Counseling Commons^™

The Grief Experience Of Caregivers When The Child Has A Life Threatening Illness, Avigail Ward

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Using a mixed method approach, this study explored the impact of attachment styles on the grief experience of parents and guardians of a child who has a hematological or oncological illness. The grief experience was evaluated through the lenses of Chronic Sorrow, Ambiguous Loss and Anticipatory Grief. This study was conducted at the Loma Linda University Medical Center Hematology Oncology Pediatric Clinic and was completed by 106 participants who responded to a quantitative survey with open-ended questions. An open-ended questionnaire regarding the impact of the child’s illness on the couple relationship was completed by six couples. The results indicated that …

2011 August Newsletter, Nancy Rockey

Life Renewal Archive

No abstract provided.

Creative Learning For Challenging Times: The Promise And Peril Of Risk, Michele M. Welkener

Counselor Education and Human Services Faculty Publications

We are in an unprecedented time when it comes to the world’s complexity—never has the need been greater for students to be prepared to think for themselves and act creatively to solve perplexing problems. As an artist, faculty member and administrator in higher education, faculty developer, and researcher of creativity in college students, I am passionate about creating environments where students can exercise such skills. In the art culture, risk, experimentation, exploration, and even failure are expected routes that lead to finding one’s own style, voice, and signature statement. My awareness of these expectations first began to intensify as I …

Effects Of School Based Mental Health Services Among At-Risk Rural High School Students, Jeff Mccarthy

Jeff McCarthy

2011 July Newsletter, Nancy Rockey

Life Renewal Archive

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Of Cognitive Development Level, Supervision, And Counselor Skills In Preparing Counselors, Margaret Jean Jensen

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

The focus of this study was the exploration of specific developmental dimensions that may have an impact on the counselor training process, which ultimately will affect the quality of care offered by counselors to clients. Specifically, the relationship of cognitive developmental level and counseling competency skills was examined to determine if a relationship exists between the two dimensions and if so, can a counselor trainee's developmental level predict his or her level of counseling skills. Thirty master level counseling students (trainees) participated in this study during practicum or internship. The trainees were rated by their supervisors on both a measure …

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender And Questioning Students: A Qualitative Study Of The Perceived Effects Of Bullying In Schools, Brandy Kelly Richeson

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Bullying research frequently focuses on incidence and prevalence of bullying in schools, often failing to provide detailed accounts of the experiences and perceived impact of harassment and abuse (Poteat et al., 2009) on victimized lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) students. Further, these studies tend to have small samples of racial and ethnic participants and they fail to address victimization in individuals with multiple oppressed identities (D'Augelli et al., 2002; Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network [GLSEN], 2009). Utilizing a consensual qualitative research (CQR) design, the purpose of this study was to examine the victimization experiences and coping mechanisms utilized …

A Mixed Methodological Analysis Of The Role Of Culture And Diagnostic Variance Among Counselors And Counselor Trainees, Elizabeth A. Prosek

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

As the U.S. population continues to diversify, counselors are challenged to respond to the interface of culture and mental health concerns of clients (Gushue, Constantine, & Sciarra, 2008). It is important for counselors when making clinical decisions to reflect on the diverse needs of clients as well as the potential impact of cultural factors on mental health (Sue & Sue, 2008). Accordingly, this study sought to investigate the clinical decision-making process among counselors and counselor trainees and how, if at all, cultural factors influence the case conceptualization of clients. The study also investigated how counselors and counselor trainees collect and …

Testing Of A Brief Internet Cyberbullying Prevention Program In College Students, Ashley Nicole Doane

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Although the prevalence of cyberbullying varies across investigations, studies on adolescents and college students have shown that cyberbullying is associated with a wide range of negative consequences, including emotional distress, substance use, delinquent behavior, and even suicide. Given the frequency and consequences of cyberbullying, effective low-cost cyberbullying prevention programs are needed. Based on a review of the literature, best practices for program development, and earlier work on cyberbullying (e.g., Doane, Kelley, & Padilla, 2011; Doane, Kelley, Cornell, & Pearson, 2008), the goals of the proposed project were to develop a video-based program to increase knowledge about cyberbullying and empathy toward …

2011 June Newsletter, Nancy Rockey

Life Renewal Archive

No abstract provided.

Marital Experience And Spirituality Among Physician Couples, Elisabeth Vonegen Esmiol

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study will examine how marital experience and spirituality interact in the lives of physician couples. Physicians’ increasing openness to spiritual issues inherent in treating the ill and suffering (King, 2000; Thorsen, Harris & Oman, 2001), the growing number of women entering the medical profession and becoming physician and dual physician couples (Levinson & Lurie, 2004; Brotherton & Etzel, 2008), and physicians’ work-related stress (Transue, 2004; Wicks, 2006) and the resulting pressures and time constraints on medical marriages (Sotile & Sotile, 2000) make studying this population particularly relevant. Interviews with twenty two married, professional couples, in which at least one …

The Experience Of Counseling The Terminally Ill And The Best Counseling Practices, Helen Jackson Bleicher

Student Work

As people approach the end of their lives, many experience anxiety throughout the dying experience. This research investigated the death experience of terminally ill patients and the best counseling practices among licensed mental health practitioners. The questions developed by the researcher served as the measure, which was developed specifically for this research. The questions were given to a small purposive sample of counselors (N=10) who work in hospice settings, private practice, and oncology clinics. This research found that counselors focus on the psychosocial and spiritual aspects of dying, and observe patients having less death anxiety when they are comfortable with …

