Theory, Vanessa Pauline Gill

Dissertations

This constructivist grounded theory study explored how counselor educators navigate remediation and gatekeeping challenges in CACREP-accredited programs. Fifteen counselor educators with at least one challenging gatekeeping experience participated in semi-structured interviews conducted via Zoom. All interviews were recorded and transcripts were completed. Data was analyzed using grounded theory methodology and analysis efforts were organized using the MAXQDA 2024 software. Data analysis involving constant comparison methods and memo-writing generated an emerging theory describing counselor educators’ journey from uncertainty to increased confidence in addressing remediation issues. The theory illuminates how experiential learning, reflective practice, and supportive professional relationships inform this developmental process. …

Client Welfare As An Anchor: Lived Experiences Of Gatekeepers In Counselor Education, Jessica L. Motroni Banik, Katherine F. Coule, Nicole Bradley, Joseph M. Rizzo

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Gatekeeping is an essential function within counselor education that is aimed at helping counselors in training (CIT) achieve competency to practice. There is a lack of research focused on understanding gatekeepers’ experiences, including how they resolve challenges. The purpose of this hermeneutic study was to understand the lived experiences of gatekeepers in counselor education, including gatekeeping challenges and how they are addressed in the training system. There were five emerging themes with eight subthemes. The findings highlight how gatekeeping is vital, cannot be done in isolation, and how individuals learn from their experiences. These findings inform the counselor training community …

S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Self-Care For Counselors, Nicole Marie Arcuri Sanders, Jenny Kim

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Practicing self-care activities is essential to helping professions stave off and combat burnout and vicarious trauma. Mental health counselors and counselor educators and supervisors (CESs) need specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely (S. M. A. R. T.) self-care activities to best meet the demands of this highly relational field. This article will assist CESs in supporting the personal development of S. M. A. R. T. self-care goals for their students and supervisees’ evolving professional identity with the addition to evaluate (E) and review (R) identified self-care efforts. CESs are supported with gatekeeping relevance and examining student and supervisee self-care plans …

Gatekeeping In Online Learning: Best Practices To Facilitate Non-Traditional Learning, Amanda Faucher, Ajitha Chandrika Prasanna Kumaran, Wannigar Ratanavivan

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Online learning has evolved, bringing several opportunities and challenges to counselor educators. Gatekeeping is an ethical responsibility of counselor educators, especially in a distance education platform, to evaluate personal and professional growth of counselors-in-training. To minimize gateslipping, there is working literature evidence that looks quite different in an online platform. In a synchronous setting, technology allows us to offer an experience that is not drastically different from traditional learning, but literature on asynchronous learning is far more limited. The authors will highlight the strengths and challenges of gatekeeping in a distance learning environment and discuss potential strategies for gatekeeping to …

A Model Of Retention And Remediation For Online Counselor Education, Colleen M. Grunhaus, Matthew Lyons

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

Online counseling programs experience unique retention and gatekeeping challenges. Increased isolation and personal adversities are common factors associated with attrition for online students; and broad-access admission policies of online counseling programs often lead to increased gatekeeping concerns postadmission. Counseling programs develop policies and procedures related to retention, remediation, and dismissal, but extant models of remediation do not also address student retention or the unique challenges of online counselor education. We present a model, The Retention and Remediation Model for Online Counselor Education, that demonstrates a comprehensive policy for retention, remediation, and dismissal in online counseling programs through a three-prong approach …

Recommendations For Counselor Education And Supervision Programs To Improve Gatekeeping Processes Developed From Doctoral Student Experiences, Evan C. Smarinsky, Cian L. Brown, Erin Popejoy

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of eleven doctoral students at three CACREP accredited programs to address issues in counselor education and supervision programs and faculty face regarding gatekeeping. The information was used to develop and provide recommendations for gatekeeping procedures that can be implemented at the departmental and classroom levels. Ways programs can improve the training of doctoral students for gatekeeping roles and responsibilities, steps faculty can take to create an environment which supports gatekeeping at their institution, as well as support doctoral students as they grow into future gatekeepers of the profession are …

Human Service Student's Preparedness For Assessing Suicidality: Recommendations For Human Services Education, Narketta Sparkman-Key, Jeffrey Moe, Bianca Augustine, T'Airra Belcher

