COUN615 - Belhaven University Lectures

The concluding lecture synthesizes the counselor’s research identity, emphasizing professional integrity, ethical reflection, and the transformative power of evidence-based and spiritually informed practice. It calls students to unite critical inquiry, compassion, and action, demonstrating how research functions not only as academic pursuit but as a means of service and stewardship within the coun...

Building on the foundations of action research, this lecture explores its application in political, educational, and social contexts. It reviews the historical and philosophical contributions of figures like Paulo Freire, Kurt Lewin, and Bronfenbrenner, framing action research as a model for practitioner-driven change, civic engagement, and ethical leadership within counseling and education.

Focused on mixed-method design and action research, this session integrates quantitative and qualitative paradigms to illustrate their complementary roles in counseling inquiry. It highlights methodological sequencing, weighting, and triangulation before introducing action research as a participatory, reform-oriented approach for addressing real-world counseling and community issues.

This lecture addresses narrative research and survey design, contrasting the interpretive nature of storytelling with the quantitative precision of survey methods. It explores narrative phases, cultural contexts, and ethical storytelling practices, while introducing longitudinal and cross-sectional survey strategies for data collection and analysis in counseling research.

Continuing the study of qualitative methods, this session delves deeper into phenomenological research, emphasizing lived experience, subjective meaning, and researcher-participant interaction. It discusses credibility, bracketing, triangulation, and the essence of human experience while defining characteristics of effective qualitative researchers such as empathy, flexibility, and narrative aware...

This lecture examines qualitative research with an emphasis on case study methodology, grounded theory, and phenomenological inquiry. It outlines procedures for data collection, coding, and analysis while underscoring reflexivity, cultural sensitivity, and the interpretive depth required in narrative-based research. Students learn how qualitative approaches illuminate human experience beyond stati...

Drawing from Isaiah 61:1–3, this session develops a theological framework for counseling centered on healing, restoration, and hope. It connects biblical themes of liberation and comfort with professional counseling roles, portraying therapists as compassionate agents of renewal who walk with clients through grief, trauma, and transformation.

The focus here is on predictive and correlational research, examining how relationships between variables inform forecasting in counseling outcomes. It introduces correlation coefficients, regression models, and single-case research designs, emphasizing their practical application for practitioners in individualized settings.

This lecture explores experimental and quasi-experimental designs, comparing between- and within-group models, pre-test/post-test formats, and control methods. It discusses random assignment as a key factor in ensuring internal validity and reducing bias in counseling research.

Focusing on descriptive statistics, this lecture explains distributions, measures of central tendency, variability, and standard scores. It emphasizes how statistical tools such as histograms, z-scores, and standard deviations aid in interpreting participant data and understanding research outcomes.

This lesson introduces statistical concepts essential for counseling research, including measurement levels, reliability, and validity. It defines core methods of quantitative analysis, outlining how to ensure consistent and accurate assessment using scales, tests, and correlational data.

A biblically grounded lecture examining human nature through the concept of imago Dei , this session integrates theology and counseling by affirming human dignity, relationality, and transformation. It connects scriptural principles with therapeutic practice, emphasizing empathy, moral likeness, and the counselor’s spiritual stewardship.

This lecture addresses APA writing conventions, plagiarism avoidance, and the operationalization of research variables. It explains quantitative versus qualitative methods, the importance of sample size and representativeness, and the process of selecting reliable instruments for data collection in counseling studies.

This discussion focuses on reviewing and evaluating literature in counseling research, guiding students through selecting topics, identifying scholarly sources, and assessing methodological soundness. It emphasizes critical analysis, avoidance of redundancy, and the contribution of original research to existing academic discourse.

This session explores research ethics and integrity, addressing moral responsibility, honesty, and professional conduct in data collection and reporting. It examines historical ethical violations, such as the Tuskegee and Willowbrook studies, that shaped modern research standards, highlighting the importance of protecting human subjects and minimizing participant risk.

This lecture introduces the foundational role of research in counseling, emphasizing the scientist-practitioner model that integrates evidence-based methods with relational and analytical skills. It discusses ethical considerations, research design fundamentals, and the counselor’s dual role as data producer and consumer in advancing effective therapeutic practice.