Re-imagining research training: a culturally-grounded model of dissertation completion for black women in counseling psychology

Completing a dissertation for Black women in Counseling Psychology is a concept that is critical and understudied. Understanding the weight completing a dissertation has on the psychological, emotional, social, and cultural experiences of Black women are important for advising practices, affirming current students experiences and demystifying the dissertation experience for future Black women scholars. Using Constructivist Grounded Theory methodology and Endarkened Feminist Epistemology, a model of dissertation completion was constructed from 7 Black women psychologists who matriculated from APA-Accredited Counseling Psychology programs in the Southeast and Southwest regions of the United States. The core of the model, dissertating, was identified as having five components of self-advocacy, spiritual-love ethic, negotiating trauma, emotional labor, and sisterhood, while identity socialization was named as the facilitator for navigating each component. Implications of the model and recommendations for usage are discussed.