Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Monograph

Degree

Master of Arts

Program

Psychology

Supervisor

Dr. Marguerite Lengyell

Abstract

It has become widely appreciated that health and mental health are impacted by interconnected systems of inequity and individual social location. With demand for psychological services increasing in Canada, there does exist a need to better understand how social location relates to counselling. A random sample of 19 CCPA registered Canadian Counsellors were interviewed and asked about their social location. Participant responses were transcribed and qualitatively analyzed using the Six-Phase Model for Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2022). One theme and two sub-themes were carved out: Participant Asset Experiences (25), Self-Identification (15), and Blind Spots (10). Findings relate to intersectionality and its relevance to counsellor identity. In conclusion, Canadian Counsellors who experience social power and privilege can turn an intersectionality informed lens inward to better understand how their social location impacts their counselling and therapeutic use of self.

Summary for Lay Audience

Our health and mental health are impacted by many things including socialization, the process of learning how to behave, and how to have relationships. That process is different for each of us and is based somewhat on social location - who we happen to be and where we happen to be situated in society relative to others. Some things that determine social location are in our control. Much of it is not like race, gender, citizenship etc. It is based on collective meaning-making and not just up to us. We know that some social locations experience more marginalization and discrimination than others, and that these traumas impact wellbeing and how we respond to stress in life. We don't understand enough about how social location relates to counselling, which is important because demand for these and related psychological services are on the rise in an increasingly global landscape.

A random sample of 19 CCPA registered Canadian Counsellors were interviewed virtually and asked about their social location. Participant audio responses were transcribed and qualitatively analyzed using the Six-Phase Model for Reflexive Thematic Analysis, which is a way to interpret patterns across participant responses. It was discovered that participants experienced their social location as comprising of Asset Experiences rather than clear advantages or disadvantages, which has implications for how a critical social theory called intersectionality is understood in relation to counselling. Another finding related to counsellor identity and demonstrated how unexamined social privilege can mask unhelpful and harmful ways of thinking. It was concluded that Canadian Counsellors who experience social power and privilege can turn an intersectionality informed lens inward to better understand how their social location impacts their worldview and their work.

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