2024 Comp Exam
Study Guide
Question One – Individual
Counseling Theory
• Safran & Muran (2000)
• The therapeutic alliance, defined as the
collaborative and purposeful relationship between
therapist and client, is crucial for successful
therapy outcomes. Strong alliances correlate with
better therapy results, but ruptures—such as
tensions, breakdowns, or impasses—are an inevitable
part of the therapeutic journey. Safran and Muran
provide valuable insights into resolving these
ruptures effectively.
• Resolution begins with identifying ruptures, which
may manifest as tension, discord, or client
withdrawal. Therapists need to be vigilant in
monitoring the alliance and proactively address any
signs of rupture. Self-examination by the therapist
is also key; reflecting on their actions or words
Question One – Individual
Counseling Theory
• Safran & Muran (2000)
• Metacommunication is another critical component,
involving a direct discussion with the client
about the rupture itself, going beyond the content
of their conversations. This meta-level
communication aims to understand both the
therapist's and client's perspectives and work
collaboratively to repair the alliance.
• Disclosure and emotional engagement by the
therapist can also be instrumental. Sharing their
internal experiences related to the rupture can
lead to mutual understanding and emotional
reconnection. This process of skillful rupture
resolution not only strengthens the therapeutic
alliance but also allows for a deeper emotional
experience within the therapeutic context.
Question One – Individual
Counseling Theory
• Safran & Muran (2006)
• Two-Person Psychology
• Safran & Muran (2000)
•
Page 38
• Concept Overview:
• Emphasizes the interactive and relational aspects of the therapeutic process.
• Contrasts with traditional one-person psychology, which focuses on the patient's
internal psychology.
• Key Features:
• The therapeutic relationship is central to the process of change.
• Recognizes the therapist's subjectivity, including feelings, responses, and
relational dynamics contributions, as integral to therapy.
• Therapeutic Process:
• Therapy is a co-constructed process, with both therapist and client contributing to
the therapeutic reality.
• Encourages therapist reflexivity regarding their own contributions and unresolved
issues impacting the therapy.
• Importance of Relational Dynamics:
• Focuses on navigating relational impasses and facilitating change through the
therapeutic relationship.
• Advocates for a relational and interactive approach, emphasizing the therapeutic
encounter's complexity and bidirectionality.
Question One – Individual
Counseling Theory
• Bordin’s (1979) conceptualization of the
Therapeutic Alliance consists of three
essential elements (TGB):
• Agreement on the tasks
• Agreement on the goals of treatment
• Development of a personal bond between the counselor
and client
• The therapeutic alliance may not only be a
prerequisite for positive therapeutic outcomes,
but it may be the primary vehicle of change.
Question One – Individual
Counseling
Theory
• Joiner, T. E. (2010). Interpersonal Theory of
Suicide: Guidance for Working with Suicidal
Clients.
• Joiner, T. (2005). Why People Die by Suicide.
Harvard University Press.
https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvjghv2f
• Factors that increase likelihood
• Thwarted belongingness: When an individual feels
disconnected from others or that they don't belong. This
can motivate them towards suicidal behaviors in order to
escape distressing feelings of loneliness. (Feeling
disconnected from others or that one doesn’t belong
increases suicide risk)
• Perceived burdensomeness: When a person feels their
existence is a burden on loved ones and society. This can
lead them to view suicide as sparing others. (When one
feels like a burden on loved ones and society, it can
lead to viewing suicide as a solution.)
• Acquired capability: Through repeated exposure to painful
experiences and risky events, a person develops an
elevated physical pain tolerance and reduced fear of
Question One – Individual
Counseling Theory
• Barlow, D. H., & Al, E. (2011). Unified protocol for
transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders
• The Unified Protocol refers to a transdiagnostic
cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) approach designed to
treat emotional disorders,
• UP is an emotion-focused treatment approach- designed
to help patients learn how to confront and experience
uncomfortable emotions and learn how to respond to
their emotions in more adaptive ways (p.9)
• UP does not attempt to eliminate uncomfortable
emotions, the emphasis is on bringing emotions back to
a functional level, so that even uncomfortable emotions
can be appreciated as adaptive and helpful.
• p.47- Eliminating these emotions would not be very
helpful because emotions provide us with a lot of
important information when they are occurring in a
functional adaptive manner. Treatment focuses on
bringing greater awareness and understanding of the
ways in which emotional experiences are contributing to
Question One – Individual
Counseling Theory
• Barlow, D. H., & Al, E. (2011). Unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of
emotional disorders
•
5 Core Skills of UP
• Mindful emotion awareness- the practice of nonjudgmental, present-focused attention
toward emotional experiences.
• Challenging automatic thoughts related to external threats and internal threats and
increasing cognitive flexibility
• Identifying and modifying problematic action tendencies, or emotional behaviors.
• Increasing awareness and tolerance of physical sensations through interoceptive
exposures
• Through engagement in emotion exercises.
• 5 Core Treatment Modules
• Mindful emotion awareness
• Cognitive flexibility
• Countering emotional behaviors
• Recognizing and confronting physical sensations
• Emotions exposures
Question Four - Leadership
• The concept of Transformative leadership lends itself strongly to the
advocacy domain in Counselor Education (Okech and Rubel, 2019).
• From a personal interpretation, advocacy invokes the mission as a
means of action, but the mission that is conducive to change can
reduce the bandwidth available to daily tasks (Bass 1985; Burns
1978).
• Transformative Leadership is focused on long-term goals, as
evidenced by the time-inefficient actions of promoting selfdevelopment and conversations that explain the rationale of one’s
own beliefs, morals, and sense of purpose.
• Additionally, this theory lends itself to the inclusivity of its members because it allows for those whose
experience is not in the majority to be heard, understood, and valued. I am drawn to the slow, thorough,
and less-practical aspects of Transformative Leadership because it feels person-oriented.
Question Five – Supervision
• Bernard's Discrimination Model (Janine Bernard, 1979; Bernard & Goodyear, 2019)
• Created in the mid-1970s to assist supervisors-in-training to make cognitive discriminations
among the various choices they had of how to interact with their supervisees. The DM is a
pantheoretical model with the virtues of both parsimony and versatility. It is often the first
model supervisors-in-training learn.
• The supervisor’s role and foci should change across sessions but also within a session. Bernard
(1979, 1997) argues that the effective supervisor is prepared to use all roles and address all foci
for supervisees at any level.
Question Five – Supervision
•
Bernard’s Discrimination Model (Janine Bernard, 1979; Bernard & Goodyear, 2019)
•
Supervisor Roles
•
•
Teacher
•
When the supervisee needs more structure
•
Includes direct feedback, instruction, and modeling
Counselor
•
•
To enhance supervisee reflexivity (awareness of one’s inner process, question and challenge internal attitudes
and assumptions, conscious analysis, drawing on theory, reflection)
Consultant
•
When the supervisee needs less structure; More collegial
•
Encouraging supervisees to trust themselves and their instincts
Question Five – Supervision
• Bernard’s Discrimination Model (Janine Bernard, 1979; Bernard & Goodyear, 2019)
• Foci of Supervision
• Intervention
• What is the supervisee doing in the session that is observable by the supervisor?
