Counselor Education Commons^™

Black Existential–Spiritual Counseling: A Content Analysis, Miles Matise

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Black American existential–spiritual counseling integrates existential philosophy with the unique cultural, historical, and spiritual contexts of Black Americans to address their psychological and spiritual needs. Rooted in the lived experience of systemic oppression, alienation, and the quest for identity and freedom, this counseling approach emphasizes meaning-making, personal responsibility, and authentic living. It acknowledges the interconnectedness of spirituality and psychology, recognizing the importance of the Black church, music, and communal values in fostering resilience and empowerment. Drawing on existential themes, such as mortality, freedom, loneliness, and purpose, this approach supports clients in navigating sociocultural stressors and generational trauma through a spiritually …

Integrating Consensual Non-Monogamy In Counselor Education: Practical Guidelines And A Pilot Descriptive Study, Yun-Zhuo (Zoey) Liu, Lena Salpietro

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Consensual non-monogamy (CNM) is a prevalent and diverse relationship structure, yet mononormative assumptions persist in counselor training and practice, contributing to stigma and inadequate care. Research indicates that counselors’ CNM-specific knowledge and attitudes are critical to positive therapeutic outcomes (Schechinger et al., 2018), highlighting the need for clear guidance. In response, this paper presents Guidelines for Incorporating CNM in Counseling Curricula. Three domains are grounded in multicultural and social justice principles: foundational knowledge and terminology, challenging bias and promoting self-reflection, and application informed by attachment theory. Additionally, findings from a survey of counselor educators (N = 54) are presented. Results …

Teaching Multicultural Counseling: A Phenomenological Exploration Of Counselor Educators’ Voices, Cameka Hazel, Paul Leheste, Raymond Blanchard

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

This study explored the perceptions of counselor educators who taught the graduate level multicultural counseling course. Six participants shared experiences, leading to four themes: personal and professional rewards, who is fit to teach? dealing with resistance and difficult conversations and limited time and class size. Implications for counselor education are discussed.

"It's A Calling That Won't Let You Rest": The Experiences Of Counselor Educators Of Color Who Teach Social Justice, Sunanda M. Sharma

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Social justice advocacy has been described as a foundational ethical duty for all professional counselors (American Counseling Association, 2014). Counselor educators of color (CEOCs) have advocated for the advancement of multiculturalism and social justice in counseling (Sue et al., 1992; Vera & Speight, 2003). However, their lived experiences are not well-accounted for in the counseling literature. Grounded in critical race theory (CRT) (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017), this phenomenological study sought to explore the lived experiences of CEOCs who teach students to engage in systemic social justice advocacy (SSJA). Eleven participants described the essence of their experiences and four themes emerged …

Social Justice & Advocacy In Human Services, Cailyn F. Green, Bernadet Dejonge, Nikki Golden, Kim Brayton, Carrie Steinman, Shannon Raybold

Milne Open Textbooks

Read this book online at: https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/social-justice-in-human-services/

Social Justice & Advocacy in Human Services delves into the complex realm of social justice, offering a deep dive into historical roots and theories to practical applications in the field. This text covers fundamental concepts, including power, privilege, and oppression, and explores critical issues like racism, gender, sexuality, poverty, religion, and disability in the context of the United States. The last section of the book hones in on the field of human services, discussing power, privilege, and bias in this context, and lastly exploring equitable distribution, human rights, and the systems and entry points …

Intersectional Opportunities For Drama Therapy And Counseling, Erica Craig-Mann

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the intersectional possibilities between the fields of drama therapy and mental health counseling through the lens of transformative learning theory. Specifically, the research sought to understand the lived experiences of professionals trained in both disciplines to identify how these fields might mutually inform, strengthen, and enhance one another through collaboration and/or dual training. Data were collected through a qualitative online survey and analyzed using thematic analysis. Five themes emerged: (a) Theoretical and Practical Overlaps and Distinctions; (b) Drama Therapy-Informed Counseling: Embodiment, Creativity, and Experiential Practice; (c) Counseling-Informed Drama Therapy: Frameworks for Practice, …

Learning To Be An Autistic Therapist: Personal Steps Towards An Autism-Affirming Psychotherapy, Sasha D. Strong

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

How can Autistic therapists understand and support themselves, and how can this help them support their clients? In this paper, I recount my personal journey of healing and growth as an Autistic psychotherapist, 16 months after self-identification. Here is an overview of conceptual frameworks from #actuallyautistic authors, critical theory, queer theory, and social justice that I have found helpful. I also share some of the therapeutic and wellness approaches that have been important to me, including mindfulness and bodyfulness. Organic knowing has been pivotal for me in discerning between masking and aliveness, and regaining a choice around masking behaviors. This …

