The Role of Whiteness in Access Disparities in College Counseling Services

• Main Author: Klug, Jeffrey Alan
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2021
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Asian American Students; College Students; Counseling Psychology; Guidance Centers; Higher education; Mental health; Mental Health Programs; School counseling; School Holding Power; Undergraduate Students
• ISBN: 9798762185646

Access barriers to campus mental health counseling services for persons of color have been previously identified in the literature. These barriers are known to create disparate access to this important campus resource for students of color. Despite this robust body of research, inequities have persisted, revealing a gap in the literature. The purpose of the current study was to fill this knowledge gap by exploring the role that Whiteness plays in perpetuating access disparities. Using a critical White studies (CWS) framework, the current study sought to answer the question: How do experiences of Whiteness impact access to mental health care for domestic, undergraduate White students and students of color at their respective college counseling centers?A qualitative study was conducted using a phenomenological methodology; and more specifically from a hermeneutic tradition. Six participants (three White students and three students of color) were interviewed using a semi-structured interview approach. Participants’ interviews were recorded and transcribed. Then, the transcripts were coded in three successive rounds until saturation guidelines were achieved. The research question was addressed in each of the three iterative coding rounds.Key findings revealed how participants’ values systems, color-blind ideologies, and categories of Whiteness either enhanced or impeded access to counseling services. Findings were used to compare, contrast, substantiate or rebut current literature on access disparities. In the final chapter, implications for practice include stepped-care models of counseling services, extending clinical boundaries, remote tele-mental health, and strength-based counseling approaches. Future research focusing on dialectical opposites using a CWS lens may avoid problematizing students of color.