Date
1-9-2024
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
Chair
Jessica S. Winn
Keywords
multicultural counseling, White racial identity development, cultural competency, multicultural competency, cultural humility
Disciplines
Counseling | Psychology
Recommended Citation
Swallow, Mona Lynnette, "An Existential-Phenomenological Exploration of the Experience of Being a White Undergraduate Psychology Student in a Multicultural Counseling Course" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5165.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5165
Abstract
This existential-phenomenological study sought to explore the experiences of White undergraduate psychology students enrolled in a multicultural counseling course to gain an understanding of how White students described their lived experiences while enrolled in the course. This was accomplished by conducting virtual interviews with nine participants recruited through an online university announcement. Three key experiential constituents emerged from the data supporting previous research of the conflicts White students experience as they process understanding their racialized identities as members of the dominant ethnic-racial group in U.S. society in context to the topics discussed in the course. This lack of understanding was demonstrated through reliance on colorblind ideology, including the use of racially coded language and the “Other” to understand their White identities, the minimization of racism demonstrated through reliance on racial ignorance/innocence, and difficulty reconciling one’s own personal beliefs that conflicted with some aspects of the course. This study adds to the literature on multicultural training highlighting the continued importance and usefulness of multicultural counseling in assisting budding White counseling professionals with understanding the cultural and ethnic-racial differences that may present between themselves and potential clientele and the effects such differences may have on the therapeutic relationship. This study’s findings also revealed the continued need for support in interrupting students’ reliance on reinforcing Whiteness and the racial status quo as one goes through the process of developing a multicultural orientation. Recommendations for future research are also discussed.
