Counseling Commons^™

The Interface Of Breastfeeding And Work: A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Experiences Of White Low-Income Women, Jessica A. Kerby

Dissertations

Vocational psychologists have been called to expand the traditional discourses related to work and career to address the actual work experiences of individuals, especially those of the working class. Breastfeeding rates are on the rise among employed women and mothers of low-income, but little is known about women of low income who seek to concurrently work and breastfeed. Work-family interface theories suggest employed mothers of low-income may experience conflict and/or enhancement through multiple roles. The purpose of this research was to answer the call to vocational psychologists, give voice to the narratives around breastfeeding and work among lowincome mothers, and …

Counseling Professionals' Attitudes Toward Transgender People And Responses To Transgender Clients, Emily A. Nisley

Dissertations

The multicultural counseling movement emphasizes the critical nature of counselor attitudes in providing culturally competent service (e.g., Sue, 2001; Sue, Arredondo, & McDavis, 1992; Sue et al, 1982; Sue & Sue, 2003). Until recently, however, the counseling professions have paid little attention toward transgender people as a cultural minority group. The purpose of this study was to conduct the first assessment of counseling professionals' attitudes toward transgender people and to examine relationships between such attitudes and responses to a transgender client.

A national convenience sample of 138 master's and doctoral level counselors and counseling psychologists, recruited via electronic mailing lists, …

Ability Of Clinicians-In-Training To Recognize Vicarious Traumatization: A Multiple Case Study, Amy Cavanaugh

Dissertations

Clinicians repeated exposure to clients who have a history of traumatic experiences can lead to vicarious traumatization (VT), which is the potential for clinicians to experience negative consequences such as changes in their sense of self and worldview (McCann & Pearlman, 1990). Experiencing VT negatively impacts the clinician’s professional identity and counseling work with clients (Pearlman & Saakvitne, 1995a, 1995b; Saakvitne & Pearlman, 1996). Having an awareness of VT is a first step in protecting oneself from experiencing the potential consequences of counseling clients who have experienced trauma. Given this, it seems relevant to understand what clinicians-in-training know about VT. …

A Qualitative Exploration Of African American Womanhood: Implications For Counseling And Counselor Education, Nikita Murry

Dissertations

The disciplines of counseling and counselor education have expressed a commitment to greater multicultural competence. Existing research points toward greater study of Black American females; however, for some the call for equity and change in the societal perceptions of Black women has largely gone unanswered. For others, emerging research has started to change the perception of Black American women. Current counseling literature is limited in the exploration of gender identity development from a Black woman's perspective. This study fills a gap in the literature concerning gender identity development for Black American females by exploring the phenomenon of womanhood and how …

The Process Of One White Upper Middle Class Lesbian Couple Pursuing Parenthood For The First Time: A Qualitative Case Study, Jessica L. Manning

Dissertations

During the past three decades researchers have shown increasing interest in studying planned lesbian parenting. However, no previous studies have examined the process of lesbian couples as they pursue parenthood for the first time. Instead, previous research has typically conducted one retrospective interview with one or both parents in order to answer one outcome related query, such as whether a couple used a known or anonymous sperm donor. The current study is a qualitative case study that examines the process of one lesbian couple who is pursuing parenthood for the first time.

The participants in this study were Ann and …

Political Ideology And Its Relationship To Perceptions Of Social Justice Advocacy Among Members Of The American Counseling Association (Aca), Janeé Steele Steele

Dissertations

Social justice has become an increasingly controversial topic among members of the American Counseling Association (ACA). Specifically, concerns have been raised over what is perceived to be: (a) the liberal political agenda of social justice advocates, (b) the marginalization of conservative counselors, and (c) the inappropriate use of ACA resources for social activism. Concerns of this nature suggest that contrary to what is most often expressed by social justice proponents, many counselors may question if efforts to address social and political issues are appropriate tasks for counselors in their professional roles. They further imply that opinions about social justice advocacy …

