Unveiling Clinical Supervisors’ Learning, Development, and Application of Multicultural and Social Justice Principles in Crisis Supervision Using Constructivist Grounded Theory

Date of Award

4-2025

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology

First Advisor

Glinda Rawls, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Mark St. Martin, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Regena Nelson, Ph.D.

Fourth Advisor

Michael Bobbitt, Ph.D.

Keywords

Clinical supervision, counselor education, crisis, crisis supervision, multicultural and social justice principles, trauma

Abstract

Even though the American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) provide ethical, professional, and training standards for counselors and clinical supervisors to responsibly assist clients in crisis, there is a significant deficit in research and scholarship on how to effectively meet those standards, especially in utilizing multicultural and social justice principles (MSJP) within the context of crisis supervision. This qualitative study employed a constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 2014, 2024) approach to explore how clinical supervisors work with supervisees to assist clients experiencing crises and how MSJP are applied in the process of crisis supervision. Two questions guided this study. They were: (1) How do clinical supervisors learn and develop the multicultural and social justice principles they apply in crisis supervision? and (2) How do clinical supervisors apply multicultural and social justice principles with their supervisees in crisis supervision? Data was collected through semi-structured intensive interviews (Charmaz, 2014, 2025) with nine (N = 9) clinical supervisors who met specific criteria: (1) was independently licensed, (2) had completed multicultural counseling coursework, and (3) had experience providing crisis supervision. Content from the interviews were analyzed using constant comparison to identify emergent themes and data analysis was completed in concurrent and iterative processes.

Through data analysis, the researcher developed a grounded theory explaining the learning, development, and application (LDA) of MSJP in crisis supervision. To foster deeper understanding of key themes and the emerging theory, the researcher discussed participants’ definitions for six terms related to crisis supervision: (1) crisis, (2) crisis counseling, (3) crisis intervention, (4) clinical supervision, (5) crisis supervision, and (6) multicultural and social justice principles. Then, the researcher described participants’ discussion of seven key themes associated with the LDA of MSJP: (1) formal education, (2) gaps in training/learning in the field, (3) significance of MSJCC (Ratts et al., 2015, 2016), (4) lived experience, (5) reflection and dialogue, (6) direct counseling and supervision experience, and (7) engagement in social justice advocacy. The emerging theory discussed five relationships between the key themes: (1) formal education and lived experience, (2) gaps in training/learning in the field and lived experience, (3) significance of MSJCC and direct counseling and supervision experience, (4) reflection and dialogue and lived experience, and (5) engagement in social justice advocacy and direct counseling and supervision experience.

The findings revealed that clinical supervisors learned and developed MSJP through a combination of formal education, lived experience, reflection and dialogue, and direct counseling and supervision experience. They applied MSJP in crisis supervision through addressing gaps in training/learning in the field, utilizing the MSJCC framework, engaging in reflection and dialogue, and advocating for social justice. The study concluded with implications for counselor education, clinical supervision, professional development, and social justice advocacy, as well as recommendations for future research to further expand and build upon the contributions of this study.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Abstract Only

Restricted to Campus until

5-1-2027

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