The Professional Counselor | Volume 13, Issue 2 104 to parents” without explaining what warranted disclosure. One participant was concerned for the client’s safety because of sexual violence (i.e., rape) and specifically mentioned reporting to authorities. Nearly half of the participants (n = 20) identified the client’s family issues as problematic, offered solutions to repair relationship ruptures within the family dynamic, and mentioned strategies for improved communication. Additionally, participants (n = 22) identified school-related difficulties, such as decreased grades, as an area of concern for the client. Examples of commentary provided by those participants included, “Jordan needs a tutor” or “Jordan needs to be evaluated educationally at school to see if there are learning challenges and get an IEP.” Gender Bias The sixth category was identified because of the overwhelming gender biases that emerged throughout the participants’ responses. This category was further grouped into two themes: language and judgments and myths. The researchers compared the language counseling students used to describe male and female clients. Although the counseling students described the male and female clients with similar terms (i.e., influenced, boundaries, codependence), the frequency across all responses grossly varied. For example, participants used the term “abuse” twice as many times when describing the female client’s relationship (n = 23) as opposed to the male client’s relationship (n = 11). Similarly, counseling students utilized the term “survivor” to describe the female client (n = 13), but not the male client (n = 0). The male client was often described as “withdrawn” (n = 28) and experiencing “attention” difficulties (n = 43), “adjustment” (n = 29), and “codependence” issues (n = 23). Conversely, the female client was more likely to be described as “influenced” (n = 19), “manipulative” (n = 22), and experiencing “dependency” (n = 47) concerns. Although these counts could highlight one participant using the word one or more times in a response, they illuminate the disparity and lack of discernment in the language used to describe both clients. Within the theme of judgments and myths, the counseling students consistently referenced and discussed the female partner (perpetrator) in the male client scenario. These comments made inferences or judgments about the female partner (perpetrator) even though she was not the identified client. Counseling students made various comments about the female perpetrator, including, “she is controlling,” “nasty,” or “needy,” alluding to the fact that she is causing these issues for the male client. Counseling students also provided clinical impressions, recommendations, and diagnoses for the male client’s partner (female perpetrator). Conversely, participants who completed the female client case noted clinical recommendations for the female client’s partner (male perpetrator), such as general “relationship help” and “anger management and self-help.” These comments and recommendations were less frequent and judgmental of the female client’s partner (male perpetrator). Relatedly, no participants provided a diagnosis for the male perpetrator. Overall, counseling students frequently mentioned the female partner (perpetrator) rather than focusing on the identified client, although this was less frequent for the male partner (perpetrator). Additionally, many judgments about the survivors arose, perpetuating myths and the stigma surrounding TDV and survivors. For example, one student noted the female survivor “could get better if she wanted to” and “she needs to express her feelings to her partner.” Another student wrote that the male survivor needed to “be more assertive in the relationship and not get walked all over” and “seems like he is a people pleaser and needs to take more control over his situation.” Furthermore, the few times relationship violence was discussed, the female client was always referred to as a “victim” or “survivor,” whereas the male client was referred to by name or “the client.”
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