The Effectiveness Of A Personalized School-Wide Crisis And Trauma Management Training Program On Sense Of Preparedness For School Counselors-In-Training, Elizabeth Keller-Dupree

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of a personalized school-wide crisis and trauma management training program for master's-level school counselors-in-training. The study began with Pilot Study 1: Crisis Training Need Assessment which sought to best identify the crisis training needs for a specific geographic region. Results from Pilot Study 1 supported that unexpected student and teacher death was the crisis category which affects students the most and is in need of further training at the master's level. Next, Pilot Study 2: Crisis Training Feedback sought to obtain comments and suggestions from masters- and doctoral-level counselors-intraining regarding …

The Effects Of Revictimization On Coping And Depression In Female Sexual Assault Victims, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Sarah E. Ullman

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

To examine the effects of being revictimized, 555 women completed 2 mail surveys 1 year apart, reporting their experiences of sexual assault, the strategies they used to cope with those experiences, and feelings of depression. Path analyses, controlling for baseline coping and depression, revealed that those who were revictimized during the study reported using more maladaptive and adaptive coping strategies than did those who were not revictimized (β = .11 and β = .16, respectively). Further, women who were revictimized reported more depression than others (β = .15). This effect was explained in part by revictimized women's increased maladaptive coping. …

Retired Women And Volunteering: The Good, The Bad, And The Unrecognized, Olena Nesteruk, Christine A. Price

Department of Family Science and Human Development Scholarship and Creative Works

In this article, we examine varied attitudes and practices toward volunteering in later life, as shared by a group of 40 retired women. We categorize women based on their engagement in retirement and label the categories according to societal expectations as follows: traditional volunteers as "good," nonvolunteers as "bad," and caregiving volunteers as "unrecognized." Using critical gerontology and a feminist framework, we juxtapose the lived experiences of retired women with a prevailing discourse on successful aging and civic engagement. We advocate for societal recognition of caregiving as a valuable form of volunteering, as well as the need to respect multiple …

Affective, Behavioral, And Social-Cognitive Dysregulation As Mechanisms For Sexual Abuse Revictimization, Catherine Lutz-Zois, Carolyn E. Roecker Phelps, Adam Charles Reichle

Psychology Faculty Publications

Using a sample of 1,117 female college students, this study examined emotional, behavioral, and social-cognitive mechanisms of sexual abuse revictimization. It was hypothesized that numbing, alexithymia, alcohol problems, mistrust, and adult attachment dimensions would mediate the relationship between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and adult sexual abuse (ASA). Aside from the close adult attachment dimension, the results indicated that all of the hypothesized mediators were associated with CSA. However, only alcohol problems and mistrust met the necessary conditions of mediation. The results with respect to mistrust are especially unique in that it is one of the first empirical demonstrations of a …

Social Justice Counseling And Advocacy: Developing New Leadership Roles And Competencies, Derrick A. Paladino, Judith A. Lewis, Manivong J. Ratts, Rebecca L. Topreck

Faculty Publications

The fusion of scholarship and activism represents an opportunity to reflect on ways in which counselors and psychologists can begin to address the multilevel context faced by clients and client communities. Counselors and psychologists have embraced, and sometimes resisted, the wide range of roles including that of advocate and activist. This article reflects on a process that engaged workshop participants in examining the American Counseling Association Advocacy Competencies and exploring the possibilities of advocacy on behalf of their own clients. Further, the article presents recommendations for actions developed by participants through application of workshop principles regarding social action in the …

Attitudes Of Counselors Regarding Ethical Situations Encountered By In-Home Counselors, Justin Douglas Lauka

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

This survey study explored the attitudes of in-home and outpatient counselors in Virginia regarding ethical situations encountered by in-home counselors. Differences in responses were examined across several variables to identify any relationships among those constructs that are salient to in-home counseling and ethics. Of 108 participants, no significant differences were found between the two groups. One variable was found to predict counselors' responses: the percent counselors provide counseling services compared to case management. The item seen as most ethical involved telling a client to apply for needed services, surprising, given its directive nature that runs counter to the counseling profession. …

The Preparation Of Master's Level Professional Counselors For Positions In College And University Counseling Centers, Brian M. Shaw

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

College and university counselors are tasked with performing a multitude of roles and meeting a variety of client needs unique from other counseling settings. It is important to examine the ability of counselors who work in these settings to determine if they have been adequately prepared. This study investigated the adequacy of preparation of entry-level master's level professional counselors for work in college and university counseling centers. Adequacy of preparation was examined by surveying college and university counseling center directors about their perceptions regarding the ability of entry-level master's level professional counselors to perform specific roles and meet relevant client …

Supervision Competencies For Counselor Education Doctoral Graduates: A Delphi Study, Anita Ann Neuer

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Counselor educators and supervisors are familiar with the use of competencies for training future clinicians but the extant literature lacks a set of competencies for use in training future counselor supervisors. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a list of supervision competencies experts agree should be demonstrated by new doctoral counseling graduates for their work with master's students, pre-licensed or licensed counselors, and doctoral students. The research design included two expert panels, an amended Delphi poll, and a content validity assessment. These procedures resulted in a consensus list of 33 supervision competencies that appear to be …