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Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

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Full-Text Articles in Counseling Psychology

Veterans' Perceptions Of Military Stigma And The Shame Associated With Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress, Alexander J. Buelna Jan 2016

Veterans' Perceptions Of Military Stigma And The Shame Associated With Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress, Alexander J. Buelna

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Military stigma is a heavy burden of social stigma internalized by veterans who are diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during post-deployment psychological screening. PTSD is classified as a mental disorder associated with widespread reluctance to seek medical assistance. Among military veterans who suffer from combat-related posttraumatic stress (PTS), military stigma is considered a widespread problem. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore veterans' perceptions of various aspects of military stigma, including post-deployment psychological screening, the diagnosis of PTSD, and factors associated with reluctance to seek medical assistance for PTS. In-depth interviews were conducted with a convenience sample …


Perceived Impact Of Prevention And Relationship Enhancement Program (Prep) On Marital Satisfaction, Angel Shantella Pierce Jan 2016

Perceived Impact Of Prevention And Relationship Enhancement Program (Prep) On Marital Satisfaction, Angel Shantella Pierce

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Married couples often face serious issues that require them to make difficult decisions in their relationships. Many couples turn to marital counseling as a means to improve the marriage. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and describe the experiences of heterosexual married individuals who participated in the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) and how they felt their participation had influenced their perceived satisfaction in their marriages. The theoretical framework that guided this study was social exchange theory, which is a basis for thinking about the influence individuals have on each other in personal relationships. The research …


Exploring Barriers To Fathers' Implementation Of Behavioral Interventions For Nonverbal Children With Autism, Michael Lafasakis Jan 2016

Exploring Barriers To Fathers' Implementation Of Behavioral Interventions For Nonverbal Children With Autism, Michael Lafasakis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many families, regardless of their ethnic and cultural background, find it challenging to raise a nonverbal child with autism. Parent-implemented behavioral interventions can contribute to positive behavior change related to joint attention, imitation, and communication. However, many parents face barriers that prevent them from implementing behavioral interventions in the home. Very little research has been conducted on fathers of nonverbal children with autism to ascertain their perspectives on these barriers. In this qualitative study, a phenomenological design was used to obtain input from 12 fathers of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds residing in New York City regarding barriers to implementing …


Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy For Veteran Survivors With Full Or Partial Ptsd, Mark Aaron Mayfield Jan 2016

Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy For Veteran Survivors With Full Or Partial Ptsd, Mark Aaron Mayfield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Symptom severity among veteran survivors with partial or full posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) continues to increase, with approximately 40% of U.S. veterans reporting significant symptomology 10 years after initial onset of the condition. Veteran survivors often struggle to find therapeutic interventions that meet their specific needs and have a difficult time maintaining a therapy that is both equitable and evidenced based. Grounded in the Rogerian, client-centered theory, the purpose of this qualitative collective exploratory case study was to explore the effects of equine-facilitated psychotherapy with 3 veteran survivors with partial or full PTSD. A 4-stage process was used to collect …


Compassion Fatigue And Crisis Workers' Attitude To Work, Maria Adneza Loolo Jan 2016

Compassion Fatigue And Crisis Workers' Attitude To Work, Maria Adneza Loolo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Past research has revealed that mental health practitioners experience challenging reactions in the course of their professional interactions with traumatized clients in the clinical work setting. The demands of caring, without commensurate replenishment, deplete the practitioners' empathy and produces forms of apathy and indifference towards the suffering of others, known as compassion fatigue. This quantitative, exploratory, cross sectional study examined the predictive relationships between compassion fatigue and work attitudes in primary care physicians located in West Africa. The etiological model of compassion fatigue and constructivist self-development theory (CSDT) formed the conceptual framework for examining clinician responses to trauma-related experiences in …


The Experience Of Survivorship: Quality Of Life For African American Breast Cancer Survivors, Angela L. Grimmett Jan 2016

The Experience Of Survivorship: Quality Of Life For African American Breast Cancer Survivors, Angela L. Grimmett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American breast cancer survivors are at a greater risk of experiencing disparities in mortality, treatment, and quality of life. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the impact that breast cancer had on the quality of life of African American breast cancer survivors from a psychosocial, physical, spiritual, and economic perspective. Face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted with 9 volunteers who met the eligibility criteria of being breast cancer survivors of African American decent. The sample of survivors ranged in ages 45 to 80 and was between 6 to 30 years postdiagnosis. Giorgi's phenomenological method was used to …


Associations Between Adolescent Perceptions Of Parental Interactions And Adolescent Sexual Behaviors, Shakesha (Shai) Fairley Jan 2016