• Conceptualization
• How does the supervisee understand what is happening in session?
• How does the supervisee identify patterns and choose interventions?
• Personalization
• How does the supervisee develop their personal style as a counselor?
• How does the supervisee practice self-awareness and manage countertransference?
Teacher Role:
1. Intervention: The supervisor instructs the supervisee in the use of exposure therapy techniques for a client
with specific phobias, outlining the steps for gradual exposure.
2. Conceptualization: The supervisor reviews a case study with the supervisee, highlighting the importance of
understanding a client's family dynamics in their conceptualization of the client's issues.
3. Personalization: The supervisor gives the supervisee an article on the ethical considerations of self-disclosure
in therapy sessions, discussing when it might be appropriate or beneficial.
Counselor Role:
4. Intervention: The supervisor helps the supervisee explore their hesitation to implement homework
assignments in CBT, discussing how their own beliefs about homework might impact their clinical
approach.
5. Conceptualization: The supervisor and supervisee reflect on a case where the supervisee feels stuck,
examining how the supervisee's own cognitive patterns might mirror the client’s and how this recognition
can aid in treatment planning.
6. Personalization: The supervisor explores with the supervisee any discomfort they may feel when clients
express strong emotions, and how this discomfort may influence their therapeutic presence.
Question Five – Supervision
Consultant Role (peer to peer relationship):
7. Intervention: The supervisor encourages the supervisee to research and discuss the
integration of mindfulness practices in therapy with clients dealing with anxiety.
8. Conceptualization: The supervisor and supervisee collaboratively explore the use of
narrative therapy techniques and how these can reshape the client's personal story
and issues of identity.
9. Personalization: The supervisor discusses with the supervisee strategies for managing the
transference dynamics that often emerge when working with clients with borderline
personality disorder, focusing on maintaining professional boundaries while being
empathetic.
Question Five – Supervision
SUPERVISION AS A TWO-PERSON SYSTEM: THE WORKING ALLIANCE (Using
Bordin, 1979, 1983)
• Our ways of viewing the supervisory relationship have mirrored the ways we view the
therapeutic relationship. Since the early 1980s, Bordin’s (1979, 1983) working alliance has
been dominant in conceptualizations of both therapeutic and supervisory relationships.
Bordin’s 1983 article, for example, is one of supervision’s most cited.
Question Five – Supervision
• Bordin, 1983
• The Supervisory Working Alliance
•
Just as the terms of the therapeutic working alliance permit us to transcend the varieties of therapeutic
traditions and their associated goals, the supervisory working alliance allows us to incorporate the varieties of
goals
• The Supervisory Process
•
As should be evident from the foregoing discussions, my view of the supervisory process emphasizes its oneto-one character. In fact, a great deal of supervision is carried on with a supervisor working with a single
supervisee, most frequently a student in training through a practicum or internship arrangement and usually
preceded by didactic and experientially oriented courses designed to introduce the students to concepts
and skills. In observing the operation of service-training agencies it has always been a wonder to me at the
abruptness with which the clinician is transformed into the independent worker
Question Five – Supervision
Bordin, 1983
1. Mastery of Specific Skills: Initially, a beginner therapist focuses on mastering specific techniques (like empathy or
assertiveness training) to reduce confusion and gain confidence by focusing on particular skills that therapy models
emphasize.
2. Enlarging Understanding of Clients: As therapists gain experience, they move beyond basic empathy to develop a
deeper, more nuanced understanding of clients, broadening their observational skills over time and across different
communication channels.
3. Awareness of Process Issues: Therapists learn to perceive therapy as a continuous process, recognizing patterns
and connections in client behavior over time, rather than focusing solely on immediate responses.
4. Increasing Self-awareness and Impact on Therapy: Therapists become more attuned to their own emotions and
how these affect the therapeutic process, emphasizing the importance of self-reflection in improving therapy
outcomes.
5. Overcoming Personal and Intellectual Barriers: This goal involves addressing persistent challenges that hinder
learning and mastery, recognizing that supervision can sometimes function similarly to psychotherapy in addressing
these issues.
Question Five – Supervision
7. Deepening Understanding of Theory and Concepts: Therapists aim to integrate theoretical
knowledge with practical observation and application, enhancing their understanding of therapy
concepts through guided reflection and practice.
8. Stimulus to Research: Supervision acts as a clinical laboratory, not only deepening theoretical
understanding but also providing a fertile ground for identifying questions that can be explored
through research. This includes examining unverified beliefs or contradictions in current
understanding that require further investigation.
9. Maintenance of Standards of Service: This goal emphasizes the importance of maintaining
professional standards in therapy. Effective supervision ensures that these standards are met.
However, the achievement of this goal can be challenging if there's a lack of agreement or
commitment to these standards between the supervisor and supervisee.
Question Five – Supervision
• Critiquing the Discrimination Model using Two-person psychology theory
(Bernard & Goodyear, 2019, p.81-82)
• The most obvious of these resides in the goals and tasks, because supervision is
concerned with education rather than therapy. There also are some differences in the
processes. For example, whereas early client disclosures of personal information and their
feelings facilitate the development of a therapeutic alliance, supervisees who make early
disclosures of personal issues may then experience weaker supervisory alliances (Angus
& Kagan, 2007). Given these differences between therapeutic and supervisory alliances, it
is important that we give the supervisory alliance specific attention.
Question Five – Supervision
Critiquing the Discrimination Model using Ken Hardy's Multicultural Relational
Perspective (Culturally Sensitive Supervision and Training, Harding & Bobes, 2016)
Ken Hardy's Multicultural Relational Perspective emphasizes the importance of cultural
competency, power, and privilege in therapeutic and supervisory relationships. This
perspective critiques the Discrimination Model for possibly lacking a structured
approach to addressing multicultural issues. Incorporating Hardy's principles could
enhance the model by making supervisors more adept at navigating cultural dynamics,
ensuring that supervision is culturally informed and sensitive.
Question Five – Supervision
• Implications for supervision
• These principles provide a conceptual foundation for the types of changes that are necessary to
operationalize supervision within an MRP framework. In the spirit of the MRP, the following is a list of some
sample “self ”-directed questions that we believe are important for supervisors to ask themselves:
1. What are the dimensions of the “self ” that significantly inform how I think about myself ? What is my
dominant privileged self? How does it shape what I look for and what I tend to see?
2. What are the Selves of the Supervisor that inform my approach to supervision? What is my dominant
subjugated self, and how does it contribute to my role as a supervisor and the supervisory process?
3. What role does power and privilege play in my approach to supervision? What role does power and
privilege play in the Supervisory relationships in which I participate? To what extent, if any, do I encourage
supervisees to explore the impact of power, privilege, and oppression within the auspices of their clients’
lives and their relationships with clients?
