The Professional Counselor | Volume 13, Issue 2 102 To promote trustworthiness, we followed Nowell et al.’s (2017) recommendations for methodological rigor within Braun and Clarke’s (2013, 2021) steps for thematic analysis. These included a review of responses at various points prior to analysis. Peer debriefing took place during the 6-week coding process, along with an audit trail of documentation and codebooks connecting themes and content. Based on consensus coding, codebook refining took place weekly (Nowell et al., 2017). As a final step, member checking took place by sending the resulting themes and subthemes to the respective programs where students were recruited. Because the participants were anonymous, the programs disseminated findings to all students, asking anyone who initially participated to check for credibility in the results and reach out via email or anonymously through a Qualtrics link if they found inaccuracies (Braun & Clarke, 2013; Nowell et al., 2017). No participants responded or objected to the findings after three rounds of email blasts. Findings We determined six emergent categories that spanned across both cases: (a) case conceptualization and clinical impressions, (b) diagnostic impressions, (c) relationship considerations, (d) clinical concerns, (e) treatment approaches, and (f) gender bias. Within these six categories, 19 themes emerged, which are defined below in their corresponding category. Case Conceptualization and Clinical Impressions The case conceptualization and clinical impressions category captured counseling students’ perceptions of the presenting problem, resulting in the two themes of interpersonal and intrapersonal concerns. Although both vignettes aimed to illustrate specific cases of TDV, counseling students presented various explanations regarding the cause of the client’s symptoms. The interpersonal theme focused on aspects outside the client’s immediate control, including limited peer support, the dating relationship, and academic concerns. For example, a counseling student responding to the male client’s case suggested that he needs “to get involved in more extracurricular activities and find things that he enjoys doing” or “extra support from school and family.” Students responding to the female case also focused on relational issues, indicating that “she needs to build better relationships with her family, friends, and partner.” Participants also considered intrapersonal factors related to the client’s mood, level of assertiveness, self-esteem, and self-confidence. For example, in responding to the male client case, counseling students indicated that the client “has poor or low self-esteem” or “should be able to stand up for himself in all areas of his life.” The female case elicited similar responses from participants, such as “she needs to stop being so codependent” and “she could get better if she wanted to.” Diagnostic Impressions The second category was grouped based on diagnostic criteria. Four themes emerged: mood disorders, personality disorders, stress disorders, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Three subthemes were also identified: insufficient information, no diagnoses warranted, and only symptomology. Counseling students provided various responses regarding whether a diagnosis was warranted in the case vignette. Some participants responded with multiple possible diagnoses for the client presented in the case scenario. Others prefaced the diagnosis with statements alluding to uncertainty with making a concrete diagnosis, such as “possibly is experiencing depression,” or noting a diagnosis followed by “but more information will be needed to confirm.” About half of the participants stated a concrete diagnosis while providing support and examples from the case vignette.
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