Associations Between Adolescent Perceptions Of Parental Interactions And Adolescent Sexual Behaviors, Shakesha (Shai) Fairley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexual risk behaviors among U.S. adolescents is a major public health concern. Adolescents are contracting sexually transmitted diseases at alarming rates. The purpose of this research was to identify factors related to parent-child interactions that influence adolescent sexual behaviors. A combination of attachment theory and family systems theory was used to help explain how adolescent sexual choices (age of sexual debut, use of birth control, use of condoms, multiple sex partners in a 12-month period) are affected by the perceived quality of parent-child interactions (maternal/parental closeness, monitoring, communication, and involvement). Archival data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National …


Immigration's Impact On Emerging Mental Health Issues Among Kenyans In The Northeast United States, Jane Itumbi Kabuiku Jan 2016

Immigration's Impact On Emerging Mental Health Issues Among Kenyans In The Northeast United States, Jane Itumbi Kabuiku

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Immigrants lose their unique psychosocial context when their experiences are subsumed under pan ethnic labels such as Hispanics, Latina/o, Asians or Africans. The stress from navigating different cultural contexts becomes problematic when immigrants operate within mainstream cultural norms that are in conflict with their traditional values. The number of Kenyan immigrants to the United States has steadily increased since the 1980s. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to study the lived experience of Kenyan immigrants by focusing on their integration experience and how the integration processes may have affected their mental health. Very few studies center on the …


Witnessing Parental Domestic Violence And Young Girls' Dating Relationships, Brinda Kay Mckinney Jan 2015

Witnessing Parental Domestic Violence And Young Girls' Dating Relationships, Brinda Kay Mckinney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Domestic violence afflicts people regardless of ethnicity, socio-economically status, age, or gender. Too often, girls enter and remain in abusive relationships, despite the trauma and risks of doing so. Using Roy's theory of adaptation, this study explored the effect of witnessing inter-parental violence on girls' experiences of physical violence or sexual abuse in their dating relationships. Original data collection occurred at a Midwestern U.S. university via e-mail using questions adapted from the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey Surveillance System. The study used 526 responses from female participants who self-disclosed if they had or had not witnessed inter-parental violence for categorical …


The Effects Of Competency On Job Satisfaction For Professional Counselors When Providing Court Testimony, Joshua David Francis Jan 2015

The Effects Of Competency On Job Satisfaction For Professional Counselors When Providing Court Testimony, Joshua David Francis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Professional counselors experience increasing levels of ethical complaints when they provide opinions in child custody cases; the complaints question their competency levels and potentially affect job satisfaction. The purpose of the study was to determine any relationship between competencies and job satisfaction for 277 counselors and 66 psychologists. The competence theory served as the foundation of the study. The quantitative study was a nonexperimental, correlational design using a closed-ended survey. A new, validated Professional Competence Standards Instrument (PCSI) measured both competency as the independent variable and job satisfaction as the dependent variable to assess if competency affected job satisfaction. E-mail …


Predicting The Perceived Importance Of Professional Advocacy Among Counselor Educators, Rebecca Diane Nate Jan 2015

Predicting The Perceived Importance Of Professional Advocacy Among Counselor Educators, Rebecca Diane Nate

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The goal of this nonexperimental quantitative research study was to determine if the professional identity of a counselor educator (CE) predicted their perceived importance of professional advocacy. Social identity theory (SIT) constituted the framework for this study, which asked whether CEs would follow the established norms of the dominant professional group and thus consistently perceive the importance of professional advocacy. The Professional Counselor Advocacy Inventory (PCAI) was used to measure CEs' perceptions. The data of 92 participants were analyzed in SPSS 21 using an ordinal regression. Specialization, age, gender, primary setting, and years of experience were the predictor variables, and …


The Effects Of Motivational Interviewing With The Dual Diagnosis Population, Martina S. Moore Jan 2015

The Effects Of Motivational Interviewing With The Dual Diagnosis Population, Martina S. Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Dual diagnosis clients continue to have low treatment completion rates. The purpose of the current study was to understand if motivational interviewing helped to increase completion rates for clients receiving cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Studying the problem was necessary for identifying an evidenced-based model for mental health counselors to help clients with dual diagnoses complete CBT treatment. There were no studies available for understanding the effectiveness of motivational interviewing as a tool for improving treatment completion rates for dual diagnoses clients in intensive outpatient programs. The research question examined if motivational interviewing was effective for improving treatment completion rates for …


Secure-Base Caregiving And Adult Attachment Development Within The Client-Psychotherapist Relationship, Dennis A. Weeks Jan 2015

