Constructing military cultural competence in counseling: A generic qualitative study of supervision

Abstract:This qualitative study considered how new counselors described their experiences constructing military cultural competence through supervision by a military veteran. A literature review on military cultural competency and supervision in counseling revealed a knowledge gap regarding how this competency is constructed. This study, grounded in the theoretical/philosophical framework of constructivism, used a generic qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews and inductive thematic analysis with ten participants to describe their experiences, and analysis resulted in two primary themes and several sub-themes. Findings indicate that participants who perceived themselves as competent described having three clinical traits necessary to construct military cultural competence - self-efficacy, curiosity, and the desire to specialize in working with military clients. Participants who did not feel competent found military culture too challenging to understand, or they lacked interest in working with this demographic. These findings indicate that military cultural competency is more strongly linked to counselors’ inherent professional traits than the supervisory experience itself, which does not align with previous research on construction of general multicultural competency. Notably, this study’s findings imply that adding a training course on military culture to degree programs could be effective, provided the curriculum includes discussion groups and role-play to cultivate these professional traits. The results of this study contribute to the existing research by emphasizing how specific counselor traits are critical for development of military cultural competence. Future research should explore pedagogy that fosters self-efficacy, curiosity, and specialized learner interest within multicultural and military-centered counselor education. Limitations of the study include lack of saturation due to small sample size and having only one data source, which can restrict generalizability of the findings to a broader population of counselors.