Multicultural Counseling: A 10-Year Content Analysis of theJournal of Counseling & Development

Racial/Ethnic Minority Vocational Research Trends in Counseling Psychology and Multicultural Psychology Journals: A Trend Analysis Across 51 Years

This study extends Flores et al.’s (2006) 36-year analysis of racial/ethnic minority (REM) vocational research published in career journals to REM vocational research in eight counseling psychology and multicultural psychology journals across a span of 51 years. We identified 483 REM vocational studies published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology (JCP), The Counseling Psychologist (TCP), Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development (JMCD), Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology (CDEMP), Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology (JCCP), Journal of Black Psychology (JBP), Journal of Latina/o Psychology (JLP), and Asian American Journal of Psychology (AAJP) between 1969 and 2020. Results showed that less than 5% of all articles published in these journals during the past 49 years focused on vocational issues with REMs. Publication trends, article topics and type, samples, and leading individual and institutional contributors to REM vocational research are reported. JMCD published the largest percentage of these articles (33.9%, n = 132) as well as the largest percentage (18%) of REM vocational articles relative to other articles in its journal during this time frame. Implications of the findings are provided for expanding REM vocational scholarship in counseling psychology in the future.

Disability Content in the Journal of Counseling and Development and Social Work: A Comparative Analysis

The purpose of this study was to provide an understanding of how disability is addressed in the Journal of Counseling and Development ( JCD), the flagship journal of the American Counseling Association. A review of disability content in JCD was compared with a review of disability in Social Work ( SW), the flagship journal of the National Association of Social Workers. A series of between and within analyses for JCD and SW addressed the frequency, focus areas, and trends concerning how both journals addressed disability content over their histories. Overall, SW published a higher rate of disability content articles. Mental health was the most common disability domain addressed in both journals; however, JCD has published most of its disability content articles on mental health over the past two decades. The findings of the present study are discussed concerning prior research, historical events, and implications for accreditation.

A Knowledge Synthesis of Cross-Cultural Psychotherapy Research: A Critical Review

This article presents a current knowledge synthesis of empirical studies on cross-cultural psychotherapy since 1980. Guided by a critical review framework, our search in seven relevant databases generated 80 studies published in English. Main themes are organized into (1) therapists’ cultural competence ( n = 46); (2) therapy process in cross-cultural dyads ( n = 22); and (3) cross-cultural differences in gender, sexual orientation, or social class ( n = 12). Compared to previous reviews on cross-cultural psychotherapy, the findings of this review highlight a broad range of methodological rigor in both quantitative and qualitative studies. Most studies examined actual therapy participants rather than participants in analog studies, thus emulating more therapy-near experiences in cross-cultural psychotherapy research. Also, several studies explored cross-cultural compositions beyond racial and ethnic majority therapist-minority client dyads, and included therapists of color as the participants, exploring reverse power dynamics in therapy and giving voices to foreign-born therapists. The therapy process research provides rich and full descriptions around the dynamic and interactional therapy process in cross-cultural dyads, which can be used to foster cultural sensitivities among therapists in their practice and training. We discuss the limitations of the studies included in the review and its implications for psychotherapy practice, training, and future research.

A Content Analysis of the Counseling Literature on Technology Integration: American Counseling Association (ACA) Counseling Journals between 2000 and 2018

This content analysis provides an overview of articles specific to technology integration in the field of counseling published in American Counseling Association (ACA) journals between the years 2000 and 2018. In addition to the number of articles on this topic published during this time period, the study identified other aspects such as authors and institutional affiliations; methodology, study locations, and application settings; target populations and sample characteristics; and areas and types of technology integration. Recommendations are provided for counseling research in general and for future research extending from specific circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Class at the Intersection of Race and Gender

Consistent with psychology’s call to action for an inclusive and intentional focus on social class, we conducted a content analysis examining class variables relative to race and gender variables in articles over a 15-year period in The Counseling Psychologist and the Journal of Counseling Psychology. Articles were classified by degree of inclusion of these variables, resulting in three categories: mentioned, integrated, and primary. Despite the recent trend toward class inclusion, only 560 of 1,440 studies (39%) included all three variables at any level. Articles where all variables were “Primary” comprised only 1.9% ( n = 28) of the articles we reviewed. Using a qualitative content analysis and intersectionality lens, only 15 of the 28 studies thoroughly integrated class, race, and gender variables. Results highlight a recent, significant increase in attention to class issues, as well as the continued need to place class analysis on par with other important diversity variables. Implications are discussed.

Therapist Effects on Disparities Experienced by Minorities Receiving Services for Mental Illness

OBJECTIVES: The authors examine if some of the reason clients from racial and ethnic minority groups experience outcome disparities is explained by their therapists. METHOD: Data from 98 clients (19% minority) and 14 therapists at two community mental health agencies where clients from racial and ethnic minority groups were experiencing outcome disparities were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling with treatment outcomes at Level 1, client factors at Level 2, and therapists at Level 3. RESULTS: There were substantial therapist effects that moderated the relationship between clients' race and treatment outcomes (outcome disparities). Therapists accounted for 28.7% of the variability in outcome disparities. CONCLUSIONS: Therapists are linked to outcome disparities and appear to play a substantial role in why disparities occur.

A Content and Methodological Analysis of 35 Years of Latino/a-Focused Research

Two separate studies were conducted to examine the contents and methodology of Latino/a-focused articles published during a period of 35 years in seven major journals used by counseling psychologists as well as the Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences. Together, the two studies suggest that acculturation, academic achievement, assessment, and alcohol, drugs, and tobacco use were the most common topics of inquiry. The results of these two studies also suggest that descriptive field methodologies were most commonly used and that convenience sampling procedures were used most frequently. Trends in the coverage of published research provide some evidence of the increased attention to Latino/a-focused research literature. However, results also indicate that Latino/a-focused articles represented only 2% of the total number of articles published in non—ethnic-specific journals. These two studies also illuminate potentially worthwhile areas for future inquiry.