Counseling Commons^™

Exploring Online Mental Health Services: A Qualitative Study For First-Year College Students, Leandrian J. Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

American first-year college students are faced with mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, which can have a negative impact on their academic performance. Research shows that students who suffer from mental illness, such as anxiety and depression, fear their condition will be perceived negatively by their peers and professors. The literature also suggests that U.S. colleges and universities can be more proactive in offering students resources for their mental health concerns to decrease anxiety and depression. It appears that absent or limited mental health resources have failed to address rising cases of student mental illness, and more specifically, …

Examining The Role Of Self-Compassion In Resilience Among African American Women: A Qualitative Perspective, Vivian W. France

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study aimed to fill an important gap in the literature by exploring the role of self-compassion in resilience among African American women. This study was an investigation of some of the challenges African American women face in their lived experiences that impact their self-compassion and to provide an understanding of the role self-compassion plays in their pursuit of higher education. A qualitative design with a phenomenological approach and thematic analysis for gathering and extrapolating primary themes and subthemes from the participant data sets was used. Semistructured interviews were conducted with five African American women ages 27–58 years who had …

Clinicians Use Of Mindfulness-Based Practices During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Leah Ridley, Samuel J. Giese, Shelby Cogan, Chelsea Hughes

Thinking Matters Symposium

Alternative mental health treatments like mindfulness hold a great deal of promise, but limited research exists on their success and application with the adolescent population. This study investigates the primary research question, “What are the experiences of clinicians providing mindfulness-based treatment to school-aged children in Maine during the COVID-19 pandemic?” This explanatory mixed methods study involves a quantitative survey of clinicians, and will be followed by a virtual focus group to further unpack the value of mindfulness-based practices when working with school-aged children. Survey data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis; focus group data will be …

Badranaya: A Board Game To Enhance Prospective Multicultural Counselors’ Impartial Character, Nora Yuniar Setyaputri, Yuanita Dwi Krisphianti, Rosalia Dewi Nawantara

Jurnal Kajian Bimbingan dan Konseling

The discriminative behavior upon individual personalities that multicultural counselors have frequently operated causes low neutrality in encountering an issue and individual labeling. That behavior indicates the counselors lack impartial character. Thus, this study aims to develop a guidance and counseling media of Badranaya (multicultural counseling board game) that promote unbiased character, referring to Semar’s great characters. It used modified Borg and Gall development procedures, while its data were obtained through valid and reliable experts assessment questionnaire and impartial character scale. The numerical data analysis results from guidance and counseling experts, as well as educational media development experts, signify that this …

The Effect Of Focused Group Discussion To Enhance Students’ Understanding On Premarital Sexual Behavior Risks, Annisa Arrumaisyah Daulay, Syawaluddin Nasution

Jurnal Kajian Bimbingan dan Konseling

This study investigates the effectiveness of information service using a focus group discussion technique to improve students’ understanding on the risks of premarital sexual behavior. It used a quantitative experiment method with one group pretest-posttest design, while its 30 subjects were selected using purposive sampling. The data analysis process was carried out using a t-test. The research results indicate improved students’ understanding of the risks of premarital sexual behavior after they join information service with focus group discussion technique. Therefore, focus group discussion is effective to enhance students’ understanding of premarital sexual behavior risks.

The Effect Of Smartphone Addiction And Self-Control On Phubbing Behavior, Binti Isrofin, Eem Munawaroh

Jurnal Kajian Bimbingan dan Konseling

Phubbing is a behavior of ignoring the interlocutor and focusing more on smartphones. This behavior, which is quite common recently, has a negative impact on social interactions. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of smartphone addiction and self-control on phubbing behavior. This study employed a correlational research design. Three hundred and seventy-nine samples involved in this study were recruited using random sampling techniques. The data were collected using the Smartphone Addiction Scale, Phubbing Scale, and Self-Control Scale. The data were analyzed using regression analysis assisted by JASP software version 0.11.10. The findings show that smartphone addiction …

