Date

5-23-2025

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education and Supervision (PhD)

Chair

Frederick A. Volk

Keywords

Licensed Black Counselors, female, burnout, compassion fatigue, strong black woman archetype, Black Lives Matter, COVID-19, historical healthcare of Africans, police violence, media influence, resilience

Disciplines

Counseling

Abstract

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the licensed Black female counselors (LBFCs) that provided mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic and George Floyd era. This study was guided by Schlossberg’s transition theory to examine how LBFCs navigated professional and personal transitions during a time marked by collective trauma, public health disparities, and heightened racial tension. Participants described this time of counseling clients through parallel experiences of grief and social unrest while also tending to their wellness. Core themes included the duality of the healer role, significance of spiritual and faith-based coping, influence of social activism, and enduring impact of generational mistrust in healthcare and mental health systems. Data were analyzed through phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation, and synthesis, revealing how LBFCs leaned into cultural resilience and professional identity to move in, through, and out of a historical crisis. The findings offered valuable insights for counselor educators, supervisors, and practitioners, aiming to foster equity, support, and culturally affirming practices in the mental health field.

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