Dec 22, 2025 | Volume 15 - Issue 4
Ne’Shaun J. Borden, Natalie A. Indelicato, Jamie F. Root, Lanni Brown
In this secondary qualitative data analysis, we examined data collected between 2018 and 2023 from See the Girl: In Elementary (formerly Girls Matter: It’s Elementary), a program model grounded in Relational–Cultural Theory that intervenes early in elementary school to improve school success and relational connection, decrease suspension and expulsion, and mitigate system involvement. African American girls ages 8 to 9 comprise 79% of the participants in this study. A reflexive thematic analysis focused on two open-ended questions from a larger program assessment tool: how the girls knew that their counselor listened and how the program was helpful to them. The analysis yielded three major themes for each research question. Girls knew counselors were listening to them through active listening, therapeutic support, and authenticity. Girls stated that the program helped them develop coping and relationship-building skills and provided them with a supportive environment. Given these findings, mental health professionals and supervisors are encouraged to prioritize culturally responsive models.
Keywords: girls, elementary, intervention, relational–cultural theory, culturally responsive
School disciplinary reforms following the 1994 Gun-Free Schools Act brought about zero tolerance policies, calling for mandatory punitive measures for students who violate codes of school conduct (Kang-Brown et al., 2013). Though evidence for the efficacy of such practices is lacking (American Psychological Association Zero Tolerance Task Force, 2008; Lamont et al., 2013; LiCalsi et al., 2021), these policies have since become widespread; as of the 2021–2022 school year, 62% of schools in the United States had a zero tolerance policy in effect. Of these, 76% allowed for students to be suspended for minor or nonviolent offenses such as talking back to a teacher or being inattentive in class (The Brookings Institution, 2023). Troublingly, these policies are applied disproportionately to students of color, children from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and those with disabilities (Anderson & Ritter, 2017; Anyon et al., 2014; Brobbey, 2017; Ryberg et al., 2021; Welsh & Little, 2018). According to recent Department of Education data, while Black boys are overrepresented among students who are suspended or expelled, Black girls are almost twice as likely as White girls to face expulsion or suspension (U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2023). Research has shown that students who are suspended or expelled in earlier grades are more likely to face suspension or expulsion in high school, to subsequently leave school, and to enter the juvenile justice system (Anyon et al., 2014; Novak, 2018; Skiba et al., 2014; Vanderhaar et al., 2014).
In response to these harsh disciplinary measures and in line with current recommendations from the Department of Education (U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2023), several experimental school-based positive intervention programs have been implemented and studied as alternatives. The Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework evolved in the late 1990s into School-Wide Positive Behavioral Support (SWPBS), a comprehensive system of behavioral support for the entire population of students across the school. This approach emphasizes a multitiered system of support utilizing evidence-based practices, focusing on implementing interventions that have proven effective in other packaged or manualized formats rather than relying on a standardized set of interventions (California Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, 2023; Sugai et al., 2000). SWPBS has been found to be a positive alternative to exclusionary discipline practices, as studies have demonstrated that schools that implement SWPBS programs with fidelity show marked decreases in disciplinary referrals and suspensions (Bradshaw et al., 2009; Gage et al., 2018). SWPBS is the most widely used school-based positive intervention program, with over 25,000 schools currently utilizing some form of this approach (Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports, 2024). Additional school-based positive intervention programs showing positive student outcomes include the Building Bridges program (Hernandez-Melis et al., 2016; Rappaport, 2014) and the Monarch Room, a trauma-informed alternative to suspension, utilized over a span of 3 years in an urban public charter school (Baroni et al., 2016).
Although exclusionary disciplinary practices have been widely adopted in U.S. schools over the past 30 years, their efficacy is not supported by the evidence, and the unequal application of such measures has raised significant concerns about equity and long-term student outcomes. Alternative interventions show promise in reducing disciplinary referrals and suspensions, particularly when implemented with fidelity and cultural sensitivity (Gage et al., 2018; Hernandez-Melis et al., 2016). Continued research and adaptation of such approaches is essential to create more equitable and effective disciplinary practices in schools.
See the Girl: In Elementary Program
Our study examines data from the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center, conceptualized in 2007 and opened in 2013. The mission of the Policy Center is to “advance the rights of girls and elevate justice reform, gender equity, and system accountability through research-based community solutions, and bold policy—all with a girl-centered approach.” (See the Girl, n.d.). The Policy Center focuses on research, advocacy, training, and programming for girls. The See the Girl: In Elementary program (SGIE; formerly Girl Matters®: It’s Elementary) is one of the model programs developed by the Policy Center to help mitigate the impact of the school-to-prison pipeline for girls in Florida during the early 2000s. SGIE focuses on school-level interventions, one-on-one skill building, referrals for services in the community, crisis intervention, and home visits (Patino Lydia et al., 2014). Program staff oversee the delivery of these interventions and train graduate and undergraduate counseling interns to provide one-on-one support for girls. The aims of the SGIE programming model are to “1) improve school success, 2) interrupt the suspension and expulsion of girls, and 3) prevent the spiraling effect of girls entering the juvenile justice system” (Patino Lydia et al., 2014, p. 2).
In order to meet these goals, the developers of SGIE created a program underpinned by tenets of Relational–Cultural Theory (RCT; Jordan, 2017). RCT exists within a feminist framework, one that assesses beyond individual factors and recognizes the broader impact that the environment has on girls, girls’ behavior, and crimes committed by girls (Patino Lydia & Moore, 2015). At its foundation, RCT is about relationships and growth, espousing the idea that we are born to create and maintain relational connections (Miller, 1976). Noting that individualistic, Western approaches of isolation and maladaptive independence can stunt developmental growth, RCT emphasizes culture, community, and the innate desire for interconnectedness (Jordan, 2017; Lenz, 2014). Healthy developmental growth is conceptualized through the perspective of RCT as active participation in growth-fostering relationships and genuine connections with others (Lenz, 2014). Relationships defined as growth-fostering are ones that empower both members to dually affect and be affected via the “five good things” (i.e., sense of zest, worth, productivity/creativity, clarity, desire for more connection; Jordan, 2017; Lenz, 2014).
Women and girls internalize numerous identities (e.g., sister, daughter, mother) that hold the power to shape the way they interact with the world around them (Patino Lydia & Moore, 2015). Grounded in RCT, the SGIE programming model seeks to move away from “blame and pathologize” to highlighting the distinct relational features that criminal justice systems, schools, and society have overlooked in understanding girls’ development (Patino Lydia & Moore, 2015).
Purpose of the Present Study
A pilot evaluation of the program examined data collected between 2011 and 2014 and showed positive and promising results at the girl, school, and community levels, including an 84% decrease in suspensions during the 2013–2014 school year (Patino Lydia et al., 2014). Similarly, 85% of girls reported that skill building with the assistance of the counseling intern was the most helpful aspect of the program. Although the initial evaluation showed positive results, with girls reporting that they felt more confident after learning skills, research did not indicate which aspects of the girls’ interactions with their counselors were most helpful. Thus, we sought to explore what aspects of the SGIE program were most impactful for the participants.
Positive, relationally based interventions show promise in reducing disciplinary referrals and suspensions, particularly when implemented with fidelity and cultural sensitivity (Gage et al., 2018; Hernandez-Melis et al., 2016). Continued research and replication of such approaches are essential to create more equitable and effective disciplinary practices in schools. Additionally, calls for research that include perspectives from the youth utilizing programming have been made to determine efficacious, culturally responsive interventions that improve academic and social outcomes (Goodman-Scott et al., 2024; Wymer et al., 2024). Researchers conducted a secondary analysis of two qualitative, open-ended questions from 2018–2023 assessment data with girls in the SGIE program to better understand which aspects of the program and interactions with their counselors were most helpful. This study focused on two open-ended questions from a broader assessment used by the Policy Center to collect data on the girls’ experiences in the program: 1) How do you know your counselor listens to you? and 2) How has SGIE been helpful to you?
Method
Prior to accessing the data, we worked in collaboration with the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center to learn about the SGIE program, identify the program’s assessment process, and develop appropriate research questions, after which we obtained IRB approval. The secondary data used for this study are part of a larger assessment interview of girls participating in the SGIE program. Every aspect of the Policy Center’s work is girl-centered with the aim to inform the work based on girls’ lived experiences and voices. The girl-centered approach led us to focus on analysis of two open-ended questions from the assessment across a 5-year time frame to better understand how the girls knew when their counselor was listening and how the SGIE program was helpful. Open-ended questions in research can generate responses that are meaningful to the participant, unanticipated by the interviewer, and often descriptive and contextual in nature (Goodman-Scott et al., 2024; Mack et al., 2005).
Participants
From 2018–2023, 407 girls were referred to SGIE. At the time of referral, girls were between the ages of 5 and 13 years old (M = 8.60) and ranged from kindergarten to sixth grade (M = 3.18). Girls who shared their race at the time of referral (N = 228) identified as American Indian/Native American (.88%, n = 2), Black (79.39%, n = 181), Hispanic (5.7%, n = 13), White (7.89%, n = 18), and multiracial (6.14%, n = 14).
While 407 girls were referred to SGIE, there were fewer qualitative responses included in the data analysis because of variation in assessment administration by the Policy Center, girls’ school attendance rates or changing schools, and missing qualitative data at assessment. Once we accessed the de-identified data and deleted missing qualitative data entries for the two questions analyzed, a total of 107 qualitative responses were recorded for the first research question, “How do you know your counselor listens to you?” and 109 qualitative responses were recorded for the second research question, “How has SGIE been helpful to you?”
Research Team
Prior to engaging in the study, the research team discussed our personal beliefs about effective counseling skills; how clients know whether counselors are listening; and what makes a school-based positive intervention program effective, particularly for girls. Ne’Shaun Borden is a cisgender African American woman from the Southeastern United States. She has been a counselor educator for 5 years and licensed mental health counselor for 10 years with prior professional experience as an elementary school teacher and a school-based mental health professional (SBMHP). Natalie Indelicato is a cisgender multiracial counselor educator and licensed mental health counselor from the Southeastern United States. She has been in the mental health field for 20 years; her research and clinical work have focused on women and girls’ mental health. She has worked closely with the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center for the past 10 years as a research collaborator and clinical supervisor for student interns. Jamie Root is a White cisgender female second-year student in a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program who has a personal and professional interest in adolescent mental health. She has resided in the Southeastern United States for the past 25 years. Lanni Brown is an African American cisgender female second-year student in a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program with an interest in counseling justice-involved youth. Throughout the research process, we discussed how our sociocultural positions and experiences in counseling informed our understanding of the analysis. These identities and beliefs about counseling skills and effective program components were referenced in peer discussion during data analysis.
Data Analysis
Girls’ responses to each open-ended question were transcribed and analyzed following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) approach to reflexive thematic analysis. Thematic analysis is a method of analyzing qualitative data that is transtheoretical and flexible and allows researchers to identify and interpret patterns or themes found within the data using minimally structured organization (Braun & Clarke, 2006). We chose thematic analysis because it allowed us to capture themes based on quality, appropriateness of the information to the research question, and frequency of topics across the 5-year span of data collection. This approach was appropriate given the structure of the data sources and its emphasis on the active involvement of the researcher in the analytic process (Braun & Clarke, 2019).
We conducted a detailed review of all de-identified assessment data, including transcribed responses, for the two qualitative questions, using line-by-line coding to identify significant phrases. To facilitate organization and code tracking, we created a coding platform in Microsoft Excel, allowing researchers to record initial codes, note exemplar quotes, and maintain authentic, developmentally accurate, child-specific language. We interpreted meaning in context, prioritizing the participant’s intent while retaining the authenticity of developmental expression. When girls are referred to the SGIE program, parents provide consent to the assessment along with counseling services, and participants provide assent. Assessment items were administered by trained program staff, separate from counselors directly providing services, whenever possible to minimize social desirability or power influences; however, due to limited staff resources, counselors did administer assessments if other SGIE staff were not available. Additional safeguards included emphasizing confidentiality, administering surveys in private settings within the schools, and clarifying that responses would not affect program participation. Although social desirability may have influenced responses, these procedures enhanced authenticity and strengthened the credibility and trustworthiness of findings.
Independent coding further ensured interpretive rigor, centering girls’ own descriptions. Within the reflexive paradigm, consensus was conceptualized as achieving a shared understanding of patterns and meanings across the data. We collaboratively reviewed transcripts and initial codes, iteratively discussing and refining interpretations until a coherent set of themes and subthemes emerged for each question. These methods align with key standards for reporting qualitative research (O’Brien et al., 2014), including purpose, approach, description of the research team and their roles, data collection context, coding and theme development processes, strategies to enhance trustworthiness and reflexivity, and limitations.
Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness was established by emphasizing transparency in coding decisions, iterative theme development, and critical reflexivity; potential researcher bias was identified through ongoing self-reflection and addressed by maintaining reflexive individual and group note-taking, engaging in peer debriefing, and explicitly acknowledging the researchers’ positionalities in relation to the data. We recognized that our own therapeutic experiences and theoretical orientations could influence our interpretations of participants’ narratives. To mitigate this potential bias, we engaged in reflexivity by discussing our assumptions together, as well as with the Policy Center staff, and how these might shape our understanding of the data. This process involved critically examining our roles as both researchers and clinicians, acknowledging the interplay between our professional identities and the research process. By incorporating reflexive practices, such as individual and group note-taking, peer discussions, and frequent interaction with the Policy Center staff, we aimed to enhance the validity of our interpretations and ensure that the participants’ voices were authentically represented.
Findings
A total of 107 qualitative responses were recorded for the first research question, “How do you know your counselor listens to you?” Girls described how they knew their counselor listened to them in developmentally typical language indicating that they knew counselors were listening by providing eye contact, responding to what they said, answering their questions, helping them problem-solve, being respectful, and paying attention to them. RCT is the theoretical framework of the SGIE program, and girls’ focus on their relationship with their counselor and growth-fostering connections was evident. We identified three major themes: Active Listening, Therapeutic Support, and Authenticity. Major themes, subthemes, and examples from the participants are provided in Table 1.
Table 1
Research Question 1 Themes, Subthemes, and Examples
| Research Question: How Do You Know Your Counselor Listens to You? |
| Theme 1. Active Listening
Fully engaging with the girls through verbal and nonverbal cues and thoughtful responses |
| Subtheme: Nonverbal Encouragers/Body Language |
| “She had her ears on. . . . She would listen to me when I had problems with other girls.”
“She would always look in my eyes.”
“She had her eyes on me, and we had so much fun.”
“She listened to me, it was fun, and we drew pictures together.” |
| Subtheme: Open-Ended Questions |
| “She asks me questions and pays attention to me.”
“She asks what I like about myself.”
“Because she asks how I am doing.” |
| Subtheme: Minimal Encourager |
| “By looking in my eyes or shaking her head.”
“She allows me time to talk.”
“She would say something like ‘okay’ or ‘I get it’ and I knew she was listening to me.”
“When we talk, she would laugh.” |
| Theme 2. Therapeutic Support
A counseling alliance grounded in consistency, reliability, advocacy, and compassionate presence |
| Subtheme: Reliability and Consistency |
| “When I ask her something, she always answers.”
“She is there when I need help.” |
| Subtheme: Advocacy and Problem-Solving |
| “She helps me solve the problems that I have, like when I have a conflict with someone.”
“She would talk to my teacher to help me.” |
| Subtheme: Kindness and Caring |
| “She is friendly and nice.” “I can tell them how I feel in school.”
“When I told her about my problems, she would relate to them.”
“Because if I’m going through something, they’d ask me how I’m doing and care for me.” |
| Theme 3. Authenticity
Building a personal connection to create a counseling experience tailored to each girl’s unique needs |
| “Because they are curious about my life.” “When I cry, she tells me to breathe.”
“Whenever I asked a question, she replied to me.” “She responds to things I say.”
“I listen to her, and she listens to me.” “She has activities just for me.”
“When playing together, she would know stuff about me.”
“Because they respond back when I am telling my story and get more information about it and they comfort.” |
Note. Quotes included are as verbatim as possible from the child participants with light edits as appropriate.
Active Listening
Girls emphasized that they knew their counselor was listening to them when they received eye contact; open-ended questions; and encouragement to share what they were going through at school, at home, and with friends. We identified three subthemes of Active Listening, including nonverbal encouragers and body language (e.g., “She had her ears on . . . ”; “She would always look in my eyes.”); open-ended questions (e.g., “She asks me questions and pays attention to me.”); and minimal encouragers (e.g., “She would say something like ‘okay’ or ‘I get it’ and I knew she was listening to me.”). Girls paid attention to the counselors’ active listening skills to determine whether they were listening, which in turn helped the girls determine whether they could trust them and thus increase their engagement in the relationship.
