Counseling Commons^™

Developmental Pedagogy In Marriage And Family Therapy Education, Christopher Russell Hoff

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

New practice domains are opening up for practitioners of family therapy in the medical, organizational, and human relations fields. In this new environment, family therapy educators and supervisors are required to cross the epistemological spaces of scientist-practitioner, postmodernism, and critical theory. These new possibilities require that family therapist educators become comfortable moving between multiple epistemologies. This poses increasing challenges that will require a hybridization of knowledge and practice approaches in MFT education. Through focus groups consisting of 34 participants, all of who were in their first quarter of a Master’s degree program in Marriage and Family Therapy. We found a …

Recognizing Microaggressions: A Framework For Helping Grandfamilies, Loriena Yancura, Christine A. Fruhauf, Heather Greenwood-Junkermeier

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

Microaggressions are manifestations of prejudice targeted toward socially marginalized groups. They may take several forms: subtle discriminatory remarks, behavior, or environmental characteristics. In contrast to overt aggressions, microagressions are not easy to detect and often invisible to both perpetrator and recipient. Existing research demonstrates that experiencing microaggressions is harmful to members of stigmatized groups and provides a framework to combat these negative effects. Although most of the literature on microaggressions is focused on groups characterized by minority race and female gender, microagressions might also be experienced by members of grandfamilies, who often have socially marginalized status. Microagressions toward grandfamilies may …

Protecting The Protectors: Enhancing Emotional Well-Being In Law Enforcement, Olivia Gillies

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Law enforcement officers face a myriad of stressors, both personally and professionally, and regularly suffer serious outcomes that affect their physical health and psychological well-being. Fortunately, counselors have important skills that can be used to assist officers in building resilience, coping with stress, and managing negative outcomes, such as posttraumatic stress syndrome and interpersonal troubles. This project outlines the various difficulties that law enforcement officers may experience, explores current practices to manage these concerns, and provides a discussion of useful approaches counselors and law enforcement agencies can take in supporting their most valuable assets.

Creative Counseling Techniques For Elementary-Aged Children, Brian C. Caperton

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Research suggests widespread decline of creative ability in elementary-aged children, particularly kindergarten through 3^rd grade (Kim, 2012). The increase of mental health disorders in children, the exponential rise of technology use, and the surge of psychotropic medication use indicate the need for nuanced, divergent clinical interventions. Creative counseling fills this demand by offering children opportunities to engage in open-ended, reflective abstraction and other therapeutic processes. The author opens with an overview of creativity and psychology, conceptualizes the target population, and discusses theories, models, and interventions of creative counseling with elementary-aged children. The paper will provide clinicians with an understanding …

Counseling Refugees Of Middle Eastern Descent In The United States, Jennifer Semaan

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Refugees of Middle Eastern descent in the United States face a countless number of challenges throughout their journey. Many of these obstacles are overlooked or unaccounted for. This research paper serves to help mental health counselors identify the unique challenges of each phase during the refugees’ migration process, as well as provide information on evidence-based practices that can be useful when working with this population. This project also speaks to the different roles that counselors play in a therapeutic relationship, including direct therapy, advocating on behalf of refugee clients, and educating other counselors and the public on the specific needs …

A Change Of Heart: Understanding Spirituality Following A Shift In Values Or Beliefs In Young Adults, Aaron Boggs

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

As a counselor, how does one sit with others who have experienced a dramatic change in their belief system and values? This paper seeks to identify the effects of a significant change in values or beliefs on young adults and the recovery of the spiritual dimension of their lives. Spirituality, defined as an individual's inner process to define their purpose, meaning, and values through a connection to others (which may include God) and themselves, is an increasingly important component to consider in assessment and therapy. The case study of Angela and the personal journey of the author illustrate the psychological …

Reciprocity: Caring For America's Caregivers, Courtney Dunn

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

Should families be forced to choose between the health of a caregiver and patient? Through the eyes of a woman caring for her husband with Alzheimer's disease, we see that family caregivers suffer tremendous amounts of stress while caring for the patient. Despite the time and efforts required to care for someone with Alzheimer's disease, people every day choose this as an alternative to out-of-home care. This often leads to depression, anxiety, and physical stress which can result in series medical issues. Considering the increase of people with Alzheimer's disease in the United States, this article argues that support programs …

Attitudes To Wards Prenatal Genetics Among Southeast And East Asian Women: A Qualitative Pilot Study, Ginger J. Tsai

