Social Work Commons^™

Construct Validation Of The Psychosocial Costs Of Racism To Whites Scale For Ashkenazic Jews In The United States, Emile Tobias Berk

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study is a construct validation of the Psychosocial Costs of Racism to Whites Scale (Spanierman & Heppner, 2004) with Orthodox and non-Orthodox Ashkenazic (of European descent) American Jews. While Jewish-American biculturalism has been explored at length, there is a dearth of psychological research on Jewish-White biculturalism (Langman, 1999). Furthermore, the literature has yet to explore the impact of Jewish religious diversity on Ashkenazic-American self-perception as racially White beneficiaries of unearned privilege.

The Psychosocial Costs of Racism to Whites Scale (PCRW) measures three dimensions of White racial attitudes: White Empathic Reactions Towards Racism, White Guilt, and White Fear of Others. …

Book Review: Cfp Board Financial Planning Competency Handbook, Jorge Ruiz-Menjivar

Journal of Financial Therapy

The CFP Board Financial Planning Competency Handbook (2013) is reviewed as a resource that extends beyond financial planning to other helping professionals who work with money related issues.

Practitioner Profile: An Interview With Andrea Vining, Andrea Vining

Journal of Financial Therapy

Andrea Vining is a Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley in Pasadena, California who was named to the Firm’s Pacesetter’s Club in 2015, a global recognition program for Financial Advisors who, within their first five years, demonstrate the highest professional standards and first class client service. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature from the University of California at Santa Cruz and her interest in the arts is personal and life-long. She studied Jewelry Design & Fabrication at the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, CA and is also a certified bench jeweler. She and her colleagues are passionate …

Researcher Profile: An Interview With Axton Betz-Hamilton, Axton Betz-Hamilton

Journal of Financial Therapy

Dr. Axton Betz-Hamilton teaches consumer studies courses at Eastern Illinois University, including Personal and Family Finance, Housing, and Consumer Issues. She conducts research on identity theft as well as financial abuse within families.

The Theory Of Planned Behavior And The Earned Income Tax Credit, Lloyd Zimmerman, Anthony Canale, Sonya L. Britt, Martin Seay

Journal of Financial Therapy

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) seeks to reduce poverty and provide the resources necessary for an individual to become self-sufficient. The EITC achieves this annually by lifting millions of households above the poverty level through income supplementation. However, recent evidence suggests that the long-term upward economic mobility provided by the EITC in practice is limited. To investigate the factors associated with achieving this financial independence, this study utilized the Theory of Planned Behavior to determine if (a) attitudes—as measured by time preference and self-esteem, (b) subjective norms—as measured by education, parents’ poverty level or work status, and religiosity, and/or …

Three Interventions For Financial Therapy: Fostering An Examination Of Financial Behaviors And Beliefs, Rebekah J. Nelson, Thomas E. Smith, Victoria M. Shelton, Kristin V. Richards

Journal of Financial Therapy

Three interventions that address the emotional components of handling finances are proposed. Drawn from a stepwise model of financial therapy, the three interventions introduced here have the specific aim of incorporating the emotional attributes of traditional financial behaviors and beliefs. First, the Financial Genogram identifies family of origin issues that may affect financial behaviors; second, the Financial Landscape intervention is used when emotional stress occurs in collecting and examining financial documents; and third, the Financial Mirror broadens clients’ perspectives of their financial behaviors. Issues in future research and implementation of the Five Step model are addressed in treating financially distressed …

The Financial Health Of Mental Health Professionals, Sonya L. Britt, Bradley Klontz, Racquel Tibbetts, Linda Leitz

Journal of Financial Therapy

Recent research has suggested that mental health professionals may be at greater risk of endorsing money scripts associated with lower income, lower net worth, and problematic financial behaviors. This study more closely examined the financial health of mental health professionals using the Klontz-Britt Financial Health Scale (FHS). Data was collected from 264 individuals recruited through financial seminars given by the researchers and through social media. Results indicated that when compared to other occupations, mental health professionals report significantly lower levels of financial health. Regardless of occupation, money status and money worship scripts were associated with lower levels of financial health, …

Solution Focused Financial Therapy: A Brief Report Of A Pilot Study, Kristy L. Archuleta, Emily A. Burr, Mary Bell Carlson, Jurdene Ingram, Laura Irwin Kruger, John Grable, Megan Ford

