“Born Black and Male”: Counseling leaders’ self-discovery of strengths

Africentric/Afrocentric psychology frames the interview findings on five African-American male leaders in a racial, ethnic, and culturally diverse counseling association. The consensual qualitative research method was used to extrapolate themes from the five interviews. Africentric cultural strengths suggested in the themes are (a) autogeny, (b) primacy of the person in the context of community, (c) consubstantiality of primordial substance, (d) perpetual evolution, and (e) living forever. Two themes related to counseling practice are (f) social justice and (g) cultural empathy. Common trends in statements across interviews are illustrated with rich quotations and summaries. Although the framework of continental African world view facilitated understanding a few African-American male counseling leaders, the study evidences a larger universal human dimension of individuals’ pain, resilience, self-discovery of strengths, and leadership bound to a collective self-concept by which leadership can take place both individually and collectively.     

“Meeting Someone at the Edge”: Counselors’ Experiences of Interpersonal Stress

Using consensual qualitative research, the authors explored the factors that contribute to counselors’ experiences of interpersonal stress and how counselors respond to interpersonal stressors within therapeutic settings. Thirteen professional counselors representing a variety of counseling contexts and settings participated in semistructured interviews. Through consensus building, the authors identified 4 domains within the data: client characteristics, relationship dynamics, counselor response, and personal vs. professional self. The findings suggest that client characteristics and relationship dynamics are catalysts to counselor interpersonal stress responses, which shape their conscious awareness of the experience. Implications for clinical practice, clinical supervision, and counselor wellness are discussed.     

Nuance, Complexity, and Context: Qualitative Methods in Genetic Counseling Research

Because of its potential for capturing complexity and process and its focus on communicating the meaning in human action, qualitative research is rapidly gaining acceptance in a wide variety of disciplines. Various qualitative approaches to research support its potential usefulness in genetic counseling research. Formulation of research questions and selection of appropriate qualitative methods are the first step. Interviewing, narrative analysis, focus groups, ethnography/participant observation, and participatory action research are only some of the most popular techniques that may be suitable in various situations. Processes of evaluation, analysis, and even ethical issues often differ somewhat from quantitative research. This article discusses these issues and the potential value of qualitative methods for research related to genetic counseling.     

A Qualitative Exploration of Sun Safety Beliefs Among Australian Adults

Informed broadly by the theory of planned behaviour, this study used qualitative methodology to understand Australian adults' sun‐protective decisions. Forty‐two adults participated in focus groups where they discussed behavioural (advantages and disadvantages), normative (important referents), and control (barriers and facilitators) beliefs, as well as potential social influences and images of tanned and non‐tanned people. Responses were analysed using the consensual qualitative research approach to determine the dominant themes. Themes of fashion and comfort were prominent, the important role of friends and family in sun safe decision‐making was highlighted, as was the availability of sun‐protective measures (e.g., in an accessible place or in the environment). Additional themes included the need to model sound sun‐protective behaviours to (current and future) children, the emphasis on personal choice and personal responsibility to be sun safe, and the influence of Australian identity and culture on tanning and socially acceptable forms of sun protection. These beliefs can be used to inform interventions and public health campaigns targeting sun safety among Australians, a population with the highest skin cancer incidence in the world.     

“We Are Still Here”: Learning From Native American Perspectives

Counselors’ multicultural competence is often cultivated through 1 graduate-level diversity course. Therefore, it is important to regularly assess multicultural counseling textbook content to ensure accurate representation of the perspectives of members of diverse populations. To this end, the authors interviewed 14 Native Americans to explore their perspectives on subjects related to counseling to inform clinical practice and training. Using consensual qualitative research, the authors identified 10 domains in the data. Cross analysis of the domains revealed 1 general and 29 typical categories. The identified categories have implications for the development of culturally competent clinicians. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Grounded Theory in Genetic Counseling Research

The practice of genetic counseling is in need of evidence-based theoretical frameworks. Although strategies used in genetic counseling are increasingly evidence-based, the field of genetic counseling does not have a generally accepted theoretical basis for development of therapeutic interventions. We know very little about (1) what actually happens in genetic counseling and (2) the impact it has on clients and their families. A number of researchers have used a variety of approaches in an attempt to introduce some theoretical basis for genetic counseling research and practice. Other workers have used experience in their clinical practice to write theoretically about the kinds of processes that might be going on in and around genetic counseling. However, there are few studies to date, which have attempted to build theory modeling the psychosocial processes that take place in and around the genetic counseling clinic using empirical data. This paper describes a methodology (grounded theory) that is designed specifically to build theory about psychosocial processes from a strong evidence base, and explains how it can contribute to the development of practice in genetic counseling.     

Emerging Practices of Counseling and Psychotherapy in China: Ethical Dilemmas in Dual Relationships

A qualitative study was conducted with 48 Chinese counselors and psychotherapists who were interviewed in 2006 and an independent sample of 50 participants who responded to a survey in 2014. This study aims to explore how the new emerging expansion of mental health practice is related to issues and challenges of dual role relationship and how the well-engrained values and social characteristics of Chinese culture influences perceptions and resolution of ethical dilemmas. The participants identified similar dual relationships in 2006 and 2014: (a) Incidental boundary crossings, a sexual or romantic relationship, a dual social relationship, and a professional dual relationship were the most frequently reported types of dual relationships encountered by Chinese practitioners, and (b) the socioeconomic and cultural context and the development trajectory of counseling and psychotherapy in China play a significant role in shaping practitioners’ behaviors. The comparison of the data in 2006 and 2014 indicated that practitioners in psychotherapy and counseling have an improved awareness and understanding of ethical issues, evidenced by the decreasing cases of romantic and sexual relationships and increasing cases of social dual relationships influenced by the interrelatedness of traditional Chinese culture.     

Integrating systems of care in California for youth with severe emotional disturbance III: Answers that lead to questions about out-of-home placements and the AB377 evaluation project

This paper is the third in a series of reports on preliminary empirical findings from replications of an integrated system of care for youth suffering from serious emotional disturbance. The development of the innovative system of care was pioneered in Ventura County, California, and the replications in three other California counties were legislatively enabled through California legislation (Assembly Bill 377). This report presents results on the expenditure and utilization of foster homes, residential placements made through special education programs, and state hospitals. Evaluation results indicate that foster home and state hospital utilization and expenditures are lower for the counties replicating the innovative system of care than for the state of California as a whole. Expenditures for special education residential placements are either at the state rate or lower in one county. The cumulative evidence supports the conclusion that the replication counties are utilizing restrictive levels of care at lower rates than would be expected, given state-wide patterns. The results, in conjunction with prior findings, are discussed in the context of questions about the possible fates of youth who no longer live in publicly funded residential facilities.