Question Five – Supervision
1.
How often and under what clinical circumstances do I initiate conversations about the dimensions of culture? What dimensions are
most difficult to talk about? What dimension is the easiest to discuss?
2.
How often and under what circumstances do I encourage supervisees to explore cultural dynamics within the context of their
clinical work?
3.
What is my current philosophy of supervision, and what role does “self ”-disclosure play? To what extent, if any, might I explore the
multiple selves of the supervisee? How often do I encourage supervisees to consider how their multiples selves may impact their
participation in supervision and their therapy with clients?
4.
How would I describe my supervisory style?
5.
To what extent do I explore or encourage exploration of the signs and symptoms of sociocultural trauma within the context of my
work as a supervisor?
6.
What strategies do I routinely employ to assist supervisees in sharpening their skill in thinking relationally? Culturally?
7.
What specific strategies do I employ to enhance cultural sensitivity in both my supervisory relationship as well as within the clinical
work of my supervisees?
Question Five – Supervision
• Critiquing the Discrimination Model using Ken Hardy's Multicultural Relational
Perspective (Culturally Sensitive Supervision and Training, Harding & Bobes, 2016)
• The one size fits all approach to therapy, supervision, and training is no longer a viable approach to practicing effectively in
our world of rapidly shifting demographics. Each of us to has to be poised and prepared to work effectively with clients
and trainees representing a variety of backgrounds, demographics, and life experiences, including those who represent the
so-called mainstream as well as those who are gender nonconforming, religiously devout, racially and religiously oppressed,
and those who are refugees and immigrants. In our view, devoting acute attention to preparing culturally sensitive
clinicians is an ethical imperative. However, the pathway to doing so has to be more comprehensive than simply offering
an isolated course or two in training programs or by having a supervisor discuss “culture” only when a person of color is
involved. Instead, we believe that adopting an MRP in training and supervision holds a far greater promise for preparing
culturally sensitive clinicians
Question Five – Supervision
•
Parallel process (Culturally Sensitive Supervision and Training, Harding & Bobes, 2016)
•
Despite controversies over the definition and arguments about its roots, there is consensus that parallel process in supervision is real (Raichelson, Herron, Primavera,
& Ramirez, 1997). Bernard and Goodyear (2014) proclaimed, “This now has become the best-known phenomenon in supervision: perhaps even the signature
phenomenon” (p. 65).
•
In its original definition (Ekstein & Wallerstein, 1958; Searles, 1955), parallel process occurs when the therapist unconsciously “enacts the patient’s dynamic with the
supervisor” (Frawley- O’Dea & Sarnat, 2000, p. 171), which gives the supervisor insight into the therapeutic relation- ship and guides supervisory interventions. In its
modern form, parallel process occurs when “the dynamics of the therapeutic relationship stimulate and are reflected in the supervisory relation- ship” (Falender &
Shafranske, 2004, p. 111). The reverse dynamic is also considered to be true
•
(Doehrman, 1976), whereby the dynamics of the supervisory relationship get played out in the therapeutic relationship.
•
Parallel process is a key ingredient in multicultural supervision. Inman and Kreider (2013) used a case example to show how parallel process, and Ladany, Friedlander,
and Nelson’s (2005) Critical Events Model (CEM) and Ancis and Ladany’s (2010) Heuristic Model of Nonoppressive Interpersonal Development (HMNID) may be used to
foster multicultural competence in a trainee.“By recognizing trainee behavior as parallel to behavior of the client, supervisors may model multiculturally compe- tent
behavior in supervision in order to influence interactions within the therapy setting” (p. 349).
Question Five – Supervision
• Social Justice(Culturally Sensitive Supervision and Training, Harding & Bobes,
2016)
• Helping supervisees and students move into a “recovery-oriented” worldview (Read et al., 2012) also
engenders a critique of the power differentials built into the “medical model” view of clinical work, thereby
fostering social justice. Supervisees are encouraged to question whether clients who are late to session may
have transportation or childcare issues, for instance. Rather than frame the client who wants to run
overtime in session as pushing boundaries (or “being borderline”), curiosity about other forms of social
support beyond relationship with the clinician is fostered.Viewing the angry teenager from an oppressed
culture as responding to decades of micro-aggressions (Sue et al., 2007) for which socially just redress needs
to be sought, rather than as behaving in an oppositional or defiant way for no cause, helps supervisees
address power differentials and cultural inheritance in their holistic assessment of their clients.
Question Five – Supervision
•
The supervisor should NOT remain grounded in their culture rather than in addition try to understand the cultural
perspective of the supervisee.
•
Supervisors should share with supervisees their own experiences of privilege or marginalization
•
It is best if a supervisor initiates the sharing of his/her background with supervisees rather than latter starting this
process.
•
Core to the MCP model of supervision is the idea that no one dimension of culture is exhaustive and absolute
•
Factors to be considered when designing a culturally competent treatment plan include: client, therapist,
contextual, and research
•
Reflexivity promotes cultural growth
•
Having an in-depth understanding of one's social location is critical in understanding others
Question Five – Supervision
• Supervisors should engage in conversations about social location with
supervisees
• Cultural humility is defined as deliberately looking for the knowledge we
don’t have
•
QUESTION NINE – QUANTITATIVE
• QUESTION/PROMPT: YOU WANT TO KNOW IF THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN CREATIVITY BETWEEN CMHC
AND SCHOOL COUNSELING MASTER’S STUDENTS. YOU RECENTLY READ A PUBLISHED STUDY OF
COUNSELING MASTER’S STUDENTS WITH THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA REPORTING BOTH PROGRAM AND
HANDEDNESS. WHAT WOULD BE AN ACCURATE STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH QUESTION?
• ANSWER: ARE CMHC STUDENTS OR EQUALLY CREATIVE THAN SCHOOL COUNSELING STUDENTS.
• QUESTION: WHAT WOULD BE AN ACCURATE STATEMENT OF A TWO-SIDED ℋ 0?
• ANSWER: THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE IN CREATIVITY BETWEEN CMHC STUDENTS AND SCHOOL COUNSELING
MASTERS' STUDENTS.
• QUESTION: WHAT WOULD BE AN ACCURATE
STATEMENT OF A TWO-SIDED ℋ 1?
• ANSWER: THERE IS SOME LINEAR RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CMHC AND SCHOOL COUNSELING MASTER'S
STUDENTS.
QUESTION NINE – QUANTITATIVE
• QUESTION: THE CHOICE OF THE CHI-SQUARE TEST FOR THE ANALYSIS WAS BASED
UPON THE SCALE OF MEASUREMENT FOR ALL OF THE DATA IN THIS STUDY (I.E.,
PROGRAM, HANDEDNESS). WHAT IS THE SCALE OF MEASUREMENT FOR BOTH OF
THESE VARIABLES?
