ABSTRACT
An exploratory qualitative analysis of the critical incidents and assistance-seeking behaviors of White mental health psychologists and professional counselors was performed in an effort to examine a theoretical supposition presented within a Person(al)-as-Profession(al) transtheoretical framework (P-A-P). A concurrent nested strategy was used in which both quantitative and qualitative data were collected simultaneously (Creswell, 2003). In this nested strategy, qualitative data was embedded in a predominant (quantitative) method of analysis from an earlier study (see Middleton et al., 2005). Critical incidents categorized as informal (i.e., personal) experiences were cited more often than those characterized as formal (i.e., professional) experiences as influencing the professional perspectives of White mental health practitioners regarding multicultural diversity. Implications for the counseling and psychology professions are discussed.