Does Internet Gaming Disorder Hinder Academic Performance?, Erwin Bramana Karnadi, Stevanus Pangestu

Jurnal Kajian Bimbingan dan Konseling

In 2018, the WHO has categorized gaming disorder as an official disease. One of the ways to estimate a person’s gaming disorder level or status is to use the IGD-20 Test. The purpose of our research is to determine whether or not internet gaming disorder (IGD) has a significant negative impact on academic performance using binary dependent and two-staged least squares models. We obtained data from 390 Indonesian university students, consisting of their academic performance, IGD level, gaming behavior, and several of their economic and demographic characteristics. We found that 5.13 percent of the respondents have IGD. Using both probit …

Psychoeducational Groups Based On Dasa Pitutur From Sunan Kalijaga: An Indigenous Counseling To Enhance Other Group Orientation, Mulawarman Mulawarman, Zakki Nurul Amin, Muslikah Muslikah, Sigit Hariyadi, Kusnarto Kurniawan

Jurnal Kajian Bimbingan dan Konseling

Some Western counseling approaches are not applicable in local cultures. Consequently, counselors have to accommodate the local culture to improve the efficacy of their services. This research aims to formulate indigenous counseling based on the Javanese culture of Dasa Pitutur from Sunan Kalijaga. Using that culture, the counselors are expected to improve the participants’ cultural skills and respect for other cultures. It used the hermeneutic method with discourse analysis to interpret the messages’ structure and pragmatic. The analysis result signifies that the Dasa Pitutur values are relevant with the other group orientation. The primary message taught in Dasa Pitutur is …

Effectiveness Of An Online Intervention Combating Mental Health Stigma On Adolescent Help-Seeking Behaviors, Chelsea Krayecki

Counselor Education Capstones

Mental health stigma has been shown to be a barrier to seeking help for mental health concerns. This is especially true for adolescents due to important developmental characteristics. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) (2021), depression is one of the major causes of mental health concerns and disability among adolescents. In addition, the WHO (2021) also states that mental health conditions account for 16% of global burden of illness in people ages 10-19-years-old. The current pandemic has only increased these concerns, as social, emotional, and mental well-being has been impacted by the pandemic (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, …

The Role Of Occupational Therapy With The Homeless Population: A Scoping Review, Shelby Osborne, Steven M. Gerardi, Gina Benevente

Spring 2021 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Homelessness is a global and national occurring pandemic. Individuals experiencing homelessness tend to lack education; health resources; stress management; social, independent, vocational, and leisure skills. These causes of homelessness create adverse impacts on occupations leading to situations described as occupational injustice and barriers to occupational engagement. Due to these adverse impacts on occupations, homelessness is of concern to the occupational therapy profession. It is necessary to identify in what behaviors occupational therapy practitioners are engaging with this population to increase occupational performance and decrease occupational injustice.

The theoretical framework of the Model of Human Occupation and the Occupational Therapy Practice …

The Struggle Of Mental Health Within College Students, Skyler R. West

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

One in five college students have thoughts of committing suicide daily. We often wonder what may lead to thoughts like this. This essay uses a subjective approach to broaden the knowledge of readers regarding mental health problems within college students. In this essay, readers discover the statistical findings of factors like alcohol, nicotine, schoolwork and athletics factoring into a student's psychological destressed mental state. Without having available and anonymous resources accessible to them, students are not able to get the help they need.

Psychosocial Effects Of Infertility, Elizabeth Kulikov

Showcase of Osprey Advancements in Research and Scholarship (SOARS)

Infertility, or the inability to conceive a child, is a symbolic loss that affects up to 20% of couples in the United States. A symbolic loss is a loss due to something other than death. Infertility has been described as a disenfranchised and anticipatory loss that can lead to complicated grief reactions. Disenfranchised losses are those wherein the grief often goes unrecognized, unacknowledged and misunderstood. Despite its prevalence and the severity of the grief and loss associated with infertility, academic literature examining the psychosocial effects of infertility is scarce. The purpose of this project was to investigate the existing literature …

