Date of Award
Summer 2018
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Educ Leadership/Counseling
Committee Director
Nina Brown
Committee Member
Steven Myran
Committee Member
Alan Schwitzer
Abstract
This study implemented a phenomenological approach to the inquiry of the career decisions of racial/ethnic minorities leading to selection of art therapy as a career. Gottfredson’s Career Theory was used to design interview questions to elicit the perspectives of ten racial/ethnic minority members about their career choice of art therapy. This study used post-intentional phenomenological qualitative coding of data to understand the decisions and contributing factors to racial/ethnic minorities selecting a career in art therapy. The findings suggest factors including: personal characteristics, interests, personal and professional beliefs, cultural beliefs, influential people, social contexts, experiences, and encounters contributed to racial/ethnic minority participants choices of selecting art therapy as a career. Participants shared experiences through the life stages of childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Overall, the career choice experiences and perceptions of racial/ethnic minority art therapists were like literature about white art therapists. Factors differing from the majority were the personal characteristic of determination and some cultural beliefs.
DOI
10.25777/aqfv-pw95
Recommended Citation
Roberts, Mary R..
"Exploring the Variant Experiences Through Which Racial/Ethnic Minorities Select Art Therapy as a Career"
(2018). Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), dissertation, Educ Leadership/Counseling, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/aqfv-pw95
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/chs_etds/21
ORCID
0000-0001-7628-3850
Included in
Art Education Commons, Art Therapy Commons, Counseling Commons, Counseling Psychology Commons