Counseling Commons^™

P. Schulte (2015). Paths To Recovery For Gay And Bisexual Drug Addicts: Healing Weary Hearts. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield. Isbn: 978-1-4422-4998-1, 178 Pp. (Review), Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

Paul Schulte, the author of the book, Paths to Recovery for Gay and Bisexual Drug Addicts has extensive experience in working with gay and bisexual men. His work began in 2005 while a student at West Coast University‘s drug and alcohol counseling program. Since then, he has worked with several gay, bisexual, and straight men who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. His work has spanned 3 continents. Throughout, Paul Schulte, helps the reader understand the complexities, difficult and subhuman experiences often encountered by gay and bisexual men – all of which further complicate their self-image, decisions, and ability …

Development Of Perceived School Counselor Support Scale: Based On The Asca Mindsets And Behaviors, Mehmet A. Karaman, Cemal Karadas, Javier Cavazos Vela

Counseling Faculty Publications

This study presents a culturally and psychometrically sound instrument of perceived school counselor support among Turkish high school students. The study has been framed using American School Counseling Association’s Mindsets and Behaviors for Students Success Model to create a valuable instrument that measures students’ perceptions of their school counselors’ support in a different culture, society, and education system. The results of this study supported the theoretical based Perceived School Counselor Support Scale long and short forms providing initial and strong evidence based on internal structure and relations to other variables. Internal consistency estimates on subscales ranged from good to strong.

Exploring The Impact Of A Positive Psychology Intervention With Latina/O Adolescents, Javier Cavazos Vela, Christian Garcia, James F. Whittenberg, James Ikonomopoulos, Stacey Lee Gonzalez

Counseling Faculty Publications

Latina/o adolescents may begin middle school with lower levels of life satisfaction, hope, and self-compassion. In the current study, a small-series (N = 5) single-case research design was implemented to evaluate the impact of a positive psychology group counseling experience to increase Latina/o adolescents’ life satisfaction, hope, and self-compassion. Analysis of participants’ scores on outcome measures yielded treatment effects indicating that the positive psychology group counseling experience may be effective for increasing hope, life satisfaction, and self-compassion. Given that the positive psychology approach was a promising approach for improving Latina/o adolescents’ positive outcomes, implications for school counselors to integrate positive …

The Therapeutic Triad Of Disability, Susan Stuntzner, Jacquelyn Dalton, Angela Macdonald

Counseling Faculty Publications

For many counseling professionals, the exploration of forgiveness, selfcompassion or resilience can seem daunting, particularly when determining ways to apply these concepts to people with disabilities and their specific needs. When approaching this task, counselors may ask themselves several questions, including: Where do I start? Which concept is most important? Is one of them more relevant for this population? How can I best help people explore one or all of these concepts? Good questions indeed but not always easy ones to answer.

To help counselors understand each of these concepts, the three authors of this article developed a model called …

The Physical Environment For Play Therapy With Chinese Children, Yih-Jiun Shen, Sylvia Z. Ramirez, Peter L. Kranz, Xinhua Tao, Yuanhong Ji

Counseling Faculty Publications

The growing interest in addressing the mental health needs of Chinese children through play therapy calls for an understanding of the cultural roots and norms of Chinese families. To help professionals succeed in this traditionally Western treatment when providing cross-cultural play therapy, the authors make recommendations concerning the location and appearance of the play therapy facility, including its waiting room and playroom. They discuss the need for carefully introducing play therapy to Chinese parents and suggest Western and Chinese toys and play items that are therapeutically appropriate for Chinese children. The authors also propose an outdoor play area based on …

An Examination Of The Structure Of The Vocational Outcome Expectations Scale With Latina/O Students, Javier Cavazos Vela, Mehmet A. Karaman, Wayne D. Smith, Yvette Hinojosa

Counseling Faculty Publications

In the current study, we investigated the psychometric properties of a meaningful measure of career development among Latina/o students. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to evaluate structural validity of the Vocational Outcome Expectations scale. The results supported a modest one-factor structure for the VOE scale. Internal consistency was good as measured by coefficient alpha. Findings provide support for the reliability and validity of the VOE with Latina/o students. A discussion regarding the usefulness of this measure of career development is provided.

