Browsing by Author "Dixon, Sandra"

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    Promoting Reflexivity and Reflectivity in Counselling, Education, and Research
    (2019-10) Dixon, Sandra; Chiang, Chao-Mei
    Though reflectivity and reflexivity are often perceived as similar concepts with overlaps they both have variations and need to be understood as unique constructs with different manifestations within the field of counselling psychology. Both terms are relevant to the counselling profession; they play a role in how we as counselling psychologists promote and maintain culturally- appropriate interactions with diverse clients. The aim of this paper is to recommend that it is incumbent for us as counselling professionals to engage in reflective and reflexive practices to ensure that we are working in the best interest of everyone we engage with. With the understanding that both concepts are critical components of being ethical, responsive, and active in our professional stance, we as counselling psychologists are encouraged to use reflection and reflexivity to develop a good understanding of themselves and our identities inside and outside of the counselling context. It is hoped that this paper will enable the audience to generate meaningful discussions about practical ways to promote consciousness-raising around reflective and reflexive practices; particularly, as we strive to facilitate change in a supportive and safe environment when working within and across various social-cultural and historical contexts.
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    Reconstructing Cultural Identities: The Lived Experiences of Jamaican Canadian Immigrant Women of the Pentecostal Faith
    (2015-11-12) Dixon, Sandra; Arthur, Nancy
    This study was undertaken to expand my understanding of how Jamaican Canadian Immigrant Women (JCIW) reconstruct their post-immigration cultural identities using the Pentecostal faith. Viewed as a contentious faith tradition, the Pentecostal faith is often misrepresented, misunderstood, and misperceived in various psychology literatures. The findings generated from this research, however, address the saliency of the Pentecostal faith in the lived experiences of JCIW as they strive to cope with post-immigration stressors such as culture shock and acculturation difficulties. This current research was informed by a social constructionist framework to emphasize multiple realities constructed through social interaction and language. Developed by (Moustakas, 1997), Heuristic Inquiry (HI) methodology was employed in this study to collect, analyze, and synthesize the data. The flexible and creative nature of HI allowed for the integration of my lived experiences into the research alongside those of the six participants. Utilizing a semi-structured interview method, data was collected and reviewed using thematic analysis. Four categories were identified: Lived Experiences of the Pentecostal Faith, Gender Role Expectations, Defining Cultural Identity, as well as Seeking Counselling and Taking Action. Additionally, numerous overarching themes and subthemes also emerged from the data. The relevance of the results is discussed as they relate to the existing literature and new perspectives arising from the study to inform multicultural counselling. Strengths and limitations of the study are presented, as well as implications for theory, research, and practice.