Evaluating School Counseling Site Supervisors’ Level of Preparedness to Supervise

The purpose of this study was to investigate school counseling site supervisors’ level of preparedness to provide adequate supervision to school counselors in training and determine if any variables could predict the level of preparedness. Professional School Counselors in the United States (N=86) were asked to complete a survey about how prepared they believed themselves to assist a supervisee in developing each ASCA (2019c) School Counselor Professional Standards and Competencies, as well as their training and experience with the supervisory process and supervision models.Results from this study indicate a clear need for continued training, as well as specialized training relevant to supervising in the school counseling specialty area. Statistically significant predictors of school counseling site supervisors’ level of preparedness to supervise were experience with the ASCA (2019a) National Model, level of education, support from a supervisee’s university faculty, and whether the school counseling site supervisor graduated from a CACREP accredited counselor education program. Findings support screening of school counseling site supervisors and suggest future research and a method for the screening process. Implications for this study also support the development of targeted trainings to include the ASCA (2019a) National Model, among other relevant supervision information and updates

Counselor Educators’ Experiences Negotiating Marginalized Identity during Professional Identity Development

The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to understand the experiences of marginalized counselor educators (CEs) as they negotiated their personal identities during professional identity development (PID). Three research questions addressed this purpose: How do personal attributes play a role in CEs’ experiences negotiating identity during PID? How are CEs’ personal attributes impacted by engagement in the PID process? And, in what ways do CEs express their personal identities in their professional settings?Participants in this study were individuals (n = 8) who identified as women, racial/ethnic minorities, and/or sexual/gender minorities, earned doctoral degrees in counselor education and supervision between 2015-2018, and were currently employed as full-time faculty members in CACREP-accredited counseling programs. Data were collected via 60-90 minute, semi-structured interviews and written letters to self provided by participants post-interview. The researcher used the transformational task model (Gibson et al., 2010; Gibson et al., 2015) of PID with a constructivist, narrative framework to gather and explore participants’ stories negotiating marginalized identity during PID and develop themes.Findings from a narrative thematic analysis indicated that participants faced multiple types of adversity, primarily through interpersonal relationships in professional settings, that provoked experiences of ongoing identity negotiation. Contexts included environments, norms, and expectations set by individuals within individual environments and heavily influenced participants’ experiences with the phenomenon of inquiry. Contexts influenced what, how, and to what degree participants negotiated marginalized identities in professional settings. Participants’ identity negotiation experiences included more than suppression of an individual identity form or expression. Participants engaged in a process of navigation that included negotiation of marginalized identity and action steps to promote intersectional identity development and expression in professional settings. Participants expressed an ongoing need to engage in navigation, which impacted their perceptions and expressions of identity over time. Despite adverse experiences, participants authentically expressed intersectional forms of their personal identities in some professional settings. Inclusive environments and supportive relationships that encouraged and validated intersectionality and authenticity were noted as influential to participants’ authentic expressions. Based on these findings, implications for professional practice in counselor education and future research were provided

Exploring the effects of personal counseling on the development of counselors in training

Graduate students from all disciplines report stressful experiences related to academic workload, lack of a healthy work life balance, assistantship responsibilities, and finances (Fox, 2008; Mazzola et al., 2011; Oswalt & Riddock, 2007; Wyatt & Oswalt 2013). Specifically, counselors in training (CITs) experience a combination of graduate school academic rigor with the practice of sitting with clients and developing skills, knowledge, and counseling style. Becoming a counselor is emotionally demanding (Folkes-Skinner, 2016; Folkes-Skinner, Elliot, & Wheeler, 2010; Howard, Inman, & Altman, 2006; Orlinksy & Rønnestad, 2005; Skovholt & Rønnestad, 2003) and interpersonal and intrapersonal changes are elicited through training (Furr & Carroll, 2003). As self-exploration is emerging in training, perturbation of the self is also developing, occasioning developmental transitions that present unique challenges. It appears that CITs need support throughout their counselor development journey to buffer personal and psychological distress. Although there may be many such factors, including emotional, logistical, and financial support from family and friends, the support of other students in the program, and faculty who are sensitive to student struggles, personal counseling seems one approach to self-care and self-awareness that warrants attention. It seems possible that personal counseling may be an avenue for CITs that could facilitate increased self-awareness, healthy counselor development, and personal well-being. To date, research on personal counseling has been primarily a) international, b) with participants who were mandated to access counseling, and c) with participants who were from a range of interdisciplinary mental health training programs. Accordingly, little is known specifically about US-based CITs’ experiences related to accessing personal counseling during their training program. That is, counselor education researchers have yet to uncover the breadth and depth of the lived experiences of US-based CITs who voluntarily access counseling services. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of CITs accessing personal counseling and how this impacts counselor development in specific regards to self-awareness, empathy development, self-reflection, tolerance for ambiguity, self-efficacy, and self-care. The following research questions were addressed through this study: (1) What are the experiences of CITs utilizing personal counseling during their training program? (2) How do CITs understand how their personal counseling experience has influenced their development as a professional counselor? Through qualitative interviews, the experiences of CITs and the impacts on counselor development were explored, as well as the positive and negative aspects of these experiences. In analyzing ten individual interviews with master’s level CITs voluntary seeking counseling, five domains emerged that provide insight into the research questions. The domains include the following: (1) previous counseling experience, (2) motivation, (3) personal takeaways of going to counseling, (4) professional takeaways of going to counseling, and (5) other. Categories and subcategories emerged within these domains as well including the following: a) academic/professional encouragement, b) meaningful counseling experiences, c) family, social and cultural influences, d) logistical barriers, e) counselor relationship, f) learning from the counseling, g) positive impact on counselor development, and h) personal counseling is considered “best practice”. Research results, study limitations, implications for counselor educators, counselor training, and CITs, and future research directions are discussed

