Counseling Commons^™

The Impact Of Mental Health Issues On Academic Achievement In High School Students, Patricia Lea Sutherland

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

An adolescent’s time in school is not merely academic; they are developing socially, physically, and emotionally. Prior research has demonstrated a correlation between a student’s poor academic performance and his/her need for emotional and mental health support. This research project sought to answer the following research questions: 1) Do mental health services in a high school setting help facilitate students’ academic achievement? and 2) Does a focus on mental health issues improve overall health and well-being in high school students? Participants for this study are 10 staff members (including teachers, administrators, counselors, and others) of a high school in San …

Social Service Workers Knowledge On The Use Of Technology For Human Trafficking, Raquel Monique Holguin, Athena Noel Barber

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Human Trafficking is the modern-day equivalent of slavery. Those who perpetuate it do so because it is lucrative to invest in a product that can be resold multiple times (Ellis, 2017). The recent advancement of technology has tremendously helped traffickers thrive in the illicit business of Human Trafficking. Social media websites, online classifieds, and mobile applications are quickly becoming some of the major mediums perpetrators utilize to traffick their victims (Latonero, 2012). The purpose of this study was to examine social service workers’ knowledge on the use of technology for Human Trafficking. Face-to-face interviews were conducted and the participants were …

Knowledge Of School Resource Officer's Roles And Their Perceptions On School Social Worker's Roles, Cynthia Crystal Cervantes, Vanessa Vazquez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The study examined the perception of school resource officers (SROs) role in a school setting, the training they received prior to working in a school setting, their interaction with students, and their relationship with school administration, staff, and school social workers. Previous studies discussed SROs’ roles to be ambiguous and their primary focus of a school resource officer to maintain school safety, while other studies discussed the criminalization in schools due to the placement of law enforcement in the school settings.

The study employed a qualitative design with face-to-face interviews with seven participants who serve or have served as a …

Child Abuse Prevention In Rural Southern California: A Participatory Action Research Project, Nelly Zambrano

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This research project examines resources and services to prevent families and children from entering the child welfare system in a rural town in Southern California. There is constant struggle to get the adequate services, resources and trained staff in this rural area because it is isolated and it takes about two hours’ travel time to get to the metropolitan cities. The literature review discusses child welfare services challenges, strengths and social capital to support families and children as well as the child welfare system itself in rural areas. Constructivism is the appropriate framework for this research project, because the goal …

Pornography Use: The Lesser Of Two Evils For Religious Emerging Adults, Lea A. Garcia

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Pornography use has become the norm instead of the exception among emerging adults (18 – 26-year-olds) and has been found to be associated with increased sexual permissiveness and sexual shame outcomes among the general population, but does the same hold true for religious emerging adults who maintain a moral opposition to viewing pornography? Within the context of recent developmental theory research among emerging adults, this study examined associations between pornography use, sexual permissiveness, and sexual shame. This research hypothesized that religiosity and age would moderate the relationships between pornography use and sexual permissiveness, and pornography use and sexual shame. The …

Effectively Transporting A Spiritually Based Intervention For Reducing Subsyndromal Anxiety And Increasing Coping Skills In Urban Adolescents: A Multiple Baseline Design, Morais Cassell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A critical review of literature revealed a gap in the literature of spiritually based interventions, most notably the subject of a spiritually based intervention for reducing subsyndromal anxiety and increasing coping skills in urban adolescents. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between a spiritually based intervention, a triangulation approach, subsyndromal anxiety, and coping skills in urban adolescents, employing the add-on/integration of a Prayer Wheel intervention. Utilizing a multiple baseline design across subjects to demonstrate the controlling effects of spiritually based intervention/prayer wheel, research revealed a decrease in subsyndromal anxiety levels, and an increase in coping skills …

Religiosity, Moral Disapproval, Shame And Pornography Use: Assessing The Relationship Between Shame And Sexual Behaviors, Ryan Carboneau

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Many compulsive and hypersexualized behaviors, including pornography use, have been associated with negative emotional, neurological, and psychosocial problems in a subset of users. Research showed that the constructs of shame, shame-proneness, and attachment may be related to the use of pornography as well as the theory of addiction. Shame-proneness is a construct that is consistently and positively associated with a variety of internalizing symptoms including depression, social, and generalized anxiety as well as a linked to an assortment of externalizing and risky behaviors such as anger, substance use, and criminal offending. Research suggested that higher levels of religiosity have a …

