The Lived Experiences of Academic Advisors with Counseling Degrees in Addressing Wellness

191 Pages·2017·1.36 MB·English

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Theses and Dissertations Graduate School
2017
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Jennifer M. Gerlach
Virginia Commonwealth University
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Part of the Counselor Education Commons, Sports Sciences Commons, Sports Studies Commons,
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© Jennifer M. Gerlach
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This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass. It
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 Jennifer M. Gerlach 2017
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The Lived Experiences of Academic Advisors with Counseling Degrees in Addressing Wellness
with College Student-Athletes

A dissertation submitted in partial requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in
Education with a concentration in Counselor Education and Supervision at Virginia
Commonwealth University.

By

Jennifer M. Gerlach
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, University of Tennessee, 2007
Master of Education, Counselor Education, 2011

Director: Dr. Donna M. Gibson
Professor, Department of Counseling and Special Education

Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia
June, 2017
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Acknowledgement

There are several people to whom I am deeply indebted for their unconditional love and
support not only through this doctoral process, but also in my life before it. First, to my parents
to whom my dissertation is dedicated, thank you for instilling the value of education, promoting
intellectual curiosity, and nurturing my innate love for learning from childhood. Particularly to
my mother, Sue Sampson, you have been a shining example of class, grace, intelligence, humor,
ambition, and taking life in stride. Simply put, you are Superwoman and I cannot express how
much I look up to, admire, and love you. To my siblings, Anna, Matthew, and Laura, thank you
all for your love, support, and always well-timed humor and wit. We don’t get to choose our
family, but I am beyond blessed to share the same DNA as y’all. To my favorite person,
Branson Mauck, who knew our serendipitous first encounter would turn into such a deep love
and amazing partnership? Thank you for loving me wholeheartedly, being my personal
cheerleader, purposely deciding to do life with me, and choosing an adventure halfway across the
country with me. I’m so excited for our future adventures together and can’t wait to see where
our life goes next!
This dissertation would not have been possible without the endless support, enduring
encouragement, gentle challenges, and expectations of excellence from my amazing committee.
Dr. Brendan Dwyer, thank you for your expertise in athletics, being a helpful sounding board
with my ideas, and planting seeds for future ideas and research. Dr. Philip Gnilka, I am so glad I
asked you to be on my committee before you even arrived at VCU, and I’m even more grateful
you agreed. Thank you for answering my million questions, talking me off the ledge at times,
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and assuaging my fears of just about anything, both rational and irrational. Dr. Abigail Conley, I
am so fortunate I had the opportunity to have you as a professor and now, as a burgeoning
counselor educator, I see the value of assigning reading quizzes to students (and to my future
students, I am sorry for this!). I am deeply grateful to you for also answering my million
questions, being such a supportive mentor by providing your critical eye and insight to my own
teaching or on this dissertation, and constantly validating my experiences and anxieties of being
a beginning researcher and counselor educator with warmth and positivity. And lastly, to my
dissertation committee chair, Dr. Donna Gibson, I really don’t know how to express my
profound appreciation for everything you’ve done for me and for the flawless example you’ve
set for me. The impact you’ve had on my life as a counselor, beginning counselor educator and
researcher, advocate, mentor, and, even more importantly, as a human being is absolutely
immeasurable. You have always seen beyond the limits I set for myself, and your dedication to
this profession and your students is aspirational. Thank you for being a calming voice of support
in difficult times both personally and in this doctoral process, for essentially being my surrogate
mother, and for making me a better person. I am eternally grateful for you.
To all of my own cohort members and subsequent cohorts with whom I’ve had the
pleasure of interacting, no one can really understand what being a doctoral student is like until
you become one. Thank you for being “in it” with me as well as for your humor, support,
perspective, and camaraderie. Particularly to Shajuana Isom-Payne, thank you for being my soul
sister, confidante, perpetual sounding board and processor, party planner extraordinaire, and
partner in crime. I could not have survived this journey without you. To my research team
comprised of Shajuana and Robyn Walsh (whom I affectionately dub the “Queen of
Efficiency”), thank you both for your insights, time, and energy. This dissertation would not
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have been possible without you. To Kate Stephens and Caiti Vining, y’all are the absolute best.
I am so deeply grateful for our time together as the Babes of 2912 and I love y’all dearly. Your
friendship, “girl time”, laughter, and fun provided much needed distractions to reenergize me and
kept me going through this process. To Julie Stephens, thank you so much for reading,
rereading, and editing my dissertation, particularly in such a short amount of time. You are so
precise and thorough and I am incredibly appreciative of your time and energy. And to my many
friends, coworkers, extended family, and supporters, y’all are the family I choose. Thank you all
for supporting me this educational and professional endeavor.
Lastly, in addition to my parents, this dissertation is also dedicated to all of the nasty
women out there and to the supporters of us nasty women. Don’t settle for or accept the status
quo. Keep dreaming, keep fighting, keep breaking through those glass ceilings. Above all else,
stay united and keep on keepin’ on.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables ...................................................................................................................................x
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ xi
Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... xii
Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................................1
Need for the Study ...............................................................................................................4
Statement of Problem ...........................................................................................................6
Purpose of Study ..................................................................................................................7
Significance of Study ...........................................................................................................7
Definition of Terms..............................................................................................................8
Organization of Study ........................................................................................................10
Chapter 2: Literature Review .........................................................................................................12
Student-Athletes .................................................................................................................13
Student-Athlete Experience ...................................................................................14
Time Constraints ........................................................................................14
Academic Concerns ...................................................................................15
