Date of Conferral

3-30-2026

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Counselor Education and Supervision

Advisor

Corinne Bridges

Abstract

Eating disorder (ED) treatment has historically been grounded in Eurocentric models that inadequately account for the cultural contexts and lived experiences of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), contributing to persistent disparities in care. The purpose of this descriptive transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of BIPOC counselors who provide culturally responsive care to BIPOC clients diagnosed with EDs. Guided by Husserl’s phenomenological philosophy of intentionality and Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological method, the central research question addressed the lived experiences of BIPOC counselors providing culturally responsive ED care, with a sub-question addressing how counselors describe their preparedness to provide such care. Semistructured interviews were conducted with six licensed BIPOC counselors working in ED treatment settings, and data were analyzed using Giorgi’s five-step analytic procedure. Five essential themes emerged: (a) lack of education and training and the need for structural and educational change, (b) diagnosis prioritized over personhood, (c) marginalization in predominantly White spaces, (d) advocacy as emotional and professional risk, and (e) cultural responsiveness as individual responsibility. Subthemes included nontraditional entry into the ED field, learning through immersion, the need for structural and educational change, and reflexivity and unlearning cultural conditioning. Implications for positive social change include strengthening counselor education, organizational policy, and ED treatment practices to support structurally embedded culturally responsive care and more equitable services for BIPOC communities.

Download

Share

 
COinS