A Target Model For Social Justice Supervision, Sara E. Ellison, Paul Tierney, Margaret Taylor

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

Addressing social justice in supervision is essential to dismantling systemic oppression and infusing social justice practices into the profession of counseling. Despite the importance of social justice to the training and development of novice counselors, few models exist in the professional literature to guide supervisors wishing to integrate these essential competencies. This article proposes a simple, structured Target Model for Social Justice Supervision utilizing the roles of Bernard’s Discrimination Model to focus on self-awareness, client and supervisee worldview, the counseling and supervision relationship, social justice interventions, and evaluation procedures. Specific goals, strategies, interventions, and the application of the model are …

Marginalized Sexual- And Gender-Identified Clients In University Counseling Centers: Best Psychotherapy Practices, Sara M. Cauley

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Young adults in college experience significant rates of mental health difficulties. The mental wellness of young adults has shown to have a substantial link to future success, health, and well-being. Individuals with marginalized sexual and gender identities (SGM) often hold additional mental health difficulties due to having identities that typically defy societyʼs assumptions and expectations, and these assumptions/expectations are presented to youth from a young age. The distress experienced by SGM individuals can often be relational in nature due to living in and relating to a heteronormative, cisgender society that stigmatizes and oppresses SGM individuals. University Counseling Centers (UCC) typically …

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 …

Addressing Anti-Fat Bias: A Crash Course For Counselors And Counselors-In-Training, Stella B. Kerl-Mcclain, Cort M. Dorn-Medeiros, Kelsey Mcmurray

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

People with larger body sizes are often the target of harmful stereotypes such as being lazy, unattractive, and unintelligent. Such stereotypes are part of an extensive system of oppression often intersecting with racism, classism, and ableism. When counselors and counselors-in-training are unaware of their own biases related to body size, larger bodied clients are at risk for further harm within the very place they are seeking support. This article provides professional counselors and counselors-in-training with the historical knowledge needed to examine their own biases and prejudices around body size and fatness to become better counselors and advocates for all clients. …

Incorporating Multiculturalism And Social Justice Into Synchronous Online Courses, Debra M. Perez Phd, Tricia M. Mikolon Phd

Journal of Technology in Counselor Education and Supervision

With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic students and teachers were thrust onto the online platform for classes. Students had to adjust to this transition, and understanding how to function in this new arena became of the utmost importance to promote student success. Recognizing that technology itself impacts our students is an important factor, both culturally and through a social justice lens. Understanding how to incorporate both multicultural and social justice considerations into an online classroom assists instructors in creating an open and welcoming experience which fosters autonomy. Therefore, understanding and appreciating the multicultural and social justice needs of students …

Educating Counselors About Offenders With Mental Illness: An Exploratory Study, Frances I. Ellmo, Leigh F. Holman, Richard James, Lacy Kemker

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Racially and economically disenfranchised offenders with mental illness (OMI) are incarcerated at disproportionately high rates but experience less access to and utilization of mental healthcare. There is a need for trained counselors to work in forensic environments who are competent to provide multiculturally sensitive social justice-oriented interventions. However, there is little research exploring the extent counseling students are offered didactic or experiential training for working with OMI. Utilizing concurrent embedded mixed methods to explore relationships between opportunities and obstacles to counseling programs offering this training, this study finds interest in training exists but potential concerns about bias, safety, and other …

From Readiness To Action: Social Justice Training In Practicum, Steven J. Moody, Justin D. Lauka, Amanda K. Mccarthy

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Social justice is an imperative within counseling and is recognized through the American Counseling Association's code of ethics, nationally endorsed competencies, and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. The authors completed a phenomenological study exploring the experience of five master’s-level counseling students in their practicum course relative to their development of a socially just counseling approach. The authors identified themes to provide a textural-structural description of how students experienced the transition towards social action. Moving from readiness to action encompassed previous experiences, the learning community, and change agents including awareness, responsibility, motivation, and comfort. Implications for …

Motivated But Challenged: Counselor Educators’ Experiences Teaching About Social Determinants Of Health, John M. Waters, Alexandra C. Gantt, Allison Worth, Bisola Duyile, Kaprea Johnson, Davide Mariotti

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

A phenomenological study was conducted to understand eight counselor educators’ experiences teaching about social determinants of health. The analysis yielded three themes: educator identity, motivations, and challenges. Implications for counselor educators preparing future counselors to be leaders in multiculturalism, social justice, and advocacy are provided.