Secure-Base Caregiving And Adult Attachment Development Within The Client-Psychotherapist Relationship, Dennis A. Weeks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Recent studies have shown significant improvements in the attachment security of adult therapy clients during therapy, supporting Bowlby's theory that such improvement can be influenced by secure-base caregiving provided by mentors such as therapists. However, because these studies did not measure the secure-base variable, its relationship to client attachment development remains unknown. The present study is the first to evaluate that relationship by measuring clients' pre and posttherapy attachment security using the Relationship Scales Questionnaire and therapists' secure-base caregiving using the Client Attachment to Therapist and Working Alliance Inventory, Short Form. Of 21 initially insecure client participants, 17 experienced high …


Utilizing The Rorschach In Analyzing Characteristics Of Women Who Have Experienced Domestic Violence, Mary Aleksandra Iwanski Jan 2015

Utilizing The Rorschach In Analyzing Characteristics Of Women Who Have Experienced Domestic Violence, Mary Aleksandra Iwanski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects millions of women, men, and families throughout the world each year, with more than a million incidents of domestic partner abuse reported to law enforcement officials each year in the United States. Being able to accurately assess and help a woman who is experiencing this type of violence can be difficult for even a seasoned mental health or medical professional. The purpose of this study was to determine whether clinicians can gain insight into the personality structure of women who have experienced IPV by clinical interview and administration of the Rorschach alone. This study analyzed …


Maternal Depression: The Impact Of Perceived Social Support And Behavioral Health Rehabilitation Provider 50 Services, Tammy Lynn Gregorowicz Jan 2015

Maternal Depression: The Impact Of Perceived Social Support And Behavioral Health Rehabilitation Provider 50 Services, Tammy Lynn Gregorowicz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to identify if the rate of behavioral health rehabilitation services (BHRS) impacts depressive symptoms of mothers with children receiving these services and if the perception of social support moderates the severity of depression. The stress-buffering hypothesis and Bowen's family systems theory were used for the theoretical framework. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from mothers of children receiving BHRS Provider 50 services in northeast Pennsylvania. The Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support were used to assess depression and perceived social support. A self-made demographic …


Parents' Perceptions Of And Experiences With School Counselors, Robyn Jean Emde Jan 2015

Parents' Perceptions Of And Experiences With School Counselors, Robyn Jean Emde

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has found that parents may feel isolated from their children's schools due to their own problematic educational experiences or their lack of understanding their children's school experiences. Current literature explores stakeholders' perceptions of school counselors but lacks specific context from a parental perspective. Validating parents' perceptions of and experiences with school counselors enhances students' academic success by providing insight about what motivates parents to invest in their children's schools and how school counselors influence parental involvement. Utilizing key concepts related to the importance of parental involvement for student success, this qualitative study focused on the experiences and perceptions of …


Health Behaviors, Hardiness, And Burnout In Mental Health Workers, Jeremiah Brian Schimp Jan 2015

Health Behaviors, Hardiness, And Burnout In Mental Health Workers, Jeremiah Brian Schimp

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Burnout has emerged as a significant and costly issue in the modern workforce. Researchers have not fully explored the role of individual health behaviors and personality in burnout among mental health workers. The knowledge gap addressed in this study was the connection between health behaviors, what mental health workers do to take care of themselves, and hardiness, the characteristic way they perceive and interpret environmental challenges. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of health behaviors and hardiness among mental health workers on the 3 dimensions of burnout as measured by the MBI-HSS: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and …


Major Depressive Disorder: Precursors, Predictors, And Coping Mechanism Among Undergraduate Students, Grace Antia Bickham Jan 2015

Major Depressive Disorder: Precursors, Predictors, And Coping Mechanism Among Undergraduate Students, Grace Antia Bickham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is common among college students. The disease perpetuates depressive symptoms and potentially leads to chronic depressive episodes. Existing literature has shown that students who use both cognitive and behavioral maladaptive coping skills are more prone to endure depressive symptoms and poorer academic performance. Despite these known associations, little research has examined the relationship between coping skills and self-efficacy in response to warning signs of MDD in college students. This study sought to fill the gaps in the research of MDD related to precursors, predictors, and coping mechanisms among undergraduate students in a national sample of U.S. …


Mental Health Administrators' Knowledge And Perceptions Of Delivery Of Relationship-Based Services, Alan Frank Singer Jan 2015

