624 The Professional Counselor | Volume 10, Issue 4 In addition to helping students develop a research identity, participants identified the need for a balanced advising approach that helped students complete dissertations rather than becoming stuck in attempting to complete an unwieldy and unachievable dissertation. Participants reported that doctoral faculty needed to strike a balance between supporting the research ideas and interests of students and helping students identify projects that are achievable and realistic. As one participant noted, “It’s more about finding the balance between what’s gonna be a good and meaningful study for the student— hopefully what’s going to be a potential contribution to the field—and then what can be done.” The participants noted that faculty should attend to the student’s development of a scholar identity during the dissertation process. Per one participant, as the chairperson, there is a need for “demystifying what research development looks like.” Supportive Environment The importance of creating a supportive environment was another key factor expressed by participants. A supportive environment, as described by several participants in this study, is relational: “[Mentoring] needs to happen in the context of relationship.” A supportive environment appears to be established when faculty individualize their advising and mentoring to each student’s personality and unique circumstances. As one participant stated, “Just as when we have to meet the client where they are, we also have to apply the same principle to our doc students.” Participants also reported that doctoral students needed different approaches and styles of advising. One participant shared, “My style varies depending on the student and my assessment of the student’s needs.” Some students will need more direct instruction than others, as “not every student needs the same level of guidance.” Other participants felt that faculty members could best guide students if they engaged in sustained relationships with them over time—“knowing somebody well enough and having enough contact with them over time to foresee some of those obstacles and help them navigate some of the roadblocks.” Participants also spoke to the importance of the chairperson detecting how much challenge and support to provide. As one participant stated, “I constantly try to figure out how much [support] is enough for this person, without being so much that they’re not learning what they need to learn in the process.” A faculty member’s established relationship with their doctoral students assists them in making such determinations. The chairperson must provide feedback regarding whether a student’s proposal fits within their identified timeline. As one participant stated, “My job is to ensure that the product is gonna be the best it can possibly be for the timeline that it is.” Timelines, program structure, and the supportive environment overlap when the chairperson guides students to discern how to narrow their research idea into a manageable project that could be completed within the expected dissertation timeline. This conversation was another opportunity for faculty to mentor students and provide feedback in a way that would help the students be more successful in the dissertation process. Many participants felt that a supportive environment enabled faculty to provide feedback and help students get “unstuck.” Providing feedback must happen early, otherwise students “just keep making the same mistakes over and over again.” When students become stuck in their dissertation process, a supportive environment helps students to be honest about their status. This honesty provides the chairperson with the information needed to give direction and feedback. As one participant shared, “Students almost embellish a little bit on how they were working because they were too afraid to say that they were stuck. So, for us, it’s really dissecting that component. ‘Where are you stuck? Let’s talk about this.’” Engaging in such conversations in an honest and transparent way gave the chairperson the opportunity to target their support toward specific goals that helped the student make progress.
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