1 TPC Digest Read full article and references: Fickling, M. J., Graden, M., & Tangen, J. L. (2022). Reflections on power from feminist counselor educators. The Professional Counselor, 12(3), 185–197. doi: 10.15241/mjf.12.3.185 1 | i t helplessness. Empowerment, on the other hand, was described as feeling energetic and connected. Participants identified various types of power, including personal, positional, and institutional. Higher education context and culture became a salient subtheme in our findings, described as “the way things are done in institutions of higher learning.” Participants provided many examples of their perceptions of uses and misuses of power and linked these behaviors to their sense of ethics. No participants claimed to feel total ease in their relationship with their own power, though most acknowledged that with time, they had become more comfortable with acknowledging and using their power when necessary. Participants shared how their awareness of privileged and marginalized statuses raised their understanding of power. Participants shared about the energy spent in weighing the potential backlash to their expressions of power, or their calling out of unethical uses of power. Anticipated backlash often resulted in participants not doing or saying something for fear of “making waves” or being labeled a “troublemaker.” Contemplating, reflecting on, and working with power are worthwhile efforts according to the participants in this study, which is supported by scholarly literature on the topic. Findings point to a pressing need for more rigorous self-reflection among counselor educators and counseling leadership, as well as greater accountability for using power ethically. Power analysis at each level and each role in which counselor educators find themselves could help to uncover issues of power and its uses. Melissa J. Fickling, PhD, ACS, BC-TMH, LCPC, is an associate professor at Northern Illinois University. Matthew Graden, MSEd, is a professional school counselor. Jodi L. Tangen is an associate professor at North Dakota State University. Correspondence may be addressed to Melissa J. Fickling, 1425 W. Lincoln Hwy, Gabel 200, DeKalb, IL 60115, mfickling@niu.edu.
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