Measuring Pornography Use Identity: Validation Study Of The Modified Centrality Of Event Scale, Michael Takacs

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There has been an increase in research focused on the influence that pornography use has on an individual. Observations of dysfunction with pornography users, in both clinical and religious settings, have driven a large part of this increase in research. Current research findings on religiosity and incongruent sexual behaviors further support the need to examine the correlation between the individual and their pornography use, especially with religious users. To date, there has been no research in the literature addressing the connection between the individual’s beliefs towards their pornography use and the effect of these beliefs on their identity or other …

The Relationship Between Counselor Educators' Leadership Experience And Competence And Burnout, John Harrichand

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Mentorship and servant leadership are requirements of quality counselor educators. Recognized as leaders in the field of counseling, counselor educators exert great influence on students, clients, peers, and society at large. However, it is apparent from the paucity of research on the subject that attention and resources examining the impact leadership has on burnout in counselor educators is lacking. This study examined the relationship between a counselor educator’s experience and competence of leadership and dimensions of burnout. The results from this pilot study indicated no significant correlations between the Principles and Practices of Leadership Excellence Experience subscale and each of …

Burnout Among Bilingual Social Service Providers, Marlene Reyes

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study focuses on burnout among bilingual Social Service Providers (BSSPs) and examines their thoughts and beliefs on the interconnection of their bilingual/bicultural skills and higher risk of burnout. The findings from this study have significant ramifications for the social service field on both Macro and Micro levels. At a Micro scale, the data validates the additional responsibilities of BSSP’s, while bringing more awareness to this group of professionals. Additional findings contribute to new policies regarding BSSPs job responsibilities; for example, accurate job descriptions and training for positions that require translation and interpretation. An exploratory study using qualitative data was …

Using A Model To Design Activity-Based Educational Experiences To Improve Cultural Competency Among Graduate Students, Yeon Bai, Kathleen D. Bauer

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Scholarship and Creative Works

To improve the cultural competency of 34 students participating in graduate nutrition counseling classes, the Campinha-Bacote Model of Cultural Competence in the Delivery of Health Care Services was used to design, implement, and evaluate counseling classes. Each assignment and activity addressed one or more of the five constructs of the model, i.e., knowledge, skill, desire, encounters, and awareness. A repeated measure ANOVA evaluated pre- and post-test cultural competence scores (Inventory for Assessing the Process of Cultural Competence among Healthcare Professionals). The overall cultural competence score significantly improved (p < 0.001) from “culturally aware” (68.7 at pre-test) to “culturally competent” (78.7 at post-test). Students significantly improved (p < 0.001) in four constructs of the model including awareness, knowledge, skill, and encounter. Factor analysis indicated that course activities accounted for 83.2% and course assignments accounted for 74.6% of the total variance of cultural competence. An activity-based counseling course encouraging self-evaluation and reflection and addressing Model constructs significantly improved the cultural competence of students. As class activities and assignments aligned well with the Campinha-Bacote Model constructs, the findings of this study can help guide health educators to design effective cultural competence training and education programs.

Posttraumatic Growth Moderates The Effect Of Posttraumatic Stress On Quality Of Life In U.S. Military Veterans With Life-Threatening Illness Or Injury, Erin Martz, Hanoch Livneh, Steven M. Southwick, Robert H. Pietrzak

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

• Facilitating PTG among U.S. Veterans who experienced life-threatening illness or injury can help to bolster quality of life of those individuals.

• It is particularly important to facilitate PTG for those Veterans who, in addition to experiencing life-threatening illness or injury, have experienced PTSD during their service.

• It should not be expected that PTG will eliminate co-occurring distress, such as posttraumatic symptoms.

• This study indicated that across the five interactions that were studied, the participants who reported higher levels of PTG actually experienced higher QoL under increased levels of PTSD.

