Date of Award

Spring 5-28-2025

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education/Leadership in Urban Schools

First Advisor

Abiola Farinde-Wu

Second Advisor

Wenfan Yan

Third Advisor

Amy Cook

Abstract

This study argues that a problem facing school-based mental health counselors is that neither traditional counseling psychology practices nor the public educational system in the United States were designed to meet the needs of students experiencing intersectional oppression. This study therefore described and compared traditional counseling psychology theory and practices with that of liberation psychology, and outlined social justice frameworks that are applicable to school-based mental health counselors. The overarching research question for this study then asked, “What are the experiences of social justice-oriented mental health counselors who work within public schools in Massachusetts?” To answer this question, a critical phenomenological research design was used to study the experiences of 14 school-based mental health counselors working in public schools in Massachusetts via open-ended, semi-structured interviews. Textural findings described the experiences of participants within four main themes: 1) witnessing the oppression and marginalization of students, 2) engagement in social justice action at various socio-ecological levels, 3) holding privilege while being marginalized, and 4) conflicting internal experiences and actions. Structural findings described the contexts within which participants described these experiences to occur under four main themes: 1) leadership structures, 2) access to resources, 3) school environment, and 4) staff culture. The political and practical implications of these findings include strengthening federal and local anti-discrimination policies, spreading power in schools by way of shared leadership, providing comprehensive social justice education to educators and mental health counselors, and increasing funding for public education and mental health care.

Comments

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