Resilience And Disability: Consideration And Integration Of Resilience Training In Undergraduate Rehabilitation Service Programs, Susan Stuntzner, Jacquelyn A. Dalton, Veronica Umeasiegbu, Angela Macdonald, Fidencio Mercado

Counseling Faculty Publications

Resilience is a topic of growing interest with significant momentum generated by the Positive Psychology Movement. While resilience has been discussed at the graduate level and beyond, few articles seem to openly discuss how it is addressed as a part of undergraduate rehabilitation service programs. Discussion and careful consideration is needed as many undergraduates work in direct services. This article is designed to help rehabilitation educators and professionals understand the application and value of resilience and resilience-based skills as a part of the undergraduate rehabilitation curriculum. Article content addresses resilience, benefits of resilience, resilience-based factors, and the applicability of resilience …

Evaluation Of The Short Grit Scale (Grit-S) With Latinx College Students, Javier Cavazos Vela, Yvette Hinojosa, Mehmet A. Karaman

Counseling Faculty Publications

In the current study, the psychometric properties of a measure of psychological grit among 344 Latinx college students was investigated. Researchers used confirmatory factor analysis to validate a previously identified two-factor model of the Short Grit Scale (Grit-S). Internal consistency was acceptable as measured by coefficient alpha. A two-factor model of Grit-S had a good model fit with the data. A discussion regarding the importance of these findings is provided and implications for counselors and researchers are offered.

Examining The Impact Of A Positive Psychology Intervention With Latina Survivors Of Intimate Partner Violence, Eunice Lerma, Autumn Wright, James Ikonomopoulos, Yvette Hinojosa, Javier Cavazos Vela

Counseling Faculty Publications

We implemented a small series (N = 3) single-case research design to assess the effectiveness of a nine-session positive psychology treatment program for Latina survivors of intimate partner violence. Analysis of participants’ scores on life satisfaction and depression scales using the percentage of non-overlapping data point’s procedure yielded treatment effects indicating that a positive psychology treatment program may be effective for improving life satisfaction for Latina survivors of intimate partner violence. Implications for counselors and researchers are provided.

Change Your Story Change Your Brain By Dr. Linda Miles (Review), Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

Professionals interested in learning mindfulness and ways to practice it in their life or with the people they serve may find the book, “Change Your Story Change Your Brain” of value. Collectively, the book is composed of four sections pertaining to mindfulness: Mindfulness as a Survival Strategy, The Mindfulness Mentality, Mindfulness as the Road to Recovery, and Mindfulness as a Path of Self-Discovery. Within each section are three to four chapters. Each chapter covers a different concept related to mindfulness and is approached according to a specific format which includes an illustration of the NOW approach (i.e. Notice, Opportunities and …

Collaborative Documentation For Behavioral Healthcare Providers: An Emerging Practice, Suzanne Maniss, Amanda G. Pruit

Counseling Faculty Publications

This article considers the practice of collaborative documentation (CD) for behavioral healthcare providers; the legislative, technological, and philosophical milieu in which it developed; the attributed benefits for providers and clients; and the peer-reviewed research supporting its use. Collaborative documentation has emerged following significant legislative and technological changes in healthcare delivery and shifts toward client-centered healthcare practices including more shared decision-making between clients and practitioners.

Factorial Validity Of Teacher And School Counselor Support Scales In Latina/O Students, Mehmet A. Karaman, Javier Cavazos Vela, Ming-Tsan Lu

Counseling Faculty Publications

In the current study, we investigated the psychometric properties of two meaningful measures of support from teachers and school counselors among Latina/o students. Examining factorial stability with diverse populations is important to make sure that measures provide valid information about constructs of teacher or counselor support. While researchers have provided evidence of reliability (i.e., consistency), no study has examined validity (e.g., accuracy) of Teacher Support Scale Revised (TSSR) with Latina/o students. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses (CFA and EFA) methods were used to evaluate structural validity of the TSSR and School Counselor Support Scale (SCSS). Two different models of the …

Compassion And Self-Compassion: Conceptualization Of And Application To Adjustment To Disability, Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

For many, disability may ignite feelings of grief, sadness, loss, and/or emotional pain. Others discover they harbor negative or self-critical thoughts and beliefs (i.e., blame) which compounds and complicates the personal coping process. Adjustment to disability models exist to help persons with disabilities and professionals understand or explain their negative thoughts, feelings, and experiences; yet, they do not overtly discuss or address emerging skills and approaches such as compassion and selfcompassion as a part of the disability adjustment process. In an effort to change this trend, an eclectic theoretical model which infuses self-compassion and compassion-based techniques has been developed. Rehabilitation …

Spirituality Transformative Psychotherapy: Repairing Spiritual Damage And Facilitating Extreme Well-Being (Review), Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

Spirituality is personal and is an individualized journey. For some, it is connected to religious beliefs and practices (i.e., Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism). For others, spirituality is not and may be about personal learning, insight, and transformation. Still others may view spirituality as a part one’s cultural heritage and ethnic background. While some people believe in God or a Higher Being, others do not. When hurt and trauma occur, the situation often becomes more complex because peoples’ beliefs and values are challenged and brought into question. Some may “fall away” from their beliefs or “upbringing” and feel that they have …

Disability And Forgiveness: An Intervention To Promote Positive Coping For Persons With Disabilities, Susan Stuntzner, Angela Macdonald

