School counselors play a crucial role in U.S. education. In recent years, their student caseloads have increased as more students are diagnosed with a mental health disorder. With additional stressors from providing social/emotional counseling, school counselors are vulnerable to secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma, and compassion…

We are living through unprecedented times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although the consequences and impacts of structural violence upon historically marginalized and excluded communities remain the same- inhumane and inequitable. Intersectional factors related to identity perpetuate this disparity; overwhelmingly, these divisions are at racial…

There has been a sharp increase in mental health support for children in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a growing demand for school-based mental health services due to gaps in the US youth mental health infrastructure. This dissertation presents an action research study conducted in a Title I middle school in Arizona, exploring a school…

John Holland's theory considers congruence between the vocational interests of the individual and characteristics of the work environment to be the primary predictor of job satisfaction and stability. The managed care model has markedly changed the demands of the work environment of mental health counselors. Changes in the way services are…