Counseling Commons^™

Counseling And Mental Health Stigma Among College Students: An Examination Of Gender, Mattie Albright

Senior Honors Theses

Male perceptions of masculinity are commonly studied in the psychological world as inhibitors to seeking mental health help or counseling. This research proposal addresses the roles of gender-role conflict and self-stigma of help-seeking in how they predict the male tendency to seek help at lower rates than females. The sample being analyzed in this study will consist of male and female students in the psychology department at Liberty University. Participants will complete the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale (SSOH), the Gender-Role Conflict Scale I (GRCS-I), and the Attitude Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale (ATSPPHS). Results will explore which factor …

Trauma Curriculum Integration In Counselor Education: A Delphi Study, Jaimee York, Adrienne Baggs, Laura Schmuldt, Nancy Sherman

Trauma Counseling and Resilience

Research has established the need for trauma education and training for safe and effective entry-level practice. However, studies have shown insufficient and inconsistent training in graduate counseling programs. Those studies reflected the opinions and experiences of practitioners and graduate students. To add to the extant literature, we used the Delphi method to gather information from counselor educators who have experience in trauma counseling and education. The Delphi technique is a group communication strategy designed to obtain expert consensus through a series of survey questionnaires, modified and adapted to reflect group opinion. We asked participants for their insight into the most …

Assessment Of Professional Counseling Dispositions: A Content Validity Analysis, Patrick R. Mullen, Jacob Joseph, Kaitlin Jones Hinchey, Morgan Walker, Jennifer Niles

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

Counselor educators evaluate the professional counseling dispositions of trainees throughout their development within training programs. There have been few consistent articulations of professional dispositions as many programs and measures define them differently. In our study, we developed the Assessment of Professional Counseling Dispositions (APCD) and performed a content validity study of the measure. Our findings provide evidence for the content validity of the APCD. We discuss these findings, their implications, and future research using the measure.

Stress, Resiliency, And Burnout Among Counseling Leaders, Adriana Bovee

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Leaders in the counseling profession face many demands. The purpose of this quantitative regression analysis study was to determine if there was a predictive relationship between the independent variables of stress and resiliency and dependent variables of burnout, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment among leaders in the counseling profession. Transformational leadership theory and resilience theory were applied as the theoretical framework of this study, and the cross-sectional data collection method was used. Data were collected through anonymous online surveys from a purposive sample of 75 counseling leaders. Data analysis methods included descriptive statistics and multiple linear regressions. Results indicated …

A Study On The Effects Of Biblical Counseling Techniques On Teacher Relationships With Students With Autism, Matthew Mcneill

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Christian school students with Autism Spectrum Disorder are in need of greater spiritual care from their teachers. Autism Spectrum Disorder is a concept which is becoming increasingly present in the world of education. With this growing presence, autism is becoming an issue in Christian education, as it seems that Christian educators struggle to understand it and to care for their students with autism spiritually. Further, little to no research has been done regarding autism and this area. The purpose of this study was to train Christian special educators in biblical counseling techniques and perspectives in order that they might better …

Infusing Shame Resilience Into The Counseling Curriculum To Support Client Conceptualization And Student Wellness, Sarah I. Springer, Kathleen Grant, Lauren Cozzolino

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Shame is a silent epidemic that influences the health of our clients and the counselors who serve them. Using the tenets of phenomenology, researchers explored the experiences of students participating in a counseling course created to infuse shame resilience into the curriculum. Results and implications for future research are included.

Supporting Counselors-In-Training: A Toolbox For Doctoral Student Supervisors, Jeffrey M. Warren, Mark Schwarze, Helen S. Lupton-Smith

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Counselor education doctoral students are often required to supervise master-level counselors-in-training as part of their supervision internship. While practical, this arrangement places doctoral students and their supervisees in potentially compromised situations, given their lack of experience in these respective roles. This article offers a toolbox of strategies doctoral student supervisors can use to facilitate their work with counselors-in-training. These strategies address focus areas identified through prior research. Doctoral student supervisors are encouraged to use this toolbox in conjunction with the support and guidance of their faculty supervisor as they navigate clinical supervision.

The Needs Assessment As Authentic Learning For School Counselors In Training, Dr. Dianne Vargas, Dr. Steven Drouin, Dr. Karen Zandarski

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Although school counselor educators are tasked with preparing effective school counselors, they are continually presented with the challenge of creating authentic learning experiences that enhance the development of counselors in training. This descriptive-interpretive qualitative study describes the knowledge gained by counselors in training while creating, implementing, and analyzing an authentic learning experience within a master’s counselor education course. Data for this study included needs assessments completed by participants, and findings were summarized in four major themes. The themes included participants' awareness of the relevance of needs assessments, sources of knowledge utilized in survey design, school sites as stress and validation, …

Emotional Intelligence And Self-Perceptions Of Counseling Competency In Counselors In Training, Ariel K. Hernandez, Walter Frazier, Rebecca Cowan

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess the relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and counseling competency. Results indicated that CIT status was positively correlated with counseling skills and therapeutic conditions. Results further showed that CITs with higher EI had a higher self-perception of all components of counseling competency.

