Exploring the Realistic Factors Involved in the Pursuit of a Professional Counseling Career
Level of Education of Students Involved
Graduate
Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Suzy Wise
College
Arts and Sciences
Discipline(s)
Counseling, Psychology, Economics
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Symposium Date
Spring 4-25-2024
Abstract
Graduate school includes many direct and indirect opportunity costs. In this presentation, we will explore multiple facets involved in choosing a counseling career; specifically, program cost and duration, economic conditions, clinical preparation, personal financial circumstances, and professional aspirations. Central to our exploration is the hypothesis that these variables significantly impact students' wellbeing, particularly in terms of perceived stress levels, coping mechanisms, resource allocation, and support systems.
Broadly, economic stability fluctuates, and since the pandemic, individual consumers have been more sensitive to those changes (Egan, 2024). The economy impacts inflation, employment, and post-undergraduate enrollment rates. Previous research has only explored the impact of financial stress and student wellbeing on undergraduate and doctoral populations (Borgogna et al., 2020 & Moore et al., 2021), leaving a dearth of research concerning master’s level students. We were thus motivated to understand the impact of the current volatile economic environment on counselors-in-training.
To address program and individual differences, we began with an anecdotal survey of students in Valparaiso University’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. The survey measured students’ financial stability and its interactions with their perceived stress and coping ability. This preliminary study will not only facilitate awareness of counseling students' struggles within the VU community, but also serve as the foundation for an expanded study. The results of the subsequent survey will inform the broader counseling profession about the influencing economic factors in the lives of counseling graduate students. We hope that this information will affect positive change in equitable access to careers in counseling.
Recommended Citation
Haro, Anjelina J.; VanHimbergen, Kara A.; and Pendleton, Ashlee E., "Exploring the Realistic Factors Involved in the Pursuit of a Professional Counseling Career" (2024). Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 1243.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/cus/1243
Biographical Information about Author(s)
Anjelina Haro, Kara Vanhimbergen, and Ashlee Pendleton are graduate students in Valparaiso University’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. Anjelina developed an interest in the topic of financial stress on graduate students after hearing her cohort mates’ experiences. Upon graduation, Anjelina hopes to go on to do a Ph.D. in counseling psychology.
This is Kara VanHimbergen’s (she/they) first time in graduate school and their first time pursuing research. They became interested in the topic of financial stress in graduate school because it is widely accepted as part of the experience, yet its role in compounding stress is rarely acknowledged.
As a first-generation student, Ashlee Pendleton became interested in obstacles that block the way for students pursuing higher education. She hopes that her research encourages professionals to work on creating a more accessible path to graduate school in the future.