TY - JOUR
T1 - Benefits of Utilizing Counseling Services Among Doctoral Women of Color in STEM
AU - Grasty, Kairys
AU - Sakri, Shivani
AU - Arnold, Amanda C.
AU - Bekki, Jennifer M.
AU - Wilkins-Yel, Kerrie G.
AU - Natarajan, Madison
AU - Bernstein, Bianca
AU - Randall, Ashley K.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the National Science Foundation(NSF) grants 1761278 and 2019533. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions,and recommendations expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of th. e NSF
Publisher Copyright:
© American Society for Engineering Education, 2021
PY - 2021/7/26
Y1 - 2021/7/26
N2 - Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) doctoral programs are uniquely challenging for Women of Color due to the prevalence of gendered and racialized encounters. The cumulative toll of these marginalizing experiences can negatively impact graduate Women of Color's mental health and STEM persistence. The current study examines the benefits that graduate women derived from utilizing counseling services to mitigate the psychological toll of these negative encounters. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight racially diverse women who either completed or discontinued their STEM doctoral programs prior to completion. Participants' narratives revealed two themes: precipitating events to seek counseling and benefits of utilizing counseling, which includes three sub-themes: feeling heard, increased self-awareness, skill-building. The findings of this study highlight how counseling services are overwhelmingly positive for graduate Women of Color experiencing challenges in STEM, regardless of whether or not the decision to utilize services results in degree completion. Implications for the findings are discussed.
AB - Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) doctoral programs are uniquely challenging for Women of Color due to the prevalence of gendered and racialized encounters. The cumulative toll of these marginalizing experiences can negatively impact graduate Women of Color's mental health and STEM persistence. The current study examines the benefits that graduate women derived from utilizing counseling services to mitigate the psychological toll of these negative encounters. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight racially diverse women who either completed or discontinued their STEM doctoral programs prior to completion. Participants' narratives revealed two themes: precipitating events to seek counseling and benefits of utilizing counseling, which includes three sub-themes: feeling heard, increased self-awareness, skill-building. The findings of this study highlight how counseling services are overwhelmingly positive for graduate Women of Color experiencing challenges in STEM, regardless of whether or not the decision to utilize services results in degree completion. Implications for the findings are discussed.
KW - Counseling
KW - Graduate
KW - Mental health
KW - STEM
KW - Women of color
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85124551365&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85124551365&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference article
AN - SCOPUS:85124551365
SN - 2153-5965
JO - ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings
JF - ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings
T2 - 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference, ASEE 2021
Y2 - 26 July 2021 through 29 July 2021
ER -