Beyond Acculturation And Resilience: International Students Navigating Shame And Self-Concept, Shauna Thompson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study highlights the unique experiences of international students while they pursue higher education, manage adjustment issues, and navigate internal struggles. To explore whether English proficiency and family expectations correlate with self-concept and acculturation resilience, this study focused on the acculturation process, incorporating aspects of shame and self-concept that contribute to a student’s motivation and resilience. International students commonly face academic and personal challenges while adjusting to an environment that requires fluency in English. Additionally, many experience the pressure of high expectations from their families in their countries of origin. This study used a sociocultural approach to explore how international …

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 …

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

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

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’ …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Multicultural Counseling Course Instructors’ Cultural Background And Diversity Teaching Approaches, Cameka Hazel

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Abstract

The success of any multicultural counseling course hinges upon the cultural competence of the course instructor. Research indicates that cultural competence is developed through personal experiences with diversity; however, little is known about how these experiences are translated into teaching practice. In this qualitative study, the researcher used a phenomenological inquiry to explore how instructors’ experiences with diversity influence how they teach multicultural counseling. The main thematic finding indicates that the cultural diversity background of the counselor educators shapes the way they teach. The two subthemes also reveal that some instructors teach diversity topics from a place of familiarity …

Standing With Asian Clients Affected By Pandemic: Counseling Recommendations Through Msjcc Framework, Hyemi Jang, Jihyeon Choi, Isak Kim

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

As COVID-19 exacerbates racial discrimination against Asian populations in the U.S., mental health concerns among Asians have increased accordingly. Thus, counselors are encouraged to provide culturally competent counseling for Asian clients who experience racial discrimination and its detrimental impacts. This article proposes recommendations for counselors to effectively serve Asian clients based on the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC) framework. Counselors can utilize the proposed considerations to alleviate mental health concerns among Asian clients.

Infusing Anarchist Pedagogy Into Counselor Education, Andrew Wood

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

Anarchist pedagogy has existed for well over 100 years, but little has been written on the subject within the counseling profession and the counselor education literature specifically. Anarchist pedagogy offers a direct relationship between education and social justice praxis that many counseling programs espouse, and thus the consideration of an explicitly political pedagogy may benefit the counselor education profession. This manuscript aims to provide a brief overview of anarchist pedagogy, how it fits into the work of counselor education, and how counselor educators can utilize anarchist pedagogy. Limitations for the infusion of anarchist pedagogy into counselor education and future areas …

Practical Interventions For Groupwork Leader Training In Master’S Counseling Programs, Madeleine Stevens, Shannon Strohl, Pat Mcgowan

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Groupwork in counseling has been utilized to promote client wellness, but little attention has been paid to the development and standardization of group leadership skills training in counselor education. This paper highlights this gap and offers practical, evidence-based solutions to help counselor educators train effective group leaders at the master’s level. The authors developed skill-building solutions using the core competencies for group leadership training in the Professional Standards for the Training of Group Workers (2000) by the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW).

Counselors’ Stigma Toward Addictions: Increasing Awareness And Decreasing Stigma, Natalie M. Ricciutti

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The purpose of this study was to explore licensed counselors’ level of stigma toward individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) and process/behavioral addictions (PBAs) and note any differences. A total of 138 licensed mental health counselors from one Midwestern state completed the SRTSS and the BRTSS to determine levels of stigma toward SUDs and PBAs, respectively. Participant scores from the SRTSS and BRTSS were normally distributed, and 15% to 32% of participants’ scores were reflective of stigma toward individuals with either SUDs or PBAs. A significant difference was not found between participants’ stigma toward individuals with SUDs or PBAs. Hypotheses …

Suggestions To The Field: Novice Counselors’ Challenges In Treating Borderline Personality Disorder, Qu Chen, Richard Hazler

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Novice counselors working with clients diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) are at risk for professional burnout. For many novice counselors, the cause of professional burnout is based on factors related to quality guidance and supervision. This article aims to call attention to counselor educators and supervisors to protect novice counselors treating BPD and provide suggestions for supervision. The authors review books, journal articles, and training workshop materials from 2003 to 2022, summarize features of BPD, analyze novice counselors’ challenges in treating BPD, and suggest some strategies that counselor educators and supervisors can use to assist novice counselors in treating …