Therapeutic Support
The girls identified counselors’ investment in building a therapeutic alliance and providing support as indicators of whether their counselors were listening. Three subthemes included Reliability and Consistency, Advocacy and Problem-Solving, and Kindness and Caring. Girls stated that counselors who listened were reliably available when the girls sought them out and consistent in their ability to provide support (e.g., feeling like the counselor “always answers” or “is there when I need help”). Girls shared that part of the listening process included engaging back and forth in problem-solving or determining how to advocate for themselves when they perceived unfair treatment by a friend or teacher (e.g., assisting “when I have a conflict with someone” or “talk[ing] to my teacher to help me”). Finally, girls shared that they felt supported and listened to because of the kindness and caring they received from counselors as well as when counselors were friendly in their interactions (e.g., “Because if I’m going through something, they’d ask me how I’m doing and care for me.”). Girls perceived listening as caring, which deepened trust and relational growth with counselors. They discussed knowing that their counselor was listening because of the caring follow-up questions about how the girl is doing and the counselor’s attunement and responsiveness to the girl’s emotions.
Authenticity
Girls described knowing their counselor was listening to them by the way they responded with genuine interest and authenticity (e.g., the counselor showing signs of “curiosity”). Additionally, girls indicated that they felt listened to when the counselor came to the counseling space with interventions that were individually tailored to their interests and their counselor’s knowledge of them (e.g., “When playing together she would know stuff about me.”). This included playful interventions that were fun for the girl. Girls identified play as a way for the counselor to demonstrate authenticity within the relationship. Girls knew that their counselors were listening to them when there was genuine interest within their exchange (e.g., sincere responsivity, mutual respect).
For the second research question, “How has SGIE been helpful to you?”, we recorded 109 qualitative responses. Overall, girls indicated that the program was helpful and provided a safe, supportive space for participants to express emotions, talk about problems, build coping skills, and receive support. Girls reported that the program helped improve behavior, confidence, focus, and relationships. We identified three major themes: Coping Skill Development; Relationship Building; and having a Supportive and Safe Environment. Major themes, subthemes, and examples from the participants are provided in Table 2 .
Table 2
Research Question 2 Themes, Subthemes, and Examples
| Research Question: What Helps? |
| Theme 1. Coping Skill Development
Building strategies to express emotions, manage academic challenges, and solve problems effectively |
| Subtheme: Emotional Regulation and Expression Skills |
| “It would get all my bad thoughts away, and it would make me happy.”
“Because she taught me a lot of stuff and I use that stuff at home.”
“I used to be bad and now I communicate with others.”
“I’ve learned about saying how I feel.”
“I know it helps me because my mom used to say I was like a robot, but now I’m not.”
“It teaches how to have self-control, and you can talk about stuff that I can’t say to my parents and help me calm down. They care about my issues.”
“Whenever I was going through my dad passing away, coming here and doing fun stuff helped.”
“Helps me keep calm.” |
| Subtheme: Problem-Solving Skills |
| “We get to work stuff out here.”
“If something’s wrong, I have somebody to talk to.”
“They taught me not to get into drama, like when girls are about to fight.” |
| Subtheme: Academic Skills |
| “Made a planner, did more homework, and tried new things.”
“It helps me concentrate on how to work, and it helps me understand if I’m stuck and what I should be doing.”
“We had fun and read books.” |
| Theme 2. Relationship Building
Creating connections that help girls feel seen, valued, and confident in their own strengths |
| Subtheme: Trust |
| “I trust my counselor.” |
| Subtheme: Increased Confidence and Self-Awareness |
| “Helps me feel good about myself and makes me confident.”
“Helped me see myself in a positive light.”
“I have been feeling more confident and comfortable in school.”
“Made new friends and learned things about myself.” |
| Theme 3. Supportive and Safe Environment
Providing a consistent space where girls feel safe to express themselves freely and openly |
| “Helps you with things and helps you calm down.”
“I can talk about my emotions and it’s a safe place where I can work on things.”
“It is calming because I can have a bad day at school but when I go there it’s more calming and relaxing.”
“When I’m angry, I have somewhere to go.”
“I like having girls’ conversation and you get to do a lot of fun things. Helpful because I normally don’t get to do a lot of things with girls.” |
Note. Quotes included are as verbatim as possible from the child participants with light edits as appropriate.
Coping Skill Development
Girls emphasized learning coping skills as one of the primary ways that the program was helpful. We identified three subthemes related to coping skill development: Emotional Regulation and Expression Skills, Problem-Solving Skills, and Academic Support. Girls discussed the value of learning how to better understand their emotions, communicate about how they were feeling, increase strategies for calming themselves, and reframe negative thinking (e.g., “I’ve learned about saying how I feel.”; “It teaches how to have self-control . . . ”). Girls discussed increased emotional expression at school and at home. They associated increased emotional expression and ability to regulate emotions with an improvement in communicating with peers and family members. Girls also disclosed learning how to navigate problems through utilizing school, peers, and home support (e.g., “If something’s wrong, I have somebody to talk to.”). Girls identified learning how to access academic support as a coping skill. They acknowledged that problem-solving and implementing academic and organizational skills improved their overall emotional coping (e.g., success strategies such as “[making] a planner, [doing] more homework,” and “read[ing] books.”).
Relationship Building
Girls described relationship building as a significant benefit of the SGIE program. Subthemes within this theme include Trust and Increased Confidence and Self-Awareness. Girls emphasized cultivating a trusting relationship with their counselor and gaining confidence through the relationship. Girls described the program as helping them feel more positively about themselves, more comfortable at school, and better equipped to handle conflicts. Girls attributed the program to making new friends, discovering more about their interests, and having fun.
Supportive and Safe Environment
The last theme regarding what participants found helpful about the program is the idea that it provides a place that is safe, calm, relaxing, and fun. Overall, the girls felt secure in knowing they had a safe, consistent place to go during the school day to talk about emotions and receive support (e.g., “I can talk about my emotions, and it’s a safe place where I can work on things.”). The data indicate that the program provides a calming and relaxing environment, particularly during or following stressful experiences within the school environment (e.g., relaxing after a “bad day at school” or “when I’m angry”). Additionally, fun activities were mentioned as contributing to positive experiences and feeling a connection with their counselor.
Discussion
Our study results indicate that the SGIE program was well received by program participants. Overall, girls felt that the program was helpful, that their counselors listened to them, and that they could trust their counselors. These findings support the RCT underpinnings of the program design, which emphasize the importance of connection, authenticity, and growth-fostering relationships (Miller, 1976). Active listening reflects mutuality and attunement—core competencies in culturally responsive practice. By providing consistent eye contact, nonverbal encouragers, open-ended questions, and minimal verbal prompts, counselors communicate genuine attention and respect for girls. These behaviors allow girls to feel heard and foster relational trust. In practical terms, counselors demonstrate mutuality by engaging in reciprocal dialogue, attunement by noticing and responding to both verbal and nonverbal cues, and agency by encouraging girls to guide the conversation and share concerns that matter most to them.
Therapeutic support operationalizes culturally responsive behaviors through reliability, advocacy, and caring responsiveness, which are critical for promoting agency and relational safety. Girls recognized listening when counselors consistently made themselves available; assisted with problem-solving; and advocated for girls in contexts where they experienced unfair treatment, such as conflicts with peers or teachers. These actions reflect culturally responsive competencies by attending to systemic inequities while centering the girls’ perspectives. Counselors’ kindness, follow-up inquiries, and emotional responsiveness exemplify attunement, which signals to girls that their emotional experiences are acknowledged and respected. Such behaviors strengthen growth-fostering relationships and enable girls to participate more fully in interventions, reinforcing both empowerment and trust.
Authenticity further underscores culturally responsive practice by highlighting genuine curiosity, individualized interventions, and playful engagement. Counselors who demonstrate authentic interest in each girl’s unique experiences and tailor activities to her preferences convey respect for individuality and support the development of agency. For example, incorporating play or personalized activities not only fosters engagement but also models culturally responsive competencies by creating a safe space where girls can express themselves freely. Together, these three listening themes reflect an integrated approach, ensuring that relational connections are both growth-fostering and equity-centered in under-resourced school contexts.
Implications
Counselor Education
Counselor educators in clinical mental health counseling programs provide counseling trainees with the knowledge and skills to work with individuals across the lifespan. Utilization of traditional, often monocultural, pedagogy may restrict counselor educators in their ability to train counseling students to tackle complex, culture-bound topics (Lertora et al., 2020). Though there now exists increased accountability for clinical mental health counseling programs to teach cultural competence and relational approaches within multicultural foundation courses, limited research exists regarding the implementation of culturally tailored relational processes within technique and skills courses (Lertora et al., 2020). To address this issue, we recommend that counselor educators revise the traditional transcription and recording assignment, which is a hallmark of many counselor training courses. In courses such as Counseling Children and Adolescents or Skills Training, educators could guide students to identify authenticity and mutuality as microskills, integrating these concepts into their practice and reflection.
Current findings highlight the need for educators to go beyond simple definitions toward increasingly practice-based instruction on how to best apply culturally bound relational skills within the counseling relationship. Future exploration of the continued examination of effective skills for counselors-in-training is warranted. For example, broaching grants the counselor the ability to intentionally address the cultural impact on well-being and demonstrates a holistic relational skill (Day-Vines et al., 2007). Additional efforts to attract and retain counseling students from diverse backgrounds have become a growing interest within clinical mental health counseling programs (Purgason et al., 2016) and may assist in an increasingly culturally responsive counseling profession.
Supervision
Often, novice counselors, especially when working cross-culturally with individuals from diverse backgrounds, may unintentionally overuse interventions at the expense of developing rapport with clients. This can also be seen when working with girls who have been labeled as defiant and disrespectful. A potential recommendation for overcoming this barrier is to use modeling within the supervisory relationship. Parallel processes (i.e., the replication of client–counselor dynamics brought into the supervisory relationship) can occur during supervision and are often deemed as important aspects of the process (Tracey et al., 2012). Specifically, supervisors can model RCT tenets in individual and group supervision with counselor trainees. In accordance with current findings, we propose that supervisors utilize RCT concepts while engaging in counselor supervision. A practical approach would be to incorporate an active listening self-assessment, enabling counselors-in-training to become more aware of their own listening skills. Following this, an active listening checklist could be integrated into supervision sessions. Because supervisees who struggle to listen and remain engaged in the supervisory relationship are likely to exhibit similar behaviors with clients, this checklist would provide a targeted way to identify, address, and strengthen those essential skills.
Emphasizing a relational approach, the integration of RCT components into the supervisory environment assists in the creation of a creative, open-minded space, allowing for a transformative experience and acknowledgement of the relationship between client, therapist, and supervisor (Lasinsky, 2020; Lenz, 2014). Lenz (2014) offered a relational–cultural supervision (RCS) model dually promoting the professional growth of both supervisor and supervisee as a two-dimensional approach: essential practices (i.e., RCT skill acquisition) and essential processes (i.e., relational development of supervisee). Through consistent development of RCT skills and practices identified by Lenz (2014) alongside recognition of personal and cultural influences of relationships, via the innate parallel process, the modeling interactions promote the development of competence and growth. Limited research exists applying this specific RCS model, but research supports the overall use of relational models within the supervisory relationship. In their exploration of developmental relational counseling (an integrated model founded on RCT), Duffey et al. (2016) noticed clear disparities between growth-fostering and disconnected supervisory relationships. These findings suggest an increased ability by those in healthy supervisory relationships to approach the client–counselor relationship with empathy and mutuality. Though increased research is needed within supervision literature, it is evident that supervision creates a unique opportunity for supervisors to model and incorporate underpinnings of RCT by focusing on the relationship between the supervisor and trainee through modeling mutual empathy, empowerment, and relational authenticity (Duffey et al., 2016; Lasinsky, 2020; Lenz, 2014).
School-Based Mental Health Professionals
SBMHPs such as mental health counselors, social workers, school psychologists, and school counselors are all tasked with supporting aspects of girls’ wellness within the school setting through counseling, resource sharing, staffing, testing, classroom lessons, and group counseling (Zabek et al., 2023). With limited resources and the often overwhelming responsibilities that come with these roles, various barriers to effective practice may emerge, including feelings of uncertainty on when to begin implementing programming due to time constraints, staff shortages, lack of multidisciplinary communication, and insufficient budgeting (Frey et al., 2022; Zabek et al., 2023). If SBMHPs are unable to implement a curriculum as outlined in this study, they can instead utilize relational, culturally based interventions that have been shown to positively impact adolescent girls. In a review of RCT interventions, Evans and O’Donnell (2024) identified four key characteristics that effective approaches share: mutual empathy, authenticity, empowerment, and opportunities to strengthen and deepen relational connections. The interventions reviewed included psychoeducation groups, expressive arts groups, individual counseling, and equine-assisted therapy, which could be implemented by SBMHPs as appropriate in their settings.
Further, to increase quality of care and reduce barriers, potential connections between school districts and SBMHPs with girl-serving agencies could open access to curriculum like the SGIE, which requires minimum training to implement and relies mostly on the counseling training that professionals have already received. Furthermore, SBMHPs can evaluate the effectiveness of their programs from the girls’ perspectives by utilizing the questions explored in this study as part of their ongoing assessment of services.
Future Directions
Women and girls experience unique, gender-specific realities; therefore, culturally responsive interventions and approaches are needed. Utilizing a qualitative framework allows for a richer understanding of why certain factors (e.g., active listening, therapeutic support, authenticity, coping skill development, relationship building, a supportive and safe environment) elicit a positive, beneficial experience for girls. Our study supplements existing literature by offering insights into effective, culturally responsive program delivery and client outcomes by examining which aspects of counselor interactions were most helpful. Considering the commitment for counselor education programs to continually evolve by adapting to the ever-changing needs of students, clients, and the counseling profession, current findings can be used to inform counselor education training moving forward.
Future research related to counselor training and longitudinal outcome data on girls is warranted. Patino Lydia and colleagues (2014) called for research that examines the effectiveness of the training of graduate- and undergraduate-level counselors. Given that the SGIE program relies heavily on undergraduate and graduate counselor interns to provide program interventions and that these interventions are helpful from the girls’ perspectives, future research should focus on their training to identify which aspects were most helpful for their development in order to replicate this model program in other schools. Also, longitudinal outcome data on the girls participating in the SGIE program would help determine the long-term impact of participating in girl-centered programming.
Limitations
Although this study contributes to the literature on girl-centered programs by adding qualitative data on girls’ perspectives, several limitations should be noted. The use of secondary data posed challenges, as the researchers did not design the original assessment tools, oversee implementation, or participate in data collection. The data were cleaned, organized, and anonymized prior to analysis, which may have introduced gaps affecting representation of all participant perspectives. For instance, although 407 girls were referred to the program between 2018 and 2023, only 107 and 109 qualitative responses were available for analysis for each research question, respectively. Nonresponse and missing data may have introduced bias, as participants who did not respond could differ systematically from those who provided complete data, potentially resulting in differing thematic patterns in girls’ perceptions of counselor listening and program helpfulness. Additionally, opportunities to mitigate nonresponse prospectively (e.g., participant follow-up or additional data collection) were not available. As a result, researchers relied on post hoc approaches, including examining patterns of missing data, utilizing demographics of the number of girls referred to SGIE, and considering the potential limitations when interpreting results. Finally, because the data were collected from a limited number of public schools in one large Southeastern city, the generalizability of findings to other geographic or cultural contexts is limited. Future research should employ strategies to minimize missing data during primary data collection and use analytic techniques such as weighting, multiple imputation, or sensitivity analyses to better account for possible nonresponse bias.
Conclusion
This study directly advances equity and culturally competent care for underserved girls by offering relationally based programs as an effective alternative to exclusionary discipline practices. Additionally, the study offers specific counselor behaviors that foster trust and growth in RCT-informed settings. The authors sought to explore girls’ perspectives on two specific aspects of the SGIE program: how the girls knew their counselors listened to them and which aspects of the program the girls found most helpful. Though the average age of the girls in our study was eight years old, from their developmental perspective, girls were able to identify the importance of active listening, therapeutic alliance and support, trust, and authenticity in the counseling relationship. Further, the girls identified that skill building was one of the most helpful aspects of the program, specifying the value of learning relationships and coping skills in a safe and supportive environment.
