<p> This thesis explores the spiritual-bypass phenomenon identified by John Welwood and how it can be a defense against wholeness as defined in Jungian psychology. Using hermeneutic and heuristic methodologies, and drawing on depth psychological theories, the author discusses the various forms of spiritual bypass and the underlying shadow dynamics, such as emotional repression. The author examines the nature of psychological and spiritual development through states and stages of consciousness development, healthy transcendence versus unhealthy transcendence, and the Jungian process of individuation toward wholeness. The research also explores contributing factors to spiritual bypass including the effect of early childhood attachment style and demonstrates the significance of integrating psychological development in a spiritual path. Finally, the author provides suggestions for therapists working with clients who may be in spiritual bypass.</p>

<p> Literature extolling the psychological benefits of self-forgiveness is robust, yet there are no evidence-based models for facilitating self-forgiveness in individual psychotherapy. Further, there is no consensus in the literature on the definition of self-forgiveness. This quantitative, survey-based study examined licensed clinicians&rsquo; (<i>N</i>=57) perceptions of the efficacy of self-forgiveness treatment interventions, their preferred definitions of self-forgiveness, and how frequently treatment methodologies were utilized. Correlational analyses examined the relationship between clinicians&rsquo; definitions, perceptions of efficacy, and frequencies of use of self-forgiveness methods and the clinicians&rsquo; demographic factors (theoretical orientation, type of licensure, age, years of clinical experience, and type of training). Hong and Jacinto&rsquo;s (2012) definition was the most frequently chosen (36.8%), followed by Hulnick and Hulnick&rsquo;s (2011) definition (35.1%). Most clinicians (57.9%) were not familiar with any of the various treatment methods. Among clinicians familiar enough to rate the methods, Hulnick and Hulnick&rsquo;s (2011) method received the highest efficacy rating (<i>M</i> = 4.11, <i>SD</i> = 1.17), followed by Enright et al. (1996) method (<i>M</i> = 3.67, SD = 0.71). The most frequently used were Jacinto and Edwards&rsquo; (2011) method (<i> M</i> = 2.09, <i>SD</i> = 1.35) and Hulnick and Hulnick&rsquo;s (2011) method (<i>M</i> = 2.04, <i>SD</i> = 1.58). Correlations were significant for theoretical orientation and source of training; theoretical orientation provided the largest explanation for variance. Implications for future research, clinical training, and development of evidence-based treatment modalities are discussed. Linkage between self-forgiveness and remediating shame, recidivism, spiritual psychology, and Jungian psychology are reviewed. Keywords: self-forgiveness, psychotherapy, counseling psychology, spiritual psychology, quantitative study</p>

<p> Human trafficking for sexual exploitation, a dire human rights violation, is a world-wide problem. According to the Polaris Project (n.d.), the illegal sex trade makes 32 billion dollars yearly. Women and children are often sexually exploited for profit after being lured away by &ldquo;fraud, force, or coercion&rdquo; (U.S. Department of State, 2009, p. 8). This phenomenon poses a serious threat to women and youth who are at risk and vulnerable to exploitation. The majority of females are victimized in their own country (McClain &amp; Garrity, 2011). Nonetheless, many Americans are not aware that such tragic underground criminal activity is thriving right here, within our own borders. Trafficking occurs in every state across the nation and approximately 14,500 to 17,500 foreign victims are trafficked each year into our nation (McClain &amp; Garrity, 2011; Polaris Project, n.d.). This is not only a problem for third world countries; this is a global problem that threatens the safety of countless women and children. Though primary prevention is the ultimate goal, Young (2012) illuminates the need for continued education and training of professionals working with survivors as well as collaboration across multiple service venues over time. The current study seeks to contribute to the limited but growing body of literature in this important area by identifying factors that are important to consider when working with survivors of sex trafficking. This researcher will personally interview professionals and staff who work directly with survivors of sex trafficking and recruit survivors to respond anonymously to a questionnaire about their experiences. Both the interview and the questionnaire inquiries will pose open-ended questions in order to gather qualitative data from service providers and survivors, respectively. This study will provide an opportunity to gain insight and perspective on the pertinent factors that need attention when working with this unique population. </p><p> Key words: sex trafficking, survivors, service providers, factors.</p>

<p> Standards for integration of spirituality and religion within mental health training continue to be ambiguous. Although increased attention has incorporated such diversity into multiculturalism, proficiency remains inadequate among non-religiously affiliated individuals and institutions. This study examined competence levels utilizing the Revised Spiritual Competence Scale II (SCS-R-II) and the Spiritual and Religious Competency Assessment (SARCA). Participants were 125 students attending accredited counseling, psychology, and social work schools in the United States. Counselor trainees scored highest on both measures as did students with very strong personal religious affiliation and attendees of Christian affiliated schools. Implications and future recommendations are discussed.</p>

<p>The top five sources of stress for graduate school students include academic responsibilities, fiscal issues, anxiety caused by stress, work-life balance issues, and familial issues. This research explored the perceptions of marriage and family therapists regarding stress management in these areas for graduate students. Five female therapists were purposefully interviewed in the Riverside County region of California. The interview included five open ended questions and five closed ended questions, totaling 10 questions. The top five stressors were addressed using two questions for each. The research resulted in five themes regarding stress management: (a) realistic expectations, (b) proper budgeting, (c) self-care, (d) healthy perspectives, and (e) effective communication. </p>

This study investigated the effects of a counseling module on SAT I verbal test scores. The junior high school subjects, who were enrolled un an Upward Bound Program, consisted of three males and two females. The subjects met the program's income and academic criteria. A quasi-experimental method was used consisting of a pre- and post-test design. The SAT I Prep Class constituted the module used. The duration of the class was 60 days using a total of 10.91 hours of contact time over nine meetings. The researcher found the pre- and post-test verbal test scores were 418 and 412, respectively. Th difference was 6 between these two means. The t-test value was .096 with eight degrees of freedom. This value was statistically insignificant at the .05 level of confidence. Therefore, the null hypothesis was not rejected. The use of this coaching module had no significant effects on these students' performance on the verbal component of the SAT I. Implications of the study suggest that verbal knowledge seems to be quite stable and not easily influenced by coaching. Furthermore, this type of coaching should not be recommended for these types of students. It is recommended that more carefully designed research be done in this area utilizing representative samples of populations about whom generalizations can be made.