Using Supervision Preferences Of Counselors To Predict Intention To Stay, Amanda K. Mccarthy, Randy Mccarthy

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The demand for counselors continues to grow and agencies continue to look for strategies that will retain their counselors. While improving employee retention requires multiple regular and ongoing actions at all levels of an organization, supporting supervisors to provide quality interactions with counselors could be part of the solution. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between supervision preferences and turnover intention among counselors employed in state agencies. Researchers solicited information regarding the supervision activities that counselors preferred to receive compared to the supervision activities they actually received. Instead of asking what counselors need regarding supervision, this …

Examining The Relationship Between Counselor Professional Identity And Burnout, Jessica Gaul

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This study examines counselor professional identity and burnout for clinical mental health counselors. The population of focus included licensed or license-eligible Clinical Mental Health Counselors, who were post-grad (N=53). Participants then completed the Professional Identity Scale in Counseling - Short Form and the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Human Services Survey. When examining the findings regarding the relationship between Counselor Professional Identity and Burnout for this study, the initial observation revealed the validity and applicability of the MBI-HSS to clinical mental health counselors. Though a relationship between Burnout and Counselor Professional Identity was not identified, relationships between sub-scale items were noteworthy. Implications for …

Full Issue, Tracy L. Cross

SENG Journal: Exploring the Psychology of Giftedness

No abstract provided.

Counselors’ Spirituality, Attitudes Toward Suicide, And Self-Efficacy In Conducting Suicide Risk Assessment, Tayler Hendrix

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study aimed to explore the relationship between perceived spiritual support and counselor self-efficacy in conducting suicide risk assessment, and the moderating effects of attitudes about suicide on this relationship. Based on existing theory and empirical evidence, perceived spiritual support was hypothesized to have a positive predictive relationship with counselor self-efficacy in performing suicide risk assessment; further, four different constructs pertaining to attitudes toward suicide were also hypothesized to moderate the strength and direction of this relationship. A sample of Master’s level clinicians and advanced standing Master’s graduate students (N=132) completed on online survey containing instruments measuring perceived spiritual …

The Lived Experience Of Counseling Students In Natural Disaster, Amy M. Sirocky-Meck

Dissertations, 2020-current

After natural disaster, survivors may experience moderate to severe signs and symptoms of emotional distress which may subside or worsen as time passes (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2022). Adults pursuing higher education when natural disaster strikes experience an additional array of unique issues which may exacerbate symptoms of emotional distress (Wilkinson et al.,2013). To create and improve curricular and co-curricular structures that meet the needs of their students, educators in many health and mental health disciplines can draw from a variety of quantitative and qualitative studies, particularly those focused on how their disciplines’ students navigate the experience …

Effective Writing Strategies And Feedback In Counselor Education, Lindsay Corinne Webster, Tessa M. Hastings, Kelseigh Garrett

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Emerging counselors often are expected to demonstrate mastery of learning objectives through the written word. In this article, we address how counselor educators can implement simple and effective strategies for developing proficient, reflective, and self-regulated student writers. We propose three frameworks from academic literature to shape a pedagogical writing approach germaine to the principles of counselor education: growth mindset, sociocultural theory of cognitive development, and constructive feedback typology. In addition to highlighting strategies to design developmental writing assignments with intentionality, we illustrate how to harness counseling skills to provide writing feedback that promotes insight and personal growth beneficial for counseling …

Experience Of Underrepresented Students In Master’S-Level Counselor Education Programs, Deborah L. Duenyas, Andre Sumiel, Jill Krahwinkel

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The purpose of this phenomenological investigation was to understand the racial and ethnic experiences of underrepresented Master’s-level counseling graduate students in CACREP-accredited counselor education programs. The second author conducted semi-structured interviews with six masters-level counseling graduate students. Data analysis revealed four composite themes that comprised students’ experience. The themes were: Perceived Cultural Competence, Individual Characteristics, Connection and Advocacy, and Bringing “It” Up. Implications on how counselor education programming and curriculum can provide support for underrepresented students are provided.

A Narrative Inquiry Study Of Adult Female Survivors Of Childhood Sexual Abuse And Their Journey Into Individual Counseling, Alex Houseknecht

Dissertations

The purpose of the narrative inquiry is to investigate the journey of adult female survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in seeking out and obtaining individual counseling. The goal is to understand why survivors seek individual counseling and how the process of obtaining and utilizing counseling unfolds over time.

This qualitative study is conducted with convenience and criterion sampling selection. The participants used for the study are two adults who identify as female, aged 18 or older, who are survivors of more than one incident of CSA and are current clients of therapists in the investigator’s existing professional network. Additionally, …