Date of Award

Fall 12-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Counseling & Human Services

Program/Concentration

Counseling

Committee Director

Kristy Carlisle

Committee Member

Jude Austin

Committee Member

Jeffry Moe

Abstract

Trauma impacts the life experiences of a sizable portion of the population. Given that so many clients bring trauma into counseling, even when not the presenting issue, knowledge of trauma’s impact and proficiency with trauma treatment are essential topics in counselor education. This study gave voice to counselors in the field to share what they have found effective from working with clients with trauma. The researcher used a phenomenological approach and interviewed six self-identified trauma-specialized counselors who have practiced for five years or longer. The data was explicated, and four major themes were identified. The first theme was Inadequate Training: specifically, the gap between textbook knowledge and effective practice in the field. Second was the Complex Nature of Trauma in Practice. The third theme was the Physical Manifestations of Trauma. And the final theme that emerged was the importance of the Therapeutic Relationship and Counselor Role. A discussion of these themes with comparison to current literature inform implications for counselor educators, supervisors, and counselors in the field. Implications are offered to help bridge the gap between counselor education and trauma treatment in the field. These implications distil and distribute experiential knowledge of effective trauma counseling and help counselor educators expose students to field-based knowledge and best practices.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25777/dfsg-dt54

ORCID

0000-0003-0346-8437

Download

Share

COinS