Digital Commons Network^™

Using A Three-Dimensional Theoretical Orientation Matching Model To Predict Therapeutic Outcomes, Daniel Rhodes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Matching helpers and clients in a therapeutic setting is inefficient and ineffective. So far, there are no significant and enduring variables that reliably match helpers and clients that lead to positive therapeutic outcomes. This study attempts to match helper and client using theoretical orientation. It uses a quantitative methodology to predict therapeutic outcomes given match quality in the therapeutic dyad. Participants were 30 dyadic pairs—consisting of one helper and one client—who had a pre-existing therapeutic relationship. Each was given an assessment tool, used to measure their theoretical orientation to psychotherapy. Results showed no statistically significant relationships between theoretical orientation match …

Integrated Behavioral Health Training In Counselor Education: A Call To Action, Nicholas Schmoyer, Lisa Corbin, Lauren Robins

The Journal of Integrated Primary Care

The American healthcare system is beginning to adopt an integrated behavioral health model as a way to meet the ever-changing and holistic needs of patients by creating opportunities for collaboration among medical and behavioral health professionals. Professional counselors play a vital role in integrative behavioral health through their meaningful participation on interdisciplinary healthcare teams. Professional counselors are key to any interdisciplinary team because they embrace a biopsychosocial wellness perspective and have undergone clinical and academic training. However, many counseling programs do not specifically educate or train counselors in how to work in integrated care settings. As such, counselor educators must …

Resilience Small Group: A Small Group For Upper Elementary Students, Devyn Stenzel

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Resilience is important for a child’s ability to persevere, as well as their physical health. Parental influence, connection, cultural identity and coping skills are some factors that can help build resilience within a child. Teaching and surrounding the child with positive connections can help children overcome and persevere when faced with stressful and traumatic events. Children need opportunities to learn skills to reduce the impact of severe stress on their bodies (Sciaraffa, et al, 2018). The resilience small group will help children receive the chance to practice these skills in a group of 4-6 of their peers. Children will be …

Analysis Of Self, Peace Peter

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Abstract

This self-analysis paper explores the author's personal growth and development over a specific period. The paper begins with an overview of the author's background and experiences of immigration that have shaped their identity. Next, the author reflects on their personal relationships with family and friends, discussing areas in which they have made progress and areas in which they still need improvement. The paper also explores the author's theoretical orientation and aspirations, outlining the steps they are taking to achieve them. Through this self-analysis, the author gains a deeper understanding of themselves, their motivations, and their potential for growth. Overall, …

Body Positivity: A School Counseling Group For Adolescents, Zoe Justine Hess

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

An eating disorder is a mental illness characterized by severe, unhealthy changes in appetite and dysphoric body image. One main indicator that an eating disorder is likely to occur is the person having a perfectionistic personality type. Another major factor is having an intense consciousness of body image, often with this being very skewed and negative. Both, when brought to extremes, have dangerous consequences for the person’s mental and physical health. Eating disorders typically first appear in adolescence or young adulthood, most markedly for females; thus, it is pertinent that school counselors are aware of the signs of an eating …

Covid, Church, & Cuts: A Single Narrative Case Study Of Pandemic Impacts On A Bi-Vocational Pastor & Barber, A. D. Hooker, Camille S. Talbert

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

This narrative case study provides an in-depth look into the impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic from the perspective of an assistant pastor with a small African American church in an urban city. His story indicates that the pandemic had both positive and negative effects on the pastor’s ability to carry out his role of pastoral care and ministry. Some positives were the results of new technological adaptations that helped to improve members’ consistency in attending and participating in weekly services. Some negative effects imposed by COVID-19 was the revelation of imbalanced relationships and a lack of trust in God. The …

How Animal Assisted Therapy With Dogs Is Understood And Perceived Among Health Care Providers And The General Public In Canada, Healey Gardiner Dr., Jill Singleton-Jackson Dr.

Journal of Counseling and Psychology

When a dog is included in treatment to meet an individual’s therapeutic goal it is known as Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT). Although AAT has increased in popularity, limited research exists regarding its efficacy. According to the diffusion of innovation theory an innovation must be properly communicated to all appropriate channels before it may be adopted into practice. Little is known about how AAT is understood and perceived among healthcare professional and public populations in Canada. In the present study, health care professionals and the general public in Canada were surveyed. Attitude toward dogs, openness to experience, agreeableness, and subjective distress were …

