Counseling Commons^™

The Influence Of Social Connectedness And Adverse Childhood Experiences: Understanding Motivation To Change In Early Substance Use Disorder Recovery, Adam M. Daniel

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Substance use disorder is a significant issue facing society today. As the rate of individuals with substance use disorders continues to rise, so too does the need of the counseling profession to explore further the ways to best support this population. The purpose of this study was to explore two specific variables for their impact on motivation to change for individuals in early recovery: social connectedness and adverse childhood experiences. Grounded in the Process-Person-Context-Time model, this study focused on the ways in which an individual’s motivation to change in early sobriety relates to their sense of connectedness to their family …

Financial Stress And Academic Disruption Among U.S. Postsecondary Students: The Mediating Role Of Anxiety, Tania Akter

Journal of Higher Education & Student Affairs

Given the growing mental health challenges among students in the United States, this study examines how financial stress is associated with anxiety and assesses whether anxiety mediates the relationship between financial stress and academic disruption among U.S. postsecondary students. Data from the 2023–2024 Healthy Minds Study were analyzed using survey-weighted linear regression models to assess the association between financial stress and anxiety, and a generalized structural equation model (GSEM) to test whether anxiety mediates the relationship between financial stress and academic disruption. Results showed that financial stress was significantly associated with anxiety. Mediation analysis indicated that anxiety significantly mediated the …

(No Date) Pca Amendment To Bylaws, Pennsylvania Counseling Association

PCA Board of Directors Meetings

No abstract provided.

Ethical And Legal Aspects Of Ai Use For Self-Care For Counselor Educators And Counselors, Jessica Ellen Kuehne, Jody Vernam

Faculty Publications and Presentations

This presentation explores the ethical and legal implications of using AI to support the self-care of counselors and counselor educators. While counselor self-care has been studied, the use of AI as a tool to promote this professional obligation remains largely unexamined. Counselor educators must consider how to navigate AI-generated self-care recommendations they may disagree with and how to maintain professional autonomy when AI offers guidance or predictions based on current behaviors. Identifying these challenges is essential for developing tools and innovations that reduce emerging ethical and legal risks in counseling and higher education. The session will examine these issues through …

Retirement: Broaching Intersectional Identities And Aging, Nichole Tiggs Angieri, Ericka Cables, Mary Martha Abernathy

Adultspan Journal

Broaching intersectional identities in retirement is a crucial counseling skill that fosters trust and connection with older adults as they navigate this major life transition. Using Person-Centered, Trauma-Informed (PCTI) and Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT) as complements to broaching, these theories provide both relational and cultural attunement to facilitate healing and well-being in this specialized population. Through didactic information and case studies, the purpose of this conceptual paper is to provide counselors and counselor educators with insight into broaching intersectional identities in retirement and to advocate for further research on aging and identity. The implications for clinical practice include providing an integrated …

A Wellness Approach To Aging, Retirement, And Suicide Risk: Gerontological Considerations, Seth T. Robinson, Derek J. Lee

Adultspan Journal

Suicide risk in older adulthood represents complex interactions between developmental transitions; changing social contexts; and interactions between ecological context and individual perceptions of belongingness, burdensomeness, and hope. This paper presents an integrative,developmentally appropriate framework for conceptualizing and addressing suicide risk in older adulthood, which is grounded in the Indivisible Self model of wellness. Drawing on current empirical knowledge of wellness, suicidality, and older adulthood, this paper presents risk and protective factors associated with older adulthood through life transitions, changing social contexts, and other relevant factors. We present a novel integration of suicide intervention, wellness, and holistic care as a suitable …

Full-Time Career Retirement: A Black Man’S Narrative Of Survival And Protecting His Peace, Demetrius Cofield, Amaya Rakes

Adultspan Journal

Full-time career retirement is a major developmental transition that is often examined through race-neutral frameworks, leaving Black men’s experiences underexplored in counseling and aging scholarship. This perspective article centers the narrative of a retired Black man veteran who transitioned into full-time career retirement after decades of state employment. Using a narrative interview approach, this manuscript examines the factors that shaped his retirement decision and adjustment to later adulthood. The interview frames retirement as a process of self-preservation, continuity, and intentional living rather than identity loss or disengagement. Findings highlight the role of disciplined wellness practices and selective disengagement in promoting …

Structural And Intersectional Factors In Full Retirement: Insights For Black Men, Waleed Sami

