Counseling Commons^™

2025-2-8 Cummulative Report, Pennsylvania Counseling Association

PCA Board of Directors Meetings

No abstract provided.

Inclusive Space For Everyone Door Sign (Printable 8.5 X 11 Inch), Joan H. Robinson

Open Educational Resources

This is a printable 8.5 x 11 inch door sign for faculty, staff, and administrators to let people know it is an inclusive space for everyone. For improved visibility, print with a color printer and cut along the dotted line.

See also: 11 x 17 inch door sign.

The Effectiveness Of Various Forms Of Physical Exercise On The Trauma Recovery Process: A Quantitative Study, Noah J. Cicalo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this research is to further the knowledge base on available trauma recovery processes. The extent to which trauma is experienced in the United States as well as the long-term effects of trauma are becoming increasingly apparent within the mental health community. Identifying and providing care that addresses trauma is therefore paramount. Previous research annotates that physical exercise of various types has positively impacted the relationship between experienced trauma and trauma recovery. This study further explores this relationship, and considers physical activities that are specifically bilateral in nature due to the overlap of such activities with Eye Movement …

Emotional Turbulence Of Children Of The Clergy, The Lived Experiences And Emotional Development Of Adult Children Of The Clergy: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Tabitha L. Bennett

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The current study is a Phenomenological qualitative approach to understanding the lived experience of adult Children of the Clergy and exploring the various pressures and expectations faced by Children of the Clergy versus other church members. Everyone experiences external and internal pressures, but this will delve into whether it is an added layer simply from being a child of the clergy. The current study will investigate multiple families to understand family dynamics and the effects of growing up as Children of the Clergy into adulthood. Through phenomenological testing, utilizing the Bowen Family Theory and a sub-theory of the Labeling theory, …

Worldview And Moral Injury: An Exploratory Multiple Case Study On Behavioral Health Providers’ Descriptions Of Moral Injury, Mark C. Lane Jr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The concept of Moral Injury continues to gain research traction in the helping professional fields. Researchers continue to debate different components of Moral Injury. Defining, assessing, and treating Moral Injury captures much of the psychological literature. Despite this, standardized holistic conceptualization and treatment have yet to be realized. Worldview influences all aspects of every endeavor in human life. As such, this qualitative exploratory multiple case study from a Christian post-positivist position explored how Department of Defense or Veteran Affairs behavioral health providers’ worldview influences their descriptions of the construct of Moral Injury, its morbidity, and how behavioral health providers choose …

School Counselors’ Experiences With Transitioning Military-Dependent Students, Diane K. Jackson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This phenomenological study examined Asia-Pacific military school counselors’ lived social-emotional experiences. The study aimed to provide a qualitative transcendental phenomenological perspective of Asia-Pacific school counselors. Furthermore, this study focused on the counselors’ reported lived experiences with military-dependent students newly transitioned from the United States to Asia-Pacific. This study investigated a phenomenon to understand human experience and how the events are perceived and experienced by school counselors in the phenomena. The theoretical framework was informed by the invitational theory, Bronfenbrenner’s theory, and the contextual model of family stress. Three research questions were answered: (a) What are the lived experiences of Asia-Pacific …

Experiences Of Health And Mental Health Services For Immigrant Mothers From The Northern Triangle Of Central America, Lisa Dianne Vega

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of immigrant mothers from the Northern Triangle of Central America with access to health and mental health services in the Southern United States. The theory guiding this study is social constructivism developed by Lev Vygotsky in 1968, as it will seek to understand the greater contexts of the experiences of the participants, both currently, as well as the stories and experiences of their immigration journey. Central American immigrant mothers from the Northern Triangle face many types of traumatic events in their lives. These events began in their home …

The Impact Of Covid-19 Pandemic On The Mental Health Of Frontline Workers Of Toronto Homeless Shelters (Csws), Isiaka Omotosho Akande

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The objective of this phenomenological research is to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of the client service workers (CSWs) in Toronto homeless shelters. Kolcaba's theory of comfort guides this study. This theory holds that being comfortable is one of the fundamental necessities for relief after stressful health care events or incidents. Comfort boosts health-seeking behaviors for patients, clients, and workers. In the context of the City of Toronto’s homeless shelters, Kolcaba’s theory of comfort suggests that if client service workers are given adequate resources to balance their health and mental needs, thus stabilizing their comfortabilities, then …

Voices From The Field: Mental Health Therapists' Perceptions Of Collaboration With Child Protective Services Workers, Tamara P. Fields

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The child welfare system in the United States requires collaboration across various agencies in the provision of services. Although collaboration between mental health therapists and state agencies is fundamental when the goal is to provide quality care and achieve positive outcomes for families involved with Child Protective Services (CPS), the system is characterized as complicated and fragmented. Using Bronstein’s 2003 model of interprofessional collaboration to understand the dynamics of collaboration between mental health therapists and CPS workers in Texas, this qualitative descriptive research study described mental health therapists’ perceptions of collaborating with CPS workers in delivering therapy services to CPS-involved …

Site Supervisor Roles And Responsibilities: Counseling Programs’ Written Expectations, Justin D. Lauka, Amanda Mccarthy, Steven Moody, Minna Yoo

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

Site supervisors play a vital role in training clinical mental health counseling (CMHC) students during their field work. While clear roles and responsibilities for site supervision is a professional and ethical requirement, the scope of these expectations remains ambiguous. This article provides baseline empirical data on the expectations of sites and site supervisors communicated through field experience handbooks of CACREP-accredited CMHC programs. The authors completed a qualitative content analysis that resulted in three key categories including Site and Site Supervisor Administrative Expectations, Clinical Supervision, and Site/Program Interaction. Implications for counseling programs and future research are discussed.

Counselor Educators' Experiences Within The Faculty Microsystem During Gatekeeping, Victor Chang, Deborah J. Rubel

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

Gatekeeping is a responsibility for all counselor educators (CEs). Little is known about how CEs work with their colleagues to enact gatekeeping in counselor education programs. This grounded theory study explored 12 diverse CEs’ gatekeeping experiences, creating an ecological model of the Faculty Microsystem during gatekeeping that illuminates important conditions, processes, and interactions during gatekeeping in counselor education. Implications for counselor educators and doctoral students on the nature of collaboration during gatekeeping are described.

Grief Education In Accredited Counseling Programs: Tools For Integrating Grief Counseling Concepts Into The Cacrep Foundational Counseling Curriculum, Nicole A. Stargell, Emily T. Smith, Gary W. Mauk

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

Counselors working in a wide variety of settings should be competent in providing grief counseling. The current CACREP (2024) standards include grief education under lifespan development, but grief education can be woven throughout all eight domains of the foundational counseling curriculum. This article explains the foundational grief counseling concepts of attachment theory, the dual process model of grief, meaning-making theory, and adaptive grieving styles. Included in this article are suggestions for infusing these foundational grief counseling concepts into each of the eight CACREP foundational counseling curriculum areas.

Exploring Neuromyths In Counselor Education: A Neuro-Informed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Approach, James R. Spears, Natasha Villalobos, Whitney Zahar-Rich, Priscilla R. Prasath, Willie Ray

Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

Although advances in neuroscience validate the therapeutic practices and professional identity of counselors, educators struggle to infuse accurate neuroscience knowledge into the classroom. Utilizing a quasi-experimental, repeated measures design, this study examined the effectiveness of a neuro-informed lecture in reducing neuromyth endorsement among graduate students enrolled in the counseling theories course. Participants (n = 62) completed a demographics questionnaire and identical neuroscience pre- and post-surveys. The intervention group (n = 32) received the lecture-based intervention, while those in the comparison group (n = 30) did not. Results revealed significant improvement in neuroscience knowledge scores for those receiving the lecture (pre: …

Wearing Many Hats: The Lived Experience Of Professional School Counselors, Yenitza Z. Guzman, Ahmet Can, Leonis Wright, Eman Tadros

Journal of Applied Disciplines

This study examines the lived experiences of urban school counselors. This qualitative phenomenological research attempts to examine roles and responsibilities of each school counselor. The focus is to identify roles assigned to the school counselor, how they are assigned, what sort of say school counselors have in those assignments, and suggestions they have to improve their assigned roles and responsibilities. The findings are analyzed and discussed, including themes of COVID-19, Challenges, Satisfaction, Professional Identity, and Advocacy.  Clinical recommendations and future directions have been provided.

The Effectiveness Of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Cbt) And Medication For Treating Major Depressive Disorder In Adults 18-45 And Factors Contributing To Treatment Resistance: A Case Series., Shavon R. Romita, Lindsay Gietzen

Pacific Journal of Health

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and antidepressant medications are often used to treat major depressive disorder (MDD). After examining the existing research on the treatment of MDD, a study was conducted using a vignette methodology to determine if there is a decreased rate of symptoms for patients who are currently being treated for MDD by a mental health professional utilizing CBT and antidepressant interventions. The study explored the effectiveness of CBT in reducing depressive symptoms when antidepressants alone had limited efficacy. The target population included adult patients experiencing MDD, with some presenting additional challenges such as cultural barriers, difficult diagnoses, and …

Understanding The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Mental Health Of Children And Parents During The Pandemic, Whitney S. Gray