The Overture! Then Is Here-And-Now: Hindsight Is Twenty, Twenty?, Elena Kydd

Music Therapy Theses

My existence and presence as a Black woman and graduate scholar in music therapy have allowed me to share my experience of racial trauma and oppression in the hallways of GCSU’s music therapy program. Autoethnography is the method I use to write my thesis on the relationships between Blackness, pedagogy, and music therapy. Thus, I perform an evocative autoethnographic study that allows me to share my personal experience of racial trauma and oppression within the culture of music therapy and to critique the larger social structures of whiteness that disenfranchise and dominate me and other Black student music therapists (SMTs). …

Exploring Perinatal Mental Health: Navigating Challenges And Support For Women Of Color, Chloey R. Pestorious

Counselor Education Capstones

This Capstone Project focuses on peripartum depression, particularly its implications for women of color during the perinatal period, which includes pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Peripartum depression is a mental health condition that effects women, their families, and society as a whole (World Health Organization, 2008). The literature review takes a comprehensive approach, starting with an exploration of peripartum depression, including its prevalence, manifestations, and associated risk factors. Notably, women of color face a higher prevalence of peripartum depression, with disparities arising from multifaceted factors, including racial and ethnic healthcare disparities, socioeconomic challenges, and cultural nuances (Kozhimannil et al., …

An Analysis Of Physical Wellness During Pregnancy, Mary Elizabeth Reynolds-Licciardello

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There is a lack of proper physical wellness increasing in society. This qualitative phenomenological study explored physical wellness during pregnancy using the theoretic framework of Social Cognitive Theory to show perceptions and lived experiences of women who are pregnant or who have been pregnant in the past three years. Three research questions were the focus of this qualitative study. RQ1: what aspects of physical wellness are important to women who are pregnant? RQ2: what are women’s physical wellness experiences during pregnancy? RQ3: how are women who are pregnant educated about physical wellness? Ten women in central Florida who are pregnant …

A Qualitative Study Of A Stepfather’S Perceptions Of Their Role In A Successful Second Marriage In A Blended Family, Kathy Barbee Thornton

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This phenomenological study aimed to comprehensively understand the unique perspective of remarried men as stepfathers within the context of second marriages in blended families. The research delved into the lived experiences of these individuals to shed light on their roles, challenges, and contributions to the dynamic of blended households. By applying Bowen’s family systems theory (FST) to the constructs relevant to blended families, this study offers a resource to the professional counseling community and support for blended families facing various issues. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews focused on the stepfather’s role and responsibilities within the blended family structure. The narratives …

Veteran Identity And Academic Accommodations: Another Conflict, Valerie Groll

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Colleges and universities have seen an increase in student veteran enrollment to include student veterans with disabilities. Inconsistencies and inaccurate reporting systems have created conflicting data about veterans’ success in higher education making it difficult to find accurate data-driven research related to student veterans creating challenges when institutions of higher learning are assessing the needs of student populations and the programming needed to support them. Reporting inconsistencies identifying student veterans is not the only problem. There is also limited research regarding the use of academic accommodations among student veterans with disabilities. The purpose of this quantitative causal comparative study is …

Boundless Community: A Virtual Platform Designed For Collaborative Development Of Emotional Well-Being, Sai On Ng

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research aims to apply the US Army concept of spiritual readiness to help Christians manage emotional stress in a civilian context through an online community. This project invites disconnected Christians to join an online community where they can address negative emotions by developing self-awareness of their maladaptive thinking and embody the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. This approach assists individuals in building emotional resilience, a concept emphasized in the military. This project addresses five negative emotions (anger, shame, sadness, fear, and loneliness) by replacing them with positive emotions taught in the Bible. The project consists of eight …

Prayer’S Effect On Love And Respect In Christian Married Couples, Gabrielle Knorr Keenum

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study explored the relationship of Christian religious couples between marital prayer, either with spouse or for spouse, and the Biblical directive found in the New Testament that husbands and wives should both love and respect their spouse. Previous research is explored which finds multiple benefits religiosity and prayer have upon a couple’s relationship. The benefits of religiosity include couples view marriage as sacred and God as their moral authority which produces higher marital satisfaction and marital commitment. Benefits of relational prayer include increased trust, increased marital satisfaction, increased forgiveness, higher ability to resolve marital conflict, lower marital infidelity, higher …

African American Women's Posttraumatic Growth After Infidelity, Thelma J. Carpenter-Ellis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This transcendental phenomenological study aims to examine African American women’s posttraumatic growth experience after infidelity without compromising health-related issues. This phenomenon of PTG after cheating needs to be thoroughly analyzed and added to the literature. The research questions are: (1) How do African American women describe their personal growth experiences after marital infidelity? (2) How do African American women describe characteristics that were [e.g., personality, character, fortitude, sense of identity] vital for their resiliency post-infidelity? and (3) How do African American women describe the changes in their assumptive worldview [e.g., trust, safety, attachment, religious faith] because of marital betrayal? Some …

