Counseling Commons^™

Mindfulness, Christian Devotion Meditation, Surrender, And Worry, Thomas Frederick, Kristen M. White

Faculty Publications - Graduate School of Counseling

This article will present an approach for accommodating the benefits of mindfulness into therapy with Christians struggling with worry. Given the psychological benefits of mindfulness and its connection to spirituality, it is not surprising that both therapists and Christian clients are attempting to incorporate it into counselling. Centering prayer, which is a form of Christian Devotion Meditation, provides an accommodative approach to managing worry for Christian clients. The results of this study indicate that surrender, a key component of centering prayer, provides an empirical link for incorporating the benefits of mindfulness for Christians.

Using Interpersonal Process Recall (Ipr) To Examine The Effects Of Equine Assisted Activities On The Personal And Professional Development Of Student Therapists, Dianna Isabel Giraldez

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

The Introduction to Equine Assisted Family Therapy course offered at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) provides Master’s and Doctoral level student therapists the opportunity to learn how to conduct an equine session and how to utilize horses as part of the therapeutic process. Students learn about the underlying theories and framework behind the equine activities and methodology, as well as participate in the equine activities themselves. For the purpose of this study, classroom discussions centered around processing the students’ experiences and were further enriched by viewing photographs and videos that had been taken of the students conducting the equine activities. The …

Hope-Focused Solutions: A Relational Hope Focus Of The Solution-Building Stages In Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Jenna A. Wilson

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

The positive psychotherapy focused on for this study is Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). Insoo Kim Berg and Yvonne Dolan (2001) once described the essence of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) as the “pragmatics of hope and respect” (p. 1) and despite Berg and Dolan’s declaration of hope’s importance in SFBT, little process research has been published looking at the “pragmatics” of hope in SFBT practice. Hope is seen as a common factor in psychotherapy since the human relationship, also known as the therapeutic alliance, is a foundation of psychotherapy. Hope plays a significant role in every human interaction and it is …

Attachment, Anxiety, And Depression: A Study Of Women In Residential Treatment With Their Children At The Susan B. Anthony Recovery Center (Sbarc) (1995-2010), Gary Miles Forrest

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

The Susan B. Anthony Recovery Center (SBARC) in Pembroke Pines, Florida is a residential center where women live with their children while receiving treatment for a variety of co-occurring substance abuse and mental health issues and while participating in mandatory parenting classes. Unlike most women's residential treatment centers, which address only the woman and her problems, SBARC treats the mother-infant/child dyad. I designed and created a database to examine the data previously available only in the paper client records of over 800 women who received treatment at SBARC from 1995 through 2010 in a previous project. This nonexperimental, retrospective explanatory …

Is Administrative Discharge An Archaic Or Synchronic Program Practice? The Empirical Side Of The Debate, Izaak Williams

Journal of Health Ethics

No abstract provided.

Comparing Short-Term Outcomes Of Three Problem Gambling Treatments: A Multi-Group Propensity Score Analysis, Adam David Soberay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study applied a multi-group form of propensity score analysis to the study of outcomes related to problem gambling treatment. Across various treatment settings, it is often unfeasible or unethical to randomly assign participants to different treatment conditions, particularly when one of the conditions involves not receiving treatment. Additionally, evaluative practices often involve assessing outcomes from a primarily treatment focused setting, in which case clients are likely not randomly assigned to treatment. Consequently, where randomization does not exist, methods such as propensity score matching need to be implemented to separate what part of the observed outcomes is attributable to treatment …

Return With Trauma: Understanding The Experiences Of Early Returned Missionaries, Kristine J. Doty, S. Zachary Bullock, Harmony Packer, Russell T. Warner, James Westwood, Thomas Ash, Heather Hirsch

Issues in Religion and Psychotherapy

No abstract provided.