Assessing and examining girls’ perspectives on the efficacy of girl-centered programming is critical for improving program delivery and client outcomes. Gathering feedback directly from girls, almost 80% of whom were Black, provides invaluable insights into their experiences and helps identify which aspects of the counseling services are working well and which areas need improvement. Understanding their perspectives ensures that the services are culturally responsive, leading to more effective and relevant interventions. By analyzing girls’ perceptions of progress, outcomes, and overall benefit, researchers can gauge whether the programs are achieving their intended goals. This information is essential for determining the actual efficacy of interventions beyond standardized outcome measures. Girls who feel that their perspectives are valued and acted upon are more likely to remain engaged with the counseling process. By incorporating girls’ feedback into program design and implementation, programs foster a girl-centered, collaborative, and supportive environment, which can improve client retention and engagement. Finally, examining girls’ perspectives can influence policy decisions and funding allocations. Demonstrating that counseling services are valued by girls and are effective can support arguments for continued or increased funding, helping to sustain and expand beneficial programs. This approach enhances the quality of the services provided and promotes a more ethical and responsive practice in counseling. Including girls’ perspectives and prioritizing the development and maintenance of growth-fostering relationships through connection and coping skills is critical to the efficacy of girl-centered programming.
Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure
The authors reported no conflict of interest
or funding contributions for the development
of this manuscript.
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Ne’Shaun J. Borden, PhD, LMHC (FL), is an assistant professor and program director at Jacksonville University and was a 2019 Doctoral Fellow in Mental Health Counseling with the NBCCF Minority Fellowship Program. Natalie A. Indelicato, PhD, LMHC, is a professor at Jacksonville University. Jamie F. Root, BSc, RMCHI, is a registered mental health counseling intern in Florida. Lanni Brown, BS, is a counseling student at Jacksonville University. The authors would like to acknowledge the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center for partnering to conceptualize this project and provide the de-identified program data used for analysis. Correspondence may be addressed to Ne’Shaun J. Borden, 2800 University Blvd. N., Jacksonville, FL 32211, nborden@ju.edu.
Aug 20, 2021 | Volume 11 - Issue 3
Christian D. Chan, Camille D. Frank, Melisa DeMeyer, Aishwarya Joshi, Edson Andrade Vargas, Nicole Silverio
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) communities have faced a history of discriminatory incidents with deleterious effects on mental health and wellness. Compounded with other historically marginalized identities, LGBTQ+ people of color continue to experience disenfranchisement, inequities, and invisibility, leading to complex experiences of oppression and resilience. Moving into later stages of life span development, older adults of color in LGBTQ+ communities navigate unique nuances within their transitions. The article addresses the following goals to connect relational–cultural theory (RCT) as a relevant theoretical framework for counseling with older LGBTQ+ adults of color: (a) explication of conceptual and empirical research related to older LGBTQ+ adults of color; (b) outline of key principles involved in the RCT approach; and (c) RCT applications in practice and research for older LGBTQ+ adults of color.
Keywords: relational–cultural theory, theoretical framework, older adults, LGBTQ+, people of color
Multiple forms of oppression have been historically documented across conceptual and empirical literature for the broad spectrum of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) communities across the life span (Chan, 2018; Chan & Erby, 2018; Meyer, 2014, 2016; Singh, 2013). Further, Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) have experienced multiplicative deleterious effects combined with psychosocial factors that culminate in racial discrimination and marginalization (David et al., 2019; Sue et al., 2019). Oppression for BIPOC communities and LGBTQ+ communities often cascades across the life span and culminates in a number of health disparities (Choi & Meyer, 2016; Fredriksen-Goldsen et al., 2015, 2017). Given these complex dimensions with social identities, researchers have expanded their focus to examine social conditions, such as education and health care, to accentuate the needs of older LGBTQ+ adults of color (Howard et al., 2019; Kim et al., 2017). Although researchers have given more attention to LGBTQ+ BIPOC (e.g., Jackson et al., 2020; Velez et al., 2019), older adults within these communities are typically omitted in practice, advocacy, and policy (Kimmel, 2014; Porter et al., 2016; Seelman et al., 2017; South, 2017). Combined with this pattern of exclusion, older LGBTQ+ adults of color are forced to navigate a dearth of resources and complicated climates that fail to properly recognize multiple overlapping forms of racism, heterosexism, genderism, and ageism (Kim et al., 2017; Woody, 2014). Within the counseling profession, gaps in culturally responsive services and advocacy combine with alarming rates of barriers, health disparities, and underutilization of mental health services (Chan & Silverio, in press; Kim et al., 2017; Lecompte et al., 2021).
Relational–cultural theory (RCT) operates as a cohesive and modern theoretical approach founded on values of feminism, equity, empowerment, and social justice (see Comstock et al., 2008; Duffey & Trepal, 2016; Hammer et al., 2016; Kress et al., 2018). Instances of disconnection can be prominent at older adult stages of life (Seelman et al., 2017), and RCT offers a purposeful framework for increasing relational awareness (Hammer et al., 2016), relational growth (Kress et al., 2018), and investment in professional counseling relationships (Fullen et al., 2020). Given developmental concerns and life span transitions, older LGBTQ+ adults of color can remain disconnected from family, society, institutional resources, and professional counselors (Jones et al., 2018; Mereish & Poteat, 2015; Seelman et al., 2017). Using an RCT approach accounts for these factors and increases the awareness of disconnections between people and others in their environment (Hammer et al., 2016; Singh & Moss, 2016). Because of its emphasis on relationships, RCT’s focus on mutually fostering growth and dismantling oppression provides a platform for professional counselors to integrate the themes of equity, social justice, and feminism into counseling practice with older LGBTQ+ adults of color (Rausch & Wikoff, 2017; Singh et al., 2020). RCT demonstrates that intersections of social identities mirror several overlapping forms of oppression and hierarchies of power (Addison & Coolhart, 2015; Chan & Erby, 2018; Hammer et al., 2016).
Within this conceptual framework, we intentionally use LGBTQ+ communities to inclusively highlight communities featured across the spectrum of sexuality, affectional identity, and gender identity (Griffith et al., 2017). As counselors address the intersections among social identities, applying philosophical underpinnings of RCT equips them to tackle cultural, social, and contextual barriers that disconnect older LGBTQ+ people of color from society, resources, and health care access. Consequently, this article entails a three-pronged approach: (a) an overview of extant conceptual and empirical research relevant for older LGBTQ+ adults of color; (b) in-depth illustration of key principles within the RCT approach; and (c) RCT applications for counseling practice and research to support older LGBTQ+ adults of color.
Intersections of Older Adults, LGBTQ+ Communities, and Communities of Color
Scholars across disciplines (e.g., psychology, social work, counseling, sociology, education) continue to explore intersections of racial and ethnic identities in confluence with sexuality, affection, and gender identity (Chan & Erby, 2018; Jackson et al., 2020; Van Sluytman & Torres, 2014). Researchers can ostensibly benefit from a gerontological focus to critically examine social conditions and structures sustained by ageism (Chaney & Whitman, 2020; Kim et al., 2017). The lack of attention to gerontology, ageism, or older adults within LGBTQ+, racial, and ethnic identity research has further underscored the impact of health disparities and social determinants of health (e.g., education, economic resources, career, income) that precipitate an underutilization of mental health services and health care, specifically among LGBTQ+ people of color (Choi & Meyer, 2016; Du & Xu, 2016; Fredriksen-Goldsen, 2014; Rowan & Giunta, 2016; Seelman et al., 2017). Kim and colleagues (2017) specifically observed that race and ethnicity have been historically excluded as variables and outcomes in LGBTQ+ older adult research. Building further on this gap, Woody’s (2014) study of African American LGBT elders exemplified the need to address these intersections of identities. In the study, Woody noted that African American LGBT elders consistently faced conflicts in negotiating ethnic and spiritual values together with sexual and gender identities. Outside of oppressive circumstances, older adults already face realities associated with the aging process, health concerns, maintaining an economic standard of living, retirement, and housing barriers related to developmental life tasks and the stages of older adulthood (Brennan-Ing et al., 2014; Choi & Meyer, 2016; Porter et al., 2016). Several of these concerns coincide with a consistent gap in culturally responsive counseling practices focused on older adults (Chan & Silverio, in press; Fullen, 2018) and the call to action by Fullen and colleagues (2019) to broaden research evidence in gerontological counseling.
Health Disparities
As gerontological and health researchers attempt to shed light on the experiences of older LGBTQ+ adults of color, overall trends continue to reveal cultural, social, psychological, and physical implications of intersecting forms of oppression. In fact, a study by Kim et al. (2017) documented that African American LGBT elders faced higher rates of lifetime discrimination, which adversely affected their physical and mental health. Similarly, incidents that contribute to the lack of identity affirmation, community networks, and social support exacerbate a number of health disparities and adverse outcomes of mental health (Fredriksen-Goldsen et al., 2013; Seelman et al., 2017; Woody, 2014, 2015). Consistent with patterns in health disparities research, oppression tends to serve as a catalyst for higher prevalence of suicidality among older LGBTQ+ adults of color (Choi & Meyer, 2016; Meyer, 2014, 2016). In fact, Fullen and colleagues (2018) noted that internalized ageism can predispose older adults to a myriad of mental health issues, symptoms, and increased rates of suicidal ideation. According to Seelman (2019), the combination of responding to discrimination along with barriers to access can significantly increase the mortality rate for older LGBTQ+ adults of color. Conversely, the preservation of cultural identity (Fullen, 2016) and identity affirmation (Fredriksen-Goldsen et al., 2017; Howard et al., 2019; Kim et al., 2017) buffers the effects of oppression and encourages older LGBTQ+ adults of color to seek help and health care.
Older LGBTQ+ adults of color also face disproportionate access to resources, especially adequate and LGBTQ-affirming health care services (Hinrichs & Donaldson, 2017; Kimmel, 2014). Among the variety of health conditions tied to the aging process, the risk of HIV increases for older LGBTQ+ adults of color as a result of psychosocial factors, such as poverty, stigma, marginalization, and lack of education (Bower et al., 2021; Jones et al., 2018; Karpiak & Brennan-Ing, 2016; Yarns et al., 2016). Many of these barriers can be traced to the marginalization attached to ageism, classism, racism, genderism, and heterosexism (Brennan-Ing et al., 2014; Robinson-Wood & Weber, 2016). During this stage, older LGBTQ+ adults of color face drastic changes to mental health based on cumulative interactions with societal stigma and internalized heterosexism and genderism (Correro & Nielson, 2020; Yarns et al., 2016). Consistently responding to discrimination can eventually culminate in a variety of mental health symptoms (e.g., anxiety, depression) or mental exhaustion (Fredriksen-Goldsen, 2014; Fredriksen-Goldsen et al., 2013).
Social Isolation, Grief, and Loss
Compounded with multiple overlapping forms of oppression, older LGBTQ+ adults of color can have a multifaceted experience of social isolation and loss as they transition into the stages of older adulthood (Dzierzewski, 2014). Although older adults generally experience grief and loss as part of the transition in aging (Chaney & Whitman, 2020; Kampfe, 2015), these experiences are heightened for older LGBTQ+ adults of color as an outcome of navigating racism, heterosexism, and genderism (Bockting et al., 2016; Woody, 2014, 2015). The loss of family, friends, social networks, and intimate partners for older LGBTQ+ adults of color can converge with an overall lack of affirmation and heighten experiences of racial, sexual, and gender discrimination (Seelman et al., 2017). Instances of isolation and loss are pervasive because of the confluence of racism and heterosexism converging in this stage of the life span (Woody, 2015). Woody’s (2015) study noted that older African American lesbian women cited the proliferation of racism as a more prominent issue than their experiences with other forms of oppression (e.g., heterosexism). Compounding these losses, barriers to housing and the likelihood of eviction for older LGBTQ+ adults of color can amplify feelings of displacement from communities and society (Brennan-Ing et al., 2014; Robinson-Wood & Weber, 2016).
Additionally, older LGBTQ+ adults of color consistently contend with coming out across the life span (Hinrichs & Donaldson, 2017; Mabey, 2011). Experiences of coming out and self-disclosure of these social identities can be complex because of the loss of connections, fear of rejection, and incivility from trusted communities of support (Dzierzewski, 2014; Woody, 2014; Yarns et al., 2016). Complicating the range of concerns within the older adult stages, the chronic effects of marginalization can increase risk factors for substance use and addictions as coping mechanisms for older LGBTQ+ adults of color (Bryan et al., 2017; Veldhuis et al., 2017). Substance use and addictions have become a more visible crisis facing these communities, and they can combine with the risks of displacement from social supports and vital community resources (Brennan-Ing et al., 2014; Cloyes, 2016; Rowan & Giunta, 2016).
The Model of Relational–Cultural Theory (RCT)
RCT can be used by counselors to reflect experiences with societal forces of oppression (Singh & Moss, 2016) and social determinants tied to health, connection, and wellness (Hammer et al., 2016). RCT has surfaced as an applicable theoretical approach for older LGBTQ+ adults of color with the most recent uptick of research and scholarship (Mereish & Poteat, 2015; Singh et al., 2020). Given the core values of RCT generated with social context, authenticity, connection, and social justice, the approach addresses needs, social conditions, barriers, and marginalization experiences for older LGBTQ+ adults of color (Chan & Erby, 2018; Rausch & Wikoff, 2017; Singh & Moss, 2016). The history of RCT provides context for current practice and underscores the foundation of a relationally centered paradigm. The concepts of relational images, growth-fostering relationships, and the central relational paradox inform counseling with clients experiencing such positions of resilience and oppression (Duffey & Trepal, 2016). The relevance of an RCT approach to a number of client concerns has gained traction as counseling professionals are charged with implementing more culturally responsive approaches (Flores & Sheely-Moore, 2020; Haskins & Appling, 2017; Singh et al., 2020). To support RCT’s utility, a recent review from Lenz (2016) concluded that empirical research has consistently supported RCT constructs and its use as a framework for understanding client experiences.
Key Principles
Originally positioned within Miller’s (1976) Five Good Things, the principles of RCT in counseling practice have imminently evolved into a robust theoretical framework centered in (a) clarity of self and others, (b) creativity, (c) zest, (d) empowerment, and (e) connection. As Jordan (2000) provided in an influential comprehensive overview of RCT, the main themes for the framework can be summarized in four distinct areas. The first principle posits that people are generally oriented toward growing individually and collectively within their relationships across the life span (Jordan, 2010, 2017), which results in growth-fostering relationships (Miller, 1976; Miller & Stiver, 1997). Secondly, growth-fostering relationships require mutuality, which is defined as mutual empathy and mutual empowerment (Jordan, 2010; Kress et al., 2018). Because of mutuality in growth-fostering relationships, assessing growth of individuals and relationships is contingent on authenticity, or individual genuineness, as the third component (Duffey & Trepal, 2016; Jordan, 2000, 2017). Individuals’ abilities to represent themselves authentically in their relationships can be a function of this growth (Duffey & Somody, 2011; Hammer et al., 2016). Because authenticity underpins mutuality and growth-fostering relationships, the fourth area of RCT involves the central relational paradox. The central relational paradox illustrates how the fear of vulnerability reduces authentic expression and maintains disconnections, despite a proclivity for connection with others (Miller & Stiver, 1997). When mutuality and authenticity are prioritized, professional counselors using RCT assume that conflict can be a normal dynamic in the relationship, in which high-level growth in the relationship involves the ability to actively address this relational difference (Comstock et al., 2008; Duffey, 2007; Jordan & Carlson, 2013). The primary function of RCT in counseling then focuses on building relational competence (Kress et al., 2018; Singh & Moss, 2016).
To build further on these constructs, several researchers have provided a foundation for using RCT with older LGBTQ+ adults of color (Flores & Sheely-Moore, 2020; Mereish & Poteat, 2015; Singh & Moss, 2016). There are cultural, social, and political implications underlying the connection between RCT and older LGBTQ+ adults of color. For example, older LGBTQ+ adults of color are forced to contend with multiple points of disconnection from society through histories of racism, genderism, heterosexism, and ageism. Although multiple forms of oppression can disconnect historically marginalized communities, ageism is distinct because it focuses on marginalizing life transitions (Chaney & Whitman, 2020; Fullen, 2018). Consequently, older LGBTQ+ adults of color experience a heightened sense of disconnection due to grief and loss, isolation, and lack of social support. Older LGBTQ+ adults of color may likely encounter disconnections from a society that fails to affirm their identities, which precipitates a disconnection to self and underutilization of community resources (Kim et al., 2017; Seelman et al., 2017). Older LGBTQ+ adults of color may face a hierarchy of power and privilege that would impair an authentic connection and movement toward mutuality (Duffey & Somody, 2011; Hammer et al., 2016; Jordan, 2010). One outcome of this hierarchy is the notion of relational images, in which historically marginalized individuals feel forced to conform to a privileged identity. For instance, an older lesbian woman of color as a client may hold controlling relational images of help-seeking when interacting with a White male counselor possessing multiple privileged identities. In this instance, the client might internalize stereotypes and biases imposed by the counselor. Using RCT explicitly addresses these controlling relational images to challenge the dominant discourse, increase authenticity, and empower connection (Hammer et al., 2016; Haskins & Appling, 2017).