Journal of Financial Therapy

The financial counseling, financial planning, and financial therapy fields are hampered by a conceptual and empirical paucity of clinical and experimental evidence-based research. In an attempt to decrease this gap in the literature, a pilot study was developed to test the implementation of a solution-focused financial therapy client intervention approach, in which solution-focused therapy techniques were applied in a financial counseling setting. This paper reports findings from a clinical intervention study of college students (N = 8) who presented a variety of financial issues related to budgeting, investing, and debt repayment problems. Data were gathered prior to the start of …

Editorial Volume 6, Issue 1, Martie Gillen

Journal of Financial Therapy

The editorial introduces Dr. Martie Gillen as the associate editor of book reviews and professional profiles for the Journal of Financial Therapy. The editorial overviews the empirical research and theoretical oriented manuscripts along with the professional profiles and book reviews featured in volume 6, issue 1 of the Journal of Financial Therapy.

The Relationship Between Demands And Resources And Teacher Burnout: A Fifteen-Year Meta-Analysis, Tammy Marie Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations

This meta-analysis explored the phenomenon of teacher burnout— the biggest contributor to teacher attrition (Owens, 2013; Unterbrink, 2014; Yu, 2015). The focus of this study was to use meta-analytical procedures to explore the relationship between burnout dimensions (i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feelings of personal accomplishment) and specific demand and resource correlates. Demand correlates included work overload, role conflict, role ambiguity, and student misbehavior. Resource correlates included peer support, supervisory support, and decision-making. This meta-analytical research method encompassed fifteen years of published and unpublished studies from January 2000 through January 2015. A total of 116 studies met the following inclusion …

Practice Recommendations For Mental Health Professionals: Perspectives From Grandparents And Their Adolescent Grandchildren, Kendra A. O'Hora, Megan L. Dolbin-Macnab

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

Although grandfamilies are consumers of a variety of mental health services, less is known about what these families, particularly the grandchildren, want from practitioners. To gain insight into how practitioners can best meet the needs of grandfamilies, 40 custodial grandmothers and their adolescent grandchildren were interviewed. Results of a qualitative analysis indicated that grandmothers and grandchildren did not make clear distinctions between various types of services and service providers. Grandchildren, in particular, emphasized the need for mental health professionals to facilitate mentoring and to provide opportunities for grandchildren to socialize with other grandchildren who have been through similar circumstances. Grandmothers …

Practitioner Profile: An Interview With April Benson, Ph.D., April Benson

Journal of Financial Therapy

Dr. April Lane Benson is a nationally known psychologist specializing in the study and treatment of compulsive buying disorder. Dr. Benson is the editor of “I Shop, Therefore I Am: Compulsive Buying and the Search for Self” (2000), the first book in English for mental health professionals about compulsive buying disorder. Her second book, “To Buy or Not to Buy: Why We Overshop and How to Stop” (2008) presents the Stopping Overshopping model of treatment. A pilot randomized controlled trial on the efficacy of this treatment model was recently published in the Journal of Groups in Addiction & Recovery. Maintaining …

Researcher Profile: An Interview With Jodi Letkiewicz, Ph.D., Jodi Letkiewicz

Journal of Financial Therapy

Jodi Letkiewicz, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of finance at York University in Toronto, Ontario. She teaches in the Certified Financial Planner^® Core Curriculum program preparing undergraduate students for the Canadian CFP^® certification and conducts research in several areas of personal finance and consumer decision-making, including behavioral aspects influencing the decision to seek financial help, how personality traits affect financial decision-making, and the financial state of young adults, including the impact student loans have on overall well-being and financial milestones early in their adult life. Dr. Letkiewicz’s goal is to increase financial well-being in the general public, which …

Lean In: Women, Work, And The Will To Lead, Amanda Blanco

Journal of Financial Therapy

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead is a self-proclaimed “sort of feminist manifesto” written to empower women and men. Sandberg gives insight into how to overcome and help others overcome the internal and external obstacles that may hinder success. This book is recommended for women in the financial services field, as women are underrepresented in certain segments of financial services.

