Article Critique: Counseling transgender college students: Perceptions of college mental health clinicians’ preparedness

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Article Critique: Counseling Transgender College Students: Perceptions of College Mental Health Clinicians’ Preparedness

Abstract

The critique assesses Couture (2017) article, Counseling transgender college students: Perceptions of college mental health clinicians’ preparedness. Participants in the study were college mental health clinicians recruited from a couple of online platforms. The study used a sample of 84 with participants from various age groups, ethnic backgrounds, regions of the U.S., and gender. As a result, the sample was representative of the general population of college counselors. The researcher investigates the perceived level of preparedness in college mental health clinicians in addressing the needs of transgender college students. The study establishes moderate levels of readiness, thus suggesting an improvement of counselor training programs to enhance their competencies in multicultural issues. An understanding of the needs and problems affecting transgender college students is critical to the provision of adequate mental health care to all college students in the United States.

Summary

            The article, Counseling transgender college students: Perceptions of college mental health clinicians’ preparedness by Couture investigates the levels of perceived readiness of college mental health clinicians when counseling transgender college learners. Since transgender is considered part of the multicultural population, clinicians require competencies in multicultural counseling to achieve their objectives. In spite of the growing demand for counseling services for the transgender people in the U.S. and other parts of the world, the field is relatively new. Although societal views attitudes and views towards members of the LGBTQ community have improved in the recent past, some states allow mental health clinicians to deny members of the population their services especially if it violates their moral and religious beliefs. As a result, some transgender individuals are unable to access adequate and affordable mental health services.

Nonetheless, college students from the LGBTQ community express higher rates of suicide when compared to peers from regular populations. Being a member of the LGBTQ community is one of the three primary reasons behind college students considering suicide. Accordingly, counselor-training programs have developed strategies to enhance clinicians multicultural competencies hence provide the required services to members of the multicultural population. Improving skills of college counselors dealing with transgender students is critical to the well-being of the minority group given their increasing numbers of almost all parts of the world. Nevertheless, the lack of studies to evaluate college counselors' perceived preparedness to address the needs of transgender college learners has adverse effects on the ability to improve the quality of services. The study aims to highlight some of the challenges college counselors face when dealing with transgender students to find effective ways of boosting their preparedness.

Participants

The researcher used 87 college mental health clinicians to complete a 29-question questionnaire. The scholar placed a request for involvement in a counseling education listserv with more than 3,000 members from various parts of the United States. However, the inclusion criteria required only clinicians working as college counselors to take part in the survey. Further, the study collaborated with the American college counseling association, which has 1,567 members to participate in the research. Eventually, the final sample was 84 college mental clinicians. Out of the 84 respondents, 16 or 19% were male, 67 or 79.8% were female while 1 or 1.2% was identified as other. Moreover, 72 or 85.7% and 6 or 7.1% were Caucasians and African Americans respectively while 2 or 2.4%, 1 or 1.2% and 3 or 3.6% were Asian American, Hispanic and identified as other respectively.   

Measures (Variables)

Information that respondents provided in the study such as race, gender, years of experience, accreditation of the training colleges, and age were the independent variables while the level of preparedness to address the needs of transgender college students was the dependent variable

Procedures

The researcher developed a 29-question questionnaire, which was to be completed by all participants. The survey questions utilized a Likert scale ranging from 0 to 3 with 0 representing not prepared while 3 described better prepared than average. In addition, the research employed a cross-sectional study design to explore trends within the chosen population. According to the author, cross-sectional studies provide valuable information, including behaviors, attitudes, and current skills levels of participants.

Besides, the scholar used the available literature to develop survey items while professionals in the field, such as licensed professional counselors and counselor educators offered additional items to include in the questionnaire. After generating the questionnaire, the scholar conducted a pilot study on a sample of 4 licensed professional counselors to test the format and questions for flow, length, content, and readability. After receiving feedback from the pilot study, the researcher edited the questions and format based on their recommendations. Ultimately, the researcher uploaded the final questionnaire on an online survey software program. The final questionnaire had four subscales, which are “clinical interviewing and assessment skills, counseling ethics, personal and community awareness, and education on transgender issues” (Couture, 2017, p 468). The combination of the four subscales examined the overall preparedness of the participants to serve transgender students.

Results & Discussion

The average perceived preparedness of all participants was M=62.71, SD-14.43 while the minimum and the maximum score were 26 and 87 respectively. The score reveals a moderate level of readiness. Further, the scholar investigated the effects of years of experience on the perceived level of preparedness. However, the study established insignificant effects of experience after controlling for years of experience in counseling. An assessment of the level of perceived preparedness between CACREP and non-CACREP accredited programs established negligible differences. At the same time, after asking the respondents to rate their level of readiness on a scale of 0 to 10, the study determined scores of M=6.29, SD-2.17. Similarly, the score shows a moderate level of overall preparedness. While 83 or 98.80% agreed that counselors are responsible for being knowledgeable on transgender identity issues, the remaining were undecided on the subject.

The findings establish that a significant number of college mental health clinicians believe that they require higher levels of preparedness than they already have to address the needs of transgender students effectively. In addition to being knowledgeable on issues affecting transgender college students, counselors working in college campuses should have an in-depth understanding of the campus climate and the existing support programs. Some of the notable support programs include student affairs organizations, campus housing, and the college counseling center. In situations where the campus does not have such services, counselors should be aware of the available off-campus resources.

The findings show that counselor educators should have an in-depth understanding of the transgender populations to develop training programs that prepare the graduates to excel in their jobs. Besides, existing counselors should share their experiences with their colleagues to highlight the common issues affecting members of the transgender population. Some of the common problems affecting transgender college students include suicide, non-suicidal self-injury, violence, substance abuse, and discrimination. Importantly, counselors should acknowledge that a majority of transgender students do not have familial and parental support because their families reject their choices.

Strengths & Weaknesses of the Research Investigation

The primary strength of the study is the use of primary information from practicing college counselors from all over the United States. The use of current counselors enhances the credibility of the findings as the respondents highlight some of the challenges they face in their everyday work. In reality, college counselors understand the level of preparedness better than anyone else does. Second, the researcher used an electronic survey to reach out to the largest number of respondents at the least cost and possible. Third, the use of a structured questionnaire ensured that respondents did not deviate from the primary objectives of the study.

Nonetheless, the sample size and the timing of the study are some of the leading weaknesses of the research. The use of a sample of 84 means that the results are not generalizable to the college mental health clinicians’ population in the United States. On the other hand, the timing of the study, which was between June 2016 and July 2016 meant that a significant number of would-be respondents were on vacation hence unable to take part in the survey.

Suggestions

In addition to increasing the study sample, future studies on the subject should consider researching during the academic school year. In this way, researchers would have access to a large sample, thus improve the credibility and generalizability of the findings. The primary goal should be benefitting professional counselors and counselor educators by providing evidence-based practices to help transgender of all ages.

Reference

Couture, V. (2017). Counseling transgender college students: Perceptions of college mental health clinicians’ preparedness. College Student Journal, 51(4), 463–472.