The Lived Experience of Trauma Counselor Supervisors PDF
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Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Teses and Dissertations Summer 1-1-2017 Te Lived Experience of Trauma Counselor Supervisors Nancy N. Fair Follow this and additional works at: htps://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Fair, N. N. (2017). Te Lived Experience of Trauma Counselor Supervisors (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from htps://dsc.duq.edu/etd/168 Tis Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Teses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF TRAUMA COUNSELOR SUPERVISORS A Dissertation Submitted to the School of Education Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Nancy N. Fair August 2017 Copyright by Nancy N. Fair 2017 THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF TRAUMA COUNSELOR SUPERVISORS By Nancy N. Fair Approved June 13, 2017 ________________________________ ________________________________ Dr. Lisa Lopez Levers Dr. Matthew Walsh Professor of Counselor Education Community Engagement and Supervision Coordinator (Committee Chair) (Committee Member) ________________________________ Dr. Gibbs Kanyongo Associate Professor of Educational Statistics Educational Foundations and Leadership (Committee Member) ________________________________ ________________________________ D r. Cindy Walker Dr. Jered Kolbert Dean, Duquesne University Professor and Program School of Education Director, Department of Counseling, Psychology, and Special Education iii ABSTRACT THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF TRAUMA COUNSELOR SUPERVISORS By Nancy N. Fair August 2017 Dissertation supervised by Dr. Lisa Lopez Levers Trauma is ubiquitous in our society, taking a costly toll on the physical and psychological well-being of individuals across all social strata, and creating an ever-increasing need for better understanding of how to help the victim survivors. The purpose of this current study addresses an aspect of that need for understanding by examining the lived experiences of clinicians who have learned about trauma and who are addressing trauma survivors’ needs by acting as supervisors for other clinicians. This qualitative, phenomenologically oriented study used van Manen’s (1990) four lived existentials, Bronfenbrenner’s (1979, 2005) bio- ecological model of human development, and existing trauma literature as its base. Historically, basic trauma education has not been provided to master’s or doctoral level students in counselor education programs. The rapidly expanding base of iv trauma literature has referenced knowledgeable, competent supervision as a necessity for therapists working with traumatized clients, yet little has been written about those supervisors, how they are trained and educated, and their lived experience in the process of becoming competent trauma supervisors For this study, eight clinicians who have been supervising other clinicians who work with adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse were interviewed. The results were summarized into five themes that focused on the ubiquity of trauma, the “trial by fire” learning that was required to become knowledgeable, the rise to supervisory roles for which participants were sometimes unprepared, what they needed but didn’t get, and what they deem necessary to support them in their work. The author suggests ways in which the field of counselor education could be enhanced to better support supervisors in addressing the needs of their supervisees, and those of their traumatized clients. v DEDICATION To my clients: You have taught me more about trauma, resilience, and healing than I ever imagined possible. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I want to thank my dissertation chair, Dr. Lisa Lopez Levers for her unwavering support for me in this endeavor. She held the hope for me when I couldn’t, and believed in me when I didn’t. Her ability to execute seemingly impossible feats of practical magic over the course of my journey continues to amaze me, and her dedication to the subject of trauma was much of the reason why I loved this program. Her writing, and the writing of other authors she recommended opened my eyes to aspects of philosophical thinking that enhance my work as a counselor. Her humor and insight have continued to support me, both as a student and as a person. The members of my committee have earned my deepest thanks as well for helping me through this process. Dr. Matthew Walsh has inspired me by sharing his enthusiastic and warm support, and his brilliant dissertation as a model for what can be accomplished. Dr. Gibbs Kanyongo has my heartfelt gratitude for stepping up to the plate to fill the breach in my committee at the last minute. His actions have helped to avert a potential trauma. I offer sincere thanks to the members of the faculty of the School of Education who helped me on my journey to becoming a trauma counselor supervisor. I began the ExCES program at the same time that I was promoted to supervisor in my job, which made the program an authentic laboratory experience. To the friends I made in the program: I will never forget you and the support we created for each other as the first all-female cohort. And to Dr. Launcelot Brown, vii you have my thanks for making Statistics not only learnable, but actually fun, even if we were a “remedial” group. I am grateful to my family members who supported me in this undertaking, especially my grandparents, who did not live to see my accomplishment but whose love and support made me capable of attaining it. To my husband, sisters and brother, who put up with my many emotions associated with this project, I am truly grateful. I am especially thankful for my son, Micah, whose presence in my life has made me truly understand the depths of love and compassion as no other relationship could. You are the light of my life. This list could not be complete without mentioning the friends who listened to the tales of my saga, and who supported me tirelessly. And to my former mother- in-law, Sally, I offer posthumous thanks. You didn’t quite make it to my graduation, but you made a huge difference in my life. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..iv Dedication……………………………………………………………………………………………………….vi Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………………….vii List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………………………………xiii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………..1 Statement of the Problem: Lack of Education and Training……………………….1 Purpose of the Study……………………………………………………………………………...12 Protocol for Semi-structured Interview…………………………………………………..16 Delimitations of the Study………………………………………………………………………17 Limitations of the Study………………………………………………………………………….18 Theoretical Framework………………………………………………………………………….19 Implications…………………………………………………………………………………………...21 Operational Definitions…………………………………………………………………………. .22 Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………….23 Organization of the Dissertation……………………………………………………………. .25 CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE……………………………………………………..26 Theoretical framework…………………………………………………………………………..28 Bio-ecological Model of Human Development……………………………….28 Four Lived Existentials…………………………………………………………………30 Supervisor Development………………………………………………………………32 Trauma and Its Impact on Clients………………………………………………….41 ix
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