Counseling Faculty Publications

Disability is an event that forever changes a person's life. Throughout the coping and adaptation process, many experience negative thoughts and feelings such as anger, anxiety, depression, and multiple forms of frustration. Some of these may be related to a disability, while others are by-products of the negative experiences, attitudes, and treatment of persons with disabilities. These include societal barriers and injustices and changes and losses that often accompany a disability. Counseling professionals can assist persons with disabilities in learning to improve their coping process by learning about approaches and, in this case, interventions to help promote healing and positive …

Resilience And Disability: Creation Of An Online Course For Professionals, Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

Resilience is an area of emerging interest among counselors, psychologists, and allied helping professionals. Much of this has occurred due to the advent of the Positive Psychology Movement. Despite this recent surge of interest, rehabilitation counseling has been well acquainted with factors and skills related to positive coping and adjustment among persons with disabilities. Yet, a recent survey conducted by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) found that rehabilitation counselors reported an interest in learning about skills and techniques related to resilience. For this reason the author was asked to develop an on-line course for CRCC pertaining to resilience …

Examining The Practicum Experience To Increase Counseling Students’ Self-Efficacy, James Ikonomopoulos, Javier Cavazos Vela, Wayne D. Smith, Julia Dell'aquila

Counseling Faculty Publications

Counseling graduate students may begin practicum with low self-efficacy regarding their counseling abilities and skills. In the current study, we implemented a small-series (N = 11) single-case research design to assess the effectiveness of the practicum experience to increase counseling students’ self-efficacy. Analysis of participants’ scores on the Counselor Activity Self-Efficacy Scale yielded treatment effects indicating that the practicum experience encompassing direct services, group supervision, and triadic supervision may be effective for increasing counselor self-efficacy. Given that the practicum experience with triadic supervision was a promising approach for improving counseling graduate students’ selfefficacy, we provide implications for counselor educators to …

Meeting The Mental Health Needs Of Syrian Refugees In Turkey, Mehmet A. Karaman, Richard J. Ricard

Counseling Faculty Publications

Movements such as the Arab Spring (as described by popular media) and recent regional conflicts have forced people to leave their homes and flee to other countries or regions. Syrian refugees are currently the second largest refugee group worldwide, with half of them resettled in Turkey. Turkish government and non-governmental civil organizations have mobilized efforts to address the immediate survival needs of these refugees such as food, shelter and other provisions. Despite efforts to manage the complexity of mental health and social service needs of forcibly displaced people, counseling services are still lacking. This expository article addresses the mental health …

Hypnobirth: Theories And Practices For Healthcare Professionals By Yulia Watters (Review), Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

Hypnobirth: Theories and Practices for Healthcare Professionals is a book written for mental health and medical professionals, and caregivers intimately involved in the birthing process of the expectant mother. It is intended to inform professionals and individuals about the relevance and role of hypnobirthing during the pregnancy and birthing process and to help them understand the connection between medical and alternative health practices. Because of this, professionals are provided with the opportunity to learn and understand that one approach (i.e., medical versus alternative practices) does not have to necessarily exclude the other and there is a place for both throughout …

Forgiveness And Disability: Reconsideration Of Forgiveness As A Vital Component Of The Rehabilitation Counseling Profession, Susan Stuntzner, Jacquelyn A. Dalton

Counseling Faculty Publications

Forgiveness and self-forgiveness is an area of growing interest in the allied helping professions. In recent years, the study of forgiveness has been expanded to a number of different populations. However, forgiveness as a construct, a model of understanding to cope with difficult and hurtful people, and as an intervention has not been fully considered and explored in the rehabilitation counseling profession. To help rehabilitation counseling professionals better understand the importance of forgiveness as it relates to disability, this article explains the meaning of forgiveness and self-forgiveness, barriers that inhibit the development of forgiveness, models of forgiveness, and empirical research …

Balancing Self-Compassion With Self-Advocacy: A New Approach For Persons With Disabilities Learning To Self-Advocate, Susan Stuntzner, Michael Hartley

Counseling Faculty Publications

Self-advocacy and self-compassion are concepts typically not perceived as related or as skills which hold great value when infused. Learning to self-advocate can be a challenging task for many persons with disabilities. Oftentimes people are not afforded access to information on how to self-advocate. As a result, many people must struggle to figure out if, when, and how to self-advocate. In an effort to change this trend, the present article argues that self-compassion connects self-advocacy and empowerment while also reinforcing an underlying message that individuals do not need to be rescued and are not victims of their environments. Self-advocacy is …

Comparison Of Two Online Interventions To Cope With Spinal Cord Injury: A Pilot Study, Susan Stuntzner, Michael Hartley, Ruth Lynch, Robert Enright

