Advancing Career Counseling and Employment Support for Survivors An Intervention Evaluation

• Published in: Journal of counseling psychology Vol. 59; no. 2; pp. 321 - 328
• Main Authors: Davidson, M. Meghan, Nitzel, Camie, Duke, Alysondra, Baker, Cynthia M, Bovaird, James A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Psychological Association 01-04-2012
• Subjects: Abusive relationships; Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Anxiety; Anxiety-Depression; Barriers; Beck Anxiety Inventory; Biological and medical sciences; Career Counseling; Career Development; Careers; Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; Counseling; Counseling Effectiveness; Counseling psychology; Depression (Psychology); Domestic violence; Employment; Family Violence; Female; Females; Group Counseling; Human; Humans; Intervention; Intimate Partner Violence; Likelihood Functions; Linear Models; Medical sciences; Mental depression; Mental health; Middle Aged; Midwestern United States; Multivariate Analysis; Occupational Guidance; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychotherapy, Group; Replication (Evaluation); Self Efficacy; Selfefficacy; Social Support; Spouse Abuse - rehabilitation; Survivors; Survivors - psychology; United States (Midwest); Victimology; Violence; Vocational counselling; Vocational Guidance; Women; Midwestern United States; intimate partner violence; career development; intervention; group counseling; Evaluation; Employment; Survivor; Intimate partner violence; Development; Career; Council
• ISSN: 0022-0167; 1939-2168
• DOI: 10.1037/a0027965

The purpose of this research was to conduct a replication-based and extension study examining the effectiveness of a 5-week career group counseling intervention, Advancing Career Counseling and Employment Support for Survivors (ACCESS;
Chronister, 2008
). The present study was conducted in a markedly different geographic region within a larger community as compared with the original investigation conducted by
Chronister and McWhirter (2006)
. Women survivors of intimate partner violence (
N
= 73) participated in ACCESS, with career-search self-efficacy, perceived career barriers, perceived career supports, anxiety, and depression assessed at preintervention, postintervention, and 8-week follow-up. Women survivors demonstrated significant improvements in career-search self-efficacy and perceived career barriers at postintervention. Moreover, these same improvements were maintained at the 8-week follow-up assessment with the addition of significant improvements in perceived future financial supports, anxiety, and depression compared with preintervention scores. This work replicates the initial findings regarding the effectiveness of ACCESS with respect to career-search self-efficacy (
Chronister & McWhirter, 2006
) as well as extends the initial research to include improvements in perceived career barriers and perceived career supports. Moreover, the present study extends the work to include the mental health outcomes of anxiety and depression; results demonstrated improvements in these areas at 8-week follow-up. This investigation begins to fill a critical need for evaluated career-focused interventions for the underserved population of women survivors of intimate partner violence.