Exploring How Counselor Educators Define, Assess, and Manage Student Disposition Throughout the Gatekeeping Process

Professional disposition plays an important role in counselor-in-training (CIT) development. Disposition is defined as the attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviors that contribute to a becoming a professional (Spurgeon et al., 2012). In addition, disposition is an attribute that must be evaluated and remediated as a part of accreditation through the council for accreditation of counseling and related educational programs (CACREP). Despite, the importance of disposition in CIT development and the requirement from CACREP, there are several difficulties related disposition. First, there is not a universally accepted definition for disposition in counselor education. In addition, there are few psychometrically tested dispositions assessments available for formal evaluation. Lastly, remediation and gatekeeping of disposition is required, but there are no clear guidelines on how to manage disposition. The purpose of this study was to explore how counselor educators define, assess, and manage CIT disposition throughout the gatekeeping process. Seventeen counselor educators from CACREP accredited programs participated. A constructivist grounded theory was conducted to find emergent themes of counselor educators experiences of defining, assessing, and managing disposition. Findings revealed that counselor educators have a working definition for disposition, assess disposition regularly, and manage disposition as needed. In addition, participants revealed that they learned how to define, assess, and manage disposition from education and employment. Lastly, participants revealed supports and barriers to defining, assessing, and managing disposition. Fellow faculty members and administration can be both a support and barrier and the complex nature of disposition was found to be a barrier. The findings suggest there is room for continued research, regarding how counselor educators define, assess, and manage disposition. Implications and recommendations for counselor educators and counseling programs are included

Evaluation of the Impact of Virginia’s Senate Bill 1294 on Crisis Intervention Team Cooperation

In 2009, the Commonwealth of Virginia passed Senate Bill (SB) 1294 that directly involved the Department of Criminal Justice Services and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services in the spread of the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program statewide. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to explore how the passage of SB 1294 affected the level of stakeholder cooperation within Virginia’s statewide CIT program, through 11 interviews with Virginian CIT leaders and by the completion of 115 questionnaires by CIT members in a region of central Virginia. Findings indicated the most common way that SB 1294 affected CIT cooperation was that it provided increased funding for much needed programs such as mental assessment centers and that the best way to achieve and maintain cooperation was through regular meetings and communication between stakeholders. The most common participant response to the questionnaire statements was an agreement that cooperative CIT practices were being performed. However, many of the participants did not know enough about some of the practices that were affected by SB 1294 to respond. A paired samples T test indicated there was a significant difference between how participants answered questionnaire statements that included cooperative CIT practices influenced by SB 1294 and those that included general cooperative CIT practices. Findings suggest that communities interested in having a successful CIT program must be willing to communicate, compromise, share resources, start small, map their mental health crisis system, respect all stakeholder perspectives, and develop a plan that could be put into practice right away but can be allowed to evolve as circumstances change

Envisioning a future for professional counseling: A qualitative study of counselor educator perspectives on professional distinction

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how counselor educators in Virginia define and describe Counseling as a distinct profession in light of the ACA’s 20/20 consensus definition. This research focused on directors and core faculty members (n=8) of eight separate counseling programs in Virginia. Participants engaged one 60-minute semistructured interview with the researcher. Member checking and bracketing were used to bolster the study’s trustworthiness. A priori coding using codes from the ACA’s 20/20 project (Kaplan, Tarvydas, & Gladding, 2014) and emergent coding processes were used separately to see if the data that emerged from the interviews mirrored the ACA’s codes and to create space for data outside of those preexisting codes to be seen. Five themes emerged from the data: Professional Standards and Accountability, Professional Differentiation, Professional Worldview, Professional Contributions, and Self as Professional. This study discusses how the interplay of these themes form the structure of Counseling as a distinct profession

A qualitative study of sedentary behaviours in stroke survivors:non-participant observations and interviews with stroke service staff in stroke units and community services

