Barriers to Broaching Culture in Counseling Supervision: A Q Methodology Study

Abstract

Broaching is a valuable intervention used to address the impact of sociopolitical issues such as race and ethnicity on the counseling relationship. Recently, “broaching” has been translated to the supervisory relationship, and the benefit for clinical supervisors to broach diversity with their supervisees has been noted. Unfortunately, the practice of broaching, while integral to the supervisory relationship, is inconsistent, with supervisors who are often indecisive about their willingness or abilities to broach. This Q methodology study examined barriers that may inform broaching behaviors of counseling supervisors. Twenty-seven Licensed Professional Clinical Counseling supervisors sorted 36 statements about their broaching behaviors, specific to cultural issues in supervision. Findings suggested two distinct explanations regarding propensity of broaching for supervisors: (1) emotion focused, and (2) intervention focused. Implications, limitations, and future research suggestions are discussed herein.