Demystifying Music Therapy: Applications Over The Lifespan, Barry C. Nelson

Counselor Education Capstones

This study seeks to evaluate the curative factors of music therapy and discuss the benefits of the practice over the course of the human lifespan. Additionally, a case will be made for prospective and current counselors to add music therapy techniques to their repertoire in order to provide more diverse methods of care. To accomplish this aim, research will be presented conveying how music therapy has been evaluated for effectiveness in treating various mental health concerns during childhood, adulthood, and older adulthood. The results of this evaluation suggest that music therapy is effective at treating a diverse range of disorders …

College Student Mental Health In The Covid-19 Era: Results Of An Expressive Writing Prompt, Carissa Daniello-Heyda, Kevin Hynes, Rachel R. Tambling

The Qualitative Report

The novel SARS-CoV-2, or coronavirus, has greatly altered the landscape of college life for students across the United States. The ever-present health concerns and quarantine have been linked to increased anxiety, depression, stress, and post-traumatic stress disorder. To this end, we examined the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychosocial health of college students. We explored the impact of COVID-19 on levels of stress and distress in college students using a qualitative expressive writing methodology. Results of this study suggested that the college students included in the sample were moderately distressed – their scores on inventories of depression, anxiety, …

Doctoral Students Balancing The Roles And Relationships Of Counselor Education, Isabel C. Farrell, Casey A. Barrio Minton, Amanda C. Dediego

The Qualitative Report

Aspiring counselor educators in Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP)-accredited programs must learn to be counselors, teachers, supervisors, researchers, and leaders. These roles can overlap, creating multiple complex relationships during their programs. To examine these roles, we conducted a constructivist grounded theory investigation of how counselor education doctoral students (n = 9) balanced multiple roles and relationships and boundary crossings. We utilized chain referral sampling and continued until we reached theoretical saturation. We used semi-structured interviews conducted via videoconferencing (Zoom) for data collection and coded the interviews using two main phases: an initial phase and …

Social Wellness Of Counselor Education And Supervision Doctoral Students Before, During And After Covid-19, Alexandria Barnette

Doctoral Dissertations

Counselor education and supervision doctoral students (CESDS) comprise a unique population with oftentimes strenuous and competing roles that may impact their social wellness and feelings of connection and support. The arrival and continued presence of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic also heightened isolation and increased impediments to connection and support for many. Given some of the benefits of social wellness, research on recent CESDS experiences is timely. This two-manuscript dissertation begins with a literature review on the topic and ends with an empirical study to further knowledge on the experience of social wellness that CESDS had during their doctoral programs taking …

Disrupting Childhood Trauma With Holistic Health Practices In Low Ses Elementary Schools, Unna G. Burns, Ketzia Kogan, Sarah M. Wingerden, Hannah Meck

Psychology and Child Development

It is evident that adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are a large challenge to tackle in the U.S., with 61% of adults reporting that they’ve experienced one ACE and 16% reporting four or more ACEs by age 18 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). ACE score items include, but are not limited to experiencing verbal, physical, sexual abuse, physical and/or emotional neglect, having a mentally ill family member, witnessing violence in the home towards a parent, and/or having a family member in prison. Such experiences serve as a public health threat that, without early intervention, bring about long-term effects biologically, …

Law Library Blog (December 2023): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

A Good Death: End-Of-Life Lawyering Through A Relational Autonomy Lens, Genevieve Mann

Washington Law Review

Death is difficult—even for lawyers who counsel clients on end-of-life planning. The predominant approach to counseling clients about death relies too heavily on traditional notions of personal autonomy and a nearly impenetrable right to be free from interference by others. Rooted in these notions, contracts called “advance directives” emerged as the primary tool for choosing one’s final destiny. Nevertheless, advance directives are underutilized and ineffective because many people are mired in death anxiety, indecision, and the weight of planning for a hypothetical illness. In the end, many do not get the death they choose: to trust in others and share …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of The Meaning Making Experiences Of Christian Women Who Had An Abortion, Anne E. Stocker

Dissertations

Whether or not a woman should have an abortion is a hotly debated topic, and little information is known about how women make sense of their abortion experiences. Even less is known about how women make sense of abortion experiences in the context of their religious or spiritual belief system. This qualitative study explores the phenomenon of how women who have had an abortion make meaning of their abortion experience in the context of their Christian identity. This phenomenon was explored via research questions related to a woman’s experience of having both an abortion history and a Christian identity, how …