RCT as a Lens for Conceptualization and Intervention
The following hypothetical case example underscores the theoretical underpinnings of RCT and illustrates applications of RCT in clinical practice. This case example illustrates a variety of RCT principles to help counselors connect potential experiences of older LGBTQ+ adults of color and the complexity of intersecting forms of oppression. With the overall case study presented, Table 1 synthesizes key principles and applications, supplemental literature, and relevant portions of the case example.
Case Formulation
Chris, 72 years old, and Hector, 71 years old, have been partnered for 27 years. Chris is a Mexican American bisexual male born in the United States with the pronouns he, him, and his. Hector is a multi-heritage Asian American gay man of Filipino, Norwegian, and Colombian descent with the pronouns he, him, and his. Both Chris and Hector are Catholic and living without disabilities. Chris retired as a social worker when he reached 65 years of age while Hector chose to continue working as a university professor until the previous year at age 70. Chris and Hector recently relocated to live with Chris’s daughter from a previous marriage, Ella. Ella welcomed both Chris and Hector into her home as family. Upon the transition to their retirement phase, Chris and Hector began spending most of their time at home, and Ella has checked in with them regularly. They took on new hobbies, including painting, and focused more of their time on relaxation and leisure. Recently, Chris became increasingly concerned with Hector’s forgetfulness. Chris became worried about bringing him to social events, as Hector was “absentminded.” Although initially excited about the move, Chris realized Hector was struggling with all of the new issues that emerged from the transition. Chris thought about discussing the concerns with his daughter, but he did not want to worry her or embarrass Hector. Chris has felt conflicted about his own internal and external responses. Over the past few months, Chris has felt increasingly isolated and disconnected with Hector while recognizing a decreased lack of enjoyment.
Table 1
RCT Applications to Case Example
| Application |
Supporting Literature |
Relevance to Case Example |
| Connection is essential to existence. |
Duffey & Somody, 2011; Lenz, 2016; Walker & Rosen, 2004 |
Practitioners can identify the possible connections Chris and Hector have with each other and with their family. In addition, practitioners can also cite the connection they have with the clients Chris and Hector. Practitioners can particularly note the disconnect they have experienced as society has emerged with transitions and multiple overlapping forms of oppression. |
| Growth-fostering relationships result in the Five Good Things: clarity of self and others, creativity, zest, empowerment, and connection.
|
Miller, 1976; Miller & Stiver, 1997; Duffey, 2007; Duffey et al., 2009; Duffey & Somody, 2011; Hammer et al., 2014
|
Practitioners can work with Chris and Hector to search for strengths and reinvigorate their energy in each other during this transition and stage of their lives. Although Chris and Hector initially struggled with the transition, practitioners can ascertain new types of hobbies and activities they can create together. Such creative activities might elicit more nuanced meaning. Practitioners can also highlight the methods and actions in which Chris and Hector have been resilient in the face of adversity in association with societal and interpersonal discrimination. |
| The central relational paradox centers around the idea that people long deeply for relationships, but fear of what will happen after engaging in the vulnerability needed for connection provokes people to keep aspects of themselves out of connection. |
Jordan, 2010; Jordan & Carlson, 2013; Miller & Stiver, 1997; Walker & Rosen, 2004 |
Practitioners can focus on how the transition affected Chris and Hector’s connection to each other. It is possible that the transition altered their interpretation of connection, given that they are now living with Chris’s daughter, Ella. Hector could have also felt a sense of loss with his retirement, which led to new ways of thinking and loss of connection. In fact, his job could have created meaning for him. Additionally, Hector had also faced instances of discrimination, which decreases the possibility of a climate of safety. |
| Central to RCT is the idea that systems of power and privilege, which are pillars in our current society, result in damage to psychological health.
|
Hammer et al., 2014, 2016; Haskins & Appling, 2017;
Trepal et al., 2012 |
Practitioners can discuss with Chris and Hector the implications of discrimination toward their health. Practitioners can highlight factors and social determinants involved in explicit and implicit effects of discrimination on wellness and domains of health (e.g., physical, financial, social). Practitioners can also highlight instances of subordination, where Chris and Hector may have been subjugated to another person’s harmful comments. |
| Exploring relational connection and equity must include an analysis of social context and mechanisms responsible for giving root to oppression. |
Hammer et al., 2014, 2016; Mereish & Poteat, 2015 |
Practitioners can accentuate the manner in which Chris and Hector bring their own responses to stigma from affectional, sexual, and racial discrimination on individual and intimate partner levels. Similarly, practitioners can highlight how their own social identities play a role in power differentials with Chris and Hector together as a couple and as individuals. Practitioners can also understand their own responses to oppression and how they might transfer the experience to professional counseling relationships (e.g., internalized oppression). In some cases, practitioners might eschew from broaching cultural factors and discriminatory experiences due to internalized oppression. Practitioners can also use themselves as a model or tool when considering power differentials or uneven tensions of privilege and oppression. |
Note. Table 1 demonstrates applications of RCT principles supplemented by conceptual and empirical literature. The principles are directly linked to potential avenues in the case example.
As demonstrated in the case example and Table 1, professional counselors can use RCT to strengthen an awareness of structural and interpersonal forms of oppression affecting older LGBTQ+ adults of color. With the combination of life transitions and convergent forms of oppression, Chris and Hector may become more disconnected from each other, society, or other personal relationships. The effects of oppression can culminate in a longstanding experience of disconnection. Under the RCT lens, professional counselors can identify how oppression (e.g., racism, heterosexism) exacerbates feelings of disconnection and impacts the overall health of relationships (Singh et al., 2020; Singh & Moss, 2016). It is possible that Chris might be contending with prior experiences of relational images that potentially invoke stigma and familial histories with discrimination. Consistent with Table 1, professional counselors can demonstrate how prior interpersonal experiences of marginalization can result in feelings of isolation within Chris and Hector’s relationship and silence around their concerns.
As Chris and Hector navigate life transitions and aging, professional counselors can illustrate how physical and mental health draw upon the strength of relationships, especially for communities facing social isolation (Mereish & Poteat, 2015; Woody, 2014, 2015). Tenets of RCT also focus on relational growth and resilience, which reflect how professional counselors can use strengths, growth, and creativity to ameliorate the cumulative effects of marginalization (Comstock et al., 2008; Hammer et al., 2014, 2016). By infusing these elements in practice, professional counselors invoke the Five Good Things (Miller, 1976; Miller & Stiver, 1997), which can apply to Chris and Hector’s relationship and transfer to other personal relationships. Although professional counselors can contextualize the experience of oppression, focusing on the strengths of Chris and Hector’s relationship can highlight how they have historically relied on each other and other community members for support. Reflecting on experiences of resilience and oppression can elicit more nuanced meaning in their relationship and identify possibilities for growth.
Future Research Directions for RCT With Older LGBTQ+ Adults of Color
Considering the overall framework of RCT in application to older LGBTQ+ adults of color, gerontological counseling researchers can explore a variety of avenues to advance research agendas and bridge the gap across these intersecting social identities. Counseling researchers can employ quantitative and qualitative analyses pertaining to older LGBTQ+ adults of color to challenge relational images perpetuated by society (Duffey & Somody, 2011; Hammer et al., 2016). More importantly, research framed within principles of RCT can also yield more in-depth understanding of how older LGBTQ+ adults of color navigate resilience, empowerment, and incidents of oppression, which are foundational to intersectionality and the RCT approach (Duffey & Trepal, 2016; Haskins & Appling, 2017; Singh et al., 2020). This emphasis is especially critical for older LGBTQ+ adults of color who are less likely to seek counseling that fails to affirm their identity (Kim et al., 2017; Singh & Moss, 2016). As researchers have continued to emphasize a stronger focus on resilience with multiply marginalized communities (Bostwick et al., 2014; Bower et al., 2021; Singh, 2013), RCT presents a useful framework for identity affirmation because of its focus on authenticity and growth-fostering connections (Flores & Sheely-Moore, 2020; Mereish & Poteat, 2015). As several gerontological and health equity researchers have documented, identity affirmation and culturally responsive care are crucial for buffering negative health care experiences that prevent historically marginalized clients from seeking help (Flynn et al., 2020; Fredriksen-Goldsen et al., 2017; Howard et al., 2019; Kim et al., 2017). Associated with advances of research in intersectionality, RCT continues to demonstrate promising opportunities for the critical examination of linked social identities that mirror multiple overlapping forms of oppression (Addison & Coolhart, 2015; Chan & Erby, 2018; Singh & Moss, 2016). As a theoretical framework, RCT can contextualize how structural forms of oppression (e.g., racism, ageism, heterosexism) converge for older LGBTQ+ adults of color, given RCT’s underpinnings in equity, social context, action, and a social justice agenda (Singh et al., 2020). As researchers have noted, oppression relates to physical and mental health disparities, covers a number of social experiences (e.g., social isolation, help-seeking, caregiving), and is connected to relational well-being (Correro & Nielson, 2020; Jones et al., 2018; Kim et al., 2017; Seelman et al., 2017).
Infusing RCT Constructs in Research
Gerontological counseling researchers can apply many of the RCT constructs to foster research questions to expand RCT’s applicability beyond a theoretical framework, such as feelings of empowerment and attitudes toward relationships and growth. Additionally, research has not predominantly involved RCT for empirical use, although RCT is consistently taken up through theoretical applications in practice (Haskins & Appling, 2017; Jordan & Carlson, 2013; Kress et al., 2018), education (Hammer et al., 2014), supervision (Lenz, 2014), and advising (Purgason et al., 2016). It has been used particularly as a rich theoretical framework to reform critical thinking in practice. However, the implementation of RCT can immensely benefit from furthering an empirical base to create more accessibility with applying such methods in counseling practice (Lenz, 2016). If counseling practitioners implement RCT as part of their clinical approaches, research studies would be particularly useful if research questions targeted how RCT is successful specifically with older LGBTQ+ adults of color. Because RCT is relationally driven, researchers can integrate measures on relationships as outcome variables that might explain a moderated effect, particularly if identity disaffirmation or specific forms of oppression (e.g., racism, ageism) are contributing to lower outcomes of wellness. In this case, the strength of relational outcomes may weaken the relationship between multiple measures of oppression and wellness. This information would continue to highlight which RCT factors need further intervention and effectiveness research to inform its utility as a culturally responsive practice model.
RCT in Quantitative Design
Regarding methodological frameworks, researchers can illustrate connections with RCT principles across multiple types of modalities and methods of research (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods). Components of RCT can more heavily exhibit factors and variables involved in the RCT lens, such as relational capacity and growth. This premise is especially vital for researchers concerned with building measurements to advance clinical practice and knowledge. Aside from the work of Liang and colleagues (2002), measures of RCT factors are virtually nonexistent, and they have not been normed for a myriad of samples connected to older LGBTQ+ adults of color. Thus, researchers can incorporate RCT into applied research with older LGBTQ+ adults of color and underscore its applicability and empirical relevance for gerontological practice. Considering Lenz’s (2016) argument for the relevance of RCT as a useful approach within practice and intervention research, it is necessary to expand research studies that observe how counseling practitioners can implement the approach of RCT with older LGBTQ+ adults of color.
RCT in Qualitative Design
Vital for research designs grounded in qualitative research, RCT can be used as a framework aligned with certain paradigms (Creswell & Poth, 2018; Guba & Lincoln, 1994; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The use of RCT is its own phenomenon, but it can also serve as a vehicle integrated into the paradigm of a particular qualitative research study, such as exploring grief and loss with older LGBTQ+ adults of color. Qualitative research can function from interpretivist, feminist, critical, and intersectional paradigms (Chan & Erby, 2018). Although the integration of RCT with feminist and critical paradigms are more likely due to explicit ties to social justice, the RCT approach can also be useful with interpretivist paradigms to examine how RCT reflects the lens of samples including older LGBTQ+ adults of color. Since the purpose, methodological decisions, and strategies for data analysis would follow an interpretivist approach, RCT can operate as the theoretical framework, especially to inform tools for data collection and procedures involved in data analysis. Reflecting on the lived experiences of older LGBTQ+ adults of color, counseling researchers can explore a multitude of research questions. For instance, qualitative researchers can examine the lived experiences of disconnection with access to health care providers in rural settings for older LGBTQ+ adults of color. Fundamental to RCT, another potential research question can highlight how older LGBTQ+ adults of color discover social supports and networks in older adulthood. Given the overlap in experiences with oppression, researchers can generate qualitative research that addresses how older LGBTQ+ adults of color have utilized their social supports to ameliorate racism, genderism, ageism, and heterosexism across the life span.
Conclusion
Given the history of discriminatory acts against LGBTQ+ communities, which can be compounded by the challenges individuals face as they age, RCT serves as an approach that acknowledges the various levels of oppression and serves as a strength-based framework to employ in a clinical setting (Comstock et al., 2008). This approach, in particular, highlights both contextual and systemic factors contributing to deepened levels of disconnection for older LGBTQ+ adults of color (Haskins & Appling, 2017; Jordan & Carlson, 2013; Singh & Moss, 2016). Using components of RCT highlights the manner in which older LGBTQ+ adults of color have been disconnected from practitioners, social relationships, institutions, and society. Implementing the RCT approach brings forth new forms of critical thinking to emphasize interpersonal and contextual factors contributing to relational growth, equity, and connection. As counseling practitioners continue to broaden their perspectives through an RCT framework, the application of RCT must serve as a driving force for further empirical research showing the developmental connection between theory and practice with older LGBTQ+ adults of color.
Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure
The authors reported no conflict of interest
or funding contributions for the development
of this manuscript.
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Christian D. Chan, PhD, NCC, is an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Camille D. Frank, PhD, NCC, LPC, is a lecturer at Eastern Washington University. Melisa DeMeyer, PhD, NCC, LPC, is an assistant professor and program coordinator at Oregon State University-Cascades. Aishwarya Joshi, MA, NCC, LPC, is a doctoral candidate at Idaho State University. Edson Andrade Vargas, PhD, is a visiting assistant professor at Palo Alto University. Nicole Silverio, MA, NCC, LMHC, LMFT, is a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Correspondence may be addressed to Christian D. Chan, 228 Curry Building, Department of Counseling and Educational Development, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, P.O. Box 26170, Greensboro, NC 27402, cdchan@uncg.edu.
Apr 1, 2021 | Volume 11 - Issue 2
Taylor Irvine, Adriana Labarta, Kelly Emelianchik-Key
Counselor education (CE) programs are expected to provide counselors-in-training (CITs) with a diversity-infused curriculum. Throughout the CE literature, there are many available methods to accomplish this goal, yet trainees have reported a lack of self-efficacy in essential multicultural competencies before entering clinical work. Graduates of CE programs have also noted feeling unprepared when working with culturally diverse clients. The integration of culturally responsive models in CE programs is limited, and methods to decolonize current educational practices remain sparse. To address these gaps, we propose a culturally responsive and decolonizing framework grounded in the extant research that integrates relational-cultural theory (RCT) and Adlerian theory principles. The Relational-Cultural and Adlerian Multicultural Framework (RAMF) is intended to be a new pedagogical approach to enhance multicultural education across CE programs. By integrating RCT and Adlerian theory frameworks, the RAMF may offer a more comprehensive lens to view multicultural and social justice issues.
Keywords: relational-cultural theory, Adlerian theory, multicultural competencies, counselor education, decolonizing
Counselor education (CE) programs are charged with preparing counselors-in-training (CITs) to become culturally competent counselors. The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) and the American Counseling Association (ACA) require multicultural education training to ensure that CITs develop essential multicultural competencies needed to ethically and effectively serve diverse client populations (ACA, 2014; CACREP, 2015). The 2016 CACREP Standards define multicultural as “denoting the diversity of racial, ethnic, and cultural heritage; socioeconomic status; age; gender; sexual orientation; and religious and spiritual beliefs, as well as physical, emotional, and mental abilities” (CACREP, 2015, p. 42). CE programs must equip trainees with the knowledge and skills crucial to providing culturally responsive treatment (ACA, 2014; CACREP, 2015). We begin by defining multicultural competence as it relates to the counseling profession, followed by a review of key terms that lay the groundwork for the proposed pedagogical framework.
Multicultural Competence
Many definitions of multicultural competence exist in the literature. We operationally define multicultural competence as a counselor’s awareness and knowledge of their own culture and their clients’ cultures, which allows them to tailor counseling approaches to client cultural identities and appreciate and embrace cultural differences (Ratts et al., 2016; Sue et al., 1992). C. C. Lee (2019) also outlined three self-reflective questions to promote multicultural competence: “1) Who am I as a cultural being? . . . 2) What do I know about cultural dynamics and how they may influence my client’s worldview? . . . [and] 3) How do I promote client mental health and well-being in a culturally competent manner?” (p. 10). These reflective questions are crucial to multicultural competence development, particularly given the recent increase in cultural pluralism throughout the United States (C. C. Lee, 2019). In response to the growth in diverse client populations and the call to infuse social justice into CE, the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development has endorsed the revised Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC; Ratts et al., 2016) to facilitate clinical competency in this domain.
The Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC)
The MSJCC serve to impact, influence, and broaden the scope of multicultural training in CE programs (Ratts et al., 2016). Building from Sue et al.’s (1992) seminal tripartite model, four essential competencies comprise the MSJCC and are inherent to producing culturally competent counselors: attitudes and beliefs, knowledge, skills, and action (Ratts et al., 2016). More than ever, our current sociopolitical climate tasks counselors with the ethical responsibility of cultural sensitivity and increased diversity awareness, which is central to being multiculturally competent and fundamental to the counseling relationship itself (ACA, 2014).
The MSJCC highlight the importance of social justice and advocacy by addressing mental health disparities and empowering marginalized groups (Ratts et al., 2016). Throughout the professional literature, there is a lack of consensus on defining this construct, furthering the experience of oppression for marginalized group members (C. C. Lee, 2019). For this article, we operationally define marginalized group members as historically oppressed persons and communities in society that experience discrimination and lack access to systemic benefits that privileged groups receive because of structural power advantages; this power imbalance occurs within sociopolitical, economic, and cultural dimensions (C. C. Lee, 2019; Ratts et al., 2016). Marginalized group members include a host of group identities, including but not limited to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC); LGBTGEQIAP+ individuals; persons with disabilities; and undocumented immigrants and refugees (C. C. Lee, 2019). Integral to the MSJCC and overall multicultural competence is an awareness of clients’ and counselors’ intersecting identities, which allows for a deeper examination of privilege, power, and oppression dynamics.
Intersecting Identities
Because culture encompasses classifications that extend beyond race and ethnicity, cultural identity can be viewed as one’s self-identification as a member of a specific group based on a connection with the group’s core beliefs and values that fit with one’s sense of self (C. C. Lee, 2019; Ratts et al., 2016; Singh et al., 2020). According to intersectionality theory, individuals who hold multiple marginalized identities may experience a greater risk of mental health concerns because of the compounding effects of various forms of discrimination and oppression (Crenshaw, 1989). Thus, CITs must understand intersecting identities (e.g., Hispanic Christian lesbian) to holistically and effectively conceptualize clients’ presenting issues and examine dynamics of identity and power within the counseling relationship (Ratts et al., 2016). Intersectionality theory also provides a framework for counselors to critically investigate Westernized counseling theories stemming from a White Eurocentric lens and move toward a decolonizing paradigm. When conducting multicultural and social justice research, Hays (2020) noted the cruciality of applying intersectionality and decolonizing practices to enhance client and training outcomes.
Decolonizing Counseling and CE
A definition of decolonization is warranted to further the discussion on dismantling oppressive systems impacting marginalized communities. In the literature, scholars have described coloniality as the dominant culture’s attempts to socialize marginalized communities into adopting Westernized ideals and values (Goodman & Gorski, 2015; Hernández-Wolfe, 2011; Singh et al., 2020). Therefore, decolonization requires critically analyzing and challenging hierarchical structures that perpetuate inequities and injustices in underrepresented groups (Hernández-Wolfe, 2011). Integration of decolonization is also crucial to informing multicultural counseling and education (Goodman & Gorski, 2015; Singh et al., 2020). Within CE programs, Singh et al. (2020) argued that social justice theories should be “taught alongside traditional counseling theories” to provide culturally responsive counseling and challenge colonizing educational practices (p. 262). Despite the persistent calls to incorporate the MSJCC and decolonizing practices into counseling and educational paradigms, scholars have continued to note deficits within multicultural education (Barden & Greene, 2015; Singh et al., 2020).
Deficits in Multicultural Education
The literature reveals gaps between the pedagogical practices, acquired skill development and theory integration, and personal awareness needed to become culturally competent and prepared to work with diverse clients (Barden & Greene, 2015; Priester et al., 2008). CITs have also indicated a lack of self-efficacy in essential multicultural competencies upon entering their practicum sequence (Flasch et al., 2011). In addition, graduates of counseling programs have reported feeling unprepared to work with culturally diverse clients (Barden et al., 2017; Bidell, 2012; Schmidt et al., 2011). This issue reflects the current deficits in multicultural education among CE programs. Many definitions of multicultural education exist in the literature. For this study, we define it as a holistic approach to critically analyzing systems of power and privilege and inequitable policies that serve to disenfranchise marginalized group members; at the same time, multicultural education centralizes matters of social justice and the decolonization of discriminatory educational practices (Gorski, 2016; Singh et al., 2020).
Across CE programs, one notable factor that influences multicultural education is educational delivery method. Swank and Houseknecht (2019) conducted a Delphi study of teaching competencies in CE, which revealed that students were twice as likely to rate a professor as effective based on their content knowledge and delivery method. Thus, educational delivery method may play a significant role in facilitating multicultural competence among CITs. As such, there is a need for more effective diversity training approaches in CE programs, with an emphasis on fostering CITs’ ability to integrate theory and therapeutic techniques to fully meet clients’ needs with diverse and deep intersectional ties (Killian & Floren, 2020).
Although studies conducted on multicultural education have increased (Chang & Rabess, 2020; Uzunboylu & Altay, 2021), there remains a paucity of available research on integrating culturally responsive models in CE programs (Pieterse et al., 2009; Shelton, 2020; Trahan & Keim, 2019). Similarly, researchers in related fields, such as teacher education, have also noted ongoing challenges pertaining to multicultural education, including minimizing or avoiding challenging conversations about race and privilege, misrepresenting the voices of marginalized group members, integrating content over equity-based practices, and underemphasizing the factors that impact the teaching practices of multicultural educators (Chouari, 2016; Gorski, 2016; Kim, 2011; McGee Banks & Banks, 1995). Relational-cultural theory (RCT) and Adlerian theory are detailed and presented as grounding for a proposed pedagogical approach to address these training limitations.
Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT)
RCT is a feminist approach rooted in Jean Baker Miller’s (1976) Toward a New Psychology of Women. In collaboration with colleagues Judith Jordan, Janet Surrey, and Irene Stiver, Miller developed RCT and challenged Westernized psychotherapy theories that portray human development as a journey from dependence to independence (Jordan, 2010). From an RCT lens, healing occurs in the context of mutually empathic, growth-fostering relationships. Rather than focusing on separation and self-sufficiency, RCT is grounded in the assertion that human beings need connection to flourish. J. B. Miller and Stiver (1997) stated that “five good things” occur when individuals engage in growth-fostering relationships: 1) a greater sense of “zest,” or vitality and energy; 2) increased self-worth; 3) a better understanding of self and others in the context of relationships; 4) elevated levels of productivity and creativity; and 5) a desire for more connection.
Conversely, isolation is perceived as a significant source of suffering (Jordan, 2018). Across the life span, relational development is highly interrelated with a person’s racial, cultural, and social identities (Pedersen et al., 2008). RCT addresses the breadth and depth that identity and power structures have within relationships and the intersectionality of culture across various contexts (Comstock et al., 2008; Schwartz, 2019). RCT also emphasizes acknowledgement of how hierarchical systems contribute to cultural oppression and social isolation for traditionally marginalized communities. Further, this theory centers contextual and relational factors that impact clients and encourages counselors to examine dynamics of privilege and oppression that perpetuate suffering and create disconnection (Jordan, 2018). Disconnection can be conceptualized as a routine part of relationships, yet when left unaddressed, the invalidated person may experience shame, withdrawal, and disempowerment. Therefore, RCT highlights the importance of attending to ruptures in relationships when they occur. By centering connection, authenticity, and mutual empowerment, humans can differentiate relational patterns and develop meaningful self and other relationships (Jordan, 2010). RCT also recognizes the ability for multiple truths within a relationship, which allows the individual’s unique experiences and perspectives to be acknowledged within the social and cultural subsystems that they are embedded within (Comstock et al., 2008; Jordan, 2018).
RCT has feminist, postmodern epistemological underpinnings that make it a suitable theoretical framework to implement in the various facets of CE. Several authors have proposed the use of RCT as a framework for pedagogy (Byers et al., 2020; K. G. Hall et al., 2014), mentorship (Lewis & Olshansky, 2016), supervision (Bradley et al., 2019), and advising students of color (Dipre & Luke, 2020). As a pedagogical model, RCT is applied in several courses, including human diversity (Byers et al., 2020), group counseling (B. S. Hall et al., 2018), and counseling theories (Lertora et al., 2020). Thus, RCT appears to be an emerging and robust framework to enhance students’ relational, multicultural, and social justice competencies.
Adlerian Theory
Individual psychology, better known as Adlerian theory, is a phenomenological framework that examines the social and contextual factors which inform a person’s reality (Bitter et al., 2009; Watts, 2013). At its core, Adlerian theorists believe in social embeddedness, or the idea that individuals are comprehensively understood within a social-relational context (R. Miller & Taylor, 2016). Additionally, this framework is rooted in the following core principles: 1) behavior is purposeful (teleological) and used to satisfy the primary need of belongingness; 2) human beings are innately creative and unique; 3) human beings are indivisible and, therefore, must be viewed holistically; 4) human beings prosper through social interest (community feeling); and 5) relational interactions are influenced by one’s lifestyle, or their cognitive worldview (Adler, 1946). Adlerian theory possesses flexible and growth-fostering tenets, making it well-suited for incorporation into a multicultural pedagogical model, such as the MSJCC.
Adlerian theory eschews fundamentally decolonizing tenets such as an either/or perspective and values a dialectical stance to view the individual and social environment as mutually interacting factors (Watts, 2003). The research literature has long documented the integration of Adlerian theoretical principles with supervision (Bornsheuer-Boswell et al., 2013), counseling (Yee et al., 2016), and school frameworks (Pryor & Tollerud, 1999). Adlerian theory has also demonstrated applications as a creative pedagogical framework for enhancing case conceptualization competency among CITs (Davis et al., 2019) and promoting student satisfaction with the learning environment and student–teacher relationships (Soheili et al., 2015).
In a clinical setting, Adlerian counselors conceptualize clients from a social-contextual perspective to gain a deeper understanding of how they perceive events. One of an Adlerian counselor’s roles is to assist the client with examining maladaptive lifestyle convictions while also encouraging engagement in cooperative and social interactions to inhibit disconnection, considered to be the root of suffering (Watts, 2013). Neuroscience findings have supported this focus on social interest as critical to improving relationships and enhancing overall mental health (R. Miller & Taylor, 2016). In addition, its social-relational orientation makes it well-suited for increasing multicultural competence among counselors. Specifically, this framework supports client examination of multicultural issues through a lens of community feeling, in which establishing equality is central to addressing challenges (Bitter et al., 2009). Key tenets and values of Adlerian theory align with pro-feminist and decolonizing values, making it inclusive of marginalized group members (Watts, 2013) through its support of social interest, equality and advocacy, egalitarian relationships, empowerment and individual choice, and a social-cultural view of issues (Bitter et al., 2009; Davis et al., 2019; Soheili et al., 2015).
The Relational-Cultural and Adlerian Multicultural Framework (RAMF)
We aim to bridge research and training gaps in multicultural education by integrating RCT with Adlerian theory. The core tenets of these two frameworks undergird the Relational-Cultural and Adlerian Multicultural Framework (RAMF), a pedagogical approach to enhance multicultural competence among CITs. In order to develop multicultural and social justice competence, trainees must first learn and understand the subtle complexities of theory before they can use and integrate it into their clinical practice. We believe that the RAMF can bolster current multicultural education practices by promoting the development of clinical competence in this domain while also modeling theoretical integration for CITs.
A Cross-Paradigm Framework for Pedagogy
In the realm of counseling, an individual conceptualization has long dominated as the primary means to conceptualize clients’ issues. In this regard, Singh et al. (2020) highlighted the need to critically examine and move beyond Westernized counseling theories:
Although traditional counseling theories certainly may be utilized in culturally competent ways, they are often situated in a paradigm that focuses on the individual when the source of difficulties may be rooted in oppressive structures within the environment that require direct advocacy. (p. 261)
The integrative nature of the RAMF may lend to improved multicultural and social justice competency among CITs and clinicians. This framework can be conceptualized as a cross-paradigm pedagogical approach, rooted in psychological and postmodern/social-constructivist paradigms, which blend techniques and tenets from both theories (Cottone, 2012). Despite RCT and Adlerian theory originating from different theoretical paradigms, these theories are complementary and have overlapping social and relational constructs. Specifically, Adlerian theory originated from the psychological paradigm of counseling and psychotherapy, as it centralizes an individual conceptualization of clients’ issues (Cottone, 2012). However, Watts (2003) noted that this theory’s unique encapsulation of cognitive constructivist and social constructionist elements make it better classified as a relational constructivist paradigm (i.e., emphasizing individual agency within a social-relational context). On the other hand, RCT is rooted in a postmodern philosophy, best categorizing this theory as belonging to the social-constructivist paradigm (Cottone, 2012), given its emphasis on the role that social-contextual factors (i.e., hierarchical systems) play in perpetuating oppression, inequity, and suffering. Moreover, Singh et al. (2020) recently recognized RCT as a social justice theory that can help counselors decolonize counseling and integrate the MSJCC in their work with clients.
The RAMF is intended to be a new decolonizing pedagogical approach to multicultural education that fosters an equitable learning environment and overall inclusive program culture. The RAMF is a unique approach that integrates the counseling profession’s core values, such as social justice, cultural competence, advocacy, and wellness (ACA, 2014). In contrast, many other theories, such as critical pedagogy, stem from educational fields and have different core values central to their professions. Combining RCT and Adlerian theory frameworks may provide a more holistic lens to view multicultural and social justice issues. Within the classroom, the RAMF centralizes growth-fostering relationships between students and professors. This outcome requires that professors be mindful of their positionality, minimize the power differential inherent in the professor–student relationship, and create mutually empowering relationships within the classroom (Walker, 2015). The RAMF also promotes practicing intentionality, incorporating experiential training strategies, and routine processing of CITs’ reactions to further develop multicultural competence. Ultimately, the RAMF seeks to address bias and inequity by promoting self-awareness, authenticity, personal responsibility, mutual empowerment, acceptance of differing worldviews, and a non-judgmental and curious attitude. Because the RAMF aims to cultivate a culture of mutual empowerment and social interest, diverse students may feel more supported and valued. In this next section, we will outline components comprising the RAMF, offer an integrative description to apply the RAMF effectively, and discuss implications for future research.
RAMF Components
The following three components found in Figure 1 are proposed as foundational to the RAMF and stem from RCT’s and Adlerian theory’s tenets: an equitable learning environment, awareness of individual and relational dynamics, and active engagement. These components and supporting research are examined in depth below.
Figure 1
RAMF Components
Equitable Learning Environment
Successful implementation of the RAMF requires an equitable learning environment to effectively assist diverse students while also fostering multicultural and social justice competence (see Figure 2). Gorski and Swalwell (2015) purported that multicultural education is grounded in social justice and equity values. Failure to ensure both equity and equality in the classroom poses detrimental implications to student professional growth and overall well-being. For instance, in a qualitative study conducted by Baker et al. (2015), marginalized doctoral students in a CE program expressed feeling excluded from class information and discussions; they also shared concerns about being misjudged because of their racial identities. These findings are consistent with previous research on the experiences of marginalized master’s-level CITs across CE programs (Henfield et al., 2013; Seward, 2014).
Figure 2
RAMF Integration Application
| RCT |
Adlerian Theory |
RAMF
Component |
Integrative Application Examples |
| Growth-fostering relationships |
Social interest |
Equitable learning environment |
Creating a safe space for all students to contribute in a way that empowers them; open discussions/exposure to diverse worldviews |
| Mutual empathy and empowerment |
Social equality and advocacy |
Active engagement |
Creating a classroom environment that mutually benefits both students and professor; collaborating on
journal article |
| Exploration of power differentials |
Egalitarian relationships |
Equitable learning environment |
Offering an outlet for students to provide anonymous feedback |
| Authenticity in relationships |
Empowerment and individual choice |
Individual and relational dynamics |
Giving yourself permission to be human; cultural humility |
| Consideration of contextual and relational factors |
Being curious about diverse perspectives; social-cultural view of issues |
Individual and relational dynamics |
Awareness of self and other cultural identity membership; role-plays, reflective journaling, classroom dialogue, etc. |
Using the RAMF, an equitable learning environment is cultivated through embracing classroom norms driven by Adlerian and RCT values. Examples include embracing a genuinely curious attitude, accepting differing worldviews, exhibiting compassion for self and others while navigating conflicts, and modeling authenticity during moments of disconnection (i.e., cultural humility). Additionally, fostering this classroom atmosphere is contingent upon incorporating decolonizing educational practices. CE programs can accomplish this task through the intentional examination of course curricula. Specific examples include things like being mindful of the language used in course content and infusing textbooks, assignments, and supplementary materials in the syllabi to address inequitable practices and discrimination against marginalized group members (e.g., current news reports, community service-learning experiences within marginalized communities, guest speakers). Thus, the RAMF encourages counselor educators to practice intentionality by diversifying curriculum and incorporating diverse scholars’ perspectives to dismantle colonized counseling and pedagogical practices.