• ANSWER: NOMINAL SCALE OF MEASUREMENT.
df*
1
negligible
0 < .10
small
.10 < .30
medium
.30 < .50
large
.50 or more
QUESTION NINE – QUANTITATIVE
•
USING DATA SCENARIO A:
QUESTION: WERE THE RESULTS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT GIVEN YOUR PRE-SET ALPHA (SIGNIFICANCE) LEVEL?
ANSWER: IT IS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT AS EVIDENCED BY THE P VALUE OF < .001
QUESTION: FOLLOWING COHEN (1988), HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE MAGNITUDE (EFFECT SIZE) OF THE RESULTS?
ANSWER: MEDIUM EFFECT SIZE OF .356 BASED ON COHENS (1988).
•
USING DATA SCENARIO B:
QUESTION: WERE THE RESULTS STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT GIVEN YOUR PRE-SET ALPHA (SIGNIFICANCE) LEVEL?
ANSWER: IT IS NOT STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT.
QUESTION: FOLLOWING COHEN (1988), HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE MAGNITUDE (EFFECT SIZE) OF THE RESULTS?
ANSWER: NEGLIGIBLE EFFECT SIZE OF .056 BASED ON COHENS.
QUESTION NINE – QUANTITATIVE
GENERIC
QUESTION: GIVEN YOUR N AND THE SUGGESTED SAMPLE SIZE FROM YOUR POWER ANALYSIS:
IS YOUR STUDY UNDERPOWER OR OVERPOWERED?
-THE STUDY IS OVERPOWERED- WE CAN SEE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT RESULTS WITHOUT IT NECESSARILY BEING TRUE. –MIKE
-MORE PARTICIPANTS THAN NECESSARY ACCORDING TO YOUR POWER ANALYSIS, WHICH CAN INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF DETECTING
A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE OR RELATIONSHIP. –ANGEL
IF YOUR STUDY INVOLVED ACTUALLY HUMAN SUBJECTS RATHER THAN EXTANT DATA, WHAT ETHICAL CONCERNS MIGHT BE PRESENT?
ETHICAL CONCERNS WOULD BE WASTE OF RESOURCES, TIME, AND MONEY; OVER RECRUITMENT- EXPOSURE TO UNNECESSARY
RESEARCH.; P HACKING- A LOT OF DATA AND MAKES YOUR P VALUE SMALLER.
QUESTION NINE – QUANTITATIVE
• CRESWELL, J. W., & CRESWELL, J. D. (2017). RESEARCH DESIGN: QUALITATIVE,
QUANTITATIVE, AND MIXED METHODS APPROACHES. SAGE PUBLICATIONS
• LEAVY, P. (2017). RESEARCH DESIGN: QUANTITATIVE, QUALITATIVE, MIXED METHODS, ARTSBASED, AND COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH APPROACHES. GUILFORD
PUBLICATIONS.
• MARTELLA, R. C. (2013). UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH.
GUILFORD PRESS.
• HOW DOES ONE CONSTRUCT AN ADEQUATE RESEARCH QUESTION?
• TO CONSTRUCT AN ADEQUATE RESEARCH QUESTION, IT SHOULD BE SPECIFIC, EMPIRICALLY
TESTABLE, AND RELATED TO THE STUDY GOALS. THE QUESTION SHOULD CONVEY WHAT YOU WANT
TO UNDERSTAND, PREDICT OR EXPLAIN.
• HOW DOES ONE CONSTRUCT ADEQUATE NULL AND ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESES?
• NULL HYPOTHESES STATE THAT THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT OR RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
VARIABLES BEING STUDIED. ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESES STATE THAT THERE IS AN EFFECT OR
RELATIONSHIP. THEY ARE STATED IN A WAY THAT ALLOWS STATISTICAL TESTING.
QUESTION NINE – QUANTITATIVE
• WHAT ARE DIFFERENT METHODS OF SAMPLING?
• SAMPLING METHODS INCLUDE SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING, SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING,
STRATIFIED SAMPLING, CLUSTER SAMPLING, AND CONVENIENCE SAMPLING. THE
METHOD CHOSEN DEPENDS ON THE RESEARCH GOALS AND POPULATION
CHARACTERISTICS.
• WHAT ARE MEDIATOR AND MODERATOR VARIABLES AND HOW DO THEY DIFFER?
• A MEDIATOR VARIABLE EXPLAINS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AN INDEPENDENT AND
DEPENDENT VARIABLE. A MODERATOR AFFECTS THE STRENGTH OF THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN OTHER VARIABLES.
• WHAT ARE INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT VARIABLES?
• INDEPENDENT VARIABLES ARE THE INPUTS - THE CAUSE. DEPENDENT VARIABLES ARE
THE OUTPUTS - THE EFFECT. CHANGES IN INDEPENDENT VARIABLES EXPLAIN CHANGES
IN DEPENDENT VARIABLES.
• WHAT ARE THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RESEARCH AND
PROGRAM EVALUATION?
• RESEARCH AIMS TO PRODUCE GENERALIZABLE KNOWLEDGE. PROGRAM EVALUATION
ASSESSES THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A SPECIFIC PROGRAM OR INTERVENTION. THEY
OVERLAP IN APPLICATION OF SYSTEMATIC METHODS.
QUESTION NINE – QUANTITATIVE
• WHAT ARE DIFFERENT EXPERIMENTAL AND QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS?
• EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS INCLUDE RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS. QUASIEXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS LACK RANDOM ASSIGNMENT, SUCH AS PRE-POST TESTS. THEY
ESTIMATE CAUSALITY BY RULING OUT THREATS TO INTERNAL VALIDITY.
• WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CORRELATION AND CAUSALITY?
• CORRELATION DESCRIBES AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN VARIABLES. CAUSATION IMPLIES ONE
VARIABLE DIRECTLY INFLUENCES CHANGES IN ANOTHER VARIABLE. CORRELATION DOES
NOT PROVE CAUSATION.
• WHAT ARE THE FACTORS JEOPARDIZING INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL VALIDITY?
• THREATS TO INTERNAL VALIDITY INCLUDE HISTORY, MATURATION, TESTING EFFECTS,
INSTRUMENTATION CHANGE, REGRESSION TO THE MEAN, AND ATTRITION. EXTERNAL
VALIDITY CONCERNS RELATE TO GENERALIZATION OF FINDINGS.
• WHAT IS INTER-OBSERVER/INTER-RATER AGREEMENT AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
• INTER-RATER AGREEMENT ENSURES CONSISTENT INTERPRETATION OF QUALITATIVE DATA
BETWEEN DIFFERENT CODERS. HIGH AGREEMENT LENDS MORE CREDIBILITY TO
CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM THE DATA.
QUESTION NINE – QUANTITATIVE
• WHAT IS STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE?
• STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE REFERS TO THE PROBABILITY THAT THE OBSERVED DIFFERENCE OR
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GROUPS IS NOT JUST DUE TO CHANCE ALONE. THE COMMONLY USED
THRESHOLD IS A P-VALUE LESS THAN 0.05 (5% CHANCE THE RESULTS ARE RANDOM).
