Counseling Commons^™

Fostering Strengths: Using Testimonios To Identify Community Cultural Wealth In Foster Youth, Katherine Mullin

Master's Projects and Capstones

Foster youth voices have been silenced in schools, work environments, and many other settings.There is very little research around what works well for foster youth and what their assets are. Foster youth have many skills and resources that they use to navigate systems that continually marginalize them. But these are often ignored or overlooked. This project uses youth voices through Testimonios and Community Cultural Wealth to create a training for group home staff.

Teaching Online Group Counseling Skills In An On-Campus Group Counseling Course, Kelly Anne Kozlowski, Courtney M. Holmes

The Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Counselors are increasingly incorporating digital modalities into their practices. As such, counseling students must be trained to provide such types of counseling within their degree programs. This article outlines an example curriculum for an on-campus group counseling class wherein students receive training and participate in an online, videoconferencing process group.

A Pedagogical Framework For Counselor Educators Working With Millennial Students, Rebecca L. Koltz, Adina Smith, Dawn S. Tarabochia, Cristen C. Wathen

The Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

While literature has concluded that millennial students are dedicated and highly motivated, students may be less patient with the process given that they have grown up in a digital world with information available in seconds (Smith & Koltz, 2012). Therefore, it seems important to consider how millennial generational characteristics fit within the context of a counseling program’s educational environment. The authors situate characteristics of the millennial generation in four theoretical domains to provide pedagogical framework for counselor educators to consider when working with students from the millennial generation. Understanding shifts in generational groups and similarities within each group may provide ...

A Survey Of Students’ Knowledge About Child Sexual Abuse And Perceived Readiness To Provide Counseling Services, Jennifer Marie Foster

The Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Master's level students in counselor education and counseling psychology (N = 304) were surveyed to explore their knowledge about child sexual abuse (CSA) and perceived readiness to provide related counseling services. While students demonstrated general knowledge about sexual abuse, preparedness to counsel was rated much lower with 69% of students indicating low levels of competency. Data was analyzed to explore demographic characteristics that led to increased readiness scores. Indicators of statistically significant higher readiness scores included: prior work or volunteer experience with victims of sexual abuse, participation in CSA trainings, and supervised field experience. Implications for student training and recommendations ...

Gatekeeping Practices Of Counselor Educators In Master's Level Counseling Programs, Vanessa B. Teixeira

The Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Counseling students often present with problems of professional competence (PPC) in counselor education programs. The purpose of this study is to determine differences in the gatekeeping practices of counselor educators with students identified with PPC in CACREP-accredited and non-CACREP accredited counselor education programs in the United States. A survey instrument with scenarios related to students presenting with PPC was given to counselor educators. Results found no significant differences in gatekeeping practices between CACREP-accredited and non-CACREP accredited programs.

Expert Clinical Supervisors’ Descriptions Of Easy And Challenging Supervisees, Gulsah Kemer, L. Dianne Borders Phd

The Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Expert supervisors provided descriptions of what made two of their recent supervisees easy or challenging. Content analysis revealed seven categories of experts’ descriptions for those supervisees. Supervision behaviors, clinical competencies, traits and personal background, and self-awareness/self-reflectivity categories were the most frequently reported categories, regardless of the supervisee being easy or challenging. Comparisons of the seven categories did not yield significant differences in their frequencies for the easy and challenging supervisees. Importantly, the experts appeared to rely on objective (observable) rather than subjective assessments of their supervisees, whether easy or challenging. Limitations and implications for future research and practice are ...

Novice School Counselors' Experience In Classroom Management, Deborah K. Buchanan, Blair Sumner Mynatt, Marianne Woodside

The Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

A school counseling core curriculum is typically delivered in a classroom setting. Therefore, school counselors need to be prepared to manage a classroom during the delivery of classroom core curriculum lessons. Phenomenological research methodology was used to understand the classroom management experiences of seven school counselors in their first year of employment. Findings indicated that participants’ experiences were influenced by: a) prior knowledge and experience, b) relationships with teachers and students, c) the classroom teacher’s management style, and d) the ability to plan, organize, and deliver engaging, developmentally appropriate core curriculum lessons. Implications for school counselors, and counselor educators ...