The RAMF also stresses the importance of acknowledging the significant impact of professor interactions in fostering an equitable learning environment. Research findings have noted several factors that strengthen trainees’ experience of their learning environments, such as an emphasis on teaching and mentorship, peer support, and faculty–student connections (Henfield et al., 2013; Sheperis et al., 2020). In this regard, enhancing relational factors among professors may alleviate the power differential between professors and CITs, thereby facilitating a more equitable learning environment. Additionally, student feedback and perceptions of the teaching environment should constantly be solicited in any learning environment that aspires to be inclusive and equitable. Hopefully, if a safe and collaborative learning environment is achieved, this feedback will be provided authentically and without direct solicitation. Anonymous feedback can also be gathered in various formal and informal approaches, such as the use of specific assessments or scaling and qualitative inquiry.
Gorski (2016) noted the importance of systemic change as crucial to analyzing power and privilege in the classroom; thus, faculty support is necessary to effectively carry out this systemic endeavor. As such, it is recommended that CE programs assess their organizational climate before implementing the RAMF. A discriminatory CE program climate serves to uphold colonizing and inequitable learning practices, thereby interfering with the development of multicultural and social justice competencies. The RAMF seeks to dismantle this issue by valuing diversity and modeling equity in the classroom, directly influencing CITs’ perspectives and overall multicultural competence growth. Sanchez Bengoa et al. (2018) found that students developed multicultural competency skills faster in international teams than national teams; this finding speaks to the critical need to foster a culturally rich classroom environment where students can be exposed to diverse worldviews and engage in a cooperative learning process.
Awareness of Individual and Relational Dynamics
As a cross-paradigm approach, the RAMF acknowledges the importance of individual and relational dynamics that impact the overall learning process and program experience. Within counseling programs, CITs are encouraged to engage in ongoing self-reflection, which is essential in multicultural education. According to the MSJCC framework (Ratts et al., 2016), self-awareness is at the core of multicultural and social justice competence. Counselors must critically examine their personally held attitudes, beliefs, and biases that affect their work with diverse clients. This awareness may then contribute to counselors’ understanding of power, privilege, and oppression dynamics that impact the therapeutic relationship (Ratts et al., 2016). The RAMF takes a unique perspective on trainee self-awareness by drawing on core counseling values, such as examining the individual’s role and identity in the context of relationships. From a RAMF lens, professors can facilitate this process with CITs by modeling authentic interactions (e.g., cultural humility), which may promote personal exploration and shared disclosures in a classroom setting. In Morgan Consoli and Marin’s (2016) qualitative study on graduate students’ experiences in diversity courses, students noted the essentiality of instructor self-disclosure and viewed it as indispensable to a positive diversity course experience. Thus, valuing authenticity and cultural humility may instill the importance of multicultural competence as a lifelong process (Hook et al., 2013).
Although an individual commitment to learning and self-awareness is at the core of multicultural competence, counselors must move beyond self-reflection to foster empowering therapeutic relationships. In a descriptive content analysis of multicultural course syllabi, Pieterse et al. (2009) found that a large percentage of course syllabi focused on developing knowledge, awareness, and skills; yet, knowledge and awareness were emphasized more often, while relational skill development was not. The RAMF emphasizes relational skill development by actively addressing ruptures that may occur between professors and CITs. Although the RAMF conceptualizes conflict as a standard component of relationships, ruptures must be addressed and repaired, especially attending to feelings of disempowerment (Jordan, 2010). To address this concern, the RAMF encourages professors to model broaching, which is defined as an ongoing commitment and openness to exploring diversity and cultural issues with clients and students (Day-Vines et al., 2018). Because research has shown that broaching early on in counseling can reduce attrition and strengthen therapeutic relationships with racial and ethnic minority clients (Jones et al., 2019), CITs must have the opportunity to practice broaching within the classroom setting. Central to this practice is creating a safe space, whereby professors actively encourage students to practice vulnerability and cultural humility by leaning into challenging conversations and providing feedback to enhance both self and relational awareness.
Active Engagement
The RAMF posits that active engagement is necessary to multicultural education and effective diversity training of CITs. Ikonomopoulos et al. (2016) conducted a study that demonstrated that practicum-level CITs developed their self-efficacy by actively engaging in direct client contact and peer-group interactions. We define active engagement as the process of encouraging students to learn in a deeper context, engage in activities, and reflect upon the material in a meaningful way. Depending on the course, there is no one “correct” way to attain or measure active engagement, yet active engagement should be seen in student questions, writings, and participation. Fundamental to Adlerian theory and RCT is the belief that individuals and groups are best understood in their relationships. Using the RAMF, CITs are required to actively engage in cultural immersion experiences and service-learning projects to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences and unique challenges of marginalized group members.
Research has demonstrated the utility of service-learning experiences for CITs to develop clinical competencies (Dari et al., 2019), enhance a sense of preparedness to apply learned clinical skills (Havlik et al., 2016), deepen their understanding of human development from a social justice perspective (K. A. Lee & Kelley-Petersen, 2018), and promote social justice advocacy competency and cognitive development (K. A. Lee & McAdams, 2019). Following these experiences, scholars have noted that open dialogue about cultural and diversity matters is needed to bolster CITs’ clinical knowledge and attitudes (Celinska & Swazo, 2016; Wagner, 2015). For instance, in a study conducted by Villalba and Redmond (2008), an experiential learning exercise was incorporated in which students were exposed to a film to help facilitate multicultural competence through self-reflection. This study’s findings revealed the essentiality of open discussion on relevant social justice issues to process the experience fully. Further, Ratts et al. (2016) indicated that counselors who embody multicultural and social justice competence demonstrate cross-cultural communication skills. In using the RAMF, we emphasize classroom dialogue, such as open processing and role-plays, as a crucial part of developing these competencies in CITs. Counseling programs are tasked with preparing CITs to be future leaders and allies within the profession. This endeavor requires the exposure of CITs within culturally diverse groups by actively engaging with the community at large. In doing so, CITs stand a greater chance of developing essential multicultural and social justice competencies needed to effectively treat and conceptualize diverse client populations. The MSJCC endorses the implementation of counseling and advocacy interventions crucial to holistic diversity training; specifically, CITs must actively engage beyond intrapersonal self-reflection by considering relational, community, societal, and global interventions (Ratts et al., 2016).
Inherent to the RAMF is its focus on active engagement in social justice and advocacy initiatives to facilitate multicultural competence. Some strategies include engaging trainees in open conversations about current sociopolitical challenges and the subsequent impact on marginalized group members, promoting attendance and engagement in presentations at professional conferences, and collaborating on professional journal articles related to multicultural competence. Ultimately, the RAMF is intended to be the vehicle that translates applied multicultural knowledge and skills into active engagement. The fundamental links between RCT and Adlerian theory are social equality and relational connections. These factors are crucial not only to the active engagement component of the RAMF but also to the framework as a whole. An integrative application outlining strategy relevant to the RAMF components is illustrated in Figure 2.
Considerations and Implications for Using the RAMF in Pedagogy
The RAMF poses several implications in the realm of CE, namely enhanced clinical competency and self-efficacy with multicultural concepts. This is particularly important as graduates of counseling programs have often indicated feeling unprepared to work with culturally diverse clients (Barden et al., 2017; Bidell, 2012; Schmidt et al., 2011). They have also reported a lack of self-efficacy in key multicultural competencies when first engaging in counseling work (Flasch et al., 2011). This competency deficit among trainees may be attributed to the historical overcrowding of multicultural competencies and skills into a single-course format, which is insufficient considering multiculturalism’s depth and scope (Celinska & Swazo, 2016). The RAMF’s multimodal approach to infusing multicultural and social justice competencies across the curriculum may help bridge this gap.
Given the rise in diverse client demographics and cultural pluralism (C. C. Lee, 2019), it has become the professional responsibility of all counselors to develop essential multicultural competencies needed to provide culturally competent counseling (ACA, 2014). This need is addressed through the RAMF, which serves as an integrative vehicle to effectively transmit this knowledge to CITs. CE programs are tasked with engaging in culturally responsive gatekeeping practices to maintain professional standards, namely protecting clients from culturally incompetent trainees. Counselor educators have noted the critical importance of seeing trainees’ multicultural competence development beyond the classroom and throughout the program within their gatekeeping role (Ziomek-Daigle et al., 2016).
Directions for Future Research
The RAMF may be used to bridge the gap in multicultural competency and self-efficacy among CITs in CE programs. Currently, there is no evidence regarding the efficacy of this integrative framework as a pedagogical model. Therefore, directions for future research may include a quantitative study measuring the RAMF’s effectiveness using a pretest-posttest design. For example, pre-post of the RAMF in a course may illustrate its overall effectiveness from the beginning to the end of the semester. The RAMF can be incorporated in CITs’ practicum and internship courses, after which a posttest can be administered to measure confidence and competence upon graduating. This method will serve to address the current deficit in CITs’ multicultural competence following graduation. Future research may also include developing an instrument that measures the constructs illustrated in the RAMF. Hays (2020) noted the importance of moving beyond traditional counseling research and integrating decolonizing methodologies, such as qualitative designs, that allow for triangulation with CITs and program faculty. Thus, we suggest collecting qualitative data to learn about the individual lived experiences of CITs following their course.
Further research on implementing the RAMF into CE programs is also needed to validate its evidence base. Regarding the evaluation of multicultural competence utilizing the RAMF, we recommend that CITs take Holcomb-McCoy and Myers’ (1999) Multicultural Counseling Competence and Training Survey-Revised (MCCTS-R), which will provide insight into CITs’ perceived level of multicultural competence. This 32-item measure is grounded in the MSJCC (Barden et al., 2017) and assesses competency in three domains—multicultural knowledge, multicultural awareness, and multicultural terminology—using self-report, Likert-type questions ranging from 1 (not competent) to 4 (extremely competent; Holcomb-McCoy & Myers, 1999). To evaluate the effectiveness of the RAMF and facilitate formative feedback, we recommend administering the MCCTS-R to all CITs at the beginning and end of a course. The successful implementation of the RAMF is evidenced by CITs’ growth in the following MSJCC domains: attitudes and beliefs, knowledge, skills, and action (Ratts et al., 2016). These domains must be routinely evaluated as part of an ongoing CE program evaluation to enhance multicultural and social justice competency among CITs (Hays, 2020).
Conclusion
CE programs may use the RAMF to address challenges to CITs’ self-efficacy and ability in treating culturally diverse clients, thereby potentially reducing gatekeeping concerns that stem from lack of multicultural competence. Overall, implementation of the RAMF could pose several benefits to CE programs. A limitation of this framework includes possible compassion fatigue because of its emphasis on authentic interactions and contact with difficult conversations (e.g., power and oppression, unique challenges faced by marginalized group members). However, the RAMF’s integrative approach to addressing multicultural and social justice competence throughout the curriculum may allow for CITs to develop knowledge and skills proactively rather than retroactively engaging in future remediation strategies.
Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure
The authors reported no conflict of interest
or funding contributions for the development
of this manuscript.
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Taylor Irvine, MEd, EdS, LMHC, is a doctoral candidate at Florida Atlantic University. Adriana Labarta, MEd, EdS, LMHC, is a doctoral candidate at Florida Atlantic University. Kelly Emelianchik-Key, PhD, NCC, ACS, LMHC, LMFT, is an associate professor at Florida Atlantic University. Correspondence may be addressed to Taylor Irvine, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Rd. [ED 47], Rm. 271, Boca Raton, FL 33431, tirvine1@fau.edu.
Dec 16, 2020 | Volume 10 - Issue 4
Kirsis A. Dipre, Melissa Luke
Relational cultural theory emerged in the 1970s as a reaction to the dominant view of women in psychology and continues to challenge societal values while promoting social justice. Key tenets of relational cultural theory are to promote growth-fostering relationships and move toward connection. These may be applied in a variety of contexts within higher education. This conceptual manuscript provides an overview of advising relationships, particularly within counselor education. A thorough review of relational cultural theory and its potential utility in advising is presented. Then a case conceptualization is provided to illustrate how faculty advisors can enhance their advising practices and better address interpersonal dynamics within the advising relationship. Implications for using this framework in multiple higher education settings are discussed.
Keywords: relational cultural theory, advising, counselor education, higher education, interpersonal dynamics
Advising is crucial in enhancing counseling students’ opportunities for success and for supporting their professional preparation as licensed counselors and/or counselor educators (Barbuto et al., 2011; Knox et al., 2006; Kuo et al., 2017; Mu & Fosnacht, 2019; Robbins, 2012). Yet advising is not always part of the doctoral preparation of faculty members (Ng et al., 2019) and not always adequately prioritized and supported within counselor education programs (Furr, 2018). Further, advising is considered part of teaching responsibilities at some institutions and part of service activities at others (Ng et al., 2019). Depending on the institution, advising may not be prioritized (He & Hutson, 2017). This is concerning considering the importance of advising for the academic success of students (Knox et al., 2006; Kuo et al., 2017) and their further development in the counseling profession (Ng et al., 2019; Sackett et al., 2015). According to the American Counseling Association’s ACA Code of Ethics (2014), counselor educators have a responsibility to deliver career advisement and expose their students to opportunities for supplementary development. Although faculty advising responsibilities are not clearly defined and remain woefully underexamined (Ng et al. 2019), this conceptualization extends consideration of advising beyond the formulaic tasks of providing course registration support and incorporates exploration of life goals.
Consistent with this new conceptualization, the counselor education advising role has shifted from a perfunctory extracurricular service to a more process-focused co-curricular relationship that can include a systemic approach (Ng et al., 2019). This conceptualization is representative of the functions of a faculty advisor in counselor education, as the profession requires students to consider their investment in being lifelong learners (Kuo et al., 2017; Sackett et al., 2015). Therefore, counselor education advisees are tasked with completing the curricular requirements in their program of study to develop the knowledge and skills needed for professional success in addition to continuing their education through engagement in authentic and developmentally appropriate activities.
Advisors are well positioned to assist in the foundational planning for students’ success within the counseling profession. To accomplish this, well-equipped advisors require a strong knowledge base predicated on theoretical foundations (Musser & Yoder, 2013; Sackett et al., 2015). Although no one advising approach is adequately situated to assist everyone optimally, it is the advisor’s ethical obligation to be well informed regarding their own approaches and ways to adjust to meet the individual and contextual needs of their advisees (Kimball & Campbell, 2013). Despite the growing differentiation of advising from mentoring, few theories or models have been purported to undergird the advising process in counselor education (Ng et al., 2019). The present manuscript aims to fill this gap by providing counseling advisors with a theoretically sound and research-grounded framework to enhance their advisory practice using relational cultural theory (RCT). In subsequent sections, the relevance of RCT for advising in counselor education and its central assumptions will be discussed, the current state of advising in counselor education will be described, and a relational cultural advising case conceptualization will be provided to assist counselor educators in better understanding and developing RCT-informed advising practices.
Relevance of RCT to Advising
RCT originated as a developmental model for women; however, broader applicability was quickly recognized given the commonalities across people and the impact of societal values on people’s functioning (Jordan, 2018; Jordan et al., 1991; Walker, 2004). Presently, RCT is utilized across a variety of clinical populations as well as in non-clinical settings (Jordan, 2017, 2018; Robb, 2007). For example, Luke (2016) described the use of RCT with children experiencing gender dysphoria; Cannon et al. (2012) described its use in group treatment settings with adult women; and Fletcher and Ragins (2007), as well as Hammer et al. (2014), noted its utility in mentoring contexts. More recently, Schwartz (2019) described the utility of RCT within teaching across higher education contexts. Because RCT is predicated on the co-construction of knowledge both by individuals and groups, RCT is readily translated into new settings and contexts (Rogers & Stanciu, 2015), in this case advising within counselor education programs.