Kesejahteraan Dan Ekologi Anak Angkat Warga Negara Indonesia Dalam Pengangkatan Anak Antarnegara (Intercountry Adoption) Menghadapi Negara Baru, Monica Sundawati Susanto, Johanna Debora Imelda

Jurnal Ilmu Kesejahteraan Sosial

Adoption is currently one of the efforts chosen by several couples to have children. Adoption of children currently being processed in Indonesia is not only for prospective adoptive parents who are Indonesian citizens, but can also be processed for foreign citizens who wish to adopt Indonesian citizens (intercountry adoption) which has been regulated in the Government through Government Regulation Number 54 of 2007 concerning the Implementation of Child Adoption. In these regulations, children who can be adopted are neglected or neglected children. Therefore, adoption is carried out with the aim of protecting and improving the welfare of the child. The …

The Role Of Interior Design In The Psychotherapist's Office, Vincent Ylagan

Senior Theses

A growing body of research in environmental and design psychology indicates that our surroundings can have subtle but significant effects on how we feel and think. One setting where thoughts and feelings are at the forefront of the work done is the psychotherapist’s office, where clients go to process stressors and learn strategies to overcome emotional difficulties. The current study aimed to investigate how therapists and clients view the therapist office and identify the features associated with the “ideal” therapist office. Therapists, current or past therapy clients, and individuals who have not been to therapy completed short surveys. Surveys asked …

Initial Development Of The Escala De Fortaleza En Jóvenes Para Padres, David Moran

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

National statistics indicate substantial mental health and academic challenges experienced by a sizable proportion of Hispanic children and adolescents in American school settings. School counselors can provide culturally responsive supports to this population and would benefit from contextually grounded, ecologically valid assessments that focus on the positive development of Hispanic children and adolescents. To address this instrumentation gap, this study sought to develop initial items for the Escala de Fortaleza en Jóvenes para Padres in both English and Spanish. A qualitative approach was implemented to explore the perceptions of Hispanic parents/caregivers of their child or adolescent’s resiliency. Eight Hispanic parents …

Pornography: Social, Emotional And Mental Implications Among Adolescents, William Kelly Canady

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This presentation will explain the historical development of pornography. It will highlight four segments: 1- Porn’s impact on brain development of reward pathways, ultimately increasing the appetite for more porn. 2- Porn can be a false substitute for real intimacy, resulting in decreased sexual satisfaction with a real person and increased verbal and physical aggression. 3- Porn promotes sex trafficking, promotes multiple sex partners and reduced STD prevention. 4- A review of interventions available to assist clients in navigating a lifestyle away from pornography.

Beyond The Competency Model Of Therapist Trainings - Developing Expertise Through Deliberate Practice, Daryl Mahon Ba, Ma

Counseling and Family Therapy Scholarship Review

The purpose of the present paper is to describe how Deliberate Practice (DP) can be used to assist individual therapists develop expertise and improve their ability to effect change in their clients' psychotherapy outcomes. The author provides a targeted review of this literature and articulates a method of training therapists based on this relatively new and exciting concept. The initial training of psychotherapists represents an important milestone in an often lifelong career and one that is marked with a continuous professional development trajectory. While it is particularly important to achieve competency in many foundational skills and techniques during training, this …

Using Ambiguous Loss To Address Perceived Control During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Rosemary A. Leone

Counseling and Family Therapy Scholarship Review

The concepts of ambiguous loss and perceived control will be used to explore ways to embrace the unknown during COVID-19. By defining COVID-19 as an ambiguous loss, effective therapeutic interventions emerge that can guide clinicians in creating lasting change amidst widespread uncertainty. Four ambiguous loss interventions will be proposed to alleviate the distress of living in fearful semi-isolation for an unknown period of time. In paradoxically embracing uncertainty, clients can create new hope in the context of a global pandemic. New hope is the ideal outcome when coping with ambiguous loss. In literature on ambiguous loss, the concept of new …

