Date of Conferral
2022
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Counselor Education and Supervision
Advisor
Corinne Bridges
Abstract
Due to the potentially traumatic content that crisis counselors face, members of the counselor education community must understand the psychological implications of repeated exposure to mental health crises to fulfill their responsibility of properly training, supervising, and supporting crisis counselors. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of crisis counselors who had worked full-time with a variety of mental health emergencies. A hermeneutic design and constructivist self-development theoretical lens allowed for the illumination of the perceived positive and negative consequences of crisis work. Purposive sampling strategies were employed to recruit seven crisis counselors for individual in-depth semi-structured interviews. Interpretative phenomenological analysis generated two main themes and ten subthemes: (a) negative implications of crisis work with subthemes of burnout, compassion fatigue, struggle with self-care, limitation of client resources, and unfair compensation; and (b) positive implications of crisis work with subthemes of work satisfaction, professional growth, sense of purpose, work-based support, and resiliency. Implications for social change include increased support for crisis counselor preparedness and wellness as well as increased effectiveness of client care.
Recommended Citation
Genever, Emily, "Lived Experiences of Crisis Counselors with Repeat Exposure to Mental Health Crises" (2022). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 13373.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/13373