<p> Attachment theory suggests that previous experiences direct one&rsquo;s interpretations of potentially stressful events and one&rsquo;s reaction to these events. As university students interact with a novel environment and face new demands, they may experience elevated levels of stress. Dependent on what resources they feel are available to them, they might feel confident in addressing these challenges, or they may believe they cannot meet the demands of the college environment. This perception of ability or inability can affect personal and academic success. Using attachment theory as a foundation, this study investigated the relationships among students&rsquo; attachment dynamics, coping styles, and perceived stress in a sample 174 West Virginia University students. Based on attachment theory and previous research, it was expected that both students&rsquo; attachment dynamics and coping styles would explain variance in perceived stress. As predicted, using hierarchical multiple regression analyses, both attachment dynamics and coping styles were observed to explain a significant amount of variance (26.8&ndash;45.5% variance explained) in the perception of stress, after accounting for demographic variables. Results of this study are explored with regard to how they can inform clinical work and future research with the university student population.</p>

<p>The purpose of this dissertation is to provide a rationale and framework for a systemic praxis for Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) that can be utilized to increase possibilities for therapeutic change. In a time in which &ldquo;common factors&rdquo; are valued and MFTs generally consider themselves eclectic or integrative, there is a need for therapists to learn to cultivate a systemic praxis that allows them to effectively &ldquo;juggle&rdquo; all of the elements of and responsibilities inherent in the therapeutic situation. Drawing from cybernetics, systemic theory, and radical constructivism, I develop a systemic praxis for therapists which incorporates systemic ways of perceiving and engaging, improvisation, and Recursive Frame Analysis (Keeney, 1990). I develop a theory regarding the nature, impact, and utilization of what I call &ldquo;systemic sensing&rdquo; and ways of engaging that go beyond adherence to various aspects of therapy models. Systemic Sensing constitutes ways of seeing, hearing, sensing, and intuiting that therapists can utilize to co-create, with their clients, opportunities for therapeutic transformation. </p><p> In this dissertation, I extend Ray Ison&rsquo;s (2010) framework for systemic practice to the practice of marriage and family therapy. Ison (2010) provided a metaphor of the systems practitioner as a juggler. MFTs can improve their practice by learning to juggle Maturana&rsquo;s (2002, 2008) notions of languaging and emotioning, Bateson&rsquo;s (1972; 1979) notion of distinguishing, and Ison&rsquo;s (2010) notion of naming; the practice of and responsibilities inherent in systemic sensing; and the tailoring and contextualizing of the practice of therapy to individual clients and moments in time. </p><p> What is needed in the field of marriage and family therapy is a way of envisioning and practicing therapy that increases possibilities for change. I call for a reformation that will shift the emphasis in marriage and family therapy from model-based training into more holistic, flexible, and systemic interpersonal practices that are based on inspiring therapeutic change and healing. </p>

<p> Over the centuries, the meaning of wonder has decayed substantially. An immense distance and complex history lie between Socrates' declaration that wisdom begins in wonder and the commercialism of today's Wonder Bread, Wonderbra and Wonderful World of Disney. Since few have considered wonder to be a psychologically significant experience, scholarship in this area has been negligible. Yet, amidst the travails of living, experiences of wonder can constitute transformational epiphanies and unlatch the flow of life through deepening subjectivity; magnifying perceptions; amplifying sensitivity to beauty; expanding horizons; recognizing the extraordinary in the ordinary; intuiting the sacred in the secular; and promoting possibility, delight, reverence, and gratefulness for the gift of life. </p><p> This dissertation contemplates the dimensions of the experience of wonder; wonder's connection to soul; and how we might attune to wonder. Since wonder is both the condition and the primary principle of the phenomenological reduction (van Manen, 1990, p. 185), several scholars concur that no adequate method exists for researching wonder, for it entails a recursive paradox of wondering about the wonderment of wonder, with wonder having the first and last word. Therefore, this work adopts a mixed method, combining depth psychological and phenomenological approaches with hermeneutically amplified heuristic inquiry. The researcher's experience of wonder provides the primary data, and multi-disciplinary texts serve to unfold this data. </p><p> The findings identify wonder's key themes, characteristics, valences, and nuances, and ways to attune and attend to wonder's presence, both inside and outside the consulting room. Ultimately, the study personifies wonder as a feminine voice of soul, and advocates her inclusion in depth psychotherapy as integral to its honoring of tending the soul, the etymological root of psychotherapy itself. Wonder reveals herself as an ineffable encounter with existence and the world, an epiphany of embodied, archetypal resonance between the individual's soul and the soul of the world, when "the universe shivers in the depths of the human" (Swimme, 1985, p. 32). This study, embracing knowledge as beginning and ending in wonder, grants her the final word. </p><p> Key words: Wonder, soul, resonance, epiphany, ineffability, attunement, attentiveness, unknowing, <i>aesthesis,</i> intuition. </p>

<p> Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals face significant mental and physical health disparities compared to their heterosexual peers. