Date of Graduation

Summer 8-9-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology (PsyD)

College/School

School of Nursing and Health Professions

Program

Clinical Psychology (PsyD)

First Advisor

Dr. Dhara Meghani

Second Advisor

Dr. William Firmender

Third Advisor

Dr. Dominique Broussard

Abstract

This study was conducted by applying Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore the lived experiences of college counseling center (CCC) counselors during their rapid switch from in person to online services as a result of university and colleges moving to remote education during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic (~March 2020 - August 2021). Six participants from different regions of the United States were interviewed via Zoom and analyzed through IPA. There were five themes that emerged:Blurred work/home boundaries, interpersonal relationships within work setting, adapting to teletherapy, impact of teletherapy on services, and preferring remote work. Emergent subthemes were parenting, participants in training roles, access, rapport, and group therapy. Most participants reported tenjoying remote work and findings indicated that the rapport between clinician and clients was unaffected by the transition to exclusively telemental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although a goal of recruitment was to include the perspectives of clinicians identifying as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) to increase representation of understudied groups in the literature, this posed a challenge and a majority of participants identified as White. Future research may consider extending this study by making greater efforts to recruit more BIPOC participants to support understanding and positive change regarding how to transform CCCs into a more culturally responsive and anti-colonial space for future clinicians and students.

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Available for download on Tuesday, April 07, 2026

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