• WHAT IS STATISTICAL POWER?
• STATISTICAL POWER IS THE LIKELIHOOD THAT A STATISTICAL TEST WILL DETECT A TRUE EFFECT OR
RELATIONSHIP IN THE DATA. IT DEPENDS ON SAMPLE SIZE, EFFECT SIZE, AND SIGNIFICANCE LEVEL.
POWER OF 0.80 OR GREATER IS GENERALLY RECOMMENDED.
• EXAMPLE: A POWER ANALYSIS INDICATES THAT TO DETECT A MODERATE INTERVENTION EFFECT (D =
.5) ON WEIGHT LOSS BETWEEN DIET GROUPS, WITH 80% POWER USING AN INDEPENDENT SAMPLES
T-TEST AND ALPHA LEVEL OF .05, A SAMPLE OF APPROXIMATELY 128 TOTAL PARTICIPANTS IS NEEDED
(64 IN EACH GROUP).
• WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS?
• DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS SUMMARIZE AND DESCRIBE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A DATA SET.
COMMON TYPES ARE THE MEAN, MEDIAN, MODE, STANDARD DEVIATION, VARIANCE, RANGE, AND
PERCENTAGES.
QUESTION NINE – QUANTITATIVE
• WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PARAMETRIC AND NONPARAMETRIC
STATISTICS?
• PARAMETRIC TESTS MAKE ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT POPULATION DISTRIBUTIONS AND
HAVE MORE STRINGENT REQUIREMENTS. NONPARAMETRIC TESTS ARE SKEWED AND
UNEVEN
• WHAT IS EFFECT SIZE?
• EFFECT SIZE QUANTIFIES THE SIZE/MAGNITUDE OF A STATISTICAL EFFECT,
INDEPENDENT OF SAMPLE SIZE. TYPES INCLUDE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEANS,
CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS, AND MEASURES OF EXPLAINED VARIANCE.
• WHAT ARE THE LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT?
• LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT CONSIST OF NOMINAL, ORDINAL, INTERVAL AND RATIO
SCALES BASED ON WHETHER THEY CAN BE CATEGORIZED, RANKED, HAVE MEANINGFUL
INTERVALS, AND AN ABSOLUTE ZERO.
• EXAMPLES: NOMINAL DATA: GENDER CATEGORIES OF MALE AND FEMALE | ORDINAL
DATA: SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS RANKINGS OF LOWER, MIDDLE AND UPPER CLASS |
INTERVAL DATA: SCORES ON AN ANXIETY SCALE QUESTIONNAIRE |RATIO DATA: WEIGHTS
OF PARTICIPANTS IN A WEIGHT LOSS STUDY
QUESTION NINE – QUANTITATIVE
• IN STATISTICAL HYPOTHESIS TESTING, WHAT ARE TYPE I AND TYPE II ERRORS?
•
TYPE I ERROR IS INCORRECTLY REJECTING THE NULL HYPOTHESIS (FALSE POSITIVE). TYPE II ERROR IS FAILING TO
REJECT A FALSE NULL HYPOTHESIS (FALSE NEGATIVE).
•
EXAMPLE: TESTING EFFECTIVENESS OF A NEW DRUG ON DEPRESSION - TYPE I ERROR: CONCLUDING THE DRUG
REDUCES DEPRESSION WHEN IT ACTUALLY DOES NOT (INCORRECT REJECTION OF NULL HYPOTHESIS) TYPE II
ERROR: FAILING TO DETECT A REAL EFFECT OF THE DRUG ON DEPRESSION (FALSE RETENTION OF NULL
HYPOTHESIS)
• WHAT ARE UNIT OF ANALYSES?
•
UNIT OF ANALYSIS REFERS TO THE ENTITY BEING ANALYZED - WHETHER INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS, ARTIFACTS,
GEOGRAPHICAL UNITS, ETC. IT IS THE "WHAT" OR "WHO" BEING STUDIED.
•
EXAMPLE: IN A STUDY EXAMINING HOW AVERAGE FAMILY INCOME LEVEL IMPACTS HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION
RATES, THE UNIT OF ANALYSIS IS STATES, WITH GRADUATION RATES AND INCOME AVERAGES COMPILED AND
COMPARED AT THE STATE LEVEL RATHER THAN INDIVIDUAL LEVEL.
• WHAT INFERENTIAL STATISTICAL ANALYSIS GOES WITH EACH COMBINATION OF RESEARCH QUESTION AND
LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT?
•
THE RESEARCH QUESTION AND MEASUREMENT LEVEL DICTATE THE APPROPRIATE ANALYSES, SUCH AS ANOVA,
REGRESSION, T-TESTS, CHI-SQUARE, ETC. MATCHING THESE ELEMENTS IS KEY.
• ON A CONCEPTUAL LEVEL, WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FREQUENTIST AND BAYESIAN STATISTICS?
•
FREQUENTIST RELIES ON SAMPLING DISTRIBUTIONS AND PROBABILITY OF RESULTS. BAYESIAN INCORPORATES
PRIOR INFORMATION AND TREATS PARAMETERS AS RANDOM VARIABLES, COMPUTING POSTERIOR PROBABILITY
DISTRIBUTIONS.
Multicultural and Social
Justice
Ratts et al (2016) Developing Multicultural and social justice
competencies
• Updating the first msjcc from 1992
1.The new competencies combine multicultural understanding and social justice into a
single framework for counselors.
2.The competencies consider the counselor's and client's identities and backgrounds, and
how differences in privilege and marginalization impact their relationship.
3.The competencies are organized in a sequence, starting with the counselor's selfawareness, then understanding the client's worldview, then the counseling relationship,
and finally counseling actions and advocacy.
4.Within the sequence are four skill areas counselors should develop: attitudes/beliefs,
knowledge, skills, and putting it all into action.
5.The competencies are based on understanding the complexity of people's multiple
identities, how privilege and oppression impact mental health, looking at individuals in
their social context, and combining individual counseling with advocacy for social justice.
6.The competencies provide an aspirational guide for counselors to continually develop
cultural responsiveness and promote social justice throughout their careers and work
with clients, in research, training, and advocacy.
Multicultural and Social
Justice
Pamela Hays (1996) Addressing the complexities of culture and
gender in counseling
1. The ADRESSING model helps counselors think about 9 important cultural factors that
affect clients: Age, Disability, Religion, Ethnicity, Social status, Sexual orientation,
Indigenous heritage, National origin, and Gender.
2.The model helps counselors look at their own biases and lack of experience with
minority cultures. It also helps them think about how multiple cultural influences impact
their clients.
3.The article explains the differences between race, ethnicity, and culture. It says culture
should be defined broadly, but counselors should still pay attention to power differences
and discrimination against ethnic minorities.
4.The model uses ideas from two approaches: one that looks at issues across cultures,
and one that focuses on specific cultural groups.