An Essay Concerning The Substance Of Counseling, Lance Kair

Counseling and Family Therapy Scholarship Review

Our modern world appears to lack a way to find truth. Philosophically, this problem is formulated in a manner of knowing which never gets beyond the subject of the universe; even objectivity in the universe is arguable. The effort called empirical science then gives us conclusions that regularly perpetuate an unstable world. Due to this real subjective empirical constraint, the usual approach to therapeutic Counseling offers methods focused on the individual obtaining skills and conceptions that function to mitigate the apparent and ubiquitous problem of modernity. Empirical science, whether it be physical, biological or phenomenal, has left us with only …

Clash Of Values: Workplace Bullying And Moral Injury, Jarl B. Anderson Ma, Mftc

Counseling and Family Therapy Scholarship Review

Moral injury is a psychological construct developed in military context, and although it has been expanded to include specific occupational fields outside of the military, it has not yet been proposed as an outcome of workplace bullying. Employees may experience moral injury when their personal values and the legitimate values of the workplace clash with unacknowledged shadow values during incidents of workplace bullying. Workplace bullying could be considered a potentially morally injurious event (PMIE) because it is transgressive, it is asymmetric, and it involves high stakes: livelihood and identity are at risk. Regarding counseling considerations, the use of ritual has …

Observations On The Relationship Between Resilience And Mindfulness, Jason N. Linder Psy. D., Jay A. Mancini

Counseling and Family Therapy Scholarship Review

In the last three decades, mindfulness and resilience have received extensive scholarly attention. Research has burgeoned and they have both become “buzz words” in the social sciences and mental health fields. That said, they are often presented as unrelated qualities, skills, or states, and few studies and texts have examined their linkages and/or how they complement each other. Masten’s (2001, 2009) seminal papers and subsequent book (2014) that presented resilience as “ordinary magic” have had large impacts on resilience scholarship, bringing forth that resilience is much more of a common human occurrence and proclivity than previously considered. In this paper, …

Mama! I Hear Your Silence: Grief And Covid-19 On The Global North And South Disparity, Magnus Mfoafo-M'Carthy

Lyle S. Hallman Social Work Faculty Publications

In this conversation with Mama, I use my mother’s voice as a reflexive mirror to explore the social work silences that the COVID-19 pandemic expresses so eloquently in my own life and work. I seek to highlight the intimate link between Mama’s silence and social work silence.

Impact Of School-Based Mindfulness Programs In Elementary Schools, Hannah Rosholt

Graduate Teacher Education

Educators in the 21st Century face a myriad of emerging concerns with child and adolescent behavior. Surfacing educational issues include increased anxiety disorders, cyber bullying, students who have experienced trauma, increased aggressive behavior, absenteeism, and suicide ideation. As new concerns arise, educators seek ways to support students in these challenges. Mindfulness practice in schools has become more and more prevalent in the past twenty years. Research on adults who practice mindfulness has revealed lowered stress, increased resilience, and clearer focus. Researchers aim to understand the effects of mindfulness on children and adolescents. This paper analyzes how mindfulness practice impacts students’ …

Trauma And Intersectionality In Trauma Informed Ministry, Caitlin Simpson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Seminary students have reported feeling underprepared to work with traumatized individuals in pastoral care (Logan, 2017; Resane, 2014). Statistics reported that 82% of pastoral care recipients had a trauma history (Foreman, 2018). Understanding trauma (Herman, 1992) and intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989) were used to consider the varying impacts each can have on an individual. Scholar Fredericks Streets (2015) used the social services understanding of theology and trauma (Beh, 2012; Weems, 1988) trauma informed ministry (Wolf, et al., 2013) to develop trauma informed ministry. This qualitative study using constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 2013) explored the experiences of nine participants in learning about …

The Influence Of Cyber-Sexual Assault On The Mental Health Outcomes Of Survivors, Kelley R. Holladay, W. Bryce Hagedorn, David Boote

Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education

Researchers examined data collected from the only national sample of cyber-sexual assault (CBSA) survivors (N = 97; 3.75\% response rate to the online survey) using three valid instruments that measure symptomology of sexual assault. We found that participants scored high across each of the inventories, indicating CBSA survivors respond in ways that are similar to sexual assault survivors concerning emotional dysregulation, depression, and post-traumatic stress symptomology, particularly if they had a history of sexual assault. Implications for counselors are reviewed, and clinical recommendations are offered.