Measuring Multicultural Competence In Counseling, Martha Mae Golubski

Dissertations

Pedersen (1999) described multicultural counseling as the “fourth force” in psychology. The description is used to imply that multiculturalism is the next theory to understand human behavior, complementary to the other three forces: psychodynamic, behavioral, and humanistic explanations. Despite the attention being given to multiculturalism, professional organizations, training institutions, and service providers are still trying to understand what it means to have competency in multicultural counseling. Researchers have made decades of efforts to define and measure multicultural counseling competence; yet, there is still limited data about how multicultural training efforts influence these competencies and how counselor multicultural competency affects clients’ …

If Not Us, Then Who?: Qtbipoc Graduate Researchers’ Experiences Researching Qtbipoc Communities, Vardaan Dua

Masters Theses

Experiences of minority graduate student researchers, specifically graduate student researchers that identify as queer and/or trans and Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (QTBIPOC) have been largely underrepresented in current scholarship. Utilizing reflexive thematic analysis and semi-structured interviews, in the current study we explored the experiences of 20 QTBIPOC graduate student researchers who conduct QTBIPOC research. Results revealed five thematic patterns, including: (a) recognizing, resisting, and reforming systemic oppression within academia; (b) encountering interpersonal oppression within academic contexts; (c) personal well-being and the role of QTBIPOC research; (d) relations among one’s personal identities and engagement in QTBIPOC research; and …

The Impact Of Eye-Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing On Self-Reported Test Anxiety In College Students, Renee Wilson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Test Anxiety (TA) has become a major concern for college students. Experiencing mental concern about test-taking perpetuated by physiological hyperarousal directly affects students’ ability to be successful in college. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a multi-faceted therapeutic approach that aims to process dysfunctional negative cognitions which originate with negative past experiences to an adaptive state. Developed by Francine Shapiro in 1989, the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model undergirds the 30-second, therapist-initiated, bi-lateral eye-movements. These movements identify and reprocess emotionally disturbing experiences, linked to an individual’s emotional expression, by deliberatively triggering a connected trauma network. This dissertation examined the …

The Effects Of Adolescent Trauma, Mental Health Treatment, And Demographic Variables On Educational Outcome, Christopher Postema

Dissertations

Poor educational performance in adolescence can occur due to trauma, substance use, or other stressors. This study used conflict theory as a foundation, suggesting differences in educational outcomes can be attributed to systems perpetuating the current power structures that cause inequality in academic opportunities and performance. Trauma in adolescence can have adverse effects on educational outcomes and emotional stability. Research suggests that mental health therapy as well as a reduction in trauma symptoms can improve educational outcomes. Race, gender, substance use, socioeconomic status, and employment are important variables that could influence educational outcomes. Interaction terms were found in the literature …

An Analogue Study Of Expected Working Alliance And Hope With Victims Of Military Sexual Trauma Among Civilian And Military-Oriented Therapists, Alishia D. Salyer

Dissertations

Victims of military sexual trauma (MST) face unique challenges as they pursue mental health treatment and supportive care. Understanding what factors impact potential treatment outcomes is critical in aiding in their recovery (Castro et al., 2015; Kroviak, 2020). Although a substantial amount of research has been conducted to evaluate prevalence and client factors associated with treating victims of MST (Teit et al., 2015; Turchik & Wilson, 2010), little is known about therapists’ factors including therapists’ expectations working with such clients. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between therapist type (military-affiliated versus civilian), therapist gender, client gender, …

Influence Of A Multicultural Counseling And Psychology Course On Counseling Psychology And Counselor Education Master’S Students Color-Blind Ideologies And Ethnic Identity, Rebecca Tuinstra

Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether ethnic identity awareness mediates the relationship between completion of a Multicultural Counseling and Psychology Course and color-blind ideology endorsement. The participants included 93 master’s level counseling psychology and counselor education trainees attending a predominantly White university in the Midwest region of the United States. The study used a quantitative, pre- and post-test descriptive research design. Using mediation analysis, this study estimated the influence of completing a Multicultural Counseling and Psychology Course on awareness of ethnic identity and use of color-blind ideology while controlling for social desirability among master’s level counseling …

Dual Consciousness: What Psychology And Counseling Theories Can Teach And Learn Regarding Identity And The Role-Playing Game Experience, Elektra Diakolambrianou, Sarah Lynne Bowman

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

Many psychologists, therapists, and educators have emphasized the practice of play, especially with enacted roles, as a site for learning and therapeutic growth. This article weaves together a plethora of theories from psychology, Counseling, and role-playing game studies in an effort to understand the nature of enacted roles, their relationship to identity, and their transformative potential. Challenging the notion that identity is a fixed, stable monolith, the article synthesizes four overall approaches to theorizing the nature of identity drawn from various theories: identity as a social construct, narrative identity, identity as psychodynamic, and identities as parts of a whole. The …