Effects On Youth Experiencing Homelessness In Public Schools, Abby Golish

Counselor Education Capstones

Abstract

An examination of the issues of youth who are experiencing homelessness is crucial in supporting this vulnerable population. Public schools have a responsibility to assist these students in their academic, career, and social-emotional development. With unique, personal needs, students who are homeless must be understood by school counselors and other school personnel to be appropriately supported. Homelessness can be identified through many characteristics and identified needs. It is key for school counselors to recognize these characteristics and consider the impacts that the school and resources can make on the student’s life. Throughout the paper, the causes of homelessness, potential …

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 Pilot Study On Counselor Trainees’ Social Justice Identity Development And Effective Pedagogy In A Multicultural Counseling Course, Shelby Messerschmitt-Coen, Gayle Garcia, Colette T. Dollarhide, Damon Drew

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

Abstract: This pilot study examined social justice identity development for first- and second-year clinical and school counseling master’s students enrolled in a one-semester multicultural and social justice counseling (MCSJC) course. Counselor educators can incorporate social justice pedagogy in their courses to better equip counselors-in-training with the knowledge and skills necessary to act (Odegard & Vereen, 2010), which can foster the development of their social justice identities (Miller et al., 2009). Students enrolled in the MCSJC course reported their social justice identity at the beginning and end of the semester to determine identity development over time. In addition, pedagogical strategies were …

Motivated But Challenged: Counselor Educators' Experiences Teaching About Social Determinants Of Health, John M. Waters, Alexandra C. Gantt, Allison Worth, Bisola Duyile, Kaprea Johnson, Davide Mariotti

Department of Counseling Scholarship and Creative Works

A phenomenological study was conducted to understand eight counselor educators' experiences teaching about social determinants of health. The analysis yielded three themes: educator identity, motivations, and challenges. Implications for counselor educators preparing future counselors to be leaders in multiculturalism, social justice, and advocacy are provided.

Antiracism Internship: Applying The Ecological Social Justice School Counseling Theory, Kaprea F. Johnson, Dana L. Brookover, Alexandra Gantt-Howrey, Krystal L. Clemons, Lauren B. Robins

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

This manuscript describes an empirically designed internship course that utilized the Ecological Social Justice School Counseling theory to teach internship students how to engage in antiracist practice to address social determinants of health in schools. The research reports on the eight school counseling internship students' experiences, through five themes and 12 subthemes, highlighting the ways they increased awareness of SDOH, antiracist practice, and related constructs at their schools and with students including their action toward addressing SDOH, advocacy, barriers, and growth. Implications for counselor educators and site supervisors conclude.

Counselor Educators Experiences And Techniques Teaching About Social-Health Inequities, Kaprea Johnson, Lauren B. Robins

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) are social-health inequities which cause wellness disparities amongst the population. This phenomenological investigation explored counselor educators’ (N=12) methods for teaching about SDOH. Two structural themes (pedagogic strategies and instructor context) and seven textural themes were identified, displaying the comprehensive coverage of SDOH in counseling courses. Implications for refinement of SDOH coverage are included.

School Counseling Interns’ Lived Experiences Addressing Social Determinants Of Health, Alexandra C. Gantt, Kaprea F. Johnson, Judith W. Preston, Brittany G. Suggs, Megan Cannedy

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

This phenomenological study explores school counselors in training (SCITs’) experiences addressing social determinants of health (SDOH), the leading causes of educational and wellness inequities. Interviews with eight SCITs revealed three core themes: (1) professional identity conflict between awareness, skills, and action; (2) social justice knowledge to practice gap; and (3) recommendations for knowledge to practice gap resolution. Themes explained participant preparedness for responding to disparities. Participants were aware of challenges related to SDOH, though struggled with addressing those challenges due to lack of preparation or perceived role constraints. Participants also experienced difficulty practically applying their understanding of social justice theory …

Constructivism In Action: A Dynamic Group Process In Defining And Applying Principles Of Social Justice, Tanupreet Suri, Leslie Woolson, Arianna Trott, Marty Apodaca, M. Kathryn Brammer, Dèsa Karye Daniel, Diane Lacen, Thomas A. Chávez

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

As a part of a Multicultural course, students in a doctoral program at a university in the Southwest worked together to synthesize a definition of social justice. The constructivist process implemented in this educational experience represented social justice in action, through co-construction of shared meaning. This definition, centered on Iris Young’s (2004) Five Faces of Oppression, resulted in the following: Social justice is addressing oppression, violence, exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, and cultural imperialism through counselors’ efforts and advocacy, while promoting a critical perspective of the culture of silence. Social Justice is an active, effective change on micro- and macro-levels to alter …

Promoting Equitable College Access And Success: Exploring Critical Frameworks In School Counselor Training, Heidi Van Mastrigt, Joey Nuñez Estrada