5.Counselors can use the model to become more aware of their own cultural backgrounds
and biases. They can also use it to figure out which cultural influences are most
important to their clients, based on what clients choose to share or not share.
6.Becoming a culturally sensitive counselor is an ongoing process. The ADRESSING
model provides a framework to help counselors examine their biases and organize
complex cultural information as they develop their skills over time.
Multicultural and Social Justice
Goodman et al. (2004) Training counseling psychologist as social
justice agents
1.Counseling psychology should work to fix unfair systems in society, not just help
individuals.
2.The article gives six ideas for how to do this:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Be aware of your own biases and power
Share power with the community
Listen to the voices of marginalized groups
Show how social problems cause personal problems
Build on what communities are already doing well
Teach communities to keep making change on their own
3.A counseling program has students work on social justice projects as part of their
training.
4.Doing social justice work involves facing difficult ethical questions with no clear answers.
5.There are challenges to doing this work in universities, but it's still important to do.
6.The authors want social justice to be a bigger part of what counseling psychology
programs teach, research, and practice. They want more support for people doing this
work and more collaboration with communities.
Multicultural and Social
Justice
Question: Based on research and scholarly writings, discuss the
rationale for requiring professional counselors to develop
multicultural competence and cultural humility
Answer: Ratts et al. (2016) present the Multicultural and Social
Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC) framework, which
emphasizes the importance of counselors developing selfawareness, understanding clients' worldviews, and considering
the impact of power, privilege, and oppression on the counseling
relationship. They argue that multicultural competence is
necessary for counselors to provide culturally responsive and
socially just services.
Multicultural and Social
Justice
Question: Describe three evidence-based strategies a
professional counselor can use in their practice to promote
diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Answer: Goodman et al. (2004) present principles drawn from
feminist and multicultural counseling theories that can guide
social justice work. These include (1) ongoing self-examination to
identify biases and understand power dynamics, (2) sharing
power with clients and communities, (3) giving voice to
marginalized groups, (4) raising consciousness about the impact
of social conditions on well-being, (5) building on clients'
strengths, and (6) leaving clients with tools for social change.
Implementing these principles in counseling practice can promote
diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Multicultural and Social Justice
Question: Discuss briefly a scenario a professional counselor
may encounter clients whose values and beliefs conflict with
those of the counselor. Discuss two strategies the counselor may
use to navigate or address the situation.
Answer: Hays (1996) discusses the importance of counselors
examining their own values and biases, particularly when working
with clients from different cultural backgrounds. When faced with
a values conflict, counselors can engage in self-reflection to
increase awareness of their own positionality and how it may
impact the counseling relationship.
Qualitative Research; Creswell &
Poth (2017) • Grounded Theory
• Background and Philosophical Underpinnings:
• a way of thinking in sociology that pays attention to how people understand
their life events by talking and interacting with others.
• grounded theory believes that our understanding of what's real is built
together by people as they relate to each other in society.
• Research Design and Problem Formation:
• really good for looking at how people interact in society and for coming up
with explanations about why people behave the way they do and how society
works.
• researchers focus on how things happen or change over time, usually asking
questions like "What happens when...?" or "How does this thing happen step
by step?”
• When doing a literature review, the goal is to figure out what we don't yet
understand fully and to make the study more precise. However, researchers
need to be careful to keep an open mind and not let their existing beliefs or
assumptions skew their research.
Research Process
• Identifying a research problem
• Reviewing the literature
• Specifying a purpose for the research
• Identifying research questions
• Identifying appropriate research design and
methods
• Collecting data
• Analyzing and interpreting the data
• Reporting and evaluating the research
Qualitative Research; Creswell
& Poth (2017)
• Grounded Theory
• Participant Selection and Sampling:
• In grounded theory, we pick people to study based on how much they can help us build our theory.
• We keep choosing new people to study as our ideas get better. We stop when adding more people
doesn’t give us new information.
• Data Collection Methods:
• The most common way to gather information in grounded theory is to have deep conversations with
people. We can also watch what they do, look at documents, and use other methods.
• These conversations are usually casual or guided, but not strict, so that people can freely talk about
their experiences.
• Data Analysis:
• When analyzing data in grounded theory, we constantly compare bits of data, sort them, and piece
them together differently.
• This sorting process starts with noting down basic ideas, organizing these ideas into groups, and
then choosing certain groups to form a full theory.
• During this process, the researcher takes notes to keep track of new thoughts, how ideas are
connected, and to help decide what to study next.
• The final outcome is a detailed theory that is based on the information collected and explains the
topic we are interested in, within its real-life context.
Ground Theory
• Involves gathering data around experience,
process, and interaction.
• Moves beyond description to generation of a
theory, often describing a process.
• Has been criticized as too reductionist and
mechanical – however Charmaz (2006) has added a
constructivist perspective.
• Very systematic data analysis.
• Best suited for problems that are processoriented.
Qualitative Research; Creswell &
Poth (2017)
• Phenomenology
• Background and Philosophical Underpinnings:
• This approach is about understanding what personal experiences really mean
and the deep reasons behind events or situations.
• Phenomenology believes that what we see and what happens around us only
becomes real as we experience it and think about it.
• There are various types of phenomenology, each with its own set of ideas
about how we experience and interpret the world.
• Research Design and Problem Formation:
• Phenomenological research tries to capture what a particular experience
means for a group of people.
• The questions in this research usually try to dig into what an experience
means, how it's structured, and its core nature for a group.
• Researchers need to keep their own views and experiences out of the way to
truly understand the experiences and thoughts of the people participating in
the study.
Qualitative Research; Creswell &
Poth (2017)
• Phenomenology
• Participant Selection and Sampling:
•
In studies about people's experiences, we choose a small number of participants (usually between 3 to 10) who really know about
what we're studying.
• Data Collection Methods:
•
•
•
Interviews are usually done in person, face-to-face, allowing direct conversation between the researcher and the participant.
researchers may also use other methods like observations or participant journals to gain
additional insights.
ask open-ended questions that encourage participants to provide in-depth descriptions of their
personal experiences related to the topic being studied.
• Data Analysis:
•
•
The goal of phenomenological data analysis is to identify the essence or underlying structure of the phenomenon being studied.
Creswell and Poth describe a structured approach to phenomenological data analysis that includes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Describing the researcher's personal experiences with the phenomenon (bracketing).
Developing a list of significant statements from the data.
Grouping the statements into meaning units or themes.
Writing a textural description of "what" the participants experienced.
Writing a structural description of "how" the experience happened.
Combining the textural and structural descriptions into a composite description of the essence of the phenomenon.
• Creswell & Poth (2018) stress that in phenomenological research, it's crucial to: Prioritize the experiences of the
participants over the researcher's own interpretations. Conduct a thorough and meticulous analysis of the collected
data. They also explain that there are different ways to approach phenomenological research and provide examples of
published studies that have used this method.