Nurturing Self: Psychotherapeutic Implications Of Women's Reflections On The Meaning Of Their Cherished Possessions, Stephanie L. Martin

The Qualitative Report

Experiencing the importance of one’s personal treasures is ubiquitous to the human experience, but what is the depth and meaning of this lived phenomenon? An interpretive phenomenological method was used to explore the meaning and significance of women’s experience of their cherished personal possessions. Nine women participated in three individual semi-structured phenomenological interviews each. Interpretive analysis revealed that women’s experience of their cherished personal possessions is one of nurturing self. Through their cherished personal possessions, women nurture their sense of self by connecting with others, affirming personal experience, supporting self through change, and cultivating a sense of ...

Education Program Using Non-Pharmacologic Support During Benzodiazepine Reduction In Patients With Anxiety Disorders, Kelly D. Kearney, Diane Wardell

Journal of Nursing & Interprofessional Leadership in Quality & Safety

A private mental health clinic developed an initiative to aid patients with anxiety disorders to taper their use of benzodiazepines. Based on best practices, a treatment protocol was developed in which patients attended 4 sessions (1 per month) in which they combined instruction in non-pharmaceutical anti-anxiety techniques (guided imagery, mindfulness meditation, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, exercise, emotional freedom) with cognitive behavioral therapy and use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Participants experienced a reduction in benzodiazepine use. This small-scale initiative showed that the holistic approach to anxiety management was an effective plan to decrease the use of benzodiazepines in the ...

How One Learning Community Approached Death, Lori Ungemah

Learning Communities Research and Practice

In this narrative piece, the author describes how a learning community was able to transfer their practices of care to support a colleague as he faced illness and death. The author chronicles how the learning community responded to support their team member, other members of the campus community, and the students. She reflects on this experience and explores how the learning community structure supported compassion during this challenging year.

Identity Doesn't Form In A Vacuum: Deconstructing The Role Of Hegemony In The Identity Formation Of Religiously Diverse People, Randa Elbih

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

In a post-9/11 world, Muslims and Muslim-looking individuals are perceived as a homogenous group characterized as violent, oppressive, and barbaric. Conflating Islam with negative traits both corroborates and instigates the dominant hegemonic forces, which serve as the filter through which and the context within which identities are formed. In order to destabilize these hegemonic beliefs, this paper builds upon James Paul Gee’s (2001) identity theory, specifically what he terms “new capitalism.” This review finds Gee’s identity theory particularly salient in the current political moment in which Muslims and Muslim-looking individuals feel rejected and Othered in the United ...

Letter To The President: Longitudinal Critical Discourse Analysis Of Academic And Hip Hop Genres In A Rap Narrative Program, Debangshu Roygardner

All Graduate Works by Year: Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The objective of this study was to examine an in-school rap narrative workshop through critical discourse theory (Bamberg, 2012; Daiute, 2014). Twelve youth from a public school serving youth in urban Houston, TX were recruited from an in-school and after-school Hip hop/Rap narrative program to participate in a two-year cohort research study. The primary research question guiding the study was “How do young people participating in a school-based Hip hop/Rap program use a wide range of narrative genres for literacy and psycho-social development over two years in the program?”

The data-intensive study involved assessments of literacy and psycho-social ...

Practitioners' Views On Service Needs For Justice Involved Youth, Juan C. Llamas, Robin L. Chandler

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess practitioners’ views of service needs for juveniles involved with the justice system. In the United States, every year there are thousands of youth committed to detention institutions for delinquent acts. As a result, children as young as nine years of age up until adulthood have a difficult time integrating back into the community. In many instances, youth who have been involved with the justice system have a greater likelihood of recidivism due to their inability to adapt to their environment. Further, when youth enter the system, many times they are not receiving ...

