Counseling Commons^™

Exploring The Experiences Of School Nurses Identifying And Initiating Migraine Treatment In School-Age Children, Stephanie E. Axley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Migraines affect about one child in twenty worldwide and have important implications for attainment and quality of life. Whereas migraines among adolescents are common, little is known about school nurses’ experience caring for this population within the school setting. This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of school nurses in managing and treating students with migraines. Using Imogene King’s goal attainment theory as the theoretical framework, interviews with eight school nurses were conducted to understand the emotional, communicative, and practical challenges they face in providing care (Gonzalo, 2023). Key themes identified include the emotional toll of care communication barriers with …

The Lived Experiences Of Mothers Leaving The Fundamentalist Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints: A Phenomenological Approach, Natasha Tebbs

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological qualitative study was to provide a holistic understanding of the lived experiences of mothers who leave the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). This study answered questions related to familial relationships, career and financial experiences, and overall mental health and well-being associated with leaving the FLDS Church. The theory guiding this study was Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, as it related to understanding the complexities of leaving a high-demand religious group. There was a lack of academic literature available on this population, specifically FLDS mothers’ experiences leaving the cultural and religious group. …

The Impact Of A Biblically Based Marriage Boot Camp Program: Effective Or Not, Wanda Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The goal of this Doctor of Ministry thesis project, entitled The Impact of a Biblical Marriage Boot Camp: Effective or Not, was to explore the effectiveness of the biblically based Marriage Boot Camp program offered by Victorious Praise Fellowship Church which aims to strengthen African American marriages. The project addressed a significant concern about marriage relationship within a church congregation and the broader community and the need for practical, faith-centered tools and teachings to support marital satisfaction and longevity in the African American community. Through interviews, observations, and analysis, the project discussed specific areas in the Marriage Boot Camp program …

Supervision Success: Experience Of Supervisee's Successful Navigation Of A Faith-Based Value Conflict, Veronica R. Conley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Due to the counseling field’s recommendations for best practice, counselors should not refer a client solely based on a value conflict (American Counseling Association [ACA], 2014; Kaplan et al., 2017; Remley & Herlihy, 2020). Yet many feel unprepared or unsupported to navigate faith-based value conflicts (Blair, 2015; Hunt, 2019; Sells & Hagedorn, 2016). This study explored the strengths side of this issue, interviewing counselors or counselors in training (CIT) and exploring how a supervisor who did not align with them spiritually aided them in successfully navigating a faith-based value conflict. Seven participants were interviewed utilizing semi-structured interviews. These interviews were …

A Qualitative Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study With Parents Of A Child With Adhd And Their Lived Experiences With Their Child’S Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Mariah Elizabeth Couser

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative hermeneutical phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of parents with a child who has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive/Impulsive Disorder (ADHD) with their child’s clinical mental health counselor. There are over 6.5 million children diagnosed with ADHD within the United States, and it continues to grow every day. Within the current literature, there is a lack of understanding of what parents of children with ADHD need from their child’s clinical mental health counselor to help reduce their parental stress levels. The theoretical framework guided the hermeneutic phenomenology study, aimed to discover themes …

When Grief Comes To Court: Supporting Bereaved Court Involved Youth, Lane Pease, Erin Richter

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Youth who are court involved have higher rates of bereavement than the general population. Learn how grief impacts youth involved in the Juvenile Court. This session will focus on how bringing together court stakeholders and partnering with outside experts to provide grief support can decrease further court involvement and lead to positive outcomes.

Importance Of Principal-School Counselor Relationship, Moya A. Pope Ed.S, Monica Y. Pace Ed.S

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Principals and School Counselors - y'all alright?!? What's your relationship like: Good? Bad? Ugly? The relationship between the school counselor and principal can affect the school as a whole - and when they have a strong relationship, the school community is stronger. This presentation will give you tips on how to strengthen your relationship, become better leaders and positively affect student achievement and school climate.

Adult Sexual Grooming: A Systematic Review, Christin Aletky, Bonita Sharma, Jose Carbajal, Tia Eubank

Journal of Social Work in the Global Community

Grooming is the manipulation and intimidation of people into acts that may appear consensual but are in fact exploitative and harmful, activities they would not have chosen otherwise. Different legal definitions and shifting social perspectives on consent complicate efforts to determine whether a given behavior is a result of informed consent or a response to grooming behaviors. Most studies on grooming and sexual assault focus on adults grooming and abusing children—research on adults grooming other adults is scarce. Therefore, the purpose of our study is to conduct a systematic review of current research on the grooming of adults. We used …

Developing Humanistic Clinicians: A Review Of Literature, Andrew Taylor, Willie Capers