Mental Health Administrators' Knowledge And Perceptions Of Delivery Of Relationship-Based Services, Alan Frank Singer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Past research has recommended that clinical mental health (CMHC) administrators employ a relational focus to their work, but little evidence exists that such a relational focus is actually being utilized. Guided by Rogers' principles of client-centered therapy, this study examined whether CMHC administrators possessed the knowledge and attitudes to utilize the recommendation of relational based therapy and whether implementation in the CMHC was feasible. A qualitative multiple case study design was utilized to collect personal interviews with 12 CMHC administrators who could discuss Norcross and Wampold's single recommendation about therapeutic relationships. Results were triangulated with the guide for CMHC financing, …


Lived Experiences Of Military Personnel Reintegrating With Their Preschool Aged Children, Rob Atchison Jan 2015

Lived Experiences Of Military Personnel Reintegrating With Their Preschool Aged Children, Rob Atchison

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have indicated that school-aged children with a caregiver who had been deployed were more likely to exhibit emotional and behavioral problems. These problems were impacted by the ability of the parent at home to manage emotions so as to utilize appropriate parenting skills with the child. However, there remained an important gap in the literature regarding the experiences of the military personnel reintegrating with their preschool aged child. Therefore, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to address the experiences of military caregivers with their preschool-aged children through semistructured interviews to better understand the variables that impacted the ability …


Decision Making And Pediatric Bipolar Disorder Assessment/Diagnosis: A Phenomenographic Study, Kristen Davies Jan 2015

Decision Making And Pediatric Bipolar Disorder Assessment/Diagnosis: A Phenomenographic Study, Kristen Davies

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Prior to the 1990s, bipolar disorder, a behavioral disorder characterized by severe mood fluctuations, was not considered an suitable diagnosis for children. However, in recent decades, an increase in pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) diagnosis has occurred in the U.S. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and lived experiences of licensed mental health clinicians regarding their decision-making processes used during assessment and diagnosis of PBD. This phenomenographic study utilized individual, semi-structured interviews to explore the perceptions and lived experiences of 14 licensed clinicians in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts who assess and diagnose PBD. Data were collected with …


Resonating Personality Types For Couples: An Enneagram Application For Predicting Marital Satisfaction, Douglas George Carpenter Jan 2015

Resonating Personality Types For Couples: An Enneagram Application For Predicting Marital Satisfaction, Douglas George Carpenter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over 50% of marriages in the United States end in divorce. Researchers have attempted to identify factors that help marriages endure by studying personality, attachment styles, and gender. However, few researchers have examined how dyadic interactions of personality types and attachment types influence marital satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of enneagram personality types on marital satisfaction within 3 groups of attachment types: couples who (a) both demonstrate a secure attachment style, (b) contain one member who demonstrates an insecure attachment style and the other who demonstrates a secure attachment style, and (c) both demonstrate …


An Examination Of The Differential Impact Of University/College Research Emphasis On Levels Of Counselors' Resilience, Erica Ann Handon Jan 2015

An Examination Of The Differential Impact Of University/College Research Emphasis On Levels Of Counselors' Resilience, Erica Ann Handon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Counselor resilience is the ability to transform adversity into growth opportunities that become part of the professional's identity and the core values of a counselor. However, researchers have yet to identify why some counselors exhibit higher levels of resilience while others exhibit less. Counselor resilience can be learned and nurtured at any point of an individual's development. The purpose of this study was to examine how differences within the foundational edification of a research-embedded curriculum impact a counselor's level of resilience. Participants included practicing counselors who received their counseling degrees from a 2014 U.S News and World Report (USNWR) Nationally …


Implications Of Maternal Perpetrated Interparent Violence For The Behavior Of Female Adolescents: A Phenomenological Study, Georgette Merlena Percy Hinds Jan 2015

Implications Of Maternal Perpetrated Interparent Violence For The Behavior Of Female Adolescents: A Phenomenological Study, Georgette Merlena Percy Hinds

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Interparent violence (IPV) is a global family issue. Witnessing IPV confuses children and adolescents about the parental relationship. Adolescent females often perceived fathers as strong and depend on them for safety, security, and support. It is unclear how witnessing maternal perpetrated IPV (MPIPV) affects adolescent females' socialization and development, the perception they have of their fathers, and the meaning they ascribe to father abuse. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to contribute to the literature, provide an understanding of MPIPV implications for adolescent females' social development, and bring more awareness to the lived experiences of witnessing MPIPV. Social learning, …


General Education Diploma Students' Familial Attachment Experiences Influencing Premature High School Departure, Tonya Suzanne Wright-Stone Jan 2015

