TPC Journal-Vol 10- Issue 2-FULL ISSUE

290 The Professional Counselor | Volume 10, Issue 2 taken to protect the confidentiality of the participants’ information. The informed consent form stated that the risk of participating was the normal discomfort of sharing one’s experiences with depression and that if a participant felt uncomfortable, they could withdraw from the study at any time. Parents and participants signed the consent and assent forms, respectively, and returned them to either the local counseling agency or school professionals, who forwarded the forms to the first author. The first author then contacted the parents, with the participants present, to schedule a 45- to 90-minute, face-to-face interview with the participant. The informed consent form was verbally reviewed, ensuring that the parents and participants understood that a second interview to review and correct the interpretation would be optional. Interviews took place either during the day in a private room at the school or outside of school hours in the first author’s office. Because adolescent depression is considered a sensitive topic, participants were instructed to follow up with their counselor if they experienced adverse feelings as a result of participating in the study. Data Collection and Analysis The first author met with each of the 10 participants for a single semi-structured interview that lasted between 45 and 90 minutes. In phenomenological research, the researcher follows the essence of participants’ responses (van Manen, 1997). The first author spent time establishing rapport with the participants. Once the first author believed a participant was comfortable, she asked the participant the overarching question, “What is your experience with depression?” Follow-up questions specific to each participant were used to probe the participants’ responses regarding their experience as Black adolescents living with depression in the rural southeastern United States. Several participants expressed a reluctance to fully disclose or discuss their experiences with depression; however, no participants withdrew from the study, and all participants completed the first interview. At the end of the first interview, the participants were notified that they would be contacted for a second interview to review the transcript of the first interview and verify its accuracy and trustworthiness. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim by both the first author and a professional transcriber. The transcripts were coded and analyzed for themes related to the research question of this study. The first author utilized Patton’s (1987) content analysis model as a process of bringing order to the data by organizing the data into major themes, categories, and case examples. The first author consulted with two experts in qualitative research in the human services field and used three levels of coding: open, axial, and selective. Open coding included reading the transcribed interviews several times and coding phrases, from one word to portions of paragraphs. Based on input from the consultants, the first author enhanced the coding process by entering the data into the NVivo QSR software program, which facilitated organization and analysis. The first author then condensed the data into five categories. Axial coding enabled the first author to organize, link, and cluster codes, while selective coding allowed the first author to analyze the words, sentences, and themes from the interviews. Data analysis via coding was a back and forth process, and staying close to the transcripts was essential. The labeling and coding allowed the first author to interpret and classify the data and themes into five categories that were supported with direct quotations from the participants. Trustworthiness Trustworthiness is an important aspect of qualitative research (Hays & Singh, 2012). The generally candid nature of each participant in relating even the most difficult experiences, such as rape, would suggest a high degree of trustworthiness in their responses. Member checking was offered to all participants in the form of a follow-up interview. When contacted by the first author to schedule this interview, however, none of the participants felt that it was necessary. Rather, all of the participants