A Phenomenological Investigation of Doctoral Students’ Gatekeeping Experiences

Counselor educators’ gatekeeping experiences during dissertation

“…Doctoral programs play an integral role in helping doctoral students gain gatekeeping experience during their training (Rapp et al., 2018). Doctoral program faculty can create and use targeted, experiential activities that help doctoral students build confidence in chairing and performing gatekeeping responsibilities (Corley et al., 2020). Peer review projects or activities where doctoral students chair undergraduate thesis or capstone projects could help doctoral students practice gatekeeping interventions, identify areas for improvement in their gatekeeping, and facilitate commitment to gatekeeping responsibilities that they are ethically required to uphold (Dollarhide et al., 2013).…”

“…For example, Rapp and colleagues (2018) suggested counselor educators update the doctoral gatekeeping curriculum with current gatekeeping definitions and address cross‐cultural considerations that may impact gatekeeping practices. Corley and colleagues (2020) discovered that doctoral students struggled to balance gatekeeping responsibilities and power dynamics during training experiences and wanted more support to develop their gatekeeper identities. DeDiego and Burgin (2016) advocated counselor educators better prepare doctoral students to serve as gatekeepers during supervision experiences to prevent gateslipping.…”

“…To date, there is a lack of research on the experiences of counselor educators’ gatekeeping experiences with doctoral students. Because dissertation is the last step in a doctoral student's training, counselor educators have a critical responsibility to gatekeep students with impairment before they graduate and negatively impact future students and clients (Corley et al., 2020). Understanding how counselor educators’ experience gatekeeping during dissertations may help identify gaps and develop more effective gatekeeping practices at the doctoral level.…”

Gatekeeper identity development: An application of bioecological systems theory

“…It is critical for doctoral programs to help doctoral students develop complex and contextually aware perspectives on gatekeeping. Doctoral faculty should create activities for doctoral students using the bioecological model to identify their evolving beliefs, values, and potential blindspots (Corley et al., 2020; Rapp et al., 2018). Experiential activities, such as case studies or role plays, may help doctoral students develop gatekeeper identities and utilize ethical codes (exosystem).…”

“…Conceptually, a few researchers have advocated for doctoral training programs to teach gatekeeping practices and foster gatekeeper identity development in doctoral students (Corley et al., 2020; DeDiego & Burgin, 2016; Rapp et al., 2018). Empirically, qualitative researchers have found doctoral students reported varying understanding of their roles with gatekeeping based on their developmental level, exposure to experiential learning activities, and awareness of gatekeeping responsibilities (Corley et al., 2020; Freeman et al., 2020). Taken together, meaningful and repeated training experiences for doctoral students may help develop their gatekeeper identities.…”