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Strategic Planning In Small Nonprofit Behavioral Health Organizations, Amanda Machamer Becker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Rural communities in the United States depend on small community-based nonprofits to provide access to food, nutrition, transportation, and other social determinants of health. Despite this essential role, some leaders of small nonprofits forgo participating in strategic planning because they believe that the process can be time consuming and expensive. Strategic planning may help organizations of any size to be organized, mission focused, outcome based, and successful. The strategic planning process helps to identify which outcomes demonstrate effectiveness and increase program sustainability. The purpose of this study was to explore the ways that strategic planning may assist small rural community-based …

Leadership Behavior On Burnout Among African-American Licensed Professional Counselors, Chinedu Augustus Akubudike

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe impact of leadership behavior on burnout among mental health workers has been an area of study among scholars since 2004. For example, poor leadership behavior has been found to impact burnout among licensed professional counselors (LPCs), and leadership strategy has been found to be essential in addressing a clinician's burnout. However, existing literature has indicated that some U.S. behavioral health organizations lack leadership qualities that would facilitate a decrease in burnout among mental health providers. Therefore, I examined the issues associated with the leadership of XYZB behavioral health clinic in northeastern Washington, DC, and its approaches for remediating burnout …

Therapeutic Wilderness Experiences And Empathetic Perception Of At-Risk Adolescent Youth, Sandra Short-Robbins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Current research involving wilderness therapy (WT) programs indicates that therapeutic wilderness or outdoor interventions have increased in popularity as alternative approaches for treating at-risk or adjudicated adolescents. However, the role that empathetic perception plays in advancing the efficacy of WT intervention absent from the majority of extant literature. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to address a gap in research involving how empathetic perception may be affected by WT program participation. The conceptual framework for the project involved ecopsychology, a branch of science that addresses the connection between human beings and the natural world. Nine young adults between …

The Sustainability Knowledge, Attitude, And Behavior Differences Between Green And Non-Green University Students, Rebekah Hart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has shown that green schools and sustainability education (SE) can improve learning, health, attitudes, and behaviors. They can also model the necessary community, societal, and global changes needed for sustainable living. However, most students do not attend green schools or receive adequate SE. Limited peer-reviewed studies have also examined the sustainability knowledge, attitude, and behavior differences between green and non-green university student populations. The theoretical foundation of the study was based on the theories of planned behavior and social identity theory. In order to fill the research gap, 606 undergraduates and graduates from 265 U.S. accredited green and non-green …

Therapeutic Wilderness Experiences And Empathetic Perception Of At-Risk Adolescent Youth, Sandra Short-Robbins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Current research involving wilderness therapy (WT) programs indicates that therapeutic wilderness or outdoor interventions have increased in popularity as alternative approaches for treating at-risk or adjudicated adolescents. However, the role that empathetic perception plays in advancing the efficacy of WT intervention absent from the majority of extant literature. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to address a gap in research involving how empathetic perception may be affected by WT program participation. The conceptual framework for the project involved ecopsychology, a branch of science that addresses the connection between human beings and the natural world. Nine young adults between …

Social Networks And Sense Of Community Effects On Psychological Distress Among Community X Residents, Marci A. Salone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A certain community within the southern region of Texas has consistently been linked to escalating poverty, high crime rates, low educational achievement, and poor physical and mental health. For the purpose of this research, this community will be referred to as Community X. Although some researchers have found that sense of community and supportive social networks are associated with healthy mental and physical functioning, others have suggested that in a debilitated community social networks can facilitate psychological distress and a strong sense of community is difficult to develop. Guided by Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study …

Exploring Restorative Factors For Trafficked And Sexually Exploited Women, Carol C. Chilaka

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Many women who survived sex trafficking continue to suffer from severe and persistent psychological distress even after the traditional treatment and rehabilitation program. The lingering psychological symptoms that these survivors suffer make reintegration into their families and communities difficult. This phenomenological study identified the restorative factors that helped some women who were earlier engaged in sex trafficking to recover, readjust, and reintegrate into their families and communities. Six female survivors of human trafficking and six program directors/counselors at different rehabilitation centers were individually interviewed in in-depth with semi-structured questionnaires and audio recorded. I kept diary of my readings and …