Clinical Psychology Commons^™

Entering Terra Incognita: Adapting Psychotherapists To Work During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Monika Zielona-Jenek, Agnieszka Izdebska, Emilia Soroko

The Qualitative Report

Sudden historical events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may critically change the circumstances in which psychotherapy is conducted. The objective of this study was to analyze Polish psychodynamic psychotherapists’ experiences of working with patients at the onset of the pandemic and hence to understand the process of their coping with the external reality challenges. 183 Polish psychotherapists (160 women and 23 men) aged 26-66 years (average 38) completed a survey about their therapeutic work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were analyzed in accordance with Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis framework. Five general themes were identified: (1) Facing a taboo; (2) …

"I Think It's Biblically Wrong, But Temptation Gets The Better Of Me": A Survey On Out-Of-Control Sexual Behavior In A Christian Cohort Of Men In The Uk, Timothy C Y Lau, Glenn M. Miles

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The current study aims to better understand influences on men within the UK Christian community on their engagement with pornography and prostitution. The authors utilized the Carnes (2012) survey to examine the landscape of sexual knowledge and behaviours, and to identify symptoms, and the propensity towards, “out-of-control sexual behavior” among participants. Data from a survey sent to the Christian community through church networks and word of mouth was used for this study. Of the 491 men who participated, the majority (94%, 460) described their personal Christian faith as “strong.” Despite the Christian faith community's moral code of conduct, the survey …

Mental Health Stigma And Social-Cognitive Factors Influence Behavioral Intentions To Seek Psychological Help, Bobbie Juaneza, Whitney Whitaker

Academic Leadership Journal in Student Research

Recent estimates suggest that one in five adults in the United States of America experience mental health issues each year; this is estimated to be approximately 51.5 million adults. Despite many individuals who might suffer from mental health issues, and perhaps be diagnosed with a mental health disorder, these same individuals may not seek psychological services when needed. The current study examined mental health stigma (i.e., public and self-stigma of mental health) and social-cognitive factors (i.e., attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control) that might influence a person’s willingness to seek out psychological help. The Theory of Planned Behavior was used …

Recruitment Of Young Black Men Into Trauma And Mental Health Services Research: Recommendations And Lessons Learned, Alexandria G. Bauer, Jannette Y. Berkley-Patton

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Young Black/African American men are more likely to experience repeated trauma that escalates throughout young adulthood, compared to young White men. Exposure to trauma has impacts on mental health outcomes, but young Black men face substantial barriers to mental health care. In order to begin to address these disparities, it is imperative to increase understanding of the needs, preferences, and priorities of young Black men for mental health care services following trauma. Yet, young Black men are often underrepresented in mental health services research. The purpose of the current study was to describe strategies for recruitment of young Black men …

Sexual Coercion, Unintended Pregnancy, And Poor Reproductive Health Among Adolescent Girls (Aged 13 - 19) In Mexico, Arun Kumar Acharya, Maria Luisa Martinez

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

In Mexico, nearly 23,000 adolescents between the ages of 12-17 years suffer sexual coercion every year. This group also has a high birth rate of 77/1,000 adolescents, which indicates that one in every five pregnant women is an adolescent. This study describes the sexual coercion of victims and their views regarding the experience based on data collected from 37 Mexican girls between the age of 13 to 19, selected purposively using the snowball method in Monterrey city, Mexico. Results indicate that sexual coercion among adolescents is a serious problem, where 70% of adolescents experienced vaginal sexual coercion, nearly 22% experienced …

Examining The Associations Between Experiences Of Perceived Racism And Drug And Alcohol Use In Aboriginal Australians, Victoria Gentile, Adrian Carter, Laura Jobson

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

Objective
This study aimed to explore the relationships between experiences of perceived racism, mental health and drug and alcohol use among Aboriginal Australians.

Method
Sixty-two Aboriginal Australians, ranging in age from 19-64 years (M_age = 33.71, SD = 12.47) and residing in Victoria completed an online questionnaire containing measures of perceived racism, alcohol use, substance use and mental health.