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Suicide continues to be a public health concern, with suicide rates increasing. Human service professionals are among the helping professions tasked with assessing and addressing suicidality. Despite the well-documented benefits of suicide assessment and training for those within the helping professions, there remains a dearth of literature specific to suicide prevention in the preparation of human services students. To address this gap, the current study used the SIRI-2 to assess the preparedness of human services students (n = 98) to assess and address client suicidality. Findings indicated that participants’ responses were less competent than area experts. Furthermore, student participants’ responses …

Gatekeeping And Psychological Safety: Qualitative Analysis Of Early-Career Counselor Educators, John J. S. Harrichand, Patricia L. Kimball, Krista E. Kirk, Lucy C. Phillips, Mike S. Takacs

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Using transcendental phenomenology, researchers investigated the gatekeeping experiences of 17 early-career counselor educators working in CACREP programs. Guided by the research question: How do early-career counselor education faculty members perceive their role as a gatekeeper and balance this role, while creating a supportive learning environment for their graduate students? Three primary themes emerged: gatekeeping is challenging, psychological safety is created through intentionality, and gatekeeping and psychological safety interact

Effective Remediation In Master’S-Level Counseling Students, Lena Salpietro, Madeline Clark, Tanesha Walker, Clark Ausloos, Elizabeth A. Prosek

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Despite evidence that remediation is effective, little is known about counselor educators’ experience with remediation. In this consensual qualitative study, authors interviewed counselor educators (N=11) to better understand remedial practices and identify effective strategies. Findings have implications for the remediation of master’s-level students in counselor education.

Counselor Education Doctoral Students’ Gatekeeper Experiences At A Large, Public Midwestern University: A Pilot Study, Diana Charnley

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

This pilot study seeks to understand the gatekeeping experiences doctoral students have had during their training at a large, public midwestern university in a CACREP-accredited program. Using a basic qualitative approach, five students were interviewed about their gatekeeping experiences and learning process as well as how they navigate their multiple professional roles as developing gatekeepers. The following themes and sub-themes are discussed: (a) gatekeeping experiences, a process with several gates; (b) learning to gatekeep, primarily through experience and overcoming barriers; and (c) multiple professional roles in gatekeeping, focused on teaching and supervision and the impact of faculty mentors.

Dynamics Of Providing Suicide Intervention From Gatekeepers To Minority Youth: Competencies, Awareness Of Multicultural Impacts, And Barriers To Help-Seeking Behaviors

The Graduate Review

No abstract provided.

Students With Problems Of Professional Competency And Their Impact On Proficient Students In Counseling Programs, Jason S. Rose, Stephanie Persutte-Manning

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Students with problems of professional competency (PPC) issues enact a negative toll on proficient students and require increased faculty attention. While there are resources aimed at supporting students with PPC, we will explore proficient students’ experience of stress and needed supports as a result of classmates with PPC.

Gatekeeping: A Counselor Educator’S Responsibility To The Counseling Profession And Community, Patricia L. Kimball, Lucy C. Phillips, Krista E. Kirka, John J.S. Harrichand

International Journal on Responsibility

Counseling is one of the few professions practiced in private with vulnerable individuals. Because of this, counselors must be held to high training standards and be deemed competent prior to being allowed to practice independently. The responsibility for ensuring future counselors’ competence rests with counselor educators and clinical supervisors via a process known as gatekeeping. This paper highlights the importance of gatekeeping in the counseling profession and describes models of remediation for supervisors and educators navigating this complex process. Utilizing a case study, the authors demonstrate the protective function gatekeeping serves society by applying a gatekeeping decision-making model. Finally, recommendations …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Doctoral Students’ Gatekeeping Experiences, Shawna M. Corley, Jessica Lloyd-Hazlett, Hope Schuermann, Noel Blessing

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

Counselor education doctoral students serve as gatekeepers simultaneous to their own training and evaluation. We used transcendental phenomenology to examine the gatekeeping experiences of 15 doctoral students at three programmatic levels. Findings and implications related to two primary themes, (a) precarious positions and power and (b) developing a gatekeeper identity, are discussed.