Sibling Position And Risk Attitudes: Is Being An Only Child Associated With A Person’S Risk Tolerance?, Jennifer M. Brown M.S., John E. Grable Ph.D., Cfp®

Journal of Financial Therapy

The influence of birth order on personality has been studied for several decades, but little research has been conducted on the association between sibling position and risk tolerance. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between being an only child and risk-taking attitudes. Data from the 2010 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 sample was used to test the hypotheses that only children and first borns are similar, only children exhibit a lower risk tolerance when compared to those with siblings, and only children exhibit a lower risk tolerance when compared to those with siblings when first …

Financial Anxiety, Physiological Arousal, And Planning Intention, John Grable, Wookjae Heo, Abed Rabbani

Journal of Financial Therapy

Results from this exploratory clinical study indicate that financial anxiety—holding an unhealthy attitude about one’s financial situation—and physiological arousal—the physical precursor to behavior—play important roles in shaping consumer intention to engage in future financial planning activity. Findings suggest that those who are most likely to engage the services of a financial adviser exhibit low levels of financial anxiety and moderate to high levels of physiological arousal. The least likely to seek the help of a financial adviser are those who exhibit high financial anxiety and low physiological arousal. Results support findings documented in the literature that high anxiety levels often …

Editorial, Volume 5, Issue 2, Kristy L. Archuleta

Journal of Financial Therapy

This issue’s editorial is inspired by the importance of practitioners’ involvement in the peer review process for a scholarly publication like the Journal of Financial Therapy.

Metaphoric Generative Genograms: A Journey To Bring Genograms To Life Through Metaphorical Components, Elisa Garcia

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

The purpose of this dissertation is to offer a greater understanding of the potential of genograms through my clinical work from a Bowen Family Systems lens. I account for how I processed and effectively blended metaphorical components, by examining six cases from my two-year journal entries, of bringing genograms to life in sessions. I also explain how I created a useful tool, the Metaphoric Generative Genogram, that can benefit other clinicians working with children and families in the foster care community.

Hope-Focused Solutions: A Relational Hope Focus Of The Solution-Building Stages In Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Jenna A. Wilson

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

The positive psychotherapy focused on for this study is Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). Insoo Kim Berg and Yvonne Dolan (2001) once described the essence of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) as the “pragmatics of hope and respect” (p. 1) and despite Berg and Dolan’s declaration of hope’s importance in SFBT, little process research has been published looking at the “pragmatics” of hope in SFBT practice. Hope is seen as a common factor in psychotherapy since the human relationship, also known as the therapeutic alliance, is a foundation of psychotherapy. Hope plays a significant role in every human interaction and it is …

Mental Health Administrators' Knowledge And Perceptions Of Delivery Of Relationship-Based Services, Alan Frank Singer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Past research has recommended that clinical mental health (CMHC) administrators employ a relational focus to their work, but little evidence exists that such a relational focus is actually being utilized. Guided by Rogers' principles of client-centered therapy, this study examined whether CMHC administrators possessed the knowledge and attitudes to utilize the recommendation of relational based therapy and whether implementation in the CMHC was feasible. A qualitative multiple case study design was utilized to collect personal interviews with 12 CMHC administrators who could discuss Norcross and Wampold's single recommendation about therapeutic relationships. Results were triangulated with the guide for CMHC financing, …

Improving Depression Care For Older Home Health Patients, Sarah R. Schirmer

DNP Projects

Rates of depression in older home healthcare (HH) patients are highly prevalent. Although depression in this population is associated with increased rates of re-hospitalization, falls, and suicides, it is frequently under diagnosed and under treated. This Capstone Report examined this problem through three interrelated manuscripts. The first manuscript explored the problem through a review of the literature. This review determined that while there are many barriers to adequate depression care, programs that train clinicians to screen for depression and connect patients to depression care encourage adequate evaluation and treatment and can result in clinically significant changes in depression scores. This …

Culturally Sensitive Social Work And Mental Health Practice With The Amish, Julissa J. Coblentz Ms.

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

With the growing number of Amish in the United States today, it is important for social workers and mental health practitioners serving this population to do so in a way that is sensitive to their culture. Even though the Amish live a unique, simplistic lifestyle which enables them to focus on the things which they value such as church membership and family, occasionally, they do have mental health and social service needs. This study attempts to explore specific culturally sensitive behaviors which social workers and mental health practitioners can utilize in striving to meet these needs. The researcher compiled a …