Uncovering Meanings Of Death, Trauma, And Loss As Experienced By Hospice Bereavement Coordinators: A Phenomenological Study, Rochelle S. Clarke

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

This study examined the experiences of Hospice Bereavement Coordinators (HBCs) and Hospice Chaplains working with grief narratives from patient-family units exhibiting signs of anticipatory or complicated grief. While a significant amount of research has been conducted on Hospice employees, no qualitative studies have examined the interpretation of meaning from employees whose primary role focused on the psychosocial-spiritual aspects of clients exhibiting anticipatory or complicated grief. The researcher identified shared meaning of death, trauma, and loss from six participants in the context of a high stress and high loss environment. This study‘s findings revealed ten central themes: Death is an earthly …

The Experience Of Individuals Who Transitioned From Teacher To Assistant-Principal, Mara Hoffert

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The transition from teacher to assistant-principal is complex. The purpose of this study was to better understand the phenomenon of transition to leadership roles in high schools by investigating the experiences of four teachers who moved from teacher to assistant-principal positions in suburban school-districts in the State of Michigan. This multiple case-study comprises an in-depth examination of four teachers within their first four years as an assistant-principal. Interviews also included one central-office cabinet member from three of the four districts and one teacher in each of the assistant-principals’ schools. Interviews were guided by research questions regarding motivation for successful teacher …

Family Timeline Mural Drawing With Asian American Families, Rieko Miyakuni, Catherine Ford Sari

Counseling Faculty Research

According to the 2010 U.S. Census Report, Asians were the fastest-growing race and ethnic group in the United States between 2000 and 2010, increasing by 43.3% (Hoeffel, Rastogi, Kim & Shahid, 2010). “Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asian, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam (Hoeffel et al., 2010).

The majority of Asian Americans are foreign born or first-generation living in multigenerational households. As a result, three or more generations typically live under the …

Praxis: Gender Matters In Counselor Education And Training: Increasing Gender Awareness In Counselor Education And Training, Reiko Miyakuni

Counseling Faculty Research

Western society defines male and female sex from physiological attributes (e.g., genitals and chromosomes), this dichotomous view of gender is referred as gender binary.

Problems with Gender Binary

• Variations in sex and gender do not fit in the male/female, masculine/feminine dichotomy (Wiseman & Davidson, 2011).

• Diamond (2002) defined, “gender” is the social and cultural expectation of how females and males should identify themselves, how they think, behave (e.g., ‘typical’ female/male acts in a feminine/masculine ways) and feel (e.g., prefers heterosexual attraction). This gender binary socialization pressure restricts individuals’ potential.

• “Behavior does not have gender, but in today’s …

Parental Regulation Of Online Behavior And Cyber Aggression: Adolescents’ Experiences And Perspectives, Sara Goldstein

Department of Family Science and Human Development Scholarship and Creative Works

The present study examines adolescents’ experiences with, and perspectives about, parental regulation of internet-based peer socialization including cyber aggression. Adolescents (N = 110) were surveyed about technology use, electronic device ownership, and the extent to which parents place restrictions on, and/or monitor, their cyber behavior. Adolescents were also asked about their experiences with parental regulation of cyber aggression, and these responses were compared to experiences with other forms of aggressive behavior (relational and overt). Perceptions of legitimacy of parental authority were also compared for online and offline aggression, and for acts typically considered to be within the personal domain. Adolescents …

Narratives Of Illness, Difference, And Personhood, John P. Mctighe

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

Using narrative theory, the chapter examines how ideas and attitudes about mental disorder are shaped by cultural values and stereotypes, and how the experience of trauma can shatter the narrative of self and world. Placing the question of illness, differentness, and personhood within a social justice perspective, it challenges clinicians to consider how the vocabulary of illness is used to frame experience and, in many cases, to minimize, marginalize, or discount the individual's own lived experience.