The Scholarly Activity Predictor Model Among Counseling Psychology Doctoral Students: A Modification And Extension, Daniel M. Huber

Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to help understand scholarly activity better among counseling psychology doctoral students. Two new variables were added to the previously created predictor model of scholarly activity: advisory working alliance and research competence. Three path analytic models were designed in the current study: (1) a primary hypothesized model, (2) an alternative model, and (3) a trimmed model. In the first model, grounded in social-cognitive career theory (SCCT) and the research training environment (RTE) theory, scholarly activity was hypothesized to be explained directly by research interests, research outcome expectations, research self-efficacy, research competence, and year in …

Assessing Michigan School Counselors' Preparedness To Meet The Needs Of Attractional/Sexual Minority Students, J. Frederick Bland

Dissertations

This study assessed the attitudes, skills, knowledge, graduate counseling training, and willingness to engage in professional development of Michigan school counselors regarding issues and concerns of students who identify as lesbian, gay, biattractional, transgender, and students who are questioning their attractional orientation (LGBTQ).

A total of 120 Michigan school counselors completed useable surveys either online or a paper-and-pencil version at a Michigan school counseling conference. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the demographic variables age, gender, ethnicity, attractional/sexual orientation, and professional characteristics such as years of school counseling experience, school level, and school location (urban, suburban, rural). One-way ANOVAs were used …

Implementing An Asca-Informed School Counselor Supervision Model: A Qualitative Field-Based Study, Janet M. Glaes

Dissertations

The American School Counseling Association's (ASCA) National Model has been recognized in the field of professional school counseling as an effective framework for the training and supervision of school counselor interns. Despite this recommendation, school counselor supervision models which incorporate the ASCA model have until recently been rare and are still in the early stages of development. This qualitative study describes the supervision experiences of six pairs of school counselor supervisors and their interns (at the elementary, middle, and high school levels) as they employed an ASCA-based school counselor specific supervision model in their internship practices. The supervision model utilized …

De-Mystifying The Magic: Meaningful Moments In Music Therapy When Working With Children That Have Severe Special Needs, Kayla C. Daly

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The purpose of my study is to explore the “magic” that occurs in these music therapy sessions, and to discover what this word means for those who use it. For the purpose of this study we will define “magic” as having the occurrence of meaningful outcomes or moments in music therapy sessions. This study will attempt to reveal methods and techniques that are being used by music therapists to further facilitate the therapeutic process for children with severe special needs in their lives and everyday experiences. This study included naturalistic inquiry and phenomenological inquiry.

Ciis Today, Spring 2010 Issue, Ciis

CIIS Today

This volume is the Spring 2010 issue of CIIS Today, the Magazine of the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Spiritual Bypass: A Preliminary Investigation, Harriet L. Glosoff, Craig S. Cashwell, Chereé Hammond

Department of Counseling Scholarship and Creative Works

The phenomenon of spiritual bypass has received limited attention in the transpersonal psychology and counseling literature and has not been subjected to empirical inquiry. This study examines the phenomenon of spiritual bypass by considering how spirituality, mindfulness, alexithymia (emotional restrictiveness), and narcissism work together to influence depression and anxiety among college students. Results suggested that mindfulness and alexithymia accounted for variance in depression beyond what is accounted for by spirituality and that all 3 factors (mindfulness, alexithymia, and narcissism) accounted for variance in anxiety beyond what is accounted for by spirituality. Implications for counselors are provided.

The Effectiveness Of Counselors As Care Managers In Improving Self-Management And Medical Outcomes In Persons With Poorly Controlled Diabetes, Ularisi Rebecca Green

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated whether providing counselors as care managers to individuals who were having difficulty managing their Type II diabetes improved their self-management, health, and functioning. Counselors used the Motivational Interviewing Model and met weekly over a six month period with patients who had Type II diabetes who had been identified as not functioning well in managing their disease. The success of the intervention was determined by a number of measures including physical symptoms of patients; patients' perceptions of the care they received; and patients' self-efficacy in managing their diabetes. The results of this study suggested that providing counselors as …

Dance/Movement Therapy And Autism, Mariah M. Lefeber

Faculty Publications - Graduate School of Counseling

Movement is a language. For children affected by autism, movement may be the only language they can rely on. Children with autism often have limited verbal abilities, making it extremely difficult for them to reach out to others (Hartshorn et al., 2001). When words fail, dance/movement therapy fosters a child's ability to relate, communicate, and connect on a nonverbal level.

