Dissertation
Theoretical orientation and counseling women: knowledge, attitudes, and skills
University of Iowa
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
Spring 2022
DOI: 10.17077/etd.006437
Abstract
Women have been historically oppressed in and out of the counseling sessions. Violence against women is prevalent across the world (WHO, 2021); nevertheless, the majority of survivors of violence do not seek mental health counseling services (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000, 2006; Ullman, 2007; United Nations Economic and Social Affairs, 2015). One of the reasons for low help-seeking is their concerns of being blamed, doubted, and revictimized by service providers (Campbell & Raja, 2005; Monteith et al., 2021; Walsh et al., 2010).
To better serve female clients in the counseling profession, previous scholars have argued that competencies in counseling women should receive more attention (Dupuy & Ritchie, 1994; Leagjeld, 2019). Indeed, predominant counseling paradigms, such as psychoanalytic, humanistic, and cognitive-behavioral approaches, have improved to better facilitate positive development of clients, but these traditional approaches have been criticized because of their failure to address the detrimental impact of social oppression on human well-being (Ratts et al., 2016; Sue et al., 2019). In this regard, multiculturalism and social justice counseling has emerged as a recent paradigm to better serve historically marginalized populations and shares common threads with the feminist counseling approach (Crethar et al., 2008).
Despite recent counseling paradigm shifts to address the negative impact of oppression on human psychology, counselor training still heavily relies on traditional theoretical orientations. Past and current theoretical orientations are different in terms of their etiological attribution of clients’ problems: internal individual dysfunction versus social oppression. Several scholars have criticized that the counseling profession does not give enough attention to updating their teaching theoretical orientations (Gonzalez & Cokley, 2021; Sharma & Hipolito‐Delgado, 2021; Singh et al., 2020). Considering the important role of theoretical orientations that guide counseling competencies including counseling behaviors, it is imperative to better understand the relationship between theoretical orientations and counseling competencies.
Thus, the purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between various theoretical orientations and competencies in counseling women. The Theoretical Orientation Profile-Revised was used to measure counselors’ theoretical orientations, whereas the Counseling Women Competencies Scale and the Feminist Therapist Scale-Revised were utilized to assess competencies in counseling women. The statistical analysis was completed using SPSS 26 and Mplus (Muthén & Muthén, 1998–2017) to estimate the necessary measurement models and the structural models. A total of 314 counselors participated in a survey including three measurements, resulting in 265 usable responses.
The findings from measurement models confirmed six latent traits of theoretical orientations and created six latent traits of competencies of counseling women (i.e., outcomes). The structural model revealed that a strong psychoanalytic theoretical orientation predicted less competencies in counseling women whereas a strong feminist theoretical orientation predicted more sub-domains (but not all) of competencies in counseling women. A stronger multicultural theoretical orientation predicted more competencies in counseling women. The implication for practicing counselors, counselor preparation programs, and future research will be discussed.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Theoretical orientation and counseling women: knowledge, attitudes, and skills
- Creators
- Eunae Han
- Contributors
- Susannah M. Wood (Advisor)Lesa Hoffman (Advisor)David Duys (Committee Member)Erin Barnes (Committee Member)Laura Gallo (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Rehabilitation and Counselor Education
- Date degree season
- Spring 2022
- DOI
- 10.17077/etd.006437
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- Number of pages
- xii, 163 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2022 Eunae Han
- Language
- English
- Description illustrations
- Charts, graphs, tables
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 110-135).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
Counseling theory is a framework to guides a counselor’ thoughts, words, and behaviors during the counseling session (Coleman, 2004). As the counseling profession has continuously evolved to address the detrimental impact of social oppression on human well-being (Ratts et al., 2016; Sue et al., 2019), relatively new theoretical orientations with increased consciousness of social justice have received more attention. Feminist approaches to counseling are one of those theoretical orientations that has been insisting that the predominant counseling theories need to develop a more respectful stance towards female clients. Women have been, albeit the major clients of the counseling service, historically and currently marginalized and maltreated in and out of the counseling session.
Currently, there is a lack of prior research that would illuminate whether or not a counselors’ theoretical orientation would matter to their competencies in counseling women or not. Accordingly, the current study aimed to fill a gap in the literature by examining the relationship between theoretical orientations and competencies in counseling women. A survey asking about theoretical orientations and competencies in counseling women (including knowledge, attitudes, and skills in counseling women) was completed and a total of 265 survey responses were then selected for analysis.
Results revealed that each theoretical orientation differently predicted counselors’ competencies in counseling women. Even though a counselor may not stick to only one counseling theoretical orientation, the unique contribution of each theoretical orientation should be noted. Findings warranted more investigation into each theoretical orientation because one theoretical orientation cannot be captured by only one characteristic. Still, the current study outcome provides important empirical evidence for the argument surrounding new paradigms of multiculturalism, feminism, and social justice. Moreover, the current study provides significant implications for counselor education programs, supervision, and practicing counselors.
- Academic Unit
- Counselor Education
- Record Identifier
- 9984271254702771
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