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

From 2000-2010, the Asian population in the United States grew five times faster than the overall US population. As Asians become incorporated into the US health care system, it is important to recognize cultural differences that may arise between Asian patients and their health care providers. Prior studies show that cultural values influence genetic perceptions within Asian populations. The reputation of the family unit factors into decisions such as pregnancy termination and disclosure of family medical history, and the non-directive model of American genetic counseling conflicts with the historical Asian model of paternalistic health care. Previous studies also provide conflicting …

Walking On Eggshells: The Lived Experience Of Partners Of Veterans With Ptsd, Tiffany A. Beks

The Qualitative Report

This phenomenological study examined the descriptions of lived experience among female partners of veteran men with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) via internet discussion forums. Personal, self-initiated written accounts of 30 partners were analyzed with respect to meaning, challenges, coping responses, and role in veterans’ healing and rehabilitation. Following data analysis, five descriptive themes emerged: all-consuming effect of the illness, walking on eggshells, ambiguous loss, alone, and facing PTSD as a unit. The central meaning of these themes describes the widespread priority of the veterans’ illness, and the resulting isolation, grief, and apprehension experienced by intimate partners as they assume …

Nature Connection: Theory, Evidence And Practice, Matt V. Bukowski

Showcase of Graduate Student Scholarship and Creative Activities

This presentation explores scholarly work at the intersection of mental health and the natural world in a variety of disciplines. My intent is to provide an overview of theoretical perspectives, research-based evidence, and clinical practices that support the idea that experiencing the natural world can improve human mental health outcomes.

Ciis Today, Spring 2016 Issue, Ciis

CIIS Today

This volume is the Spring 2016 issue of CIIS Today, the Magazine of the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Psychological Attitudes Of Saudi Arabian International Students Toward Mental Health Counseling, Ruba Alajlan

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the psychological attitudes of Saudi Arabian international students toward mental health services. One of the problems that prompted this research is the scarcity of scientific literature on this issue. This research used a mixed-method study convergent design with a convenience sampling of 162 for quantitative section and 35 for the qualitative. The main validated instrument used was the Beliefs About Psychological Services Scale (BAPS) along with a demography survey and some qualitative open-ended questions. The researcher found that licensed psychologists and professional counselors had the highest statistical representation of relationship with intent. …

Counselors’ Perceived Preparedness For Technology-Mediated Distance Counseling: A Phenomenological Examination, Daniel C. Holland

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

This phenomenological study examined counselors’ perceptions of their formal preparation for engaging in technology-mediated distance counseling with the intent of gaining an understanding of their lived experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven seasoned counselors who regularly engage in technology-mediated distance counseling. The results highlighted two categories emerging: the counselor and training/education. Themes related to motivation and counselor attributes emerged from the first category and themes of availability, inadequacy, and modality emerged from the second. The implications from this study suggest a lack of availability of effective training on technology-mediated distance counseling. The implications also suggest areas of potential future …

No More Secrets: Talking With Children And Young Adults About Pornography, Brad Hinman

Faculty Publications

This article provides an overview of the patterns, risk factors, and consequences of Internet pornography addiction and discusses appropriate personal and institutional responses, including discussing pornography with children at a young age in combination with other sexual and health topic. Christians are at higher risk for Internet pornography addictions than other groups, so addressing these issues with our children is particularly important. The article provides resources for ensuring student safety online, preventing online victimization, and learning more about Internet pornography addiction.

Pre-Service Interdisciplinary Training In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Terisa P. Gabrielsen, Phd

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This project was designed to give mentoring experience to students across disciplines who were seeking additional knowledge and training in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participation in the project was intended to benefit students by giving them more knowledge within their field and across disciplines, helping future patients and clients with ASD and to enhance applications to specialty and graduate programs in related fields. Students produced a large (attendance=150) interdisciplinary training workshop for the community and developed a website collection of autism resources for clinicians and families.

