Understudied and Underfunded: Potential Causes of Mass Shootings and Implications for Counseling Research

Mass shootings are becoming more commonplace in our society. Despite this increase in frequency, research on mass violence has lagged behind due to halted federal research funding. Counselors and other mental health professionals find themselves at the forefront of this issue due to the contentious debate surrounding the intersection of mental health issues and mass shootings. The purpose of this article is to increase awareness of the cause of this dearth of research, examine what is currently known in the limited scholarly literature, and discuss what still needs to be explored. Implications for positive social change and advocacy efforts are also provided.