The Impact Of Adherence To Traditional Masculine Gender Role Norms On Anger And Depression, Matthew Charles Genuchi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Large scale studies of the incidence and prevalence of psychological disorders have consistently shown that women meet full DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder at twice the rate of men (Kessler et al., 1994; Kessler et al., 2003; NCS-R, 2007; Robins & Reiger, 1991). Some have proposed (Cochran & Rabinowitz, 2000; Kilmartin, 2005; Pollack, 1998) that the current DSM-IV diagnostic criteria do not adequately reflect the depressive symptoms of some men. Men tend to use more externalizing defenses and distracting coping styles to manage negative affect, and anger is hypothesized as an externalizing symptom of a masculine variation of major …

Understanding Alcohol-Related Sexual Assaults: Characteristics And Consequences, Sarah E. Ullman, Cynthia J. Najdowski

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Sexual assaults commonly involve alcohol use, but little is known about alcohol’s effects on many aspects of assaults and their aftermath. We investigated characteristics of victims, perpetrators, and assaults as a function of whether alcohol was involved in the assault, as well as differences in women’s post-assault experiences. Assaults prior to which only perpetrators were drinking differed not only from non-alcohol-related assaults, but also from those prior to which both perpetrators and victims were drinking. Understanding the effects of alcohol-related assaults is important for identifying victims who should be targeted for mental health and substance use interventions.

Alcohol-Related Help Seeking In Problem Drinking Women Sexual Assault Survivors, Sarah E. Ullman, Cynthia J. Najdowski

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Correlates of alcohol-related help seeking were studied in women sexual assault survivors who were current problem drinkers (N = 526) in a large metropolitan area in 2002-2003. Volunteer participants completed several valid and reliable instruments, which assessed alcohol use and misuse and related help seeking (i.e., the TWEAK, GFM, and MAST). Data were analyzed using logistic regression models. Results suggest that correlates of women survivors’ alcohol-related help seeking vary depending on the specific source. Limitations and implications are noted and recommendations for future research are made. This study was funded by the National Institutes on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Performance-Based Assessment Of School Psychology Interns : Analysis Of Problem-Solving Skills As Demonstrated In Comprehensive Case Examinations, Kimberly Suzanne Hansen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

School psychologists are integral partners in the facilitation of the problem solving process, especially when the process is embedded within a tiered service delivery system incorporating response to intervention philosophies. Therefore, it is important that new school psychologists entering the field be competent in the skill areas needed to produce positive student outcomes. It is important for school psychology training programs to assess these competencies to improve individual student competencies as well as to improve the training provided by the program in the future. Comprehensive case studies are performance-based assessments that can be utilized to evaluate individuals, as well as …

A Matter Of Perspective, Kristin L. Hansen

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

No abstract provided.

Developmental Assessment And Feedback Relieves Parenting Stress, Marilyn J. Montgomery, Melody A. Whiddon

Faculty Publications - Graduate School of Counseling

Numerous studies have established that role stress experienced by parents has an impact on their perceptions of their child’s behavior, the quality of their parent-child interactions, and their child’s overall adjustment. Significant numbers of parents do experience the parenting role as stressful, often because they have concerns about whether their child’s behavior is within normal limits. Having seen parenting stress frequently while counseling parents and children, we reasoned that providing individualized developmental information to parents could reduce their parenting stress, and in turn result in positive consequences for parents and for children.

