Counseling researchers engage with schools and communities developing and evaluating effective, quality, and valuable programs. Interest holders face increasing pressure to ensure programs are accountable to proposed client outcomes. In this session, we review quantitative and qualitative research designs for formative, process, and summative evaluation plans, highlighting rigor amongst the complexities of data collection and analysis when conducting evaluations in schools and communities.
This session centers the enduring value of conceptual thinking and writing as foundations of scholarly identity and knowledge creation. As generative AI tools increasingly mediate the research process, scholars face new challenges in teaching and modeling deep, original scholarship. Attendees will learn the benefits and limitations of AI driven citation network mapping tools in both teaching and scholarly applications.
Join us for a critical examination of what counseling intervention research has – and has not – studied through a PRISMA scoping review of 390 professional counseling intervention articles (2015-2024). We map populations and concerns targeted and neglected; modalities, settings, and specialty areas emphasized; research questions posed; and designs used. Together, we will interrogate strengths, limitations, alignment with counseling foundations, and priorities for research that informs practice.
Professor & Department Head, University of Tennessee
Casey Barrio Minton is Professor and Head of the Department of Counseling, Human Development, and Family Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
This education session examines strategies for fostering interprofessional collaborative scholarship to support integrated care workforce development. Drawing on lessons from HRSA Behavioral Health Workforce grants (PITCH & PEP), presenters will share research-informed frameworks for conceptualizing, implementing, and disseminating team-based scholarship that advances integrated care education and strengthens professional collaboration.
Research mentorship is a cornerstone of counseling graduate education, supported by best practices. Yet at some point, both educators and students must shift from a traditional mentorship model to a true research partnership and the skills required for effective collaboration are rarely taught explicitly. This session explores strategies for strengthening research mentorship with the goal of developing confident, capable, and collaborative research partners in the counseling profession.
Elizabeth A. Prosek (she/her/hers), PhD, LPC, NCC, is a Professor of Education and Professor-in-Charge of Counselor Education at Penn State University. Her research interests include counseling military populations; community engagement and program evaluation; co-occurring presenting... Read More →
This presentation introduces the AI-III workshop model, a structured framework for integrating generative AI in counselor education. A mixed-methods program evaluation examined its quality and effectiveness. Preliminary findings support an ethically grounded and sustainable approach to AI integration in counselor training. Participants will gain practical, evidence-informed strategies for responsible AI implementation across roles as learners, practitioners, supervisors, and educators.
This session explores researcher identity development within counselor education, emphasizing key influences such as doctoral training, mentorship, and scholarly community. Through guided reflection and collective discussion, participants will evaluate their researcher identity and learn strategies to foster a sustainable research agenda and scholarly voice.
Counseling researchers increasingly use artificial intelligence in assessment and research, creating ethical challenges related to transparency, bias, authorship, and data privacy. This session introduces the EQUITY-AI Framework, a structured ethical decision-making model grounded in counseling ethics and research integrity literature. Participants learn to apply the framework across the research lifecycle to guide responsible AI use in counseling research contexts.
When it is not possible to apply randomization in a research study design, we limit our ability to draw causal conclusions from the results. This presentation will explore the two categories of methodological approaches of quasi-experimental research design that improve our ability to generalize such a study: analytic and design-based approaches. We will explore the designs of each approach to explore how each one works and what might work best for your intended research studies.
Counseling researchers have an important role to play in the advancement of the profession through the collection, analysis, and dissemination of advocacy-informed data. This content session will 1) introduce approaches to research that support counseling advocacy efforts; 2) discuss the importance of public statements and making data available and consumable to counseling stakeholders; and 3) facilitate a discussion on how counseling researchers view advocacy in their work.
This session focuses on narrative analysis and narrative inquiry as ways of understanding lived experience and identity through stories. Participants will explore key differences between analysis of narratives and narrative analysis, and engage in reflective activities to examine their own experiences. The session highlights how storytelling supports meaning-making, identity development, and self-awareness in counseling contexts.
This session explores Endarkened Narrative Inquiry (ENI) as a decolonial approach to researching the healing of emerging adult Black women. Centered on Black feminist thought and womanism, ENI disrupts Eurocentric ideals through intergenerational "Wisdom Whispers" and spirit-driven narratives. We examine how centering these voices and storytelling informs culturally responsive research and counseling to better serve marginalized groups.
This presentation will present the final results of an RCT on Gottman Method Couples Therapy for the treatment of couples dealing with Infidelity. The results include qualitative and quantitative findings. The quantitative results have been analyzed using dyadic analysis (Actor Partner Interdependence Model), as well as Mixed-Linear Modeling which analyzed behavioral measures, relationship variables, and relationship satisfaction outcomes. Qualitative results from interviews are also included.
