Counseling Commons^™

Resilience: A Pathway To Healthier And Happier Living, Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

Resilience….What does it mean? How does a person acquire it? What is its relationship to disability, employment, and quality of life? These are some questions people may ponder when they hear it used in conjunction with disability, employment, and healthier living.

While the expectation of being resilient following a traumatic or life changing event is an embedded value within our culture, resilience is not a topic often discussed or readily understood. It is either assumed it will just materialize or it is simply expected. Such beliefs are not necessarily helpful because there are times in all peoples’ lives when situations …

Stuntzner's Forgiveness Intervention: Learning To Forgive Yourself And Others, Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

In an effort to help persons with disabilities learn to forgive and to achieve a more peaceful and serene way of life, a seven module forgiveness intervention has been developed. While the full intervention consists of seven modules, some professionals, depending on the person, group, or situation, may tailor the process to only six modules. This is because an additional but specific module (i.e., Module 2) was added for women with disabilities. While many of the experiences, feelings, beliefs, and personal hurts or offenses are similar regardless of gender, it was felt that an additional module be included for women …

Understanding Perceived Differences Between Successful And Struggling First-Year Mexican American College Students: An Exploratory Study, Javier Cavazos Vela, Michael B. Johnson, Veronica Castro, James Ikonomopoulos

Counseling Faculty Publications

In this exploratory study, we conducted in-depth interviews with university seminar instructors to discover perceived differences between successful and struggling first-year Latina/o college students. Several factors emerged from interviews to differentiate successful and struggling Latina/o college students. These factors include assimilation, motivation to pursue goals, family knowledge and resources, family social class, different preparation for postsecondary education, and different levels of support and encouragement in high school. We provide recommendations for high school counselors and researchers.

High School Counselors’ Support And Latina/O Students’ Career Development, Javier Cavazos Vela, Brandé Flamez, Ashley Clark

Counseling Faculty Publications

The current study examined the impact of high school counselors' support of Latina/o students' career development outcomes. We used a quantitative, predictive design to explore Latina/o students' vocational self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Perceptions of investment, accessibility, positive regard, appraisal, and expectations from school counselors did not impact Latina/o students' vocational self-efficacy or outcome expectations. In addition to a discussion regarding the importance of these findings, implications for school counselors and researchers are offered.

Self-Compassion And Employment Issues Of Persons With Disabilities, Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

Self-compassion……..What is it? Why is it of value? How does it relate to the employment needs of persons with disabilities? These are just a few of the questions people might have when they hear the term followed by having it associated with employment and persons with disabilities. For starters, self-compassion is not a topic that has been historically discussed openly, correctly understood, or promoted. Instead, the societal message when faced with difficult life events such as disability, unemployment, and lack of resources (i.e., access, education) has been one of “just man up and deal with it.” Self-compassion offers everyone, including …

Living With A Disability: A Gateway To Practicing Forgiveness And Compassion, Susan Stuntzner, Jacquelyn Dalton

Counseling Faculty Publications

Forgiveness and compassion are two helpful approaches toward reducing the emotional, psychological, and spiritual anxiety brought about by negative and harmful experiences. Disability, forgiveness, and compassion are terms that may not be thought of in relation to one another, but here the authors introduce the idea that the experience of living with a disability can be an opportunity to practice forgiveness or compassion, whether directed toward one’s self or toward others. Forgiveness and compassion are similar yet unique practices that influence the emotional well-being. The experience of disability includes both the disabling life event (in the case of acquired disabilities) …

Compassion & Self-Compassion: Exploration Of Utility As Potential Components Of The Rehabilitation Counseling Profession, Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

Compassion and self-compassion are two constructs emerging within the research as useful agents in reducing negative thoughts,feelings, and outcomes while also promoting positive ones. To date, these constructs have not been studied or applied to the rehabilitation counseling profession or the needs of individuals with disabilities. In an effort to bridge this gap and to enhance rehabilitation counseling professionals' awareness of their potential value, an in-depth review of the literature and research on these two constructs was conducted. Throughout this article, compassion and self-compassion are more clearly conceptualized and barriers which may hinder their development are discussed. A review of …

Resilience, Coping, & Disability: The Development Of A Resilience Intervention, Susan Stuntzner, Michael Hartley

Counseling Faculty Publications

Learning to live with a disability can be a significant transition, and many individuals struggle with the complex challenge of examining how the disability will affect who they are and what their role is in society. Counseling professionals can play a key role in helping individuals address common psychological and social barriers associated with disability. Focused specifically on promoting resilience among individuals with disabilities, the present article provides the rationale for the development of a resilience intervention for counseling professionals to define and better support how individuals transition to living with a disability. Implications address how counseling professionals can use …

