Date of Graduation
5-2019
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education (PhD)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders
Advisor/Mentor
Higgins, Kristin K.
Committee Member
Perryman, Kristi
Second Committee Member
Blisard, Paul
Third Committee Member
Grover, Kenda S.
Keywords
Counselor training; Experiential groups; Group therapy; Lived experiences of counseling students; Phenomenology
Abstract
Research in the fields of experiential learning, group psychotherapy, and neuroscience has supported the inclusion of the experiential group in counseling training programs due to the potential for positive impact on students’ personal and professional development (Badenoch & Cox, 2010; Denninger, 2010). Investigations exploring counseling students’ experiences of the experiential group have been primarily limited to quantitative studies, while in-depth qualitative inquiry has been minimal. Additionally, an extensive review of the literature has found there have been no qualitative studies examining experiential groups co-facilitated by a course instructor and a doctoral student. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of counseling students in a co-facilitated experiential group. Counseling students in a South Central CACREP-accredited program were purposefully selected as participants for this study, based on the criteria of membership and successful completion of a 9-week experiential group facilitated by the course instructor and a doctoral student. This study utilized qualitative methodology to permit in-depth inquiry into and understanding of this phenomenon. Results of this research may provide a deeper understanding of counseling students’ experiences in a co-facilitated experiential group. This study may also offer a rationale for best practices in the facilitation of the required group experience in counseling training programs.
Citation
Meyers, A. (2019). A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experiences of Counseling Students in a Co-Facilitated Experiential Group. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/3272
Included in
Cognitive Neuroscience Commons, Counseling Psychology Commons, Counselor Education Commons, Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy Commons, Psychological Phenomena and Processes Commons