Results
First, 66% of the sample reported experiencing interpersonal racism, with the highest proportion of reported experiences occurring in health settings, educational/academic settings and by staff of government agencies. Second, perceived racism was significantly associated with poorer mental health …

The Gender Freedom Model: A Framework For Helping Transgender, Non-Binary, And Gender Questioning Clients Transition With More Ease, Rae Mcdaniel, Laurel Meng

Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education

Transgender/non-binary experiences and identities are often represented in academic literature through narratives of distress and are often pathologized through a medical lens. This holds implications for the field of psychotherapy, as interventions aimed to support transgender/nonbinary individuals often focus solely on risk mitigation. This article presents a therapeutic framework that rests on three pillars—Play, Pleasure, and Possibility—as the focal points for reimagining work with transgender/non-binary clients. This model aims to help this population explore gender transition with more ease through building practical skills, cultivating personal and collective pride, and centering pleasure equity.

Stigma And Criminalization Of Mental Health In An Inpatient Versus Jail Setting, Zachary C. B. Dumay, Jessica T. Harnais, Christina M. Cerminara

The Graduate Review

Stigmatization is the perceived, negative stereotype assigned to a group of individuals. This stigmatization has contributed to the criminalization of mental health, meaning that individuals with mental health issues are more likely to be arrested for behaviors that are not criminal. This project examines mental health stigma toward an individual in a psychiatric setting and a correctional setting. We hypothesized that when reading a vignette about an individual experiencing a mental health crisis, participants will stigmatize them more if they are incarcerated than if they are in a psychiatric facility. Results showed that participants exhibited a higher level of discrimination …

How Music And Art Affect Compassion And Perspective Taking: A Collaboration Between Ucf Restores And Opera Orlando, Kathryn Sunderman

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

The ability of music and art to impact emotions and behavior is well understood based on studies conducted in a laboratory. However, research in a laboratory setting does not always generalize well to a natural environment. In this pilot study, we investigated how attending an opera that portrayed a wartime Christmas truce affected the audience’s levels of empathic concern and perspective-taking. Paired samples t-tests were conducted on data from 63 adult participants (M = 52.17 years). The results indicated that attendance at this operatic performance positively changed both empathic concern and perspective-taking, suggesting that even in a naturalistic setting, music …

Women's Age Of First Exposure To Internet Pornography Predicts Sexual Victimization, Sarah J. Harsey, Laura K. Noll, Melissa J. Miller, Ryan A. Shallcross

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Increases in the availability and accessibility of Internet pornography have led growing numbers of children to become consumers of sexually explicit media. Research has identified negative behavioral and attitudinal outcomes associated with Internet pornography use in childhood and adolescence, but few studies have examined sexual victimization as a correlate. The current study aimed to examine the association between age of first Internet pornography exposure and sexual victimization. Data from 154 undergraduate women yielded several important findings. Women who viewed Internet pornography unintentionally at a younger age reported more sexual victimization. Specifically, compared to women who were first unintentionally exposed to …

Children As Mischievous Spirits: Legitimizing Child Cruelty And Filicide In Contemporary Africa, Chima Agazue

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The belief that certain humans are spiritual entities and the belief that some people are spiritually possessed can be found across histories and cultures. While these individuals are not always viewed in the negative or treated inhumanely, cases abound whereby degrading and inhumane treatments are meted out to some of them. In the African continent, certain groups of people, particularly children are linked to certain mischievous spirits due to their unusual appearance, aberrant behavior, disability, chronic illness, psychopathology or exceptional ability. Some are also suspected and consequently mistreated due to events surrounding their birth. Such children are known by different …

Pledged Into Harm: Sorority And Fraternity Members Face Increased Risk Of Sexual Assault And Sexual Harassment, Melissa L. Barnes, Alexis Adams-Clark, Marina N. Rosenthal, Carly P. Smith, Jennifer J. Freyd

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The purpose of this manuscript is to examine the risk of sexual exploitation (both assault and harassment) associated with sorority and fraternity membership on U.S. college campuses. The results from this study come from data collected through an online survey. Participants (N=883) at a large Pacific Northwestern university provided information related to their sorority or fraternity membership, experiences of sexual violence (i.e., assault and harassment), and alcohol use. We both replicated and extended past research. Corroborating prior research, Greek-affiliated students experienced higher rates of sexual assault than non-affiliated students. We extended past research by focusing on sexual harassment …