Purpose Sedentary behaviour (SB) is associated with negative health outcomes and is prevalent post-stroke. This study explored SB after stroke from the perspective of stroke service staff. Methods Qualitative mixed-methods study. Non-participant observations in two stroke services (England/Scotland) and semi-structured interviews with staff underpinned by the COM-B model of behaviour change. Observations were analysed thematically; interviews were analysed using the Framework approach. Results One hundred and thirty-two observation hours (October - December 2017), and 31 staff interviewed (January –June 2018). Four themes were identified: (1) Opportunities for staff to support stroke survivors to reduce SB; (2) Physical and psychological capability of staff to support stroke survivors to reduce SB; (3) Motivating factors influencing staff behaviour to support stroke survivors to reduce SB; (4) Staff suggestions for a future intervention to support stroke survivors to reduce SB. Conclusions Staff are aware of the consequences of prolonged sitting but did not relate to SB. Explicit knowledge of SB was limited. Staff need training to support stroke survivors to reduce SB. Sedentary behaviour in the community was not reported to change markedly, highlighting the need to engage stroke survivors in movement from when capable in hospital, following through to home. Implications for rehabilitation Stroke survivor sedentary behaviour is influenced, directly and indirectly, by the actions and instructions of stroke service staff in the inpatient and community setting. The built and social environment, both in the inpatient and community settings, may limit opportunities for safe movement and can result in stroke survivors spending more time sedentary. Stroke service staff appreciate the benefit of encouraging stroke survivors to stand and move more, if it is safe for them to do so. Staff would be amenable to encourage stroke survivors to reduce sedentary behaviour, provided they have the knowledge and resources to equip them to support this

Braving the Sea Change: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study of How Counselors-In-Training Experience Their Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Relationships

This interpretive phenomenological analysis asked counselors-in-training (CITs) to reflect on their connections with important others and with themselves, noting any changes which took place within said relationships over the course of counselor training. Seven CITs provided rich narratives around relational shifts and personal/professional development, bringing to the surface superordinate themes of (a) Insecurity and Confusion, (b) Growing Pains, and (c) Overcoming and Resilience. Superordinate themes were further divided into the following sub-themes: Insecurity and Confusion: Professional/Personal Identity Integration, Mental Health and Responsibility, Reassurance; Growing Pains: Relationship Imbalanced and Disequilibrium, Loneliness; Overcoming and Resilience: Ruptures and Repairs, Outright Benefits, Self-Prioritization. These themes, and the narratives they were gleaned from, demonstrated both the hardships and the triumphs of the training process. Although many CITs reported experiencing relational benefits in connection with counselor training, there was a pervasive understanding that the changes they went through inter- and intrapersonally were challenging, demanding, and, at times, pivotal. This dissertation endeavors to present evidence of all findings through participants’ own words, remaining faithful to the phenomenological nature of the study and giving voice to the CIT experience. These research findings contribute to the larger body of literature around how counselor training impacts trainees, as well as how CITs can better prepare themselves and program faculty/staff can better support students while they progress through counselor training

Animal-Assisted Interventions in Supervision: A Collective Case Study

Animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) have been discussed in recent conceptual literature as having potential for positive implications when applied in supervision (Chandler, 2017; Jackson, 2020; Owenby, 2017; Stewart et al., 2015). However, there was limited empirical foundation or guidance for the integration of two distinct specializations (AAIs and supervision). The purpose of this qualitative collective case study (Stake, 2006) was to explore and understand the experiences of supervisors who have been implementing AAIs within the context of supervision. Specifically, this study addressed the following overarching research question and two sub-questions were addressed: Q1 Why are supervisors integrating AAIs into supervision? Q1a What are the experiences of supervisors who have been integrating AAIs into supervision? Q1b How are supervisors integrating AAIs into clinical supervision? Three doctoral-level counseling professionals with extensive training and experience in AAIs participated, representing three cases of animal-assisted interventions in supervision (AAI-S). Participants had been practicing AAI-S between 7 and 10 years. Two cases existed within university-based, graduate-level AAI training programs and one case existed in the context of a private-practice. Five sources of data were collected for each participant (demographic questionnaire, professional documents [e.g., informed consent, supervisory disclosure statement], multiple interviews per participant [average of six hours per participant], which included a virtual tour of the AAI-S environment and introductions to animal partners). Data were analyzed using thematic analysis within and across cases (Braun & Clarke, 2009, 2021). Cross-case analysis suggested themes related to need for supportive context for implementation of AAI-S, professionals’ personal experiences associated with AAIs, common guiding frameworks for understanding the process of AAI-S, welfare and competency concerns, and the compelling rationale for AAI-S. The final report presented the findings as a holistic account of AAI-S. Based on the findings of this study, implications recommendations for counselor educators, supervisors, and professionals were provided as well as directions for future research

Montana Kaimin, February 8, 2008

Student newspaper of the University of Montana, Missoula.https://scholarworks.umt.edu/studentnewspaper/6144/thumbnail.jp