The Journal of the Research Association of Minority Professors

Humanistic clinicians possess scientific and technical competence and demonstrate essential virtues like empathy, compassion, patience, love, and courage. Humanistic clinicians are trained with an emphasis on the sciences and the humanities. The humanistic clinician is therefore better equipped to care for patients, the patient’s family members, other clinicians, and themselves. Defining empathy can be problematic due to a lack of consistent definition. Relevant literature regarding empathy was reviewed before settling on a working definition. Several pedagogical approaches encourage the moral development of clinicians. The methods and purpose of those approaches are explained. Illness narratives or pathography is a particular type …

The Combined Treatment Of Chinese Herbal Medicines Is Correlated With A Lower Risk Of Rheumatoid Arthritis In Patients With Depression: Evidence From A Population-Based Patient–Control Study, Chieh-Tsung Yen, Hanoch Livneh, Hui-Ju Huang, Ming-Chi Lu, Ming-Chi Lu, Wei-Jen Chen, Tzung-Yi Tsai

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Major depression places psychological strain on the individual that may increase the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Though the use of Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) is widespread in clinical practice, its effect on the prevention of RA incidents is still unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the association between CHMs use by patients with depression and their subsequent risk of being diagnosed with RA.

Creative Arts Therapies Week, Raquel Estrada, William Flores

Library Display Posters

Creative Arts Therapies Week is observed during the third week of March. It is a collection of posters that has been designed to highlight library resources in celebration of Creative Arts Therapies Week. Poster topics include: General Books, Streaming Films, and Research Resources. Book and video covers are hyperlinked.

An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Of Counselor's Experience Of Breathwork And Its Impact On Their Therapeutic Practice, Jennifer Zúñiga Agüero

Dissertations

Breathwork, a transpersonal and experiential approach to psychotherapy, has been used for healing and transformation throughout the years. When applied in clinical practice, breathwork can serve as a conduit to access nonordinary states of consciousness for self-exploration and transformation. Traditional psychotherapy does not engage with nonordinary states of consciousness as part of the therapeutic process; thus, research in relation to counselors’ experiences of breathwork and their impact on therapeutic practice has yet to be explored.

Counselors’ experiences of breathwork and the influence they have in clinical practice is the phenomena explored in this research study. Exploring counselor experience with a …

Women Residential Substance Use Treatment Program: A Quantitative Study Measuring Treatment Perceptions And Spiritual Experience Across Multiple Demographics., Michelle Davidson

Doctor of Social Work Capstone Projects

ABSTRACT

WOMEN RESIDENTIAL SUBSTANCE USE TREATMENT PROGRAM: A QUANTITATIVE STUDY MEASURING TREATMENT PERCEPTIONS AND SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE ACROSS MULTIPLE DEMOGRAPHICS

Michelle Davidson, LCSW

March 24, 2025

Substance use disorders (SUD) present complex challenges that necessitate comprehensive and personalized treatment approaches, particularly for women. Historically, SUD treatments have been predominantly driven by male treatment approaches, often neglecting the unique needs and experiences of women. This cross-sectional quantitative survey study explores the relationship between the variables of client treatment perceptions and spiritual experiences among women in residential treatment for their SUDs. This study utilizes the Treatment Perception Survey and Spiritual Experience Index-Revised to …

A Phenomenological Study Of Syrian Refugees’ Experiences Seeking Mental Health Care In Lebanon, Mark Christopher Todd

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the lived experience of Syrian refugees living in Tyre, Lebanon as it related to seeking mental health care. The theory guiding this study is the phenomenological approach of Moustakas (1994) as informed by the transcendental phenomenology of Husserl (Moustakas, 1994) in that it seeks to describe the essence of the phenomenon by putting aside all preconceptions and looking anew at the phenomenon through the lens of human experience. This study was also strongly influenced by transformative frameworks (Creswell & Poth, 2019) and decolonization theory (Smith, 2021) as it looked for answers …

The Perception Of Mindfulness Practices Of Middle-Aged Black Christian Women Who Self-Diagnosed With Depression And Have Experiences With Racism, Latoya Angela Delmadge

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Black Christians rely heavily on their spiritual leaders for guidance and support when dealing with emotional and psychological issues. Consequently, counseling interventions such as mindfulness are often met with much resistance. The origin of mindfulness from the Buddhist culture may present a barrier to Christians incorporating such practices as meditation into their lifestyle. Lack of understanding still poses a limitation for middle-aged Christian women of color to engage in mindfulness practices. This qualitative transcendental phenomenological study explored the perceptions of mindfulness-based practices among Black middle-aged Christian women self-diagnosed with depression and how this intervention can be used to cope with …