Relational Cultural Theory
In its most basic form, RCT posits that humans need social connections throughout the life span, placing social connections at the center of human development. Both this basic postulate and the usefulness of RCT have been consistently supported in empirical studies (Eisenberger & Lieberman, 2005; Lenz, 2016; Schore, 2015). To gain an understanding of human development, RCT-oriented practitioners rely on several core assumptions. As outlined by Miller and Stiver (1997) and later Jordan and Dooley (2000), the eight core assumptions are as follows: (a) people grow through and toward relationship; (b) mature functioning is reflected in movement toward mutuality rather than separation; (c) growth is characterized by relationship differentiation and elaboration; (d) growth-fostering relationships are based on mutual empathy and empowerment; (e) authenticity is required for real engagement in growth-fostering relationships; (f) development is a mutual exchange through which all involved contribute, grow, and benefit; (g) the goal is to develop increased relational competence over one’s life span; and (h) mutual empathy and mutual empowerment are at the core of human development. Advisors can enhance their advising practices by enacting these eight tenets to provide advisees with opportunities to develop the intra- and interpersonal relational awareness and skills requisite in counseling and counselor education work contexts while also offering greater support for students in navigating graduate training programs within counselor education. The application of RCT tenets will be demonstrated in a later section using a case study.
Development
During the 1970s, a time in which the helping professions were dominated by ideologies developed by White males and the United States was roaring with a desire for change, psychologist Jean Baker Miller transformed the way we think about human development (Cohn, 1997; Hartling, 2008; Robb, 2007). Rather than striving for independence, as posited by the leading psychotherapy theories, Miller (1976) argued that human beings grow through and toward relationship. Almost 20 years after the development of the initial relational model, it underwent a significant shift. As this model evolved and expanded into its current theory, the scope was broadened to include an exploration of power in relationships (Walker, 2004). To this day, the RCT-related literature continues to grow (Comstock et al., 2008; Hall et al., 2018; Hammer et al., 2014; Purgason et al., 2016; Rogers & Stanciu, 2015).
In addition to exploring gender, this work has also focused on understanding the connections of relationships across differences in race (Purgason et al., 2016; Walker, 2004), ethnicity (Hall et al., 2018), sexual/affectional orientation, and gender identity (Luke, 2016) in both counseling and in the workplace. Thus, the scope of RCT has widened from solely focusing on women to addressing identity and power structures within all relationships, and now includes considerable attention to populations of minority status across a variety of contexts (Cannon et al., 2012; Comstock et al., 2008; Hammer et al., 2016; Schwartz, 2019; Walker, 2004, 2010). Similarly, scholars have more recently applied RCT beyond the therapeutic relationship to various processes within academia, including mentorship (Gammel & Rutstein-Riley, 2016; Hammer et al., 2014), clinical supervision (Williams & Raney, 2020), pedagogy (Hall et al., 2018; Schwartz, 2019), and advising for doctoral students of color (Purgason et al., 2016).
Philosophical Underpinnings
Since the inception of RCT, Miller and colleagues recognized the alignment of their observations of women’s experiences with the positivistic perspective (Robb, 2007; Rogers & Stanciu, 2015), in that the observable realities could be understood through reason and logic. At the same time, theorists also situated RCT within the postmodern perspective because the theory intentionally acknowledges the possibility for multiple truths (Hansen, 2004; Rigazio-DiGilio, 2001; Rogers & Stanciu, 2015). Epistemologically, the theorists positioned RCT from a social constructivist standpoint (Jordan, 2018), meaning that the theory emphasizes the individual’s unique phenomenological experiences in relation to the social systems in which they are embedded. Thus, through RCT, one takes into account historical and cultural contexts that inform one’s meaning-making systems. RCT is also grounded on the premise that social construction of identities and the significance of power and hierarchy within relationships limits relational images and expectations (Birrell & Bruns, 2016; Jordan, 2018; Jordan et al., 1991). Broadly, a constructivist theory assumes that reality is created by individuals (Hansen, 2004; Jaccard & Jacoby, 2010), making subjectivity essential in understanding a person’s experience of reality. In contrast, a social constructionist theory assumes that reality is constructed by groups and, therefore, subjectivity is removed (Hansen, 2004; Rigazio-DiGilio, 2001). Although these epistemic positions may seem inherently contradictory, they intersect to create an individual–systems dialect within RCT. According to Hansen (2004), the integration of epistemologies permits greater inclusivity, allowing for a more complex conceptualization of the relational processes, particularly those that are part of RCT-informed growth and development (Rogers & Stanciu, 2015), including those in advising (Purgason et al., 2016). Thus, we argue that RCT is well positioned to address the unique needs of advisees as individuals (constructivist) while also addressing these advising needs as they arise within counselor education graduate programs and as part of larger systems (social constructionist).
Advising in Counselor Education
For faculty members in counselor education, advising may not be prioritized in terms of responsibilities and may only be considered as part of courses they may be teaching, and/or as part of the tenure and promotion process (He & Hutson, 2017; Kuo et al., 2017). Yet, the advising relationship is one of the few structures in place to facilitate student success (Barbuto et al., 2011; Knox et al., 2006), and despite its centrality in counselor education (Purgason et al., 2016), the literature on advising and the advisory relationship is scarce within counselor education. Since the publication of the 2016 CACREP Standards by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP; 2015), there has been increased attention to the advising process (Ng et al., 2019).
Within counselor education, however, the extant literature on advising has focused on the responsibilities and priorities of the advisor (Knox et al., 2006) and neglected the processes involved in engaging in a “positive developmental relationship” (Ng et al., 2019, p. 54). Moreover, the focus of the literature also prioritizes advisement of doctoral students, overlooking the importance of appropriate advising for master’s students. Despite CACREP’s (2015) recommendations for programs to assign students in entry-level programs an advisor, few scholars have explored advising of master’s students in counseling programs. Instead, research has centered on the advising of master’s students pursuing doctoral studies (Farmer et al., 2017; Sackett et al., 2015). Still, these studies did not directly investigate the advisory process with master’s students in counseling programs, contributing to the widening gap between the limited scholarship focused on advising master’s students and the growing doctoral student advising literature. Recently, Rogers and colleagues (2020) discussed master’s students’ attachment, cognitive distortions, and experience of feedback in supervision. They discovered that attachment anxiety led to increased cognitive distortions, which further contributed to difficulty with corrective feedback during clinical supervision. Similar to feedback within supervisory relationships, advisors provide students with feedback during advising; therefore, it is important for faculty advisors to be aware of their advisees’ experiences of this process. As such, RCT provides a theoretical framework to strategically approach such situations with cognitive complexity and clinical sensitivity.
Advising Approaches
Generally, an advisor in higher education is typically a faculty member whose responsibility is to guide their advisees through their programs (Mu & Fosnacht, 2019; Ng et al., 2019). This is usually accomplished through implementation of one of three distinctive approaches to advising outlined by Crookston (1972/2009). The developmental approach is used to attend to students’ progress throughout their educational careers, making it holistic in nature. Through this approach, the advisor aims at assisting students in the exploration of career and life goals as well as teaching the necessary skills to reach these goals. The prescriptive advising approach, in which the role of the advisor is to provide information related to courses, policies, and logistics, may also be adopted. This advising approach is didactic; the advisor’s goal is to assist the advisee to meet their academic requirements, and the process is often initiated by the advisee. Finally, advisors may choose to use a proactive approach in which the advisor establishes a strong relationship with the advisee. The advisor leads the process and reaches out to the advisee during critical points and when the advisee may be at risk or belong to an underserved population. The goal is to provide additional support to the advisee (He & Hutson, 2017; Mu & Fosnacht, 2019).
Although there have been no counselor education–specific advising theories put forth in the literature to date, the conceptual literature has been informed by mentoring enactment theory (Mansson & Myers, 2012), bioecological systems theory (Ng et al., 2019), and RCT (Hammer et al., 2014; Purgason et al., 2016). Moreover, despite McDonald’s (2019) contention of the centrality of theory-informed training for advisors, no research was identified that directly examined advising outcomes resulting from one theoretical approach or that addressed differences across the advising approaches most commonly used within counselor education, although current literature suggests the developmental approach is most widely used in higher education. This is evidenced by the shift away from prescriptive tasks and movement toward advancing career goals that align with advisees’ personhood (Kuo et al., 2017; McDonald, 2019). To date no studies have examined if this holds true in counselor education specifically. That said, the extant advising literature has continued to show that advising is key for ensuring student success (Robbins, 2012; Sackett et al., 2015). Because of the uniqueness of each advisory relationship, as well as the characteristics of each advisee, we can say that no specific approach or strategy of advising will be sufficient in assisting the needs of all advisees. Similar to the supervisory and counseling relationship, there is complexity in attending to individual, developmental, and systemic needs within the advisory relationship (Barbuto et al., 2011; Mu & Fosnacht, 2019). Therefore, it is imperative that counselor educators serving as advisors are well versed in varying approaches to advising, particularly because of the lack of actual training received by faculty serving in this capacity (He & Hutson, 2017; Kimball & Campbell, 2013).
The advising relationship in and of itself has been found to be essential in the success of students in doctoral programs (Knox et al., 2006; McDonald, 2019). Most recently, Purgason and colleagues (2016) used an RCT framework to enhance the advisory process for doctoral students from underrepresented identities in counselor education programs. They argued the RCT framework provided a strong foundation for attending to the multicultural and social justice competencies in the counselor education profession. This argument aligns with our view. Further, we propose that RCT provides a comprehensive foundation for enhancing the advisory relationship of all advisees in counseling programs regardless of program level. Generally, an advisor operating from an RCT-informed perspective may be closely monitoring their advisees’ and their own unique ways of interacting within the relationship. Explicit attention to this would be part of ongoing advising discussions. In accordance with the eight basic RCT assumptions, the advisor would approach the advising process as a means for growth and empowerment for both themselves and their advisees. In our own RCT-informed advising practices, we have used the eight RCT assumptions as a guide for process and outcome goal planning and as a framework for recording advisement notes. The current manuscript builds on the extant conceptualization of RCT-informed advising and uses a case vignette to illustrate and discuss the application.
Case Vignette
Dr. Mare Smith is a 36-year-old, White female counselor educator working at Playa Del Rio University in the southwestern region of the United States. Since joining the faculty 5 years ago, Dr. Smith has taught seven different courses: Introduction to Counseling, Counseling Theories and Application, Social and Cultural Issues in Counseling, Couples Counseling, Human Sexuality, Marriage and Family Practicum, and Marriage and Family Internship. Dr. Smith receives one course release from the typical 3:3 annual course load for her work as program coordinator for the Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling master’s program and her service as Chapter Faculty Advisor of the Counselors for Social Justice chapter in her department. In addition, as part of her institution’s new strategic plan to expand their online course delivery, Dr. Smith has volunteered to develop online sections of the Introduction to Counseling, Social and Cultural Issues in Counseling, and Human Sexuality courses so that these can be offered in the next academic year. In exchange for this work, she will receive a $4,000 stipend for each course. Although not contractually obligated, Dr. Smith has typically taught two courses each summer; however, this past summer Dr. Smith elected to teach only one course so she could begin preparation of her promotion and tenure dossier, which needs to be submitted by October 15.
While collecting the documentation necessary for her dossier, Dr. Smith reviewed her scholarly productivity, her servant leadership profile, and her teaching evaluations and advising reports. Even though Dr. Smith entered academia with a handful of academic publications co-authored with her doctoral advisor and other graduate students on the research team, she is pleased that she has continued to publish one piece almost every year for a total of seven peer-reviewed articles (three research, four conceptual) and two book chapters. In addition, Dr. Smith recognized that like many female faculty and faculty from historically marginalized groups, she has continued to engage in a high level of servant leadership across her program, department, college, community, and the counseling profession. In addition to program coordination and chapter faculty advisement, Dr. Smith has chaired and/or served as a member of the admissions committee of her program and the portfolio review committee in her department each year. She has also been a member of the diversity committee in the college for 3 years and was part of four faculty search committees in other departments. Moreover, Dr. Smith has recently been named an ad hoc reviewer for the journal published by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), The Professional Counselor, and she also serves as a mentor through the NBCC Minority Fellowship Program. Overall, Dr. Smith’s student evaluations have steadily increased over time, and she typically receives scores of approximately 4.5/5 across all courses other than in Social and Cultural Issues in Counseling, where her average evaluations hover at about a 4.0/5. Knowing that student evaluations for online courses tend to be lower than for in-person classes, Dr. Smith is relieved that the online classes will not be completed by the time her dossier is submitted. That said, as a well-respected and sought after advisor to almost 35 students each year, Dr. Smith is hoping that her favorite advisee, Tatyana Acevedo, follows through on her intention to nominate Dr. Smith for the college’s Graduate Advisor Award.
Tatyana Acevedo is a 24-year-old, Afro-Latinx second-year student who works at the college library while also completing her master’s degree in marriage, couple, and family counseling. Early in her first semester, Tatyana stood out from her classmates in Dr. Smith’s Introduction to Counseling class, not only for her exemplary preparation and high level of engagement in class, but also for the complexity and depth with which she approached both academic and professional issues. Through their advising relationship, Dr. Smith had communicated her appreciation for Tatyana’s complex ways of thinking and ability to relate to others in class. This paved the way for an advising relationship in which Tatyana felt supported, empowered, and appreciated by Dr. Smith. Following the midterm exam, Tatyana met with Dr. Smith to review the three questions she missed on the exam, and this is where they discovered a shared interest in cultural empathy and cultural humility research. During this meeting, and the bi-weekly meetings thereafter, Tatyana and Dr. Smith discussed a range of topics, including Tatyana’s program of study and aspirations after graduation, as well as contemporary professional issues. At the end of the spring semester, Dr. Smith broached the possibility of collaborating with Tatyana on a summer writing project related to cultural humility. Dr. Smith was careful to proactively discuss the parameters of the project and timeline, reviewed what constituted authorship and their respective contributions to the project, and addressed the inherent power dynamics within and across their relational roles and how these might be experienced. This discussion and the many similar ones that ensued throughout the project were all tremendously meaningful to Tatyana. Although she frequently remarked about how much she learned about cultural humility and the technical aspects of scholarly writing from Dr. Smith, Tatyana was also vocal about the growth she experienced as both a person and professional through the project. For these reasons, Tatyana informed Dr. Smith at the end of the summer and before the manuscript was submitted of her intention to apply to doctoral study in counselor education and supervision and nominate Dr. Smith for the annual Playa Del Rio University Graduate Advisor Award, with material for both due in the fall. Although Dr. Smith had always enjoyed Tatyana and believed in her potential, she felt particularly validated by their work together on this project and through learning of its impact on Tatyana’s career decisions.
Nonetheless, Tatyana and Dr. Smith missed their agreed-upon deadline for the manuscript submission and eventually decided that they would suspend their work until applications and the dossier were submitted in the fall. As Tatyana developed the nomination letter and secured three letters of support for Dr. Smith, she was also completing her applications for admissions to doctoral programs. Concurrently, Dr. Smith worked on finalizing her own candidate statements and dossier to be submitted for promotion and tenure. Though their meetings became less frequent, Tatyana and Dr. Smith joked about embarking on new stages of their respective journeys and that they “would meet up again” once applications were submitted. Tatyana tried to hold on to this plan when Dr. Smith did not respond to a request to share her CV and advising statement/mentoring philosophy for the award nomination packet, as well as when she learned that Dr. Smith was delayed in submitting Tatyana’s recommendation forms for doctoral study. Although no communication occurred between them, Tatyana became increasingly worried that Dr. Smith would either refuse to submit or fail to submit her recommendation letters by the programmatic deadlines. Regardless of her growing nervousness Tatyana tried to be understanding, but things came to a head in today’s advisement meeting.
Despite Tatyana having emailed Dr. Smith 3 weeks ahead to schedule an advising meeting and having listed the items she wished to discuss, Dr. Smith seemed surprised and unfocused when Tatyana arrived on time for the meeting. Tatyana reflected that Dr. Smith seemed distracted and then recounted examples of similar observed behavior over the past month and a half. Although Tatyana’s initial observation was couched in empathy and concern, she became increasingly animated in her frustration with Dr. Smith’s unavailability and her anxiety about the possibility that Dr. Smith might not meet impending deadlines. Tatyana’s disappointment was evident when she indicated that she thought Dr. Smith was prioritizing the development of her online courses because she was getting paid and her promotion and tenure dossier because it benefitted her, and that she was putting Tatyana’s requests for recommendation letters on the “back burner.” With irritation spilling over, Tatyana finally said, “Since I don’t have your materials for the packet, I am not sure how I can move ahead with the nomination, not that it makes as much sense now anyway.” At this point, Dr. Smith became aware of the multiplicity of roles and inherent power differentials between herself and Tatyana, which she had not addressed, complicating the issue further. Dr. Smith also realized she had not explicitly discussed the various roles she and Tatyana were operating under and how the interactions between these roles may cause some friction, especially if some roles were prioritized over others. With increased awareness regarding the nature of the situation, Dr. Smith recognized the opportunity to intentionally enact her theoretical grounding in RCT within her advisement relationship with Tatyana.