A Phenomenological Study Of The Experience Of Counseling For Women With Addictions, Jennifer Karin Londgren

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This qualitative study explores the experience of counseling for women with addiction issues. Six women with varying ethnic and racial backgrounds between the ages of 24-44 years old participated in the study. Each woman was diagnosed with a substance use disorder and had to have participated in at least five counseling sessions to be included in the study. The study utilized a phenomenological methodology, which seeks to understand the core essence of the phenomenon of counseling itself. Each woman was interviewed once for at least 45 minutes and two women were interviewed twice. These interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and …

Resiliency And Coping With Disability: The Family After, Susan Stuntzner

Counseling Faculty Publications

The content of this book was also intended to be used as a starting place for families to sort out and make sense of their experiences with self, life, other people, and society following disability. I believe this to be very important because the process of figuring out what to do following disability is often murky and extremely vague. It is my hope that readers can take the information provided and apply it to situations of childhood disability (e.g., congenital conditions), acquired disability (e.g., later onset such as TBI, SCI), or age-related disability (e.g., dementia, Alzheimer’s disease), although the specific …

Addiction Counseling Practice Competencies And Curriculum In Cacrep-Accredited Programs, Christine Chasek, Julie A. Dinsmore, Douglas R. Tillman, David D. Hof

Counseling Faculty Publications

Addiction counseling is a growing field with emerging practice competencies and standards that have implications for counselor education programs. This study examined addiction counseling practice competencies and curriculum elements in CACREP-accredited programs to determine curriculum and program needs. A survey of 62 CACREP programs found that programs are including addiction counseling content into the curriculum, employing faculty who have experience in addiction counseling, and addressing the skill practice competency by adding increased credit hours in addiction counseling and teaching from a didactic and constructivist pedagogy. Recommendations are made to align addiction counseling training curriculum, including adding an addiction counseling specialization …

Showtime: Pop Culture's Impact On Society's View Of The Lgbtq Population, Hope Comer, Jaime D. Bower, Narketta Sparkman

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Popular culture is an influential aspect that shapes society. Popular culture’s impact on society’s view of the LGBTQ population was examined in the context of video media representations. Students at a Mid-Atlantic university (n = 7) were presented with representations of LGBTQ individuals in television media during two focus groups. Participants completed pre-and-post-test qualitative surveys regarding their impact and perceptions. Responses were coded to identify themes of the target populations. Misrepresentations, perpetuated stereotypes, changing perspectives, advocacy, personal connection, differing types of media representation, and lack of representation were themes identified throughout participant responses about the varying popular culture mediums.

The Social Experience Of Internet Gamers: A Pilot Study, Kristy L. Carlisle, Charles P. Carrington

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

The purpose of this phenomenological pilot study was to explore the lived social experiences of Internet gamers. Findings highlighted the impact of Internet gaming on social interactions, social functioning, and social identity. The findings in the pilot study related to addiction supported the need for future research into the legitimacy of Internet Gaming Disorder as a mental health issue.

Developmental Level As A Predictor Of Counseling Skills, Margaret J. Jensen, Garett J. Mcauliffe, Renee Seay

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

What is the relationship between the developmental characteristics of counseling interns and their counseling skills? Thirty master’s-level counseling students in their fieldwork phase were rated by their supervisors on both a measure of developmental level and counseling skills. Results indicated that the construct of Self/Other Awareness was the strongest predictor of counseling skills level. Based on this finding, it can be concluded that counselor supervisees possessing this awareness appear better equipped to deal with the complex problem-solving and social interactions required for successfully counseling clients.

Ce 534 Syllabus: Human Relations And Diversity, Joel Filmore

Counselor Education Syllabi

The purpose of this course is to: (1) promote student growth and development through the learning and practice of basic communication and helping skills; (2) study cultural diversity as it relates to human relations and communication; (3) examine gender and sexual orientation in terms of human relations and communication; and (4) address human relations and communication as they relate to special populations (persons with disabilities, older adults, economically disadvantaged individuals, children, etc.) Grade only. This course will also cover substance abuse issues as relates to diverse cultures, specifically as addressed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) …