The Ties That Bind: A Comprehensive Pastoral Counseling Approach To Bridge The Gap Between Christians Struggling With Same-Sex Attraction And Cornerstone Church, Barbara Pringle Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation project explores the need for a faith-based counseling program that aligns with biblical principles while fostering inclusivity and support for Christians experiencing same-sex attraction (SSA). The study addresses the challenges faced by individuals in the church community who often encounter isolation, shame, and rejection. It proposes a comprehensive pastoral counseling program to train church leaders in providing compassionate, transformative care. This project employs qualitative research methods, including focus groups and individual interviews, to gather insights from church leaders and members. It analyzes theological, psychological, and pastoral perspectives to build a robust spiritual and emotional support framework. The research …

Ethnic Identity And Acculturation: Mental Health Perceptions And Help-Seeking Behaviors Of College-Age Students With Sikh Punjabi Immigrant Parents, Manreet Kaur

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of college-age children of Sikh Punjabi immigrant parents who were considering mental health treatment in Pennsylvania. The theory guiding this study was ethnic identity theory, which was developed by Jean Phinney. There were four research questions addressed: (a) How do college-age children of Sikh Punjabi immigrant parents describe their experiences when considering mental health treatment in Pennsylvania? (b) How do participants describe the impact of their parents’ perceptions regarding mental health when contemplating seeking mental health treatment? (c) How do participants describe their experiences discussing mental health–related topics with …

A Quantitative Study: The Association Between College Selection Methodology And Sense Of Belongingness Among First-Year, Full-Time Residential College Students, Tamara Reese

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

College selection methodology can be traced back to the 1920s when colleges had to rely on their to travel through word of mouth, catalogs, pictures, and brochures. Although virtual tours can be dated back to 1994, COVID-19 catapulted the popularity of traveling through virtual reality. While many studies have sought to measure the impact of visitation on student enrollment propensities, none have made a noteworthy effort to account for a potential endogenous link between the student's college choice methodology and a student's sense of belongingness at their college or university campus. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study is to …

Centering Black Resource-Poor Adolescent Voices: A Critical Phenomenological Study Of Lived Mental Health Struggles While Enduring The Covid-19 Pandemic, Paulette Dispagna

Counseling and Psychology Dissertations

There is a dearth of research in general and qualitative research specifically about the mental health experience of resource-poor Black adolescents living in Boston. This has implications for the field in terms of how adolescents experiencing mental health issues can be supported and how professionals can create more useful mental health treatment. Drawing from the theoretical lens of critical race theory and more specifically, intersectionality, this hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry examined the ways in which experiencing multiple levels of inequality, especially from racism and poverty, affected a Black adolescent’s mental health. Eleven adolescents were interviewed via Zoom. Six major findings included: …

Addressing Obesity In Cancer Survivorship: Referral Gaps And Patient Engagement In Nutrition And Lifestyle Interventions, Brian Dinh, Kelly Nguyen, Whittney Thoman, Katherine Gilmore, Ying Qiao, Kathy Carpenter, Zayed Razouki, David Santos, Michael Roth

Cancer Survivorship Research Retreat

No abstract provided.

Gatekeeping As An Online Adjunct Clinical Instructor In Counselor Education, Bernadet Dejonge, Deborah J. Rubel, Yun Shi

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Abstract

This interpretative phenomenological analysis study examined how adjunct instructors teaching online clinical counseling courses experienced gatekeeping in the context of the university system. The research question was: How do online, adjunct instructors teaching master’s level clinical counseling courses experience their university interactions as a part of gatekeeping? The participants described five experiential themes. These were: a) Balancing marginalization in the system with advocacy for the profession; b) Maneuvering through dependency on the system in gatekeeping; c) Finding consultation while navigating gatekeeping interactions; d) Managing the intensity of clinical courses; and e) Navigating the steep learning curve of learning how …

The Power Of Choice: Comparing Asynchronous And Synchronous Learning, Heidi L. Henry, Kayla Newkirk, Lauren Guggenberger

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Using explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, we investigated counseling student outcomes and attitudes in asynchronous versus synchronous learning modalities. We studied whether asynchronous or synchronous learning contributed to differences in student outcomes on a final project in an Advanced Human Growth and Development course. Using a Kruskal-Wallis H test, we found no significant differences on final project scores among groups categorized according to the number of asynchronous and synchronous activities completed. We also explored the attitudes of online counseling students towards synchronous and asynchronous learning. Thematic analysis of open-ended surveys of 53 counseling students revealed four themes: enhanced learning experiences, advantages …

