Doctoral Candidate Brochure: Kimberlee A. Barrella
Doctoral Dissertation Defense
of
Kimberlee A. Barrella
For the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Counselor Education and Supervision
EXPERIENCES OF PRACTITIONERS WHO PARTICIPATE IN MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING LEARNING COMMUNITIES
July 2, 11 a.m.
Room 124 Nixon Hall
EXPERIENCES OF PRACTITIONERS WHO PARTICIPATE IN MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING LEARNING COMMUNITIES
The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to gain insight about practitioners’ experiences participating in motivational interviewing learning communities (MILCs). The study was guided by two research questions: (1) What do practitioners experience who participate in a motivational interviewing learning community? and (2) What meaning do practitioners make of their experiences when participating in a MILC? These research questions informed the interviews with 15 licensed and credentialed mental health practitioners, including counselors, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and addiction professionals.
Data were analyzed utilizing transcendental phenomenology (Moustakas, 1994). Textural themes included Experiential Practice in Learning Motivational Interviewing, Reflective Feedback and Clinical Awareness, and Observational Learning Through Peers while structural themes included Collaborative Professional Learning, Sustaining Motivational Interviewing Learning Development, and Psychological Safety in Learning Communities. Together, these findings provided a comprehensive understanding of both what practitioners experience and how those experiences are shaped within MILCs.
About the Candidate
Kimberlee A. Barrella
M.Ed., Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Kent State University, 2017
B.S., Speech Language Pathology and Audiology
Kent State University, 2012
Kimberlee (she/her) is a doctoral candidate in Counselor Education and Supervision and serves as Director of Clinical Services at Navigate Counseling and Consultation Services. In her leadership role, she oversees clinical operations, quality assurance, risk management, supervision, and professional development while ensuring ethical, legal, and high-quality of care across the organization.
Kim is a counselor educator, clinical supervision, and continuing education provider with experience teaching counseling skills, ethics, motivational interviewing (MI), and mental health across the lifespan to undergraduate, graduate, and medical students. Clinically, she specializes in working with emerging adults, women, and LGBTQIA+ individuals, with emphasis on identity development and life transitions. She has over 600 hours of training and research in MI and has been a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) since 2022.
Her dissertation research focuses on the experiences of practitioners who participate in motivational interviewing learning communities and the role of ongoing, collaborative learning in developing clinical proficiency.
Doctoral Dissertation Committee
Co-Directors
Lynne Gulliot-Miller, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Counselor Education and Supervision
School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences
Jennifer Waugh, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Counselor Education and Supervision
School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences
Member
Alicia Crowe Ph.D., Interim Dean
College of Education, Health, and Human Services
Graduate Faculty Representative
Andrew Wiley, Ph.D.
Professor
Special Education
School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences