TPC-Journal-V6-Issue2

The Professional Counselor /Volume 6, Issue 2 141 Roadblocks to Gatekeeping All participants ( n = 370) completed Section II, Part II of the PPCS-CE, and these participants’ responses for strongly agree and agree were combined to report the subsequent findings. Each of the participants reported degree of agreement or disagreement regarding beliefs around the roadblocks that interfere with their ability to engage in the gatekeeping of master’s students with PPC. Fifty- three percent ( n = 197) reporting struggling emotionally to balance being empathetic with a student demonstrating PPC and their gatekeeping duties. When looking at addressing PPC with a student who is culturally different from the participant, 38% ( n = 141) stated they were reluctant to do so due to the fear they would appear culturally insensitive, and 36% ( n = 137) were reluctant to do so due to the fear of allegations of discrimination. Regarding being supported by others, 13% ( n = 47) provided they did not feel supported by their chair to address a student who demonstrated PPC, and 13% ( n = 47) stated they did not feel supported by their colleagues to address a student who demonstrated PPC. Further, 92% ( n = 339) were concerned about the counseling profession when a student with PPC was allowed to pass through the program. Additionally, 30% ( n = 110) provided they were reluctant to address a student demonstrating PPC for fear of recrimination (e.g., negative teaching evaluations, legal action). Protocol for Addressing Students with PPC When the participants’ responses for strongly agree and agree were combined, 99% ( n = 368) believed it was their responsibility to be aware of students with PPC, 91% ( n = 335) believed that it was their chair’s responsibility, and 96% ( n = 354) believed it was both their chair and respondents’ responsibility to be aware of students with PPC. Additionally, 94% ( n = 347) were aware of their programs’ procedures regarding how to address problematic behavior, 71% ( n = 263) reported their chair had discussed their programs’ procedures regarding addressing PPC with them, and 38% ( n = 140) stated they had received training from their program regarding how to intervene with a student who they believe is demonstrating PPC. Further, 87% ( n = 321) were aware of the appropriate intervention to take with students with PPC, 51% ( n = 189) would like more information regarding how to identify students with PPC, and 61% ( n = 226) of the participants would like more information on how to respond to a student with PPC. Discussion and Implications The PPC identified in this study as being observed most frequently are consistent with those problematic behaviors identified in other studies. Vacha-Haase et al. (2004) also identified that inadequate clinical skills and deficient interpersonal skills were most commonly cited as problematic behaviors. In a study examining a proposed set of standards for clinical training, Homrich et al. (2014) identified three categories of behaviors needed by graduate students in clinical training, which included professional behaviors, interpersonal behaviors and intrapersonal behaviors. The types of PPC counselor educators observed in this study parallel the findings of Homrich et al. (2014) in that inadequate clinical skills and unprofessional behavior are similar to their theme of professional behaviors, and the category of inadequate interpersonal skills is comparable to their theme of interpersonal behaviors. Inability to regulate emotions is analogous to their theme of intrapersonal behaviors. Because they were examining clinical training standards, there was no mention of academic skills, yet this type of PPC was cited as a concern by many of the respondents in this study. Examination of these data leads to questions about how counseling programs admit students. Both academic skills and interpersonal skills are areas that can be addressed through the admissions process. Smaby, Maddox, Richmond, Lepkowski, and Packman (2005) found that undergraduate