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An Exploration of the Relationships Among Wellness, Spirituality, and Personal Dispositions of Practicing Professional Counselors

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An Exploration of the Relationships Among Wellness, Spirituality, and Personal Dispositions of Practicing Professional Counselors University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2010 An Exploration of the Relationships among Wellness, Spirituality, and Personal Dispositions of Practicing Professional Counselors Laura Marinn Pierce University of Tennessee - Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Other Education Commons Recommended Citation Pierce, Laura Marinn, "An Exploration of the Relationships among Wellness, Spirituality, and Personal Dispositions of Practicing Professional Counselors. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2010. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/738 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Laura Marinn Pierce entitled "An Exploration of the Relationships among Wellness, Spirituality, and Personal Dispositions of Practicing Professional Counselors." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Counselor Education. Dr. Tricia McClam, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Dr. Vincent Anfara, Dr. Rosalind Hackett, Dr. Shawn Spurgeon Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Laura Marinn Pierce entitled “An Exploration of the Relationships among Wellness, Spirituality, and Personal Dispositions of Practicing Professional Counselors.” I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Counselor Education. Dr. Tricia McClam, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Dr. Vincent Anfara Dr. Rosalind Hackett Dr. Shawn Spurgeon Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) AN EXPLORATION OF THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG WELLNESS, SPIRITUALITY, AND PERSONAL DISPOSITIONS OF PRACTICING PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee Laura Marinn Pierce May 2010 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS What an adventure this process has proven be! It has certainly been journey that I have not travelled alone. The faculty and staff in the Counselor Education Program at the University of Tennessee provided me with the opportunity to pursue this goal. Dr. Jane Myers, Dr. Thomas Sweeney, and Dr. Lynn Underwood each provided guidance and support during data collection and analysis. I would like to thank the Association for Assessment in Counseling and Education for its financial support of this study. I am very fortunate to have a dissertation committee comprised of individuals who have been a part of my education as a professional counselor and counselor educator from my first day in graduate school. I would like to thank my chair and advisor, Dr. Tricia McClam, for her patience and guidance throughout this experience. She has provided encouragement and support to me from my first days at the University of Tennessee. In addition, I would like to thank Dr. Vincent Anfara whose teaching and guidance regarding research methodology has proven invaluable and has not been limited to my work on this dissertation. Dr. Rosalind Hackett has been a model of what it means to be an academic scholar. She challenged me to think and be in ways that I never thought possible, and I am very grateful. My final committee member, Dr. Shawn Spurgeon, was the first person who encouraged me to pursue this path when just beginning my Master‟s program, and he has supported me for each step along the way. His patience, guidance, example, and mentorship are things for which I can never be too thankful. I have been fortunate to have been bolstered by many individuals throughout this experience. First, I would like to thank “The Monkeys” for the smiles, laughter, dancing, and joy they brought each time we were together! Whitney‟s tenderness was a source of stability and ii comfort along this journey, and Tara provided spontaneity, challenge, and encouragement! Second, when things became overwhelming, the ladies of BBW 567 were a constant reminder of the excitement to be found in life! They never ceased to bring into focus the important things. My wonderful friends, Amy and Lacy, have given of themselves throughout our friendships, and this experience was no exception. I would like to thank my new colleagues at the University of Great Falls for their encouragement and abilities to find moments of celebration when I struggled to do so. Finally, I would like to thank my wonderful students at UGF for their excitement and enthusiasm that reminds me why I began this pursuit. The support, patience, and love I have received from my family have been unquestionable. I would like to thank my mother for her realism and persistence, and my father for his calm, gentle spirit that stood firm. My brother, Drew, has always believed in me, particularly when I lacked that belief for myself. My wonderful sister and best friend, Kadee, is a stunning example of wit and reality who has never backed down from giving me a good kick when I needed kicking! My nephew, Cash, has been the most grounding influence during this experience! Thank you to each of you for the calming influences, joy, support, and guidance you have given me throughout this process. You have each left your prints on this project. iii ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between wellness, spirituality, and personal dispositions of practicing professional counselors. A sequential, mixed-methods case study design was utilized to achieve this purpose. Thirty professional counselors completed three assessment instruments measuring wellness, spirituality, and personal dispositions. Five of these counselors also participated in the qualitative portion of the study. This included the review of photographs of their offices and copies of their résumés and professional disclosure statements as well as participation in a telephone interview. Following the use of Pearson Product Correlations to analyze relationships in the data from the assessment instruments, two positive relationships were found. Spirituality was positively correlated with the disposition of rule-consciousness. A positive relationship was found between wellness and emotional stability. In addition, three negative relationships were found. The dispositions of apprehension, perfectionism, and tension were all negatively correlated with wellness. No significant relationship was found between wellness and spirituality. These data were used to develop the interview protocol for the qualitative portion of the study. The constant comparative method was used to analyze the qualitative data. Five themes were developed within the second iteration of analysis: commitment to the philosophies of the profession, a foundation of ethics, coordination, social networks, and personal fulfillment. These resulted in the development of the third iteration of the professional counselor as an integrated whole. These enhanced the findings of the quantitative portion of the study by providing a iv description of how the relationships found in the quantitative data impact and present in the work of professional counselors. This was the first known study to utilize a mixed-methods design to explore wellness, spirituality, and personal dispositions in professional counselors. Future studies should continue to explore the relationships among these factors and how they impact professional practice. These should include the use of a larger sample size as well as the identification of specific behaviors utilized by professional counselors to promote the development of wellness and positive personal dispositions. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………..xi LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………...xii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................1 Chapter Introduction ........................................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................3 Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................5 Research Questions ..........................................................................................................5 Definitions ........................................................................................................................5 Delimitations ....................................................................................................................7 Limitations
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