In Covenant: A Grounded Theory Exploration Of What Helps Evangelical Marriages Recover After Sexual Infidelity By The Husband, Theresa C. Allen

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Infidelity is a commonly identified reason for the dissolution of marriages, including Christian evangelical marriages. Although there is empirical research investigating factors that contribute to infidelity, there is little research on how couples recover from such a breach to the marriage commitment. This study sought to answer the question: What helps evangelical marriages recover after sexual infidelity by the husband? The qualitative research was built on a semi-structured interview framework that collected the personal narratives of three couples that were a minimum of two years post disclosure of an infidelity in the marriage relationship. Infidelity, for the purposes of this …

From Homelessness Toward Self-Sufficiency: A Longitudinal Study Of Families, Elsie S. Lobo

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Family homelessness is a serious concern in the United States. Recognizing this, increased efforts have been put into housing families through various rapid rehousing initiatives. Little is known, however, about effectively supporting families to transition from these temporary housing programs to sustainable self-sufficiency (Cunningham, Gillespie, & Anderson, 2015). This dissertation is a community-engaged study that examines the needs and experiences of families over time in the No Child Left Unsheltered (NCLU) program, operated by the Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino (HACSB). It uses a mixed-methods, longitudinal design to capture the experiences and needs of families over a …

Therapeutic Theatre With Adolescents At-Risk Of School Dropout, Dan Summer

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of therapeutic theatre, a method of drama therapy, on resilience among adolescents at risk of high school dropout. A mixed method approach was employed to qualitatively examine participant perspectives on resilience and quantitatively measure change in resilience. Participants engaged in weekly after-school drama therapy groups to collaborate on developing themes and a script for a performance to be witnessed by an audience of family and community members. Qualitative and quantitative findings were triangulated and embedded to examine relationships. The Behavioral Assessment System for Children Second Edition (BASC-2) and Resilience Scale …

Exploring Self-Injury: An Art-Based Approach To Cultivating Empathy And Understanding In Mental Health Professionals, Dana Wyss

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

Self-injury greatly affects individuals, their families, and the mental health professionals who provide their care. This art-based research investigates the impact of clients’ self-injury on mental health professionals. It addresses four research questions and applies a methodology that integrates body art, photography, poetry, and dialogue. Six participants (including the researcher) participated in three meetings wherein they artistically responded with temporary body art to two questions, sorted through their photographs, reviewed poetry created about their work, and discussed the study experience. The researcher navigated being a witness-researcher by personally and creatively engaging in the study.

The results present raw, distilled narratives, …

Art Therapy And The Person-Centered Approach: A Method For Breaking Down Creative Resistance With Dementia Patients, Kimberly Nelson

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This Capstone explores the use of art therapy with a geriatric population on a psychiatric unit of a small, rural southern hospital. Most of the patients experience symptoms of dementia and are over the age of 55. Many patients presented with resistance to creative pursuits and this researcher utilized the person-centered approach to counter this “creative resistance”. In other words, the patients were met where they were at and accepted unconditionally, through empathy and congruence. The materials that were offered to this population were explored through the creative resistance as well, and a simple number two pencil produced successful results …

Movement, Laughter And Breath With Intergenerational Women: A Community Engagement Project About Connections, Lisa Hough

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This Community Engagement Project was created to explore how movement, laughter and breath can create connection for intergenerational women. A community event was facilitated at a suburban YWCA as an observational tool and for information gathering. Arts based research was conducted and evidence of non-verbal movements were recorded through observation, video recordings, and reflections from the participants in the session. In addition, published peer reviewed articles that explore these elements of expression were utilized as an alternative lens. Recent current events that are affecting women worldwide, such as the #metoo and Time's Up movements, offered the backdrop for this project. …

Mirroring, Social Learning And Dance Movement Therapy With Childhood Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Literature Review, Megan Fitzpatrick

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The literature review investigated the use of mirroring to help develop emotional understanding through social learning with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The research reviewed was used to further cognize how mirroring could give a child with ASD a better understanding of their own and others’ emotions through social learning. The findings revealed that mirroring could be an affective tool to build social awareness of emotions in children diagnosed with ASD. The mirror neuron system (MNS) is the area of the brain that assesses perception and production of movement creating an overlap. Using the idea of the mirror …

Integrating Expressive Therapies And Visual Literacy Skills In An Exceptional Children Classroom, Natalia Torres Del Valle

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The method conducted in this thesis integrated museum education, exceptional children education, and expressive arts therapy practices. Objectives for implementing the method were to learn how to effectively address the unique needs within the exceptional children classroom, as well as to collaborate with the teacher to address those needs through expressive arts therapy and visual literacy approaches. In so doing, I wanted to examine the differences and similarities between museum education and expressive arts therapy and how they can work together to meet therapeutic goals. The method took place over four sessions; each session focused on a work of art …