Shame And Resilience Among Mental Health Trainees: A Scale Construction Study, Claire T. Hauser

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Contemporary research has revitalized interest in the construct of shame, and the pervasive nature with which it impacts psychological functioning. It has been argued that mental health professionals encounter shame regularly in the therapeutic milieu and must be equipped to assist clients in developing shame resilience. The process of learning to provide shame attendant therapy begins during graduate training, as mental health trainees (MHTs) gain first hand experience with feeling shame through the evaluative nature of the training process. Although shame in the MHT role has been discussed in prior literature, it is difficult to study due to lacking instrumentation. …

What Dimensions Of Empathy Predict Prosocial Helping Behavior In Emerging Adulthood? The Relationships Between Volunteering To Help And Perspective-Taking Ability, Experience Of Empathic Concern, And Self-Report Empathic Inclinations, Wyntre Stout

Journal of Interdisciplinary Graduate Research

Empathy, defined as the ability to experience the world from the other’s point of view, is believed to play an important role in motivating acts to meet the needs of others, as in prosocial behavior (Batson, Eklund, Chermok, Hoyt, & Ortiz, 2007). The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend past work that highlights empathy’s role in prosocial behavior by examining the relative importance of specific components of empathy in relationship to prosocial helping behavior. The role of perspective-taking ability, experience of empathic concern responses, and self-report empathic inclinations were examined in a model predicting prosocial helping behavior. …

Integrating Narrative Family Therapy In An Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Program: A Case Study, Steven M. Demille, Marilyn J. Montgomery

Faculty Publications - Graduate School of Counseling

Adolescent mental health is a significant societal concern in the United States. Diagnosable mental health disorders have been reported at rates of 10–20 % among children and adolescents and this does not include adolescents experiencing personal and interpersonal distress not meeting diagnostic criteria. Adolescents who do not respond to traditional mental health services are often placed in residential treatment centers or other out-of-home treatment programs. Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare (OBH) is growing as a viable treatment option for adolescents who struggle with emotional, behavioral or substance related problems; however, questions have been raised about how to integrate the family into an …

Psychological Distress And Revictimization Risk In Youth Victims Of Sexual Abuse, Samantha L. Pittenger, Alayna Schreier, Katie Meidlinger, Jessica K. Pogue, Kate Theimer, Mary Fran Flood, David J. Hansen

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Psychological distress, including depression and anxiety, has been associated with increased risk for sexual revictimization in youth who have experienced child sexual abuse. The present study utilized assessment information from treatment seeking youth with histories of sexual abuse to explore specific risk indicators for revictimization—risk taking, social problems, maladaptive cognitions, and posttraumatic stress—that may be indicated by self-reported distress. The relationship between initial levels of distress and change in symptoms over a 12-week course of treatment was also explored. Participants were 101 youth referred to a child-focused therapeutic group for victims of sexual abuse, 65 youth referred to an adolescent-focused …

The Art Of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: Experiential Training For Novice Therapists In Creative Collaborative Language, Lori Ann Pantaleao

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

Novice solution-focused brief therapists often have difficulty delivering scaling questions within the languaging of their clients. To help beginning Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) trainees, this researcher has created the metaphorically enhanced scaling question (MESQ) training program. By incorporating a meaning making system such as the metaphor, the scaling question becomes expressive and symbolic to the client and his or her own story. The MESQ objective is to assist novice therapists in facilitating the SFBT scaling question creatively through the use of metaphor. A metaphor is a created meaning isomorphic to its original meaning or experience. The metaphor will be co-constructed …

Data-Based Decision Making In School Counseling: Utilizing Multiple Single-Case Indicators To Evaluate Interventions, Ryan J. Mcgill, Kelly S. Kennedy, Randy T. Busse

Education Faculty Articles and Research

As the field of professional school counseling continues to move toward a data-based decision making model of service delivery, there is a need for dissemination of best practice methods for evaluating whether school-based counseling interventions are effective. In that vein, the purpose of this article is to review several methods of data-based decision making within a single-case outcome evaluation model, as well as their potential applications for school counseling interventions. To aid practitioners, the potential use of these methods is demonstrated in a case example and accompanying graphic displays.

Beyond Mindfulness: Expanding Integration Of Spirituality And Religion Into Psychotherapy, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

Since the publication of Bergin’s classic 1980 paper “Psychotherapy and Religious Values” in the Journal of Clinical and Consulting Psychology, an enormous amount of quality research has been conducted on the integration of religious and spiritual values and perspectives into the psychotherapy endeavor. Numerous empirical studies, chapters, books, blogs, and specialty organizations have emerged in the past 35 years that have helped researchers and clinicians alike come to appreciate the value of religion and spirituality in the psychotherapeutic process. While so much has been accomplished in this area of integration, so much more needs to occur in order for the …

The Effects Of A Trauma-Informed Care Training Program On Mental Health Professionals Knowledge, Skills, And Attitudes With The Smi, Angelina Pelletier

