Date of Conferral
9-11-2025
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Counselor Education and Supervision
Advisor
Shelli Friess
Abstract
Research on counselors who treat sexually violent offenders has emphasized professional challenges, ethical dilemmas, and vicarious trauma, while less attention has been given to clinicians with personal histories of sexual abuse who may face added strain yet also bring unique empathy and resilience to their work. Addressing this gap is critical for the counseling profession, as it informs how training, supervision, and wellness practices can be structured to better support clinicians with lived trauma histories. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of counselors with personal histories of sexual abuse who work with sexually violent offenders. Grounded in interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) and hermeneutic phenomenology, the research question asked: What are the experiences of counselors with a personal history of sexual abuse while counseling sexually violent offenders? Seven participants were recruited via the Association for the Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse (ATSA) listserv who were licensed counselors or master’s-level professionals, had personal histories of sexual abuse, and worked with sexually violent offenders in the U.S. Data were collected via in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using IPA’s inductive framework. Three superordinate themes emerged: humanizing and empathizing, understanding and enlightenment, and empowerment. Findings revealed that trauma informed supervision, peer support, and meaning-making practices may mitigate counselor countertransference and burnout as participants described a dynamic interplay of empathy and moral tension, while framing their histories as sources of growth, ethical clarity, and vocational empowerment. Implications for social change included strengthening counselor education and supervision practices, reflective supervision, and institutional supports.
Recommended Citation
Goodwin, Chandra L., "Counselors With a History of Sexual Abuse Who Work with Sexually Violent Offenders" (2025). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 18410.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/18410
