This study examined the experiences of fifteen women trauma survivors who were returning to work. All participants had histories of interpersonal violence and were receiving mental health counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and vocational services from a state vocational rehabilitation program. Using a feminist qualitative research method, the participants were interviewed and the data analyzed for common and emergent themes. The findings highlight their experiences with vocational counseling and counselors, and underscore significant factors that affected their return to work including health concerns, mental health treatment, family and community support, and accessing resources. Implications for vocational rehabilitation counselors include increased awareness of the challenges that influence mental health, career decision making, job readiness, and a need for examining institutional barriers.

Personal epistemology, originating from social construction theory, provides a framework for researchers to understand how individuals view their world. The Attitudes About Reality (AAR) scale is one survey method that qualitatively assesses personal epistemology along the logical positivist and social constructionist continuum; however, the literature primarily reflects women working in a mental health facility and undergraduate students. This study uses the AAR to examine the personal epistemology of 73 elementary school teachers, the large majority of whom were female, working in an urban and highly diverse public school system in the Northeast, and compares the AAR score to demographic data. The results suggest a more logical positivist orientation than has been observed with other populations although demographic information did not assist in understanding the findings. Implications for the urban elementary school environment, classroom interventions, and collaboration with other support professionals are offered.

This article discusses the concept of mentoring as a mutually beneficial relationship in which both the mentor and the protégé grow as a result of their relational connection. It identifies the characteristics of mentoring from the perspective of diverse college students. Results suggested that mentoring is perceived as important for success and that neither race nor gender were perceived as critical influences on the mentoring process but that friendship, nurturance, open‐mindedness, and trustworthiness are key to mentoring relationships.