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Trauma has been found to be highly prevalent among individuals diagnosed with SMIs. Mental health professionals have been reported to misdiagnose or avoid addressing trauma in this population. There is a need to provide information about trauma and to foster awareness among mental health professionals who are treating individuals diagnosed with SMIs. With a TIC approach, operating from a recovery-oriented philosophy, there have been interventions created to address trauma and SMIs with the aim of developing awareness about trauma and the impact it may have on someone’s life. With these factors in mind, mental health professionals should be competent in …

Characteristics And Ethics Of E-Therapy Websites With Marriage And Family Therapists, Zuzana Gassova

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The current survey of 83 e-therapy websites with marriage and family therapists examined what consumers seeking online therapy or therapy over the phone might find on the Internet. The study explored how e-therapy websites characterize their services and comply with the ethical guidelines of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. Furthermore, differences in compliance with ethical guidelines among the three types of the websites (individual practice websites, group practice websites, and independent contractor websites) were analyzed. Results indicated that a majority of the websites lack information regarding several major areas (e.g., crisis resources, terms of service, procedures to …

A Formative Evaluation Of A Smartphone Application For Couples: The Affectionate Gesture Planner, Patrick Robert Bortz

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The Affectionate Gesture Planner (AGP) is a smartphone application (i.e., “app”) that aims to increase relationship satisfaction for couples in long-term relationships by prompting couples to complete loving acts for each other on a daily basis. The AGP app is informed by concepts from social exchange theory and the investment model (Rusbult, 1983), which predict that increasing the mutual exchange of beneficial investments to the relationship improves the quality and stability of the relationship. The present study is a formative evaluation on the prototype of the AGP app. Based on participant feedback, the AGP app will be improved prior to …

How Therapists Use And Choose Mindfulness To Treat Trauma, Jessica M. King

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

This qualitative study used the phenomenological method to examine how therapists use mindfulness therapies and interventions to address trauma-salient issues with their clients. Specifically, it explored therapists’ use of and choices about mindfulness-based treatments when addressing post-traumatic stress symptoms, and trauma-relevant emotion dysregulation and attachment injury. Informants were associate and fully-licensed local therapists, recruited using convenience sampling and snowball sampling by word-of-mouth referrals. Data was collected by semi-structured interviewing. Interview data was analyzed with Moustakas’ (1994) recommended procedures for analysis of phenomenological data. Results, Discussion, Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research are described at the end.

Career Experiences Of Women With Major Financial Barriers, Madeline E. Clark, Jaime D. Bower

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

The career experiences of women facing major financial barriers are unique and varied. To better understand and assist such women, the authors interviewed 10 women twice to explore their lived career experiences, using photographs in one interview as stimuli to increase participants' voice and triangulate data. Participants' responses were grouped into 20 themes across 4 domains: career as privilege, reasons for engaging in work, supports, and barriers. Women with major financial barriers appear to understand career as a privilege while experiencing significant obstacles to successfully obtaining work. Participants expressed resiliency and self-motivation to transcend and mitigate these obstacles. This study …

Reflections On Black Lives Matter In The Context Of Human Rights And Family Science, Shuntay Z. Mccoy, Anthony James

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

- While all lives do matter, the humanity of all lives is not collectively recognized.

- Violent contexts place an extraordinary amount of stress on Black youth, families, and communities.

- Systematic violence causes multiple transitions in families and threatens families' psychosocial adjustment.

- The collectivistic approach served as an adaptive response to varying levels of oppression faced by Black people since arriving in the Americas.

- Black Lives Matter has significant implications for the work of family life educators, researchers, and practitioners.

Nsu Master Of Science In School Counseling Curriculum 2016, Nova Southeastern University

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice College Archive

No abstract provided.

An Exploration Of Attachment, Trauma, And Treatment Outcome In A Cognative Behaviorable Therapy-Based Group Anger Management Program: A Multiple Case Study, Cynthia K. Swope

Dissertations

This study explored the relationship between trauma, attachment styles, and treatment outcomes among violent offenders attending a group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based anger management program. Using a mixed method, multiple case study design, the researcher examined the individual experiences of seven individuals court-mandated to attend a community-based anger management program. Semi-structured interviews were utilized to develop the participant narratives used in the qualitative analyses. Participant scores on the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Questionnaire, the Experience in Close Relationships (ECR-R) Questionnaire, and the Novaco Anger Scale (NAS) provided quantitative measures of trauma history, attachment style, and anger disposition. The results of …