Counseling Literature Research Articles

A Call for Radical Reflexivity in Counseling Qualitative Research

In this article, we provide an interdisciplinary overview of reflexive practice within qualitative research and discuss dominant views on reflexivity within qualitative counseling literature. We propose a new way to frame the reflexive process called radical reflexivity. Finally, we offer examples from our research experience and discuss implications.

“I Am Strong. Mentally Strong!”: Psychosocial Strengths of International Graduate Students of Color

Positioned at a unique intersection of managing academic pressures and embodying racial and ethnic minority identity status, international graduate students of color (IGSCs) are frequent targets of multiple stressors. Unfortunately, extant counseling literature offers counselors little information on the psychosocial strengths IGSCs employ (e.g., strong familial bond, friendships) to cope with such stressors. To address this gap, interviews with eight IGSC participants were conducted and analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis and the lens of the intersectionality framework. Five psychosocial strengths were identified—familial support, social connections, academic aspirations and persistence, personal growth and resourcefulness, and resistance and critical consciousness. Recommendations for employing an asset-based approach in counseling and counselor education are offered.

"Because Here, White is Right": Mental Health Experiences of International Graduate Students of Color from a Critical Race Perspective.

To examine the mental health experiences of international graduate students of Color (IGSC) as they navigate through a multitude of systemic barriers, the researchers interviewed eight IGSC in the U.S. Adopting a critical race perspective, the researchers sought to address a persistent gap in the counseling literature, and explore how systemic influences of racism, xenophobia, and discriminatory policies impacted the mental health of IGSC. Three distinct themes emerged from phenomenological analysis of the participants’ interviews in the current study: cross-cultural challenges, surviving racism and anti-immigrant sentiment, and mental health and wellness. Implications for how professional counselors can support IGSC as they navigate through multiple challenges are emphasized.

A Primer on Celtic Spirituality With Recommendations for Counseling Practice

Research suggests that expressions of Celtic spirituality are widespread among the U.S. populace (e.g., Pew Research Center, 2014; Sullivan, 2016). Adherents vary in their commitment levels, ranging from informal cultural participants to followers of structured forms of the faith tradition (e.g., Celtic Christianity, Wicca, Paganism). The counseling literature provides scant information on this movement and germane approaches to support clients who identify with this spirituality. To respond to this deficiency, we address the topic by contextualizing Celtic spirituality from definitional, historical, and thematic perspectives. Next, we consider implications for spiritually sensitive counseling practice. We include a case study, exemplifying potential adaptive counseling processes and interventions.

Counseling the Asian Diaspora: A Content Analysis of Literature Spanning 2010-2019

The growth of the Asian diaspora in the United States (Inman et al., 2014), paired with the increase in emphasis on multicultural competency in the counseling profession, informs a widening gap in relevant counseling literature. It is crucial to understand the mental health needs and utilization of counseling services in this community. This content analysis focuses on the current status of research on mental health issues and help-seeking among the Asian diaspora in the United States. Descriptive statistics regarding research and content themes are reported. Implications for counseling and further research are discussed.

Strengths-based Counseling with International Students of Color: A Community Cultural Wealth Approach

Faced with multiple interpersonal (e.g., isolation), and systemic barriers (e.g., biased national policies) due to their intersectional racial and immigrant identities, international students of color (ISC) may particularly stand to benefit from interventions that foster resilience and a sense of agency. Extant research indicates that counselors’ focus on strengths (e.g., strong community ties, resilience) of minoritized clients has several benefits, including increased resilience and empowerment. However, counseling literature fails to offer counselors an explicit strengths-based framework to support ISC. In this article, the author outlines the unique challenges ISC face as a result of their marginalized identities. Next, using Yosso’s theory of Community Cultural Wealth, I offer counselors specific suggestions on ways to explore and leverage ISC’ strengths in mental health settings. Lastly, future directions and limitations are discussed.

The Use of Literature and Writing In Counseling: Is It Helpful?

The Use of Literature and Writing In Counseling: Is It Helpful?

Literature and Writing in Counseling

Literature and Writing in Counseling

Social justice in counseling: moving to a multiplistic approach

ABSTRACT In counseling, much of the social justice scholarship and discourse is centralized around a general and singular conceptualization of social justice. In this manuscript, we review interdisciplinary social justice literature as a means of synthesizing and augmenting the counseling literature. Because the profession’s literature has yet to investigate and expand the operationalization of social justice robustly, we present social justice as a multiplistic phenomenon in need of further attention and offer suggestion for next steps.

Mental Health Symptoms as Predictors of School Climate Evaluations among Middle School Latinx/Hispanic Students

ABSTRACT A scarcity of counseling literature examines the impact that mental health symptoms have on school climate perceptions for students in transitional-aged settings, specifically Latinx/Hispanic students. We explored ways that mental health symptoms influenced perceptions of school climate among 216 Middle School Latinx/Hispanic students. The researchers found that participants who experienced greater symptoms associated with conduct problems (R 2 =.15) and aggression (R 2 =.02) reported a decreased perception of school climate. Implications for research and practice with Hispanic/Latinx students are discussed.

The Critical Cycle of Mixtape Creation: Reducing Stress via Three Different Group Counseling Styles

ABSTRACT While significant attention has been given to student learning loss across summer, much less attention is given to student stressors and mental health concerns. To assist youth in processing and coping with emotional stress, research explores approaches to group counseling wherein youth write, record, and perform emotionally themed hip hop mixtapes. Hip hop, counseling, and social work literature lack studies comparing the effectiveness of different group types. This study examined a hip hop integrated therapeutic model within three groups using distinct leadership styles; within a high school summer enrichment program. Results suggest statistically significant reductions in stress and depressive levels.

Naturalness, Personality, and Mindfulness Predict EcoWellness: Implications for Counseling Practice

This study explored the role of individual differences in relation to overall EcoWellness (Reese and Myers in Journal of Counseling & Development, 90, 400-406, 2012) in a sample of online participants situated in the United States. Data were collected through self-report measures of mindfulness, personality traits, EcoWellness, and perceived naturalness of environmental settings. Aspects of mindfulness, greater perceived naturalness, extraversion, agreeableness, and openness predicted overall EcoWellness. Thus, individuals who scored higher on these traits were more likely to be regarded as EcoWell. These findings give insight to who might benefit from counseling interventions targeting EcoWellness and help to further build a conceptual understanding of the concept of EcoWellness in the international counseling literature.

The School Counselor Activity Rating Scale: An Instrument for Gathering Process Data

importance of collecting process data describing school counselor practice is widely supported as a component of accountability. However, the lack of practically significant and valid instruments may hamper this practice. School Counselor Activity Rating Scale was designed to measure how school counselors actually spend their time versus how they would prefer to spend their time in job-related activities. Its development, initial validity and reliability results, and potential applications are presented in this article. ********** What do school counselors do? is not a new question. Indeed, on any given day, practicing school counselors need to provide an answer to this question for teachers, administrators, parents, and in truth, themselves. One way to answer this question is to collect and analyze process data. Process data can describe an important aspect of school counselor practice and effectiveness, that is, how school counselors are spending their time in their day-to-day activities (American School Counselor Association [ASCA], 2003). Given that there is a continual need for school counselors to describe and account for what they do, it follows that an instrument that can be used to collect relevant process data is warranted. purpose of this study was to examine initial validity, and reliability data on the School Counselor Activity Rating Scale, an instrument that school counselors could use to gather process data. Information describing what school counselors do has been collected and has received a great deal of attention in school counseling literature. Past research has focused on how school counselors spend time in particular activities (Bonebrake & Borgers, 1984; Carroll, 1993; Hardesty & Dillard, 1994; Vandegrift, 1999) and the difference between how school counselors actually spend their time and how they want to be spending their time (Johnson, 1993; Mustaine, Pappalardo, & Wyrick, 1996; Partin, 1993; Tennyson, Miller, Skovholt, & Williams, 1989; Wilgus & Shelley, 1988). In addition, the difference between school counseling practice and best practice, as advocated by leaders of the profession, has received attention (Burnham & Jackson, 2000; Carter, 1993). Although there has been little consistency in the measurement of time in activities, or the types of activities studied, the consistency of findings reveals that there remains a discrepancy between what is advocated as best practice (the type of activities and the time devoted to various tasks as related to program objectives) and what is actually practiced in schools (Burnham & Jackson; Carter; Hutchinson, Barrick, & Groves, 1986; Mustaine et al.; Partin; Scarborough, 2002). For the practicing school counselor, the main purpose of collecting process data is for program evaluation. Gysbers and Henderson (1988) stated, The purpose of evaluation is to provide data to make decisions about the structure and impact of the program and the professional personnel involved (p. 263). Process data describe the way the school counseling program is structured and conducted (i.e., what activities have been done) and whether prescribed practice was followed (ASCA, 2003). According to National Standards for School Counseling Programs, As a first step to understanding your site's use of time, all the school counselors should keep track of their time and document activities performed throughout their days. This allows school counselors and administrators to determine the amount of time being spent in each of the delivery system components [e.g., consultation, coordination, counseling, curriculum] and in non-school-counseling activities. (ASCA, p. 51) Assessing the amount of time spent in activities addresses what is happening and then provides an opportunity to discuss what should or could be happening (ASCA). In situations with a discrepancy between actual and prescribed practice, school counselors then can make adjustments that will lead to greater effectiveness. …