Parallel Journeys: Supporting Wounded Healers In Counselor Education, Susannah C. Coaston

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Much has been written about the motivations for wounded healers to pursue work in the helping professions. Those with painful life experiences can have a unique ability to understand the pain of others, and through their recovery, they may gain insight and understanding to benefit others. The counselor development process can be fraught with challenges that may have a detrimental impact on wounded healers. As such, counselor educators can benefit from amending their approaches to ensure that wounded healers gain the skills necessary to support their mental health and well-being, effectiveness, and personal and professional development. This article introduces a …

Building Community In Counselor Education Doctoral Programs: A Grounded Theory, Ellise Nolan, Madeline Clark, Rachel Mattingly, Sahar Sheikh, Jennifer Rio

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The researchers utilized a grounded theory methodology to study the process of community building in counselor education doctoral programs. Researchers found, throughout their program, students have a series of catalytic experiences during which they either experience program supports or barriers, leading to outcomes which influence student sense of community, wellness, and retention.

The Development Of Teacher Identity In Counselor Education Doctoral Students, Wes Allen, Joel F. Diambra, Rebecca Gaylor

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Abstract

Counselor educators (CE) prepare counselor education doctoral students (CEDS) to work as counselors, scholars, leaders, supervisors, and teachers. While we have a firm understanding of how CEDS develop in general (Limberg et al., 2013; Moss et al., 2014), there is little known about how they develop specifically as teachers. The goal of this research study was to gain insight into how teacher identity develops for CEDS. We interviewed 10 participants using transcendental phenomenology methodology to gain insight into their teaching preparation experiences and identities as teachers. We identified three primary themes from the data: (1) Connection, (2) Confidence, or …

Duty And Inequality: A Thematic Analysis Of Muslim Sexual Trauma Counselors, Mitchell Waters, Waleed Sami

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

In this qualitative study, the experiences of four practicing Muslim counselors who specialize in the treatment of sexual trauma were examined. By collecting data with semi-structured interviews, three distinct themes emerged: a) embodied inequality, b) theodicy and ambivalence, and c) Islamic integration and the therapeutic relationship. The findings of this study highlight the inequalities many Muslim counselors embody while balancing engagement in traditional counseling work. Implications for counselor educators and supervisors that enhance multicultural competence and improve counseling outcomes are provided.

Inclusion Of Suicide Education And Prevention In Counselor Education, Karlesia T. Montague, Susan Furr

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Suicide is a frequent crisis that counselors encounter in the field. Despite this concern, several studies over the last two decades indicate inadequate preparation in training programs. This article includes a discussion on possible ways to integrate suicide education throughout the curriculum using the CACREP core areas.

How Professional Counselors Experience Being Intake Counselors In The Inpatient Psychiatric Setting, Nineka K. Dyson, Deborah J. Rubel, Arien Muzacz

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Abstract

Intake counselors (ICs) are essential members of an interdisciplinary team who assess potential clients for admission to inpatient psychiatric facilities. This interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) explored the experiences of professional counselors working as ICs in inpatient psychiatric settings (n = 8). Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using IPA procedures. Four themes emerged that dealt with participants’ experiences: (1) coping with the lack of specific training, (2) balancing professional identity and system requirements, (3) coping with the emotional stressors of the inpatient environment, and (4) depending on scarce connection and support for sustainability. The findings of …

Lived Experiences Of Master’S Counseling Student-Caregivers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Lindsay M. Woodbridge, Kayla M. Kemp, David K. Duys, Tiffany J. L. Simon

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The COVID-19 pandemic created challenging circumstances for many counselors-in-training. In this study, researchers used a qualitative phenomenological design to explore eight master’s counseling students’ experiences navigating multiple roles, including graduate student and caregiver, during the pandemic. Themes included the many ways participants’ lives changed, participants’ sense of being pulled in many directions simultaneously, and factors that added to or mitigated the strain of navigating multiple life roles during a public health crisis. Because this role strain is not unique to the pandemic, the authors provide recommendations for counselor educators who work with master’s students who are caregivers. These recommendations include …

“But How Do I Start?” A Beginner’S Guide To Your First Qualitative Project, Jason B. Whiting Phd, Bria Nicole Davies

The Qualitative Report

Many new qualitative researchers feel overwhelmed and struggle to find direction in existing books and articles about qualitative methodology. Qualitative methods have a long history that includes different philosophies, practices, and methods, and there are endless ways to interpret and use these tools within these traditions. This article introduces basic qualitative methods with the intent to guide a first-time researcher through a first social science research project, such as a thesis or dissertation. It frames the process as a five-step journey with guidelines to follow and additional resources that can be accessed related to each phase. Although the craft of …