Adultspan Journal

This interview centers the full retirement experience of Anthony Crawford. This perspective highlights the complex interplay between social determinants, intersectional identity, the psychology of working, and social class/social mobility, as key factors in his lived experiences. The relationship between structural factors and interpersonal factors continues to be a growth edge in counseling, as counselors frequently report lack of knowledge or comfort in their relationship with counseling. This interview seeks to fill the gap and demonstrate a concrete way to develop clinical insights. The full interview is transcribed and provided, along with practical and research implications for counselors working with populations …

Retirement As A Psychosocial Transition: A Social Determinants Of Mental Health Framework For Counseling Practice, Janelle L. Jones, Lauren Robins, Melanie Calhoun, Aaliyah Bond-Richardson, Latesha S. Holloman, Zoe N. Stuckey

Adultspan Journal

Retirement is commonly framed as a normative and voluntary developmental milestone; however, access to a psychologically healthy retirement is unevenly shaped by social, economic, and structural conditions. This conceptual article applies a social determinants of mental health (SDMH) framework to retirement, conceptualizing it as a complex psychosocial transition involving identity change, shifts in purpose and meaning, relational adjustment, and emotional variability. Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship, the manuscript examines how socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, gendered work histories, caregiving responsibilities, health status, and access to benefits influence both the ability to retire and the experience of retirement itself. Particular attention is …

Unseen To Unstoppable: Critically Redefining Care For Rural Women With Alcohol Use Disorders, Nicole Gerace

DSW Capstone Projects

Research reveals that rural women with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are up to 90% less likely to seek treatment than men or urban women. This Doctor of Social Work capstone project brings together a systematic literature review (SLR), a conceptual paper, and a practice application paper to examine the clinical social work practice problem of rural women with AUDs underutilizing treatment. Collectively, these products investigate factors contributing to these disparities, identify gaps in care, and propose more equitable and responsive approaches to treatment for these women. This project began with an SLR (2020–2025) that investigated clinical treatment interventions that demonstrated …

Counseling Professionals' Perspectives On Ai Integration In Education And Supervision: A Concept Mapping Study, Hank Crofford, Elif Bor, Gülşah Kemer

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

The rapid emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has raised important questions about how new technologies will shape professional norms and practices in counseling. The purpose of this study was to understand how counseling professionals expect AI to be integrated into counselor education and supervision (CES). Using a mixed‐methods concept mapping design, 31 participants generated and sorted statements about the potential roles, benefits, and concerns associated with AI in the profession. Participants represented diverse counseling roles, including counselor educators, licensed professional counselors, supervisors, master's‐ and doctoral‐level trainees, and other counseling‐related professionals. Standard concept mapping procedures were conducted using R, resulting in …

Asynchronous Lgbtq+ Affirming Counseling Training With Early Career Counselors: A Mixed Methods Program Evaluation, Amber L. Pope, Kelli Hartzell, Matt B. Siroty, Jeff Moe, Noelle St. Germain-Sehr, Bianca R. Augustine, Amanda St. Germain-Sehr, Tai Lexumé

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

A growing body of research shows that training in LGBTQ+ affirming counseling (LGBTQ+ AC) positively impacts counselors’ perceived knowledge and skills in providing mental health services to LGBTQ+ communities. Existing program evaluations of LGBTQ+ AC, however, have primarily used synchronous delivery formats and cultural competency models for the training design. This study is part of an action research agenda to develop an introductory training in LGBTQ+ AC, using asynchronous online delivery and cultural humility as the conceptual framework for the training design. We used a fixed convergent parallel mixed methods quasi-experimental design to examine the impact of our LGBTQ+ AC …

Broaching The Intersectionality Of Race And Disability In School Counseling, Aaron Albright, Emily Goodman-Scott, Jenna Alvarez, Rawn Boulden

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Students of color with disabilities experience compounded inequities. This conceptual article details these compounded inequities. The authors provide a review of the literature related to inequities in education, culturally affirming antiracist school counseling, intersectionality, and broaching. Next, the authors provide a rationale for implementing Day-Vines and colleagues’ multidimensional model of broaching behaviors (MMBB) in school counseling with students of color with disabilities. Then, the authors use the MMBB heuristic to conceptualize practical guidelines for school counselors to engage in direct broaching with their students. These guidelines are tabulated with a description of the four broaching dimensions and their aim within …

Editorial For Issue 20(2), Jeff Moe, Peighton Corley, Aaron Albright

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

[Introduction] Hello to the readers of the Journal of LGBTQ Issues in Counseling. Like many counselors, counselors-in-training, scholars, and other individuals you may be coming to the journal looking for insights into your counseling work. Along with publishing original research that creates space for exploring LGBTQ+ lifeways from an open and affirmative perspective, the manuscripts published in the journal have always been grounded in application.