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic presented parents with stressors that affected their well-being and their life satisfaction. The pandemic caused parents to struggle with balancing their families’ needs and maintaining their happiness. Prior to the pandemic, children and adolescents had a routine that accommodated their daily functioning and provided them with social contact. The pandemic added stress with parents working odd hours at work, having to adjust to their child’s school schedules, and not being able to contribute to their support system. In addition to these daily stressors, parents had to consider the precautions surrounding COVID-19 and the worries attached to the …

Pentecostal Christian’S Influence On Marital Satisfaction And Longevity, Rebecca Burgess

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research study aimed to explore the influence of Pentecostalism on marital satisfaction and longevity within the context of individuals who identify as Pentecostal Christians. By employing PENTECOSTALISM AND MARITAL SATISFACTION 3 phenomenology, the study sought to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences, perspectives, and beliefs of participants regarding the impact of Pentecostalism on their marriages. The research involves in-depth interviews with married individuals adhering to Pentecostal beliefs, examining their experiences and interpretations of how Pentecostal teachings and practices influence their marital satisfaction and relationship longevity. This study included a sample size of 10 participants, consisting of 5 married …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Marital Satisfaction And Marital Resilience In Christian Couples, Melvinlyn Lovell Scott

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the impact of the coronavirus, better known as COVID-19, on marital satisfaction and resilience in Christian marriages. Marital satisfaction and resilience are critical components of a successful marriage. Numerous studies have focused on marital satisfaction and resiliency (Carr & Kellas, 2018). However, little research focuses specifically on Christian married couples’ marital satisfaction and resilience during extraordinary conditions such as the recent pandemic, COVID-19. Even without a pandemic, marriages encounter internal and external stressors that can strengthen or destroy marriage. The primary goal of this quasi-experimental study using the interactionism theory was to (a) examine the impact of …

Direction Of Prayer And Marital Satisfaction, Jeffrey Deyel Brothers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this correlational study was to assess the relationship between the constructs of prayer and marriage. Specifically, this study sought to answer the question of whether or not the direction of prayer, inward, outward, and upward was significantly correlated with marital satisfaction. Two hundred and one participants who were married, at least eighteen years of age, and who identified as Christian participated in the study. They completed a demographic questionnaire, the Prayer Thought Scale (PTS), and the ENRICH Couple Satisfaction Scale (CSS) online. Results indicated that there was no significant correlation between direction of prayer and marital satisfaction. …

Care Providers Caring For Military Members Struggling With Grief, Clara Altagracia García

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research aims to address the lack of grief support services for service members (SMs) and veterans, which affects them and the wider community. The mission is to uncover the needs of SMs and veterans and devise effective strategies to support them. The literature review will provide the foundation for the need for research and create a reasonable solution for a healthier grieving process for SMs. This research aims to determine how complicated grief goes undetected and how counseling can help SMs and veterans. The thesis project will impact the grief counseling process of others in this field and bring …

The Masculine Perspective Of The Stigmatization Of Childlessness In Marriage In YorùBáLand: An Ile-Ife Phenomenological Study, Godwin Segun-George Olugbami

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe men's experiences with the stigmatization of childlessness in the context of marriage in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The experience of childlessness as a universal phenomenon has been predominantly studied from the female perspective, and men are primarily neglected. The heteronormative ideal of women as 'mother/nurturer' is supported by only collecting women's fertility data in contrast to relatively suboptimal statistics in men's studies. This dissertation explores the view of ten African men set in the Yorùbá culture suffering from childlessness and its attendant stigmatization, mainly as a result of infertility. It provides in-depth interviews …

A Phenomenological Study Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Former Adult Drug Users’ Sobriety Journey After Graduating From A Faith-Based/Spiritual Drug And Alcohol Recovery Program, Laurine Voltaire

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to investigate the lived experiences of former adult drug users and their sobriety journeys after graduating from a variety of faith-based or spiritual drug and alcohol recovery programs. The research included a systematic review and narrative synthesis of existing literature on faith-based and spiritual recovery programs to address the gap concerning the lived experiences of former users and an evaluation of the strategies and techniques vital for facilitating recovery. The guiding theoretical framework CHIME-D delineated the essential definitive characteristics such as connectedness, hope, identity, meaning of life, empowerment, and overcoming difficulties that …

Intimate Partner Violence And The Black Church Culture: A Place Of Judgement Or Healing, Indea J. Hamlin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This transcendental phenomenological study will discover how Black clergy and lay leaders in urban communities respond to Black women who report intimate partner violence. Semi- structured interviews will take place in urban churches or secure locations within the communities. Six male and six female church pastors, clergy, and lay leaders will be selected as participants for the study, which will capture their firsthand experiences, levels of awareness and belief about the prevalence of IPV in urban communities, and their preparedness to address this form of violence against Black women. Thematic analysis will be employed to generate codes, uncover any themes …