Counselors-In-Training Reactions To Clients Living With And Without Hiv, Melissa Zeligman, J. Richelle Joe

Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education

An estimated one million people are currently living with HIV in the United States. Therefore, an important question remains pertaining to professional helpers’ preparedness in working with people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). This study (N = 165) utilized an analogue design, with participants receiving one of four possible clinical case vignettes, to determine the relationship of client HIV status and race with counselor-in-training self-efficacy, multicultural competency, and empathy. Results revealed that client HIV status was predictive of counselor self-efficacy, and that self-efficacy held relationships with multicultural counseling competency and empathy. Findings suggest multicultural skills training may be particularly important to …

Specialists In Name Or Practice? The Inclusion Of Transgender And Gender Diverse Identities In Online Materials Of Gender Specialists, Natalie Holt, Robyn E. King, Richard Mocarski, Nathan Woodruff, Debra A. Hope

Trans Collaborations Academic Papers

Recommendations for health care providers working with transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals emphasize affirming clients’ identities, such as using correct pronouns and name, however it is unknown how often gender specialists adhere to such recommendations. Websites and intake forms of gender specialists were coded for use of affirming language, asking for pronouns and chosen name, and mention of TGD specialties and resources. Most websites identified the provider’s specialty to work with TGD individuals, though much fewer provided additional resources concerning TGD issues and only half of intake forms included affirming language. Given previous research that has demonstrated providers working …

Psychometric Evaluation Of The Transgender Congruence Scale, T. Zachary Huit, Allura L. Ralston, J, Kyle Haws, Natalie Holt, Debra A. Hope, Jae Puckett, Richard Mocarski, Nathan Woodruff

Trans Collaborations Academic Papers

Introduction Despite increased attention to transgender and gender diverse (TGD) issues in psychological literature during the past decade, gaps remain for psychometric validation of TGD-specific measures. Kozee et al. (Psychology of Women Quarterly 36(2):179–196, 2012) addressed such gaps by creating the Transgender Congruence Scale (TCS), measuring gender acceptance and feelings of gender congruence between internal and external attributes across a broad range of gender identities. The current study extended Kozee and colleagues’ work by further examining the psychometric properties of the TCS.

Methods Between October and November of 2017, 210 transmasculine, transfeminine, and gender diverse adults between ages 19 …

The Rise In Use Of Emotional Support Animals By College Students: The Impact Of Parenting Styles, Misty G. Smith, Samantha Ballard, Jill Willis

Journal of Higher Education & Student Affairs

As the generational context of higher education shifts, a rise of Emotional Support Animals (ESA) and mental health concerns are present for students on college campuses. While previous studies have aimed to address the relevancy and controversy of ESAs in higher education as well as their effectiveness in supporting individuals, less research has explored underlying factors that contribute to the use of an ESA. The purpose of this study was to explore the parenting behaviors of parents/caregivers of students with ESAs in comparison to parents/caregivers of students without ESAs. An embedded mixed methods design was used. Participants completed the Parenting …

Reflections On The Bgj Anti-Racism Seminar, Michelle Billies

Publications and Research

In this Letter to the Editor, Billies (2021) responds to critical and supportive opinion pieces in the British Gestalt Journal (BGJ) following their plenary presentation at BGJ’s 2018 annual seminar (see Asherson Bartram, 2019; O’Malley, 2019). As author of the companion article "How/ Can Gestalt Therapy Promote Liberation from Anti-Black Racism?” (Billies, 2021), Billies, who identifies as white, discusses the intent at the seminar to support white people to increase accountability and reduce harm in dialogue with people of color, while supporting the work and needs of people of color on their terms from a Gestalt perspective. Describing a fishbowl …