Counseling Psychology Commons^™

Foster Parents Experiences With Conflict And Grief, Nadine L. Bilawski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Abstract

The study explored foster parent experiences of completing an online training program about the challenges of foster parenting in order to gain a greater understanding of how these challenges affect foster parent mental health and retention, and how they could be aided though online training. Thirty foster parents completed the four modules of the training program, and then completed a telephone interview about their experience of completing the course, and their experience with fostering in general. This study focused on two of the modules, the ‘Four Tools for Conflict Resolution” and “Reactions to Grief and Loss”.

The results suggest …

Ambiguous Loss For Caregivers Of Family Members With Dementia, Ashleigh Vella

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study examined the grief of spousal caregivers, specifically pertaining to how grief reactions and losses shift over the progression of the Alzheimer disease and related dementias, and how caregivers experience ambiguous loss. Five caregivers of spouses with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias participated in this study, recruited from the Alzheimer’s Society of London and Middlesex and the Alzheimer Outreach Services of McCormick Home. This was a descriptive field study using a qualitative approach to discover each participant’s experiences, which was complimented with two quantitative measures. The findings of this study were consistent with previous research regarding the changes in …

Exploring Parental Experiences And Decision-Making Processes Following A Fetal Anomaly Diagnosis, Ramona L. Fernandez

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Often the first indication that something may be wrong in a seemingly normal pregnancy occurs during the first detailed ultrasound appointment between 16 and 20 weeks gestation. Even the most tentative suspicions of fetal anomalies is jarring. Parent’s default reality of a normal pregnancy and a ‘perfect child’ changes to one of risk factors and the possibility of an ‘unhealthy child’. This study begins with the realization of this first loss in a series of losses that follow for parents as they grapple with diagnostic information to be able to make informed medical decisions regarding their fetus and pregnancy. The …