Phenomenology
• Describes the common ‘lived experience’ of a
phenomenon across several individuals.
• Methods are heavily grounded in
phenomenological philosophy.
• Methods can be quite systematic ala Moustakas.
• The end product is an essence not an
explanation.
• Best suited to problems where deep
understanding of a narrow slice of experience
will provide useful insight.
Qualitative Research; Creswell
& Poth (2017)
• Research paradigm (2017): A research paradigm is a set of basic
beliefs and assumptions that guide how researchers view reality
(ontology), how they interact with what they're studying
(epistemology), and how they go about conducting their research
(methodology).
• Epistemology (2017): In research, epistemology is about what we
consider as knowledge and how we believe we can gain that
knowledge. It's about the relationship between the researcher and
what's being studied.
• Constructivist perspective (2017): The constructivist perspective in
qualitative research believes that reality is created by people's
interactions and experiences. Researchers with this view try to
understand the different ways people see and interpret the situation
being studied, based on their own unique experiences.
Exploring Epistemology
• When you want to know something what do you do?
• In your personal life?
• In your role as a counselor?
• In your role as a researcher?
• How do these represent assumptions about
epistemology?
• What kind of knowing seems most important to
you?
Inductive vs. Deductive Logic
• Induction usually moves from the specific to the
general, while deduction moves from general to
specific.
• Arguments based on experience/observation are best
expressed inductively, while those based on laws,
rules, or principles are best expressed
deductively. Consider the following example:
• Anna: I've noticed that every time I kick a ball
back down, so I guess this time when I kick it
up, it will come back down.
• Ron: That's Newton's Law. Everything that goes
come down. So, if you kick the ball up, it must
come down.
Constructivism
• Reality is understandable as multiple, equally
true, mental constructions that are ‘socially and
experientially based’.
• Reality is local and specific in nature and is
dependent on the people or groups that hold the
construction.
• Investigator and investigated are linked so that
findings are created during research transactional and subjectivist.
• These constructions are elicited and refined via
‘interaction between and among’ investigators and
investigated and interpreted using conventional
hermeneutic techniques.
• The goal is to create a ‘consensus construction’
Qualitative Research; Creswell
&
Poth
(2017)
• Research question (2008, 2017): A research question is a clear and
specific question that guides a research study. It focuses the study's
purpose and states exactly what the researcher wants to find out by
doing the study.
• Characteristics of qualitative research (2017): Qualitative research is
a type of research that: (a) happens in real-life settings, (b) involves
the researcher as the main tool for gathering data, (c) uses multiple
ways of collecting data, (d) can change and develop as the study
goes on, rather than being completely planned from the start, (e)
requires the researcher to interpret the data, (f) looks at social
phenomena (things that happen in society) as a whole.
• Epistemological differences between qualitative and quantitative
research:
• Qualitative research often believes that knowledge is created through
interactions between the researcher and participants (constructivist or
interpretivist epistemology).
• Quantitative research typically believes in an objective reality that can be
measured and tested through observation and hypothesis testing (positivist or
post-positivist epistemology).
Definitions
• Ontology - the philosophical study of being, existence,
and reality.
• Epistemology - the branch of philosophy concerned with
the nature of knowledge.
•
•
•
•
What is knowledge?
How is knowledge acquired?
What do people know?
How do we know what we know?
• Ontology
• Realist
• Relativist
• Epistemology
• Objectivist
• Constructivist
• Pragmatism
Creswell and Poth (2018)
characteristics of qualitative
research:
• Natural setting
• Researcher as the key instrument
• Multiple sources of data
• Inductive analysis
• Participants’ meanings
• Emergent design
• Theoretical lens
• Interpretive inquiry
• Holistic account
Qualitative Research; Creswell &
Poth (2017)
• Purposeful or purposive sampling (2017): In qualitative
research, purposeful sampling means that the researcher
chooses specific participants and locations that can provide a
lot of valuable information about the topic being studied. The
main goal is to gain a deep understanding of the subject, rather
than to apply the findings to a larger population.
• Coding (2017): Coding in qualitative research is the process of
arranging and organizing data by assigning labels or categories
to parts of text (or other data) that capture the main idea or
meaning of the data. These codes can be created in two ways:
• Inductively: codes emerge from the data itself
• Deductively: codes are based on existing theories or previous research
Qualitative Research; Lincoln &
Guba (1985)
• Credibility (alternate to internal validity): In naturalistic research,
credibility is about making sure the researcher accurately captures
and presents the different ways participants understand and
experience reality. It's not about matching findings to one "true"
reality, but about ensuring the findings make sense to the people
being studied.
• Transferability (alternate to external validity or generalizability): it is
about whether findings from a study can be applied to other
contexts. In naturalistic research, it's not the researcher's job to
prove that their findings apply to everyone. Instead, they provide
detailed information about their study's context, and it's up to others
to decide if the findings might apply to their own situation.
Naturalistic studies are thought to be just as strong as traditional
studies in terms of being able to be applied to other contexts.
Qualitative Research; Lincoln
&
Guba
(1985)
• Trustworthiness: Trustworthiness is a way to
describe the overall quality and strength of a
qualitative study. The main question is how the
researcher can convince others that the findings
are important and should be taken seriously. In
traditional research, trustworthiness is judged by
looking at internal validity, external validity,
reliability, and objectivity. However, the authors
argue that these standards don't work well for
naturalistic research, which assumes there are
multiple, constructed realities rather than one
single, concrete reality.
• Lincoln and Guba suggest different criteria for
trustworthiness that are specifically designed for
naturalistic research:
• Credibility replaces internal validity as a better way to
establish that the findings are true and accurate.
Qualitative Research; Morrow
(2005)
1.Subjectivity: In constructivist research, subjectivity is seen as something
valuable and unavoidable, rather than something to be avoided or
controlled. Morrow firmly positions herself within a
constructivist/interpretivist paradigm, with a strong critical feminist
perspective.
2.Researcher subjectivity and reflexivity: Morrow believes that paying
attention to subjectivity and reflexivity is essential for trustworthy research,
no matter what research approach is used. Reflexivity means that
researchers are open about their own perspectives, assumptions, and
biases. This helps readers understand where the researcher is coming
from and allows researchers to be aware of their own subjectivities.
3.Prioritizing subjective experiences: Constructivist research focuses on
understanding individual, subjective experiences and meanings. The goal
is to capture and interpret the unique ways each participant understands
reality.
4.Subjectivity as a source of knowledge: In constructivist research,
subjectivity is not seen as a bias to be avoided, but as a way to generate
knowledge. Morrow cites Heshusius (1994), who suggests that
researchers should embrace subjectivity and engage with participants in a
more involved way. This subjective, engaged approach is seen as helping
Qualitative Research; Morrow
(2005)
• Reflexivity: Reflexivity means being able to examine yourself and your role as a
researcher. It's a crucial part of doing rigorous qualitative research.
