Career Influences: A phenomenological Study of Career Influences of African American Women in the Counseling Profession.

<p>The current literature concerning African American women in the counseling profession is limited. Research is available regarding women in the profession; however, research on African American women is scarce. This study seeks to add to the body of literature by exploring the reasons African American women become counselors, thereby improving recruitment techniques to increase representation in the field and improve mental health care for the African American community. This qualitative research study used a phenomenological approach to explore, interpret, and describe the lived experiences of eight African American women who are Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors currently practicing in the counseling profession. The theoretical foundation Social Cognitive Career Theory was used to guide this study on the career influences of African American women for entering the counseling profession. Data collections were conducted using in-depth face-to-face virtual interviews with the participants and analyzed using the NVivo software. The results of the study indicated that in regards to the decision to join the counseling profession, African American women are influenced by the following: family dynamics, personal characteristics, work experiences, adult influences underrepresentation, and education. The findings in this study may not be generalized to men, other professional disciplines, or people in another ethnicity. Thus, the results of this study could be developed and implemented with a larger population using a questionnaire to determine the generalizability of the findings.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D. Doctor of Education

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation - Public Access

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Counselor Education and Supervision

Year dc:date.available

2020

Author dc:creator

• Ford, Tamara L

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Caroline Perjessy
• Dr. Martin Wesley

• Career Influence
• Family Influence
• African American Women
• Personal Characteristics
• Barriers for African American women
• Counseling Profession
• Counseling Psychology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/517

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.nl.edu:diss-1560