This article describes a brief intervention we developed, …

Adolescents' Experience Of The Factors Influencing Their Diabetes Treatment Regimen, Roger W. Apple

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to better understand and provide a description of the factors that influence adolescents' adherence to the diabetic treatment regimen from the adolescents' experience. The sample consisted of nine adolescents diagnosed with Type I diabetes. A qualitative phenomenological methodology is used to look for significant statements, meanings, and themes that resulted in an exhaustive description of the adolescents' experience.

In-depth interviews are the primary method of data collection. Data analysis includes: transcribing the interviews and reading the transcripts, extracting significant statements, developing formulated meanings, organizing the formulated meanings into clusters of themes, and developing an …

The Collective Voices Of Asian International Doctoral Students In Counseling Psychology In The U.S.: Recommendations For Faculty And Training Programs, Miki Koyama

Dissertations

There is growing interest among scholars to understand the training experiences of international students in applied psychology. Few empirical studies have specifically investigated international doctoral students in counseling psychology. The purpose of the present study was to create an opportunity for the voices of Asian international students in U.S. doctoral counseling psychology programs could be expressed, and to convey their collective voices.

Twelve Asian international students, predominately women from East Asia, participated in two phone interviews. Participants were asked to illustrate their overall training experiences, share helpful and unhelpful aspects of their training, and identify recommendations for faculty and training …

A Phenomenological Study Of Clinicians Treating Traumagenic Compulsions Resulting From Childhood Sexual Abuse, Albert Sarno

Faculty Dissertations

Various types of traumatic compulsive behaviors have been observed by practicing mental health clinicians and yet there is a lack of consensus among such clinicians for treating people in such a problematic state when there is also a history of childhood sexual abuse. Ten seasoned clinicians, each with over 15 years experience in treating patients with traumagenic compulsions and childhood sexual abuse were interviewed to explore their lived experience treating people with traumagenic compulsions due to childhood sexual abuse. A phenomenological design was used to asses the data collected in the study. The data were analyzed to determine the best …

Ciis Today, Fall 2009 Issue, Ciis

CIIS Today

This volume is the Fall 2009 issue of CIIS Today, the Magazine of the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Family Formation Issues In The Former Soviet Union: Therapeutic Challenges, Dennis O. Bowen, D. Russell Bishop, Lydia L. Bowen

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

No abstract provided.

Effects Of An Educational And Support Program For Family And Friends Of A Substance Abuser, Amanda Jeffrey Platter

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Many family members are adversely affected by their loved ones drinking or drug problem. The aim of the present study was to explore changes in coping and enabling behaviors among family members who attended a community educational and psychosocial group for friends and family of a substance abuser, and to examine the concerns of these family members.

Participants were 32 family members (i.e., parents, spouses/romantic partners, and siblings) who attended one of four consecutive Family and Friend (FF) programs between fall and spring of 2008. Participants completed the Behavioral Enabling Scale (Rotunda & Doman, 2001) and Brief COPE Inventory (Carver, …

Examining Adolescent Suicide: How To Identify The Risks, Kelsey Moellering

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Is It The Blues? Depression & Suicide Prevention In Our Schools, Naveen Jonathan

Marriage and Family Therapy Faculty Presentations

Discusses the prevalence of depression and suicide among children and teenagers, the factors behind it, signs and symptoms, and what educators can do to help prevent it and help suffering students.

Ciis Today, Spring 2009 Issue, Ciis

CIIS Today

This volume is the Spring 2009 issue of CIIS Today, the Magazine of the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Counselor Trainees' Perceptions Of Their Personal Growth: A Qualitative Inquiry, Ericka L. Souders

Dissertations

Over the past decade there has been increased discussion in the counselor education literature regarding the personal limitations and/or impairments of counselors that may hinder their abilities to provide competent services. Although counseling ethical codes and standards of practice suggest competent counselors are those who demonstrate both professional and personal skills and counselor educators have explored numerous training methods to promote such development, the concern about impaired counselors remains. There is minimal information in the literature that describes how counselors in training develop personal attitudes, skills, and characteristics that may prevent their impairment and facilitate their competency with their clientele. …