Stuntzner And Hartley’S Life Enhancement Intervention: Developing Resiliency Skills Following Disability, Susan Stuntzner, Michael Hartley

Counseling Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Reflections From The Past: Life Lessons For Better Living., Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

The sections and skills presented in this book are a compilation of areas sometimes discussed throughout the disability literature as factors thought to be associated with adjustment, coping, and resiliency combined with my personal experience of learning how to deal with and overcome various situations. This book is broken down into 10 areas that are often discussed in relation to adjustment, coping, and resiliency. Within each section are the various “skills” I have used or further refined out of necessity when living with a visible condition. Most of these skills I have learned to use and incorporate as a regular …

Disability And The Counseling Relationship: What Counselors Need To Know, Susan Stuntzner, Michael Hartley

Counseling Faculty Publications

Disability is often misunderstood by counseling professionals and society. More often than not, persons without disability perceive it as a negative event and as something undesired, although this is not necessarily the experience or belief of many persons with a disability. Counselors that work with persons with disabilities and their families need to understand the experience and process of disability. Unfortunately, many counseling and psychology programs do not offer extensive training in this area. In an effort to enhance counselors’ understanding and effectiveness when counseling persons with disabilities, the authors provide pertinent and relevant information to help individuals respond successfully …

Self-Compassion And Sexuality: A New Model For Women With Disabilities, Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

Sexuality and self-compassion are two concepts which have not been previously considered or combined when discussing the needs of women with disabilities. Sexuality, by itself, is a challenging topic for many counselors to address, let alone in combination with the needs of women with disabilities. Additionally, self-compassion is an emerging area which has rarely been applied to the needs of women with disabilities. In an effort to bridge this gap and to improve the sexual adjustment counseling services offered to women with disabilities, barriers which affect sexual adjustment, sexual concerns, and an illustration of ways to infuse sexuality into the …

The Effects Of Barriers, Acculturation, And Academic Goals On Latina/O Students’ Academic Performance, Javier Cavazos Vela, Michael B. Johnson, Leticia Cavazos, James Ikonomopoulos, Stacey Lee Gonzalez

Counseling Faculty Publications

The current study explored 112 Latina/o college students’ perceptions of barriers, acculturation, academic goals, and academic performance. Acculturation to the Anglo culture and academic goals were positively related to college performance. Perceptions of career barriers also had a positive relationship with college performance. A discussion regarding the importance of these findings is provided and implications for counselors are offered.

Living With A Disability : Finding Peace Amidst The Storm, Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

The heart and soul of this book was written to be a guide and to assist people who have encountered hard, gut-wrenching experiences, such as the acquisition of a disability, in finding peace and happiness amidst the changes taking place in their lives. It may also be used as an educative resource for family members and professionals whose lives are intertwined with persons with disabilities.

The Road To Doctoral Success And Beyond, Veronica Castro, Elda E. Garcia, Javier Cavazos Vela, Alma Castro

Counseling Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of the experiences of women that lead them to pursue a Ph.D in Counseling, as well a study of their experiences in their doctoral program. The goal of this study is to identify those factors related to women’s academic success. This study applies the resiliency and emotional intelligence (EI) framework to analyze the subjects' experiences. Another construct related to EI and resilience, Antonovsky’s (1987) theory of coherence, is employed to explain the way in which the subjects converted negative external factors into achievement motivation. A three and a half hour …

Dispelling Seven Myths Concerning Latina/O Students: A Call To Action For School Counselors, Javier Cavazos Vela, Alyssa G. Cavazos, Maria G. Hinojosa, Marco Silva

Counseling Faculty Publications

Research has illustrated that school counselors do not provide Latina/o students with sufficient information about higher education (Immerwahr, 2003; Zalaquett, 2005), high expectations (Martinez, 2003), and individual counseling and guidance (Vela Gude et al., in press). Because school counselors are supposed to play an important role in helping Latina/o students pursue higher education (Villalba, Akos, Keeter, & Ames, 2007), the current article identifies seven myths concerning a growing Latina/o population: (1) parents do not value education, (2) students do not value education, (3) low expectations do not exist, (4) students are receiving sufficient guidance, (5) perceived ability level is the …

Factors Associated With Employment Among Latinos Living With Hiv/Aids, Shaun Michael Burns, Lydia R. L. Young, Suzanne Maniss

Counseling Faculty Publications

This investigation explored the utility of various demographic, health-related, and psychological variables in predicting employment among Latinos living with HIV/AIDS. Results of an analysis of variance indicated that employed participants were younger, evinced significantly greater CD4 counts, physical and mental health functioning, and internal locus of control beliefs than those who were unable to work due to disabilities. A backward binary logistic regression demonstrated that age, CD4 count, internal locus of control, and mental health functioning contributed to the explanatory power of the final model. This model correctly classified group membership 72% of the time, 78% of participants who were …