Counselor Education Commons^™

Trauma-Informed Practices, Nathaniel Woods

Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) Capstone Abstracts

Two people can go through the same situation and perceive the situation entirely different. Crisis works the same way; a single event can be seen differently based on the person's vantage point, previous traumas, experiences, and worldviews. The crisis or trauma that one experiences can have a lasting impact on the individual’s brain. It is the responsibility of the trauma-informed practitioner to walk the person experiencing trauma through exercises that will retrain their brain, reframe their situation, and get to a place where they function at a higher capacity if the person wants to function at a higher capacity. If …

Alcohol Use In Women: Resources And Recommendations For Counselors, Samantha Haling

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

The research shows that alcohol use is rising rapidly among women, resulting in devastating consequences that have not been sufficiently explored in counselor education and training. This paper aims to address this by providing a review of the literature which shows that women are more vulnerable to many of the physical and mental health consequences of alcohol use than men, and that they have unique treatment needs and face gender-specific risk factors and barriers to treatment. The review examines the interaction between gender and alcohol use, summarizes the existing research on the physical and behavioral health consequences of alcohol use …

The Case For A Core Anti-Racist Course For Counselors In Training, Ileana A. Gonzalez Ph.D., Raven K. Cokley Ph.D.

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

Historically, counseling programs in the United States have been rooted in whiteness and white supremacy. Despite this historical context, counseling programs fail to teach students about the varied ways that anti-Blackness and systemic racism show up in society, classrooms, and clinical settings. Given the systemic murders of Black folks by the state, the health disparities highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the refusal of white voters to abandon white supremacist patriarchy in the 2020 presidential election, the counseling field must reconsider how it prepares trainees to embrace anti-racism in their personal and professional lives. The purpose of this article is …

Incivility Of Coworker Behaviors And Minority Firefighters’ Belongingness In The Workplace, Alyssa Reiter

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Research with firefighters continues to indicate that this population is particularly vulnerable to development of mental health conditions as a result of their professional roles (International Association of Firefighters [IAFF], 2019; Stanley et al., 2017; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2018) and minority firefighters may be at heightened risk as a result of their experiences within the fire service. An answer to this concern may lie in the exploration of belonging and uncivil behaviors, as research has demonstrated that belonging in the workplace serves to reduce mental health symptoms and enhance an individual’s ability to cope with …

Making Room: Addressing The Counter-Therapeutic Nature Of Psychiatric Hospitalization Through Containment- Based Group Expressive Therapy, Max Sandor Copans

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The process of hospitalization and the environment of a typical psychiatric hospital is often counter-therapeutic. To challenge this problem, clinicians may introduce the concept of psychological containment. To elaborate, being hospitalized anywhere can be disorienting, frightening and even traumatic. This problem is only further exacerbated in psychiatric hospitals where patients may be disorganized, manic, or struggling with psychosis. Furthermore, psychological containment is essentially the ability for psychiatric patients to prevent their intense emotions from effecting others negatively, and to act with resiliency when other patients are unable to contain their own disruptive behaviors. This paper utilizes both an initial literature …

The Ripple Effect: ‘Training The Trainer’ On The Impact Of Body Image Through A Dance/Movement Therapy Technique, Marina Gearhart

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis describes the capstone project which was a psychoeducation and experiential workshop for fitness trainers. The workshop investigated the impact trainers’ work may have on the body image of their clients through a dance/movement therapy (DMT) technique. The aim was to enhance the trainers’ sensitivity around body image issues of their clients and to create a space for vulnerable movement conversation that may in turn lead to better mental health advocacy for their clients within the scope of ethical practice. The participants of the workshop were six white female identifying trainers ranging from 24 to 35 years of age. …

Considerations And Reflections On Being A Brazilian - Latina Expressive Arts Therapist Working In Usa, Maiara Bastos

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper focuses on the experience of being a Latina expressive arts therapist working in the United States of America (USA). Through literature review and a personal art-based research process, the definitions of identities, therapeutic relationships, and microaggression are discussed and explored. This paper is theoretically grounded in the notion of expressive arts therapy and gestalt therapy as a means to understand the author’s experiences in the field of counseling. Autoethnography and art-based inquiry are used to conceptualize microaggressions within the therapeutic relationship.

With the intent of increasing awareness about the author’s identities, the expressive arts were used to make …

Treatment Access For Dual Diagnosis Substance Use And Mental Health Disorders, Pedro Banuelos

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In 2018, of 1.3 million Latinx adults in the United States facing concurrent issues with substance use disorders (SUD) and mental health disorders (MHD) 93% remained untreated for either diagnosis. This is concerning since Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) data reveals that this population is at greater risk for suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts. They also face structural barriers such as employment, housing, legal involvement, and insurability that further impede access to treatment.

This study’s purpose was to examine barriers to accessing treatment for Latinx populations confronting co-occurring SUDs and MHDs. This study used a qualitative design …

A Work Of Heart

DePaul Magazine

This article looks at the internship opportunities that DePaul students have available to kickstart their career through such programs as DePaul WORKS and INSuRE. Alumni in the museum, education and counseling, cybersecurity, law and public relations fields are interviewed.

Book Review: How To Be An Antiracist By Ibram X. Kendi, Shuntay Tarver

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Qualitative Examination Of The Preparedness Of African American Pastors To Address Issues Of Addiction, Shuntay Tarver, Chaniece Winfield, Judith Preston, Alexis Wilkerson, Pastor Isaac Shorter

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

This study qualitatively explored the preparedness of African American pastors to meet the needs of parishioners with addictions. Findings indicated that African American pastors do not always perceive themselves to be prepared to address issues of addiction, and existing cultural barriers challenge collaboration between human services practitioners and African American pastors. Findings also revealed that despite existing cultural barriers, African American pastors are willing to collaborate with professionals who offer educational opportunities in culturally relevant ways. Human services professionals’ ability to understand cultural nuances of African American pastors is of paramount concern to effectively enhance the quality of life for …

The Efficacy Of Art And Movement Treatment Modalities On An Individual With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Tristen Valentino

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Current statistics report 1 in 54 children have been identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), many of whom have co-occurring mental health disorders. However, minimal research has been conducted on adults with autism with co-occurring mental health disorders and the efficacy of art and movement therapy techniques. This is the case study by Tristen Valentino, clinical therapist, of a client, David Smith (who was given the pseudonym to maintain confidentiality), a 35-year-old, obese, single, cisgender, heterosexual, Caucasian, male. The implications of this case study are discussed relative to the diagnosis and treatment of adults with ASD who possess comorbid clinical …