Journal of College Access

This qualitative study employs a phenomenological research approach that examines the school counselor’s experiences and training. The purpose of this study is to explore if school counselors received training in critical race theory (CRT), culturally sustaining pedagogies (CSP), and social justice (SJ), and if they implement these theories in practice. Semi-structured interviews were used with eleven practicing school counselors. Thematic content analysis was used with a critical discourse lens to identify explicit and implicit themes within the data. The results indicate a lack of training in critical race theory (CRT), culturally sustaining pedagogies (CSP), and social justice. While some participants …

A Review Of Mixed Methods Community-Based Participatory Research Applications In Mental Health, David E. Jones, Robin Lindquist-Grantz, Melissa Dejonckheere

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

The aim of the paper was to methodologically review the intersection of mixed methods research (MMR) and community-based participatory research (CBPR) in the field of mental health research. We classify this intersecting approach as MMCBPR. The methodological review of empirical literature was conducted between October 2017 and March 2020 of full-text articles in Scopus, Pubmed, ProQuest Central, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost search engine databases in the English language. Twenty-nine studies meeting the inclusion criteria were included in the final analysis. We found some evidence of MMCBPR but it was limited by factors such as a lack of explicit rationales …

Experiential And Transformative Learning For School Counselors: Impacts Of Counseling First-Generation, Low-Income, College-Bound Students, Alyson M. Pompeo-Fargnoli, Nicole Pulliam, Amanda Lapa, Jennifer Dutil

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Through the use of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), this study examined the impacts of counseling first-generation, low-income college-bound students by way of a school counselor experiential learning program at one small, private university in the eastern United States. This study explored experiential learning, including from a transformative learning perspective, as well as its overall impact on school counseling student preparation. Themes that emerged indicated that school counseling graduate student interns, when placed in a culturally diverse experiential learning setting, have the potential to increase their counselor competencies including multicultural competencies, and to have a transformative learning experience. These impacts were …

Critically And Creatively Engaging With Trauma-Informed Mental Health Research And Treatment Of Lgbtqia+ Communities As Expressive Arts Therapists: A Literature Review, Kelli Lavallee

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Expressive Arts Therapists are uniquely situated as both artists and mental health counselors working in psychological pedagogy rooted in systems of oppression. Given the arts-based approaches to the therapeutic relationship, it can be unethical to offer these approaches without acknowledgement of the ways in which the arts intersect with social justice, and justice is only viable if practitioners critically review the clinical mental health education they are consuming from the institutions they learn in, specifically trauma-informed mental health research assimilation and treatment approaches for Expressive Arts Therapists in training, practice, and education. A review of the literature in this paper …

A Longitudinal Study Of The Influence Of A Stem Career Planning Course And Perceived Stress On Career Search Self-Efficacy And Retention In Engineering Undergraduate Students, Autumn Randell

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated a) the influence of a STEM career planning course on undergraduate engineering students’ career search self-efficacy, b) the influence of perceived stress on building students’ career search self-efficacy, and c) the relationship career search self-efficacy had in predicting students’ odds of persistence in an engineering major. The researcher analyzed students’ week 1, week 6, and week 14 scores of career search self-efficacy and perceived stress. Data were collected from the Spring 2019 and Fall 2019 cohorts of a STEM career planning. As a result, the analysis included (N = 286) undergraduate engineering students. Repeated measures multilevel …

Social Justice Advocacy Training: An Innovative Certificate Program For Counselor Education, Katherine A. Feather, Tiffany M. Bordonada, Kimberly A. Nelson, Kathy M. Evans Ph.D

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

The authors outline an innovative certificate program that promotes the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC; Ratts, Singh, Massar-McMillan, Butler, & McCullough, 2015) and how counselor education programs can commit to a social justice approach. In addition, the authors provide a detailed summary of the certificate program that requires counselors-in-training to move beyond a multicultural understanding of diverse cultural worldviews so that they commit to becoming social change agents and take action on issues of equality and justice. Limitations and implications for counselor educators are presented.

Using Service-Learning To Promote Social Justice Advocacy And Cognitive Development During Internship, Kristi A. Lee, Charles R. Mcadams Iii

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Little empirical research has examined how to effectively prepare counseling students as social justice advocates. In a quasi-experimental design, a service-learning intervention was used in community counseling internship to promote students’ social justice advocacy competency as well as cognitive development, including moral and intellectual development. Findings demonstrated a significant increase in social justice advocacy competency in both the experimental and control groups at the end of one quarter of community counseling internship. In addition, the experimental group had significantly higher scores on the Public Information advocacy domain sub-scale of the Advocacy Competency Self-Assessment Survey. Teaching strategies such as service-learning may …