General Education Diploma Students' Familial Attachment Experiences Influencing Premature High School Departure, Tonya Suzanne Wright-Stone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lowered academic achievement and premature departure from high school continue to plague the educational system, creating the need for greater insight into experiences affecting students' classroom performance. Much is known about academic achievement; however, less research has focused on the role of familial attachment on premature departure from high school. Guided by attachment theory, the purpose of this interpretative phenomenological study was to gain insight into General Education Diploma (GED) students' familial attachment experiences influencing premature departure from high school. The research questions focused on GED students' primary caregiver and educational experiences. Participants (n = 14) consisted of current or …


Examining The Relationships Among Vicarious Trauma, Health Behaviors, And Maladaptive Coping, Stephanie Louise Waitt Jan 2015

Examining The Relationships Among Vicarious Trauma, Health Behaviors, And Maladaptive Coping, Stephanie Louise Waitt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Vicarious trauma can impact anyone working with a traumatized person. The constructivist self-development theory asserts that vicarious trauma can negatively distort how the helper thinks about the world and can cause increased stress. Researchers have explored stress and coping models and have studied how increased stress can negatively impact coping and health behaviors. However, researchers have not explored how vicarious trauma, coping, and health behaviors are related. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationships among vicarious trauma, health behaviors (healthy eating, physical activity, cigarette smoking, and risky drinking), and maladaptive coping. The study sample consisted of …


Coping Responses To Positive Genetic Suceptibility Test Results For Alzheimer's Disease, Diana Elaine Neverson Jan 2015

Coping Responses To Positive Genetic Suceptibility Test Results For Alzheimer's Disease, Diana Elaine Neverson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Genetic susceptibility test results have been found to cause differences in coping behavior following testing for the APOE-ε4 gene, associated with Alzheimer's disease. Coping behaviors differ within the first 12 months of testing. Currently, no studies have been conducted beyond the first 12 months comparing positive (P) and negative (N) groups or how sex relates to coping behavior based on positive test results. Based on the theory of primary and secondary control, and theory of stress, appraisal, and coping this study compared differences in coping strategies based on genetic test results and between sexes with positive test results beyond the …


Attitudes, Experiences, And Perceptions Of Rural Christian Counselors With Regard To Self-Care, Theresa Grant White Jan 2014

Attitudes, Experiences, And Perceptions Of Rural Christian Counselors With Regard To Self-Care, Theresa Grant White

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Rural Christian counselors are a distinct group of individuals faced with unique personal and professional challenges. Researchers have indicated that rural counselors experience a higher burnout rate due to wide practice scope; client stigma against receiving help; and physical isolation, making supervision, consultation, and referral difficult. Studies also show that self-care is an effective defense against the symptoms of burnout. Self-care is defined as any legal activity that promotes wellness and brings physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual balance. The central research question of this hermeneutic phenomenology examined the attitudes, perceptions, and experiences of rural Christian counselors with regard to self-care. …


Testing The Integrative Psychotherapy Model: An Integration Of Psychoanalysis, Cognitive-Behaviorism, And Humanism, Lindsay A. Sterious Jan 2014

Testing The Integrative Psychotherapy Model: An Integration Of Psychoanalysis, Cognitive-Behaviorism, And Humanism, Lindsay A. Sterious

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The integrated psychotherapy model (IPM) is an insight-oriented, integrative therapeutic approach that weaves psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioral, and humanistic approaches into a treatment methodology. This model is new and untested; therefore, its therapeutic effectiveness is unknown. The purpose of this study was to measure the treatment effectiveness of IPM using Bell's Object Relations and Reality Testing Inventory, the Constructive Thinking Inventory, and the Working Alliance Inventory. Participants in the study included 19 undergraduate psychology students volunteering for extra credit and 11 clients of counseling psychology graduate students. This quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest, nonequivalent group study involved 9 sessions of IPM for the treatment group …


Relationship Satisfaction Among Married Or Cohabitating Heterosexual And Homosexual Couples In The State Of Hawaii, Adrianna Marie Flavin Jan 2011

Relationship Satisfaction Among Married Or Cohabitating Heterosexual And Homosexual Couples In The State Of Hawaii, Adrianna Marie Flavin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to explore relationship satisfaction among adult, cohabitating heterosexual and homosexual dyads. The United States has the highest rate of divorce among all the industrialized nations. Divorce has been linked to declines in mental and physical health, financial and social instability, unhealthy patterns of over-compensation, and higher levels of separation among the offspring of such couples. Hawaii has the fourth lowest rate of divorce in the country, despite also having the one of the highest rates of interethnic marriage worldwide. Researchers of relationship satisfaction and minority issues have yet to explore the correlates of relationship …