RCT Application
Grounded in the bioecological systemic considerations discussed by Ng and colleagues (2019), Dr. Smith could choose a variety of RCT-based interventions to address the advisement rupture with Tatyana. In its most basic form, bioecological systems theory suggests a person’s development and interactions with their environment are influenced by biological and psychological factors, all of which should be considered in the advising process. This means that the advising process is dependent on the advisor’s understanding of the advisee’s contextual situation as it pertains to the training program, institutional characteristics, and individual factors. To demonstrate the multiple potential “points of entry” (Luke & Bernard, 2006), the following section will present brief illustrations of the RCT tenets in action when applied to the case vignette of Tatyana and Dr. Smith.
It is important to note that the authors are providing one possible way an RCT-oriented advisor would demonstrate their alignment with the theory through the case study. Therefore, the authors recognize there are a myriad of options for how to apply RCT in advising relationships, all of which are individual and context specific. The reader is encouraged to consider their unique situation and use the information presented in this article to guide their choices when implementing a relational cultural approach to their advising practices.
Considering Dr. Smith’s new understanding of her failure to attend to ethical issues and rupture that arose as a result of the multiplicity of roles with Tatyana, Dr. Smith would have to address this regardless of her chosen point of entry and intervention. In addition, Dr. Smith’s recognition of her failure to maintain an RCT-oriented advising framework throughout their relationship is essential in the process to repair the rupture with Tatyana. This process would begin with an acknowledgement of Dr. Smith becoming sidetracked and self-focused, failing to communicate in the middle when the advising relationship was no longer a mutual exchange, and further, Dr. Smith’s lack of awareness of her impact on Tatyana. For instance, it was clear that Dr. Smith became focused on the pressures of her promotion and tenure process, in which advising of students is highly undervalued with the focus being primarily teaching, research, and service (Furr, 2018), therefore neglecting her advising practices with Tatyana.
Consistent with tenet (f) of RCT, development is a mutual exchange through which all involved contribute, grow, and benefit (Jordan, 2018; Rogers & Stanciu, 2015), one possible point of entry would be for Dr. Smith to receive Tatyana’s feedback with openness and avoidance of defensiveness while also acknowledging her limitations within the advising relationship. In addition, Dr. Smith would be recognizing the impact of this breach on her own and Tatyana’s development as advisor and advisee in this process. By responding with receptiveness, Dr. Smith will communicate to Tatyana that she is respected and valued in the relationship. Further, with acknowledgement of her limitations, particularly her lack of awareness of Tatyana’s experience, Dr. Smith will be assuming a place of vulnerability. As an advisor, in a position with inherent power over her advisee, recognition of her lack of knowledge and awareness may bring about discomfort. This discomfort when coupled with her identity as a White woman, in which she has been afforded unearned advantages over her advisee, may intensify the feelings of vulnerability Dr. Smith may experience.
On the other hand, Tatyana risked vulnerability by naming the lack of responsiveness from Dr. Smith, challenging the inherent power differential in the relationship and leaving her in a place of uncertainty. Despite the discomfort being experienced by both Tatyana and Dr. Smith, there is a demonstration of tenet (b), mature functioning is reflected in movement toward mutuality rather than separation (Jordan, 2018). In accordance with her RCT theoretical grounding, Dr. Smith must be careful to attend to the shared vulnerability in the space, meaning sharing her experience authentically without asking for Tatyana to “take care of her.” She can accomplish this by making her intention clear to Tatyana and expressing that her actions were not okay, accepting responsibility while conveying the inevitable nature of disconnections within the advisory relationship. Through these interventions, which are consistent with the aforementioned tenets of RCT and the latter with tenet (e), authenticity is required for real engagement in growth-fostering relationships (Jordan, 2018; Walker, 2004), Dr. Smith and Tatyana would be able to bring themselves fully and authentically into connection, which is crucial for moving the advisory relationship forward and is an indication of engagement in a growth-fostering relationship.
Another point of entry demonstrating tenet (c) of RCT, which states that growth is characterized by relationship differentiation and elaboration (Comstock et al., 2008; Jordan, 2018), would be to leverage the previous conversation that Dr. Smith had initiated with Tatyana around the inherent power dynamics that exist in the advising relationship. In this illustration, Dr. Smith would be anchoring on the elaboration of their identities and their impact on their advisory relationship. Further, Dr. Smith would acknowledge the risks taken by Tatyana in confronting Dr. Smith and how these risks are being experienced, therefore demonstrating exploration beyond the immediate context. Through this acknowledgement Dr. Smith would be validating Tatyana’s experiences of the varying levels of power Dr. Smith holds as a White woman and advisor. The acknowledgement should integrate the social context and the impact of larger systems on Tatyana as a young Afro-Latinx woman in the United States. In this conversation Dr. Smith could reflect to Tatyana how Dr. Smith’s lack of responsiveness may be emulating Tatyana’s experiences of larger societal systems that disregard her needs, as is the experience of many Black people in the United States (Walker, 2004). In acknowledging the personal and professional risks for Tatyana of reflecting her experiences of being put on the “back burner,” Dr. Smith would be collaborating with her in rebuilding a sense of safety in the ruptured connection. This experience may then lead to Dr. Smith working to empower Tatyana to name the destructive practices and recognize the oppressive impact of controlling images that may be playing a role in their interaction, which demonstrates an alignment with tenet (h), which states that mutual empathy and mutual empowerment are at the core of human development (Jordan, 2018). At this point, Dr. Smith may struggle with feelings of discomfort around her White privilege and use of power-over dynamics rather than power-with dynamics by temporarily prioritizing her own needs related to the promotion and tenure process over her advising relationship with Tatyana. Recognizing the lack of program support and unrecognized work that is required of the advising role, Dr. Smith may also struggle with the realization of her own discomfort as a female faculty member seeking tenure and how this may have contributed to the lack of attention to her advising duties and eventually the rupture with Tatyana.
Similarly, Dr. Smith may choose to begin by fostering empowerment and expressing mutual empathy for both herself and Tatyana. This choice demonstrates consistency with tenet (d), growth-fostering relationships are based on mutual empathy and empowerment (Jordan, 2018; Rogers & Stanciu, 2015), through which Dr. Smith could apologize to her advisee for putting her on the “back burner” while remaining open to the possibility that the apology may not be accepted and that this would be the first step in moving the advisory relationship forward. Dr. Smith could provide Tatyana with an explanation for her lack of responsiveness and then redress her delay by honoring the commitment to submit the recommendations immediately. Dr. Smith could take responsibility for missing the collaboratively developed manuscript submission deadline and then provide Tatyana with a clear date by which she will submit Tatyana’s recommendation letters before the institutional deadlines. This may provide reassurance to Tatyana while also encouraging an exploration of her own reactions to Dr. Smith and how they may be influenced by past experiences. Consistent with the assumptions of RCT, Dr. Smith should engage Tatyana in a discussion of the unique ways in which each of them conceptualized and enacted their relational images within their advising relationship and invite collaborative processing of how these learnings can inform not only their ongoing work together but also their respective future professional relationships with others. Through engagement in this type of self-exploration to understand their own relational images and sources of disconnection, Dr. Smith and Tatyana can then alter their conceptualization of themselves and one another, allowing for an even more transparent discussion of shared responsibility.
As part of this discussion, Dr. Smith should express genuine understanding that given all of what has occurred, Tatyana may still no longer wish to submit the nomination packet. She could further express commitment to Tatyana’s continued success and offer to collaborate with her in developing a plan of action for their ongoing advising relationship. In taking this course of action, Dr. Smith would further display consistency with tenet (a), people grow through and toward relationship (Comstock et al., 2008; Jordan, 2018), by building on the relational resilience already demonstrated by Tatyana’s broaching of the problematic dynamics impinging on the advisory relationship. By intentionally focusing on relational resilience Dr. Smith would be reworking the empathic failure that occurred within the advisory relationship. This would communicate to Tatyana that not only is the advisory relationship important, but that she is important and therefore the relational courage she demonstrated is valued by Dr. Smith, as both she and Tatyana have been changed by their interactions.
Dr. Smith may also choose to enact her theoretical grounding in RCT by validating Tatyana’s experience of disconnection verbally and non-verbally. It is important that Dr. Smith communicate her appreciation for Tatyana’s expression of her experiences in the advisory relationship as well as Tatyana’s advisory needs. This approach demonstrates an alignment with tenet (g), the goal is to develop increased relational competence over one’s life span (Jordan, 2018), as Dr. Smith works to create an open space for Tatyana to continue to express herself by making her respect for Tatyana and her experiences clear, and further develop Tatyana’s relational competence. Once Tatyana can share her experience Dr. Smith may choose to clarify Tatyana’s interpretation of the rupture as a lack of responsiveness. In doing so, Dr. Smith would gain a greater understanding of Tatyana’s strategies of disconnection. By actively assessing for Tatyana’s strategies of disconnection (Jordan, 2017, 2018; Robb, 2007) that could be present, Dr. Smith may be able to assume appropriate responsibility for her contribution to the advising rupture. Dr. Smith may then be able to elicit Tatyana’s collaboration in negotiating ways to move forward from a difficult place in the relationship, exemplifying tenet (f), development is a mutual exchange through which all involved contribute, grow, and benefit (Jordan, 2018; Rogers & Stanciu, 2015), by highlighting mutual investment in the process and relationship. She may ask the following questions to achieve this goal: Can we do something about this difficulty in our relationship? What do I or we need to do to shift toward a trusting and collaborative relationship? By asking questions like these, both Dr. Smith and Tatyana are developing a template for negotiating difficulties in the advisory relationship. Further, Dr. Smith may use this interaction to empower Tatyana in using the advisory relationship as an indicator of personal and professional growth by highlighting the risks taken and the relational courage Tatyana displayed through expression of her disappointment and frustration to Dr. Smith.
Discussion
As highlighted above, there are multiple possible points of entry for Dr. Smith to embody an RCT-informed theoretical grounding. Regardless of the selected point of entry (Luke & Bernard, 2006), it is imperative that Dr. Smith be authentic with her discomfort while being guided by anticipatory empathy as understood in RCT (Jordan, 2018; Rogers & Stanciu, 2015). To do so, Dr. Smith must acknowledge her limitations in awareness, and further express openness to learning about the parts she does not know. Consistent with the RCT tenets and recommendations for effective advising relationships (Ng et al., 2019), there is a call for intentionality from both the advisee and advisor. By intentionally attending to the rupture in the advising relationship, Dr. Smith has the opportunity of strengthening the advising relationship and modeling the negotiation of boundaries, roles, and expectations that in turn has the potential to foster relational resilience in both herself and Tatyana.
Application of RCT-informed advising with Dr. Smith and Tatyana illuminates the salience of mutuality within the working alliance in the advisory relationship as part of effective advising practice. Other scholars have stressed this saliency as well. First, empirically explored by Schlosser and Gelso (2001), the advisory working alliance was defined as “the portion of the relationship that reflects the connection between advisor and advisee that is made during work toward a common goal” (p. 158). When framed in this way, it is evident that the advisory relationship is delineated through a relational perspective that includes the basic tenets of RCT, primarily mutuality, authenticity, and engagement in a growth-fostering relationship (Jordan, 2018). Further, the outcome of advising, whether positive or negative, is dependent on the characteristics of both the advisor and advisee (Knox et al., 2006). This consideration is highlighted in the case presented through Dr. Smith’s careful consideration of the salient characteristics of both Tatyana and herself as she determines an appropriate course of action.
Another important consideration is the advisee’s level of development, which may vary widely. As Kimball and Campbell (2013) suggested, one’s advising approach emerges through a process guided by one’s interpretations of how best to support the developmental needs of students. Therefore, it is important to adopt a guiding theory to advising that attends to the uniqueness of each supervisee and their experiences (Kuo et al., 2017; McDonald, 2019) and reflects a responsiveness to their developmental needs (Barbuto et al., 2011). Similar to the role of the supervisor’s development within developmental theories of supervision (Bernard & Goodyear, 2019), the advising process is further influenced by the advisor’s own level of development, including their values and beliefs, assumptions, ascribed theories, and advising approaches and strategies. Within counselor education, it is common for one’s counseling theory to serve as a guiding framework across other roles and contexts, including academic advising (Bernard & Goodyear, 2019). This practice is seen across disciplines, where advising scholars often borrow theoretical insights from other disciplines to inform their current knowledge base (McDonald, 2019; Musser & Yoder, 2013). This exchange has enriched our understanding of advising and further illuminated the opportunity to use RCT-informed advising within counselor education.
In the case of Dr. Smith, it is evident her grounding in RCT provided multiple points of intervention through which to address the rupture with Tatyana. These points of entry are conducive to the desired outcomes of advising and attentive to the needs of the advising process in general. Although the case illustration above focused on the rupture in the relationship, it is important to highlight the appropriateness of RCT in advising in general. Advisors can also use an RCT-informed perspective to meet a broader range of the developmental advising needs of their advisees in a way that is conducive to both personal and professional growth (Purgason et al., 2016). Doing so is consistent with advising literature that emphasizes the importance of theory-consistent and growth-promoting courses of action within the advising space (Kimball & Campbell, 2013; Musser & Yoder, 2013).
Implications
Despite the lack of formal training in advising (Barbuto et al., 2011), as well as the lack of institutional support for advising practices (Furr, 2018; Ng et al., 2019), advising continues to be an essential component of the duties of counselor educators. This manuscript illustrates an application of RCT-informed advising with the aim of promoting a theory-based approach to enhance the quality of the advisory process for both advisors and advisees. There are multiple implications for training, practice, and research.
We encourage incorporation of RCT-informed advising into the curriculum of doctoral students in counselor education. A natural fit for such integration would be intentional inclusion of advising training as part of professional issues and/or pedagogy instruction. This topic warrants increased attention within counselor education doctoral training. Supervision of RCT-informed advising could also familiarize new professionals with the additional requirements of their roles. Extending advising training into the doctoral internship experience or as a potential supervised or apprenticeship activity could provide ongoing mutual, authentic, growth-promoting engagements wherein the tenets of RCT are enacted and experienced in training, hopefully paralleling what the student replicates with their future advisees.
There are important implications for the practice of RCT-informed advising as well. First, as the theory-based advising and mentoring literature expands, there is a viable frame for the dissemination of RCT-informed advising into a wide range of disciplines across higher education. RCT-informed advising offers a practical option for incorporation and adaptation into relationally focused disciplines like counselor education. In addition to its natural fit to relationally oriented disciplines, we contend that RCT-informed advising may in fact hold a particular promise in disciplines that have not traditionally attended to the inter- and intrapersonal processes associated with educational and professional development. Advising has moved beyond the academic domain of selecting appropriate classes for advancement in each field. Instead, it has shifted toward a multilayered and complex interaction between the developmental, academic, social, and institutional domains (Musser & Yoder, 2013). Therefore, a theoretical grounding in RCT would provide advisors with a framework that is easily translated into the shifting advising practice.
Although there is support for the application of RCT to varying domains within counselor education, specifically supervision and mentorship, there remains little research around RCT-informed advising. To advance the empirical grounding, researchers could begin to examine the outcomes of RCT-informed advising in counselor education, as well as across other disciplines. We encourage researchers to build on existing scholarship addressing the impact of the advising working alliance, particularly the impact of an RCT-informed advising working alliance. In addition, future research can investigate the differences across RCT-informed advising and other models of advising. To do so, both qualitative and quantitative inquiry are needed, and both can increase the visibility of RCT-informed advising as a viable option to be utilized across higher education.
Conclusion
RCT provides a powerful tool for the enhancement of advising across disciplines in higher education, particularly within counselor education and supervision. Counselor educators who can engage with their advisees through this lens may find that they are attending to the complex interactions between the multiple domains involved in advising, fostering greater personal and professional growth within themselves and their advisees. RCT advising offers a viable opportunity for new advising techniques to be implemented to promote creative ways of meeting the ever-increasing demands of higher education. Considering the increased attention of RCT in the counselor education literature in the last decade (Hammer et al., 2014; Lenz, 2016; Purgason et al., 2016; Rogers & Stanciu, 2015), RCT-informed advising can promote not only individual development, but also that of the larger profession through a shared language for collaboration in developing strategies, skills, and resources.
Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure
The authors reported no conflict of interest
or funding contributions for the development
of this manuscript.
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Kirsis A. Dipre, MA, NCC, is a doctoral candidate at Syracuse University. Melissa Luke, PhD, NCC, ACS, LMHC, is Associate Dean for Research and Dean’s Professor at Syracuse University. Correspondence may be addressed to Kirsis A. Dipre, 130 College Place, Suite 440, Syracuse, NY 13210, kadipre@syr.edu.