Investigating The Correlation Between Racially Based Trauma And The Imposter Phenomenon In High-Achieving Black Women, Tarra Lynn Winfield Ray

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study investigates the imposter phenomenon, racially based trauma, and how the two correlate among high-achieving Black women. High achieving for this writing refers to Black women who attend college or graduate school, those in professional positions that require a degree, advanced degree, or professional licensure (i.e., corporate executives, medical doctors, attorneys, mental health clinicians, etc.), and entrepreneurs. Many current studies have focused on the unique and complex experiences that high-achieving Black women face while working to achieve goals and gain success. Many of these women have experienced racially based trauma, and many endorse the simultaneous experiencing of the imposter …

Parenting Strategies For Adult Abuse Victims, Sarah Davis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological proposal is to describe adults with past childhood trauma’s parenting experiences in Missouri. Growing up in an abusive household, I saw how not to parent my children once I was older. Not everyone thinks this way. Children who grow up in an abusive household do not always develop resiliency. Due to these effects, the following proposal will look at how these adults are impacted when it comes to their parenting styles. Parenting is difficult, to begin with, let alone working through your issues. Generational abuse is a common occurrence. The main research question that will …

Adverse Childhood Experiences: Healing Through Storytelling And Mindful Narrative Therapy, Julie Kemp

Mindfulness Studies Theses

This study presents research about the nature and prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), the mental and physical impacts to individuals exposed to ACEs, and incorporating mindfulness practices into therapeutic approaches to treating them, particularly Mindfulness-Based Narrative Therapy (MBNT). It is important because ACEs have become a global crisis, with the potential for interfering with psychological and physical development, early mortality, and other harmful life outcomes. This thesis provides critical information for mindfulness teachers and practitioners, therapists, educators, regulators, parents, and individuals subjected to ACEs.

The methodology includes extensive literature searches for narrative therapy and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in peer-reviewed …

Camp Research Forum Book Of Abstracts - 2025, American Camp Association

ACA National Camp Research Forum Abstracts

This book includes 30 abstracts that will be presented at the 2025 American Camp Association (ACA) Research Forum to be held during the ACA annual conference from February 18-21 in Dallas, TX. Abstracts have been grouped into similar areas and will be presented across five verbal sessions and one poster session.

Stigma And Isolation: The Lived Experiences Of Male Sexual Assault Survivors In College, Vanessa Vela

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Male sexual assault survivors on college campuses face barriers to disclosure, support, and recovery due to stigma, societal expectations of masculinity, and inadequate institutional resources. This hermeneutic phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of six male survivors of sexual assault enrolled in college, focusing on their perceptions of sexual violence before and after their assault, the psychological burden of disclosure, and their experiences with available support systems. Participants described challenges including rape myths, feelings of isolation, fear of emasculation, and limited access to gender-inclusive resources. While online communities provided some support, institutional services often failed to meet their needs due …

The Use Of Ritual In Counseling Sessions For Suicide Loss Survivors, Dr. Kailey Bradley, Dr. Yegan Pillay, Dr. Ibrahim Akmese

Adultspan Journal

Suicide loss impacts every aspect of the lives of those left behind, creating shattered assumptions and feelings of meaninglessness. In this perspective piece, the authors attempt to describe how the use or rituals in sessions can be therapeutically beneficial to suicide loss survivors across the lifespan. This piece provides a brief overview of the impact of suicide loss, theoretical approaches to suicide loss, and examples of rituals that can be used in sessions. Lastly, the authors share how they have used rituals in their own clinical work to provide guidance for mental health professionals working in diverse clinical settings who …

Power, Interpersonal Trauma, And The Counseling Relationship: A Grounded Theory Analysis, Laura Caputo, Cassandra A. Storlie, Jenny L. Cureton, Sharazazi Dyson

2025 Faculty Bibliography

The purpose of this constructivist grounded theory analysis was to explore how adult women with histories of interpersonal trauma experience power within the counseling relationship. Using semi‐structured interviews with 29 clients in counseling, concurrent data analysis and collection resulted in a process theory composed of seven categories and one core category. Categories included Sociocultural Mental Health Factors, Past Experiences of Power, Choosing Counseling, Assessing for Safety and Fit, Advocating for Needs, Reliving Disempowerment, and Reclaiming Power. Participants’ experience of power was summarized by the core category, Practicing Personal Power in Connection with Others, which represented the model's central concepts. The …