Restorative Justice Practices In Education: A Quantitative Analysis Of Suspension Rates At The Middle School Level, Barbara Katic

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The negative effects of retributive disciplinary measures in school settings are well documented. Exclusionary practices, such as suspensions, position students on the school-to-prison pipeline, perpetuating a cycle of failure. Restorative justice practices in educational settings provide an alternative to the retributive approach to student discipline. In this research study, a middle school in California was examined for its implementation of restorative justice practices. Numerical data pertaining to a five-year suspension history report for the school were utilized for the quantitative analyses, and four individual chi-square goodness of fit tests were conducted. The results demonstrated that the implementation of restorative justice ...

Social Work Students Ability To Identify Signs Of Autism In Children, Heather Nicole Hopkins

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of students in the Master of Social Work (MSW) program to correctly identify signs of autism in children by completing a survey. This research project was conducted in collaboration with California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) and the MSW program by using MSW students as participants. The study used a survey designed with items that measured the knowledge of participants. The results of this study may be beneficial to the Director of Social Work, future MSW students, and professors to examine how well the current MSW program is preparing students ...

Social Stigmas Of Mental Health Counseling For The Youth Population, Norma Edith Morales, Kiah Kristionne Marks

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study was a quantitative survey that examined the parental perspectives concerning mental health counseling after their children received mental health services. The focus of this study was to analyze changes in parental perspectives in regard to mental health services for their children. The study considered social stigmas and diagnostic labels associated with mental health and counseling for mental health. The study found that parents whose children received mental health services reported they and their children had a positive experience. In addition, parents were open to receiving mental health counseling services in the future. The study was conducted within a ...

Strategies And Substance Treatment: Perceptions Of Older Adults 60 And Over, Kim Malveo Jones

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gather the perceive strategies and substance treatment needs of adults 60 and over. To examine what recovery treatment models and strategies could be most effective for the age-related complex needs of the 60 and over population who are at risk for substance misuse, use or abuse. In the coming years, there will be a substantial increase in the numbers of older adults with substance misuse and abuse problems. Even though one in five individuals who experience substance abuse are older adults many clinicians remain ill equipped to serve older clientele, and particularly those ...

The Power Of Prayer, Victoria Dawn Thompson

Capstone Collection

If words are arbitrary, how does prayer have power?” is the question of inquiry in this paper. An unobtrusive Content Analysis inquiry methodology was used to answer this question. The answer lies in the finding that words and thoughts are not the same thing, and our thoughts expand beyond the audible and visible. The implication for professional practice these findings present is that a deeper awareness of “Self” is needed to understand people’s miraculous way of resolving conflict via prayer.

Utilization Of Mental Health Services Amongst African-American Women, Amber M. Brown

Electronic Theses & Dissertations Collection for Atlanta University & Clark Atlanta University

This thesis examines mental health utilization amongst African-American women. The study specifically investigated the factors that may predict help seeking behaviors: depression, stigma, African acculturation, mistrust, and religious commitment. The study also examined the role demographics has on African-American women utilizing mental health services. The study examined the following demographics, income, age, marital status, and education status. The sample size consisted 40 African American women, with ages ranging from 18 to 65. The results indicated that age and depression may impact African-American women seeking mental health services. The results showed that stigma, African acculturation, mistrust, religious commitment, income, marital status ...

A Study Of Mentors' Perception And Level Of Satisfaction With Elements Of Effective Practices Within Girl Mentoring Programs, Gabrielle Starr

Electronic Theses & Dissertations Collection for Atlanta University & Clark Atlanta University

This study examines mentors’ perspective and level of satisfaction with the elements of effective practices among girl mentoring programs in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. The sample consisted of mentors who served at-risk girls. The variables analyzed included the following: recruitment, screening, training, matching, monitoring, support, and closure. Explanatory design was used to generate the study and the purposive and snowball sampling was utilized to gather the analysis. A total of 125 respondents participated in the study. The conclusions drawn from the findings suggest that mentors are overall satisfied with their experience with mentoring girls. Among the best practice elements the screening ...