Graduation Rates ............................................................................15
Academic Clustering ......................................................................16
Career Issues ..............................................................................................17
Injury ..........................................................................................................19
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At-Risk Behaviors ......................................................................................20
Bias and Exploitation .................................................................................21
Stereotyping ...................................................................................22
Racial Discrimination ....................................................................22
Gender Bias ....................................................................................23
Systems ..................................................................................................................24
Psychological Health and Wellness of Student-Athletes .......................................28
Perceptions of Help Seeking Behaviors .....................................................31
Barriers to Seeking Mental Health/Wellness Support ...............................32
Academic Advising ............................................................................................................34
History....................................................................................................................34
Current Issues.........................................................................................................35
Parallels Between Advising and Counseling .............................................41
Academic Advisors and Student-Athletes .............................................................45
Developmental Wellness and Advising .................................................................49
Wellness .............................................................................................................................51
Wellness and the Counseling Profession ...............................................................52
Holistic Wellness Model ............................................................................54
Wheel of Wellness .........................................................................54
Indivisible Self Model of Wellness................................................57
Current Wellness Interventions with Student-Athletes ..........................................63
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................67
Chapter 3: Methodology ................................................................................................................68
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Methodology ......................................................................................................................68
Research Question .................................................................................................70
Participants .............................................................................................................71
Design Procedures .............................................................................................................72
Interview Questions/Instrumentation .....................................................................73
Role of the Researcher ...........................................................................................76
Data Collection and Analysis.................................................................................78
Trustworthiness ......................................................................................................80
Conclusion .........................................................................................................................81
Chapter 4: Results ..........................................................................................................................82
Description of Participants .................................................................................................82
Analysis of Research Findings...........................................................................................84
Academic Planning and Skills ...........................................................................................87
Counselor Practice and Knowledge ...................................................................................89
Emphasis on Fostering Relationships ....................................................................89
Counseling Skills and Theory ................................................................................91
Athletic Empathy ...................................................................................................94
Barriers to Seeking Support Services ................................................................................96
Cultivating Holistic Wellness in Student-Athletes ............................................................98
Career and Life Skill Development .......................................................................99
Psychological Support .........................................................................................102
Coach-Advisor Relationship ................................................................................104
Case Management ................................................................................................106
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Conclusion .......................................................................................................................107
Chapter 5: Discussion ..................................................................................................................108
Overview ..........................................................................................................................108
Discussion of Themes ......................................................................................................109
Academic Planning and Skills .............................................................................109
Counselor Practice and Knowledge .....................................................................111
Emphasis on Fostering Relationships ......................................................111
Counseling Skills and Theory ..................................................................112
Athletic Empathy .....................................................................................113
Barriers to Seeking Support Services ..............................................................................114
Cultivating Holistic Wellness in Student-Athletes ..........................................................116
Career and Life Skill Development .........................................................117
Psychological Support .............................................................................119
Coach-Advisor Relationship ....................................................................123
Case Management ....................................................................................125
Limitations of The Study .................................................................................................127
Implications for Counselor Education .............................................................................129
Implications for Academic Advising ...............................................................................133
Implications for Athletic Departments.............................................................................139
Recommendations for Future Research ...........................................................................141
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................142
References ....................................................................................................................................144
Appendix A: Invitation to Participate ..........................................................................................173