“Child Witches”: Sexual Exploitation And Abuse Of Homeless Girls In South-Southern Nigeria, Chima Agazue

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Sexual exploitation and abuse of girls is one of the endemic social problems in Nigeria. Although this problem has attracted much research attention in recent times, some newly emerged factors contributing to the problem have been mostly ignored. This study explored how the abandonment of children following their stigmatization as witches contributes to sexual exploitation and abuse of the girls in the Akwa Ibom and Cross River states of Nigeria. The study was based on the qualitative research paradigm. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews of three senior staff members of the Child’s Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN)—a children’s charity …

Seeing The Shadow Women: The Hidden Victims Of Prostitution, Donna M. Hughes

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

A group of hidden victims of prostitution has been brought to light by Ingeborg Kraus, a trauma therapist in Germany, and Andrea Heinz, a woman with experience in the sex trade in Canada. Dignity has published four articles by these two writers in the last year. Their nascent body of work is uncovering important new information and perspectives on prostitution. Through their own experience and interviews with wives of sex buyers and women with sex trade experience they show us a more holistic view of the harm of prostitution. They write about the wives and families of men who are …

Women Exiting Prostitution: Reports Of Coercive Control In Intimate Relationships, Tammy Schultz, Aimee A. Callender, Sally Schwer Canning, Jacey Collins

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

There is burgeoning research on intimate partner violence (IPV) experiences among women globally. However, there is a dearth of research on IPV experiences among marginalized populations in Western countries. Over the past decade, IPV research has shifted from a focus only on physical and sexual violence to include coercive control experiences. These include a continuum of nonviolent behaviors centered on maintaining dominance over one’s partner. However, the empirical literature on examining coercive control among women in prostitution within non-commercial intimate partners is lacking. In this study, we analyzed interviews with 17 women exiting prostitution and examined reported IPV sexual, physical, …

Xenophobia And Racism Against Asian Americans During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Mental Health Implications, Hsiu-Lan Cheng

Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Socially Just Trauma-Informed Responses To Covid-19 With Undocumented Communities, Daniela Dominguez

Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Loss, Grief, And Racial Health Disparities During Covid-19: Same Storm, Different Boats, Joyce Yang, Sierra Carter

Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Introduction To The Issue: Evaluating The Psychological Impact Of Covid 19, Saera R. Khan, Christine J. Yeh

Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Scholarship

Evaluating COVID 19 in its entirety is an enormous undertaking--one which will take many years and many scholars from every academic discipline to fully convey the impact of this disaster. In this three-part Special Issue of the Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Scholarship, we present current understandings of the immediate impact of COVID 19. The authors of these contributions participated in a webinar series produced by the University of San Francisco’s Center for Teaching Excellence and Center for Research, Artistic, and Scholarly Excellence in March through May 2020. Scholars from various academic sub-disciplines were invited to discuss the impact of …

Shadow Women: Wives Betrayed By Sex Buyers, Ingeborg Kraus

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Shadow women are women whose husbands betray them by using prostituted women. Until now, there has been almost no attention paid to the harm to the wives or partners of men who use prostituted women. In this interview, Dr. Ingeborg Kraus talks to the former wife of a sex buyer. She describes the impact of her husband’s betrayal on her and her family. This type of harm needs to be taken seriously and more research done on it.

Bound By Silence: Psychological Effects Of The Traditional Oath Ceremony Used In The Sex Trafficking Of Nigerian Women And Girls, Jennifer Millett-Barrett

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Nigerian women and children have been trafficked to Italy over the last 30 years for commercial sexual exploitation with an alarming increase in the past three years. The Central Mediterranean Route that runs from West African countries to Italy is rife with organized crime gangs that have created a highly successful trafficking operation. As part of the recruitment process, the Nigerian mafia and its operatives exploit victims by subjecting them to a traditional religious juju oath ceremony, which is an extremely effective control mechanism to silence victims and trap them in debt bondage. This study explores the psychological effects of …

"I Assumed Chicago Would Be In The Forefront": Comments On The Movement To End Prostitution With Survivor-Leader Brenda Myers-Powell, Jody Raphael

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

For many years in the 2000’s, researcher Jody Raphael, teamed with prostitution-survivor Brenda Myers-Powell, undertook a myriad of speaking engagements in the Chicago metropolitan area, intended to raise awareness of the violence and coercion in the sex trade industry. Ten years ago, they were asked to make a video of their presentation. Recently, Dignity editors came across the video and asked for an update on the conversation. This piece is the result.