Contemporary Approaches To Group Psychotherapy Supervision, Michelle A. Collins-Greene (Ed.), Molyn Leszcz, Nina W. Brown, Ellen Wright, Scott Giacomucci, Les R. Greene, Susan P. Gantt, Leah M. Niehaus, Francis Kaklauskas, Tony L. Sheppard

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

This chapter captures the work of contemporary supervisors of group psychotherapy, all of whom have practiced many years and have trained and supervised innumerable group leaders. They demonstrate the diversity of settings and theoretical orientations that are prominent in the current era. Their essays speak for themselves and provide wonderful illustrations and models for supervisors-in-training and consultation to emulate. They also talk about who influenced, mentored, and supervised them.

Call To Action: A Telebehavioral Health Framework For Counselor Development, Brittany G. Suggs, Brittany J. Bice-Urbach, Marlene M. Maheu, Kenneth P. Drude, Donna Ford, Jocelyn Novella, Bradford Felker, Donald M. Hilty

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

The widespread implementation of telebehavioral health (TBH) services, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, created an urgent need for standardized competencies in counselor education. Many practitioners report minimal formal training, leading to significant variability in competence and a concerning gap between their confidence and actual preparedness. This article issues a call to action for counseling programs to adopt the interprofessional TBH competency framework from the Coalition for Technology in Behavioral Science (CTiBS). This structured, evidence-based roadmap outlines knowledge and skills for competent, ethical TBH practice across seven domains and three progressive levels: novice, proficient, and authority. Adopting this framework will enhance …

Intersectionality Of Race And Disability: The School Counselors' Role In Policy Reformation, Jenna M. Alvarez, Rachel Saunders, Vanessa Sinclair, Stephanie Smith-Durkin, Emily Goodman-Scott

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

The United States K-12 education system is riddled with inequities within the intersection of race and disabilities; relatedly, the school counseling literature also demonstrates a similar gap in the literature. As a result, through three case illustrations highlighting the unique experiences of historically marginalized students of color with disabilities, we illustrate the multiplex intersection of race and disability and how a school counselor can utilize leadership, advocacy, and social justice for systemic change. Further, the three cases are structured through the ADDRESSING framework, to systematically consider the complexities of identity, overlapping cultural influences, and the connections to practice (Hays, 2022). …

“My Voice Is Trauma, My Voice Is Healing:” A Feminist, Trauma-Informed Embodied Study On The Impact Of Gender-Based Violence In Classical Music Communities, Sarah Pearson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This Social Work doctoral dissertation explores the impact of gender-based violence (GBV) in classical music communities on survivor-artists. This is an intersectional feminist, trauma-informed, embodied study that draws on these three theoretical concepts to conceive of classical music as an institution of both colonial patriarchal power and a site of spirituality and meaning-making. The issue of systemic GBV in the performing arts has been a focus of headline news and sensational celebrity stories in the last decade following the MeToo hashtag and is slowly gaining some attention in academic research.

For this qualitative study, the sample consisted of 14 participants …

Intermittent Versus Continuous Reinforcement: Which Is More Effective For Skill Acquisition In Children With Adhd Using Precision Teaching?, Samantha Pulling

Masters Theses

Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can experience challenges learning academic skills, possibly because of altered reinforcement and learning processes. Reinforcement is commonly used to support learning and adaptive behavior; however, research examining continuous and intermittent reinforcement schedules for children with ADHD has produced inconsistent findings. Precision Teaching (PT) is a fluency-based, data-driven instructional approach that emphasizes rate and celeration of behavior and has been shown to effectively support academic learning for individuals with ADHD. This study compared the effects of a continuous reinforcement schedule with a small reinforcer and an intermittent reinforcement schedule with a larger reinforcer on …

Unveiling Othering Experiences In Multiethnic Families: Narratives Of Identity And Belonging Among White/Hispanoamerican Women, Maria-Esther Wood

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation explores the lived experiences of multiethnic Hispanoamerican women as they navigate identity, belonging, and familial othering within the context of multiethnic family systems. Using qualitative narrative inquiry, the study centres the voices of nine women residing in Ontario, each with one white parent and one Hispanoamerican parent, ranging in age from 19 to 65. Guided by Dewey’s three-dimensional model of narrative analysis, the research explores how personal stories reflect broader patterns of othering and belonging, the central research question asks: What specific forms of othering related to identity and belonging—inclusive of discrimination and racist treatment—do multiethnic Hispanoamerican women …