• In qualitative studies, researchers need to constantly reflect on and question their
own influence throughout the research process. One way to do this is by keeping
a journal from the beginning to the end of the study. In this journal, researchers
write down their thoughts, feelings, and any biases they notice. This helps them
understand how their personal background and perspective might shape the
study and its findings.
• Morrow suggests keeping detailed notes or voice recordings about all the
decisions made during the research process. These notes create a record of how
the researcher's thoughts and experiences changed over time, providing insight
into how they interacted with the study.
• By being reflexive, researchers can better understand their relationship to the
research topic and participants, and how this influences the way they collect,
analyze, and interpret data. Reflexivity is essential for making the research
process transparent and credible, allowing others to see how the researcher's
subjectivity has shaped the study. In essence, reflexivity is a key aspect of
conducting rigorous and trustworthy qualitative research, and keeping a personal
journal and detailed audit trail are important tools for achieving this.
Qualitative Research; Ponterotto
(2005)
• A research paradigm is a set of beliefs about how the world works
that guides researchers. It's like a map that helps them figure out
their philosophical position, how they view their research subject,
and how they choose the appropriate tools, participants, and
methods for conducting their study. This paradigm includes the
researcher's beliefs about what is real (ontology), how knowledge
can be acquired or understood (epistemology), how their personal
values might influence their research (axiology), how they
communicate about their research (rhetorical structure), and the
processes they use to carry out their research (methodology).
• Epistemology, in the context of research, focuses on the
relationship between the researcher (the person seeking knowledge)
and the research participant or the thing being studied (the subject of
knowledge). It deals with questions like: What counts as knowledge?
How do we gain knowledge? What is the connection between the
researcher and what they are researching?
Qualitative Research;
Ponterotto (2005)
• Constructivists-interpretivists believe that reality is coconstructed between the researcher and the researched, and
that their interaction is central to capturing the "lived
experience" of the participant. Subjectivity is embraced.
Qualitative Research (Dr. Rubel)
• When to use qualitative approaches (Creswell &
Poth, 2018):
• When an issue needs to be explored (not confirmed,
measured, proved, or disproved)
• When variables need to be identified rather than
measured, correlated, or confirmed
• When a population’s voice has not be adequately
represented in the literature
• When we need a complex or holistic understanding of
an issue
• When an issue is best addressed by deeply
understanding a “lived experience”
Central Qualitative Research
Questions
• Are open-ended, evolving, non-directional
• Are exploratory, explanatory, descriptive, or
emancipatory
• Are more WHAT and HOW than WHY.
Qualitative Research Purposes
• The purpose of this (qualitative or specific
approach to qualitative) study is to (explore,
describe, understand, discover, etc.) the
phenomenon, process, experience, culture,
for (participant or participant group) at
(specific location if applicable
Qualitative Research Problems
(Creswell & Poth, 2018)
• Define the need for the study
• Present not just a gap in the literature but a
particular kind of gap
• When complex or holistic understanding of an issue
is needed
• When variables and factors are not well defined or
understood
• When variable or issues are unmeasureable
• When particular populations or voices are
underrepresented in the literature.
Group Counseling
• Group Development
 Group Development – If using Tuckman’s, know something
about the theory. How does norming work? Etc.
 Group ethics – know something about confidentiality, do
not harm, the ethic guidelines. Can’t guarantee
confidentiality; not everyone (80%) are not licensed.
 Basic group dynamics – know norms, rules, etc.
• Group Leadership Theory
 There is a lot going on in the group; don’t treat the
group like an individual session. You should be able to
see interactions from the leadership perspective.
 Helps conceptualize group interactions.
o What is a good interactions? What is an unhelpful interaction.
 Gives ways to formulate interactions that help the group
function.
 Individual and group development theories do not provide
this; only group leadership.
o Look at Yalom; FCT is Whittaker and Kline
Group Counseling
• FCT, Whittaker (1964) Kline 2003
 Try to decrease our anxiety
 What raises the anxiety is the groups members
concerns.
o If there is something they are concerned about, it will
come up. Not overly direct; decrease anxiety.
 Disturbing Motives
o I want to be acceptive, I want to be understood, I want to
belong, these are things they want in the group; or, talk
about a specific issue. A desire for this to happen in the
group. Moves towards what people want in the group
 Reactive Motives
o Fears of the disturbing motives happening. Reactive is
ALWAYS a fear. Not being able to do what you want to do.
Avoids what people hate in the group
 Focal Conflict: Between the disturbing motive
and reactive motive
Group Counseling
• FC causes anxiety; get together to reduce
anxiety, return to homeostasis. Solutions are:
 Means that the group uses to reduce anxiety
o Enabling solutions
 A good thing. Initially increases anxiety but overtime, reduces
anxiety
 Confronts the fear
 Allow to talk about their disturbing motives; talk about their
reactive motives
o Restrictive solutions
 Lower anxiety quickly but are resistance and avoidance and
detachment
 Really creative
 Help members avoid their reactive motives
 Then the FC continues to exists as the group progresses along
Group Counseling
• Member’s therapeutic experiences
 Habitual Solution: People have a way of natural
responding (disturbing, restrictive)
 Deviant member may become a scapegoat for being
different: a personal solution that is different than
the group
• Therapeutic Process – Goals
 A leader wants to identify restrictive solutions and
highlight those and challenge those
 Want to help people develop healthier personal solutions
 Develop greater tolerance for anxiety
 Help folks have less restrictive personal conflicts
• Therapeutic process – necessary conditions
 People don’t just get hanging; what are you going to do?
A group leader enables solutions
 People that don’t encounter them won’t be successful
 Need opportunities to learn about alternative solutions
like challenges; coached through to more effective
solutions
Group Counseling
• Role of the therapist
 Make sure the group feels safe
 The leader is responsible for developing an enabling
culture; need to be largely enabling
 What they want from the group; what are they afraid of?
Expressing their wants
 Challenge the restrictive solutions
o Some sort of negotiation
o People are negotiation options that are more enabling or more
restrictive
o Frustrate those restrictive solutions
o Suggest enabling solutions
o Requesting/probing for members to talk more about what they
want; what they are afraid of
 In touch with the anxiety level of the group; most
people need to talk about this; what is the energy
level; what is the high energy group
o
o
o
o
Have a finger on the group
Keep it at a medium level
Lower level of they are vulnerable
Keep them curious and at the edge of their seat
 Escape hatch solution
o When people are in their heads; get them out of the group; ask
them to think about something; go on a monologue to subside or
reduce anxiety of the group
Group Counseling
• Identify focal conflict
 Looking at themes that people want or resist
 Restrictive solutions
 Identify wants and needs of the group; look at
content and what people tend to be talking about
• Oppressive dynamics that come up in groups
 Group is a microcosm of life
 Everyone’s best intention, groups tend to represent
oppression and the outside world.
 Agent group members will dominate the interaction
 Oppressive dynamics are perpetuated in group
 Agent group members will dominate group norms
 Agent group members are privileged identifies