Reaching And Supporting Trafficked Women In Austria And Germany: A Call For Training On Attachment And Trust-Building, Silke Gahleitner, Katharina Gerlich, Roschan Heiler, Heidemarie Hinterwallner, Edith Huber, Mascha Körner, Josef Pfaffenlehner, Yvette Völschow

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Many victims of trafficking in women are not reached by the available support services despite numerous measures that have been put in place on both the national and international levels. This deficiency is due to the inadequacy of the support systems, which do not meet the needs of the women concerned. A bilateral Austro-German research project entitled “Prävention und Intervention bei Menschenhandel zum Zweck sexueller Ausbeutung (PRIMSA) [“Prevention and intervention in the trafficking of human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation”] was set up with the aim of developing ideas for a multidisciplinary prevention and intervention scheme. This article …

미투 운동은 성매매도 포함하여야 한다 (#Metoo Must Include Prostitution), Melissa Farley

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Never Again! Surviving Liberalized Prostitution In Germany, Sandra Norak, Ingeborg Kraus

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This article, co-authored by a six-year survivor of the sex trade industry in Germany (Sandra Norak) and a psychologist and trauma therapist (Ingeborg Kraus), provides perspectives on the difficulty of withstanding the coercion of traffickers and the difficulties of exiting prostitution in a country in which prostitution has been legalized, normalized and made “a job like any other.” This normalization persuades survivors to believe their traffickers that it is a legitimate occupation and encourages them to endure the violence. Liberalization also has prevented the development of needed trauma services to those seeking to exit the sex trade industry.

Collaborative Documentation For Behavioral Healthcare Providers: An Emerging Practice, Suzanne Maniss Ph.D., Lcdc, Ncc, Amanda G. Pruit Lpc

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

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.

Introduction To Dignity Special Issue: Freedom From Sexploitation, Lisa L. Thompson, Donna M. Hughes

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Understanding And Addressing Arab-American Mental Health Disparities, Sherief Y. Eldeeb

Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark (SURJ)

The landscape of mental healthcare and focus on disparities research in the United States has vastly improved in recent years. However, Arab-Americans continue to be a commonly overlooked group within the scope of the research. This trend is especially worrisome given detrimental factors for Arab-Americans that have arisen as a factor of 9/11 and in the scope of the 2016 United States Presidential Election. This work explores barriers to accessing formal mental health care and offers recommendations to reconcile them for Arab-Americans. The present study completes this through a review of the literature and an interview conducted by the author …

From Combat Zones To The Classroom: Transitional Adjustment In Oef/Oif Student Veterans, Lorrie Kato, Jeremy D. Jinkerson, Sarah C. Holland, Henry V. Soper

The Qualitative Report

With 600,000 veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom enrolled in higher education with the Post-9/11 GI Bill, recognizing and responding to their predictable adjustment issues is imperative. Existing qualitative research has identified some transitional issues encountered by small groups of veterans. Because of qualitative research’s limited generalizability, however, themes may be viewed as more generalizable when corroborated by student veterans in different regions. In order to provide an in-depth description of the themes related to the post-deployment adjustment process, the first author conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 student veterans from a Southwestern community college who were returning to …

Correlates Of Satisfaction With Life For People Who Identify As Transgender And Sexual Minority, Christopher C. Bober, Kristen L. Suing, Dustin K. Shepler

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Researchers have focused on understanding factors such as resiliency, medical concerns, and coping skills in the lives of transgender and gender-nonconforming people. However, little research has examined how transgender and gender-nonconforming people cognitively evaluate their own lives. Furthermore, many people who identify as transgender or gender-nonconforming also report a sexual minority identity status. In this study, we sought to understand how aspects of sexual self-concept (i.e., sexual esteem and sexual anxiety), internalized homonegativity, and level of outness about sexual identity correlated to self-appraisals of satisfaction with life (SWL) in a sample of transgender and gender-nonconforming people who identified as sexual …