A Meta-Analysis of the Counseling Literature on Technology-Assisted Distance Supervision

In this meta-analysis, we examined the effect of distance clinical supervision in comparison with traditional face-to-face supervision in conformity with the guidelines offered by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). We analyzed empirical studies (i.e., three journal articles and one dissertation) on clinical supervision published between 2000 and 2018. Analyses determined the overall effect sizes of supervision by format (i.e., distance vs. face-to-face) and compared the effect sizes of distance vs. face-to-face supervision, specifically, by supervisee satisfaction, supervisory alliance, and supervisee competency. Results indicated that the overall effect sizes of supervision, as well as the effect sizes for the three variables, did not significantly differ by format. Implications of non-significant difference in the effect sizes by different formats of clinical supervision (distance vs. face-to-face) are discussed.

Rethinking Counseling Recruitment for Transgender Clients: Using Content Analysis to Investigate Trends

Transgender clients are disproportionately underrepresented in counseling, despite clinical needs therein. To better understand this problem, we investigated client recruitment within professional counseling literature. Using content analysis to identify codes and themes, we found that, out of 111 recruitment articles, one article highlighted sexual minorities and one included transgender individuals. Our analyses identify critical issues within the counseling profession’s lack of attention to and strategies for recruiting transgender clients. We hope to illuminate the dearth of literature regarding recruiting transgender clients to clinical services and provide implications for advocacy of transgender clients among future researchers, counselor educators, and practitioners.

A Content Analysis of the Counseling Literature on Technology Integration: American Counseling Association (ACA) Counseling Journals between 2000 and 2018.

This content analysis provides an overview of articles specific to technology integration in the field of counseling published in American Counseling Association (ACA) journals between the years 2000 and 2018. In addition to the number of articles on this topic published during this time period, the study identified other aspects such as authors and institutional affiliations; methodology, study locations, and application settings; target populations and sample characteristics; and areas and types of technology integration. Recommendations are provided for counseling research in general and for future research extending from specific circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bibliotherapy and Group Counseling with African-American College Students: A Case Study Approach

ABSTRACT Many African Americans students face numerous challenges on today’s college campuses. As such, non-traditional therapeutic interventions and group work have emerged in counseling literature to assist these students. This case study explored the use of bibliotherapy and group counseling as an innovative therapeutic intervention. The purpose of the study was to understand how African-American college students experienced this intervention and how it promoted a transformative experience. Students reported the intervention enhanced their intrapersonal intelligence through shared learning, introspective learning, and perspective-taking in relationships. Implications for group workers and college counselors were offered. Recommendations for future research were also discussed.

A Paradigm Shift: Supporting the Multidimensional Identities of Black Male Youth

ABSTRACTBlack male youth are poorly represented in the counseling literature. There is a focus on development from a deficit model and lack of attention to their complex and multidimensional identities. In addition, popular media invariably portray Black male youth through a myopic lens as needing to overcome a litany of challenges and struggles. The purpose of this article is to begin to combat this myopic view. This article further explores the notion of listening to learn from the voices of Black male youth prior to implementing group work practices. Implications for group work practice are provided.

Person-centered conceptualization of multiculturalism and social justice in counseling

ABSTRACTPerson-centered therapy’s cross-cultural relevance and nondirective stance have been doubted and challenged in counseling and social justice literature. In order to incorporate multiculturalism and social justice advocacy into effective and ethical practice, it is critical for person-centered counselors to be able to conceptualize, understand, and serve social justice issues through a person-centered lens. First, we present a brief overview of the person-centered dialogue related to multiculturalism and social justice advocacy in counseling. Then, we offer a conceptualization of several social justice-related issues impacting clients using person-centered terminology and philosophy in an effort to increase understanding. Lastly, we share perspectives on how person-centered counselors serve as social justice advocates within and outside of the direct counseling relationship. We incorporate multicultural, ethical, and legal considerations throughout the discussion.

Capitalizing on Cultural Assets: Community Cultural Wealth and Immigrant-Origin Students

Nearly one of four students enrolled in public school in the United States is of immigrant origin. School counselors are poised to support immigrant-origin students with academic, college and career, and social/emotional needs. This article introduces how community cultural wealth (CCW), a social capital concept focusing on the strengths of immigrant-origin students, brings a culturally responsive lens to multitiered system of supports interventions identified in the school counseling literature. We present case studies highlighting the implementation of CCW and discuss implications and future directions for school counseling practice.