Counselor Educators’ Internal Experiences Of Gatekeeping, Victor Chang, Deborah Rubel

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Counselor educators practice gatekeeping to graduate only students who are ethical and competent, yet students with problems of professional competence (PPC) continue to graduate. Gatekeeping challenges include personal, pedagogical, administrative, ethical, and legal concerns, and gatekeeping has been characterized as a taxing emotional and social process. Specific knowledge about counselor educators’ internal experiences during gatekeeping is limited. Researchers asked how do counselor educators experience their internal reactions during gatekeeping processes for PPC? Researchers interviewed counselor educators about their gatekeeping experiences and analyzed data using grounded theory methods. The authors propose a grounded theory of striving to be an effective gatekeeper …

Counselor Educators’ Experiences Of Gatekeeping In Online Counselor Education Programs, Amy Gilbert, Anita A. Neuer Colburn, Sherry Todd, Kathie Erwin

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Counselor educators serve as gatekeepers by ensuring that only those students who meet standards of competence enter the counseling field. This qualitative study explored the gatekeeping experiences of seven counselor educators in online Master’s-level counseling programs. The resulting themes offer implications for counselor education, administration, and research.

Gatekeeping In Master’S Level Rehabilitation Counseling Programs: An Exploratory Study, Allison Levine, Connie Sung, Alicia Strain

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The current study explores attitudes and procedures of gatekeeping in rehabilitation counseling programs. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the current study explores underlying causes for a lack of gatekeeping discussion and action in rehabilitation counseling. Rehabilitation educators and program directors from both CORE and CACREP-accredited rehabilitation counseling programs participated in the online Gatekeeping Attitudes and Procedures Survey (GAPS). Results indicate that, while attitudes towards gatekeeping were positive, programs lack formalized procedures. TPB aids in understanding that attitudes towards gatekeeping may not influence educator behavior on the matter. Implications include further research into this area to better understand the …

The Psychometric Properties Of The School Counseling Internship Competency Scale, Melanie Ann Burgess

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Counselor education programs aim to adequately train competent pre-service counselors to fulfill a myriad of roles and responsibilities associated with their specialty area. In accordance with professional organizations, gatekeeping is an ethical responsibility of counselor educators and supervisors to protect the welfare of clients and the health of the counseling profession through ongoing evaluation of pre-service counselors. Presently, no standardized evaluation tool exists to assess school counseling interns comprehensively, attending to school counseling competencies, dispositions, roles, and responsibilities. The purpose of the study is to attend to the gap in literature through the creation and validation of The School Counseling …

Collaborative Gatekeeping Between Site Supervisors And Mental Health Counseling Faculty, Christian Dean, Sarah E. Stewart-Spencer, Anne Cabanilla, Dale V. Wayman, Mindy Heher

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

This study examined collaborative gatekeeping practices of CACREP-accredited (2001 and 2009 standards) mental health counseling programs and fieldwork site supervisors. A total of 28 programs participated in the study exploring site supervisor collaboration with fieldwork faculty when a problematic trainee is terminated, dismissed, or fired from a fieldwork site. Results indicate that a lack of clear policies for managing problem fieldwork trainees may leave counselor educators uncertain about appropriate follow-up actions. Recommendations for future studies include replicating this study using a larger sample size, studying this topic and population using qualitative methods, and surveying the perspective of site supervisors.

Gatekeeping Practices Of Counselor Educators In Master's Level Counseling Programs, Vanessa B. Teixeira

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Counseling students often present with problems of professional competence (PPC) in counselor education programs. The purpose of this study is to determine differences in the gatekeeping practices of counselor educators with students identified with PPC in CACREP-accredited and non-CACREP accredited counselor education programs in the United States. A survey instrument with scenarios related to students presenting with PPC was given to counselor educators. Results found no significant differences in gatekeeping practices between CACREP-accredited and non-CACREP accredited programs.

Attitudes And Beliefs Of Counselor Educators Toward Gatekeeping, Joanna W. Campbell

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine attitudes and beliefs of counselor educators toward gatekeeping, which become overt in gatekeeping decisions in the context of stringent and less stringent decisions made at seven gates that counselors-in-training must pass though to graduate, and factors extraneous to counselor-in-training competence that may influence gatekeeping decisions. A total of 84 counselor educators participated in this study. Results showed that counselor educators are most stringent at the admissions gate; that less stringent gatekeeping decisions are made by counselor educators who have experience as a professional counselor prior to becoming a counselor educator at the …