Counseling Faculty Publications

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a disability and life experience that may suddenly, drastically, and forever change a person’s life. While psychosocial interventions and support services are typically integrated within the acute rehabilitation process, there is limited research on psychosocial interventions and support services after individuals have been discharged from the hospital and are living in their communities again. To address this void and important need, two interventions were administrated through an online website to people who had lived with a spinal cord injury (SCI) for at least one year. Results found that both Enright’s (2001) forgiveness intervention and Kennedy …

The Mindful Path To Self-Compassion: Freeing Yourself From Destructive Thoughts And Emotions By Christopher Germer (Review), Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

The books begins by explaining peoples’ tendency to resist, suppress, or escape their emotional and mental pain. The author, Dr. Christopher Germer, helps the reader understand that by doing so, people actually create more personal, mental, and emotional pain for themselves. More specifically, he lays out in an easy-to-understand equation that pain compounded by resistance equates to more suffering (p. 15). While experiencing pain is a part of the human experience, Germer (2009) explains that “suffering is optional” (p. 16), meaning that people do not need to compound their experiences and make them worse. Rather than resist our pain, the …

Women With Disabilities In The Workplace: A Need For Advancement Opportunities, Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

Women in the workplace is not a new concept, particularly given the fact they constitute about half of the workforce in many countries. Despite their increased presence, women continue to be challenged in their ability to advance within the workplace or, in some instances, acquire solid, well-paying, meaningful positions. Reasons for this are varied. Women continue to find themselves charged with the responsibility of maintaining their home and raising their children while also being a part of the workforce; thus, causing them to consider a non-linear career or employment path. Others may not have been raised or encouraged from a …

Forgiveness: A Vital Skill To Cope With Employment Issues, Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

Forgiveness is a topic most people probably associate with personal values, spirituality, or religiosity. It may even be considered in relation to living a healthier lifestyle but not in relation to employment concerns or injustices. Despite, its traditional associations and the perspectives most commonly held, forgiveness is a value, a practice, and a way of life that benefits to person who practices it more than the person who committed the offense, hurt, or perceived wrongdoing. Forgiveness is also a skill and a process which can be learned or taught and has value in regards to employment issues and concerns.

Resiliency And Coping With Disability: The Family After, Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

The content of this book was also intended to be used as a starting place for families to sort out and make sense of their experiences with self, life, other people, and society following disability. I believe this to be very important because the process of figuring out what to do following disability is often murky and extremely vague. It is my hope that readers can take the information provided and apply it to situations of childhood disability (e.g., congenital conditions), acquired disability (e.g., later onset such as TBI, SCI), or age-related disability (e.g., dementia, Alzheimer’s disease), although the specific …

Implementing A Holistic Approach To Enhance Career Opportunities For Transition Students With Disabilities, Susan Stuntzner, Bryan Austin

Counseling Faculty Publications

Transition services are vitally important and an essential component of successful employment, career planning, self-determination, and independent living for students with disabilities. Public schools strive to meet the federal mandates placed upon them to help this group of students reach graduation and beyond. However, students with disabilities oftentimes fall short and do not succeed following high school. In an effort to change this trend, information pertaining to transition services and ways it can be enhanced are provided. This chapter addresses: the necessity of transition services and its relationship to federal legislation, barriers that inhibit students’ successful transition to adult life, …

Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up And Leave Insecurity Behind By: Dr. Kristen Neff (Review), Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

In her book, Dr. Neff helps the reader understand self-compassion and its importance. She clarifies the essential components which make up compassion, as much of this is also discussed throughout her research. In addition, she explains benefits and constructive reasons to consider self-compassion and applies it to various life domains to which we all can relate due to our being human. Finally, Dr. Neff ends her book with a beautiful illustration of the ways we can emerge ‘for the better’ when we are on the other side of our difficult times and when we have incorporated self-compassion into our lives …

A Life Beyond Endurance By: Fay Grindrod (Review), Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

The author of this book is one such individual. Ms. Grindrod witnessed the Holocaust from an early age, saw and experienced the devastating effects of it firsthand. Grindrod opens the book with a synopsis of her time and experiences as a master’s student in a guidance and counseling program. During this portion of her life, she is afforded an opportunity to explore and write about her own (a) personal and life development; (b) familial experiences growing up and those that occurred during the Holocaust; (c) testimonial witnessing to mass starvation amongst people she knew; and (d) stark observations of friends, …

Family Resilience Following Disability: Enhancing Counselors’ Skills, Susan Stuntzner, Michael Hartley

Counseling Faculty Publications

Resilience is a relatively new research concept that has yet to receive the attention it needs to be adequately applied to individuals with disabilities and their families. Resilience as an approach, solution, or set of skills has scantly been applied to families dealing with the advent of disability. The information provided is intended to change this trend. Counselors can enhance their work with families living with a disability by understanding ways disability may influence family functioning and how familial coping impacts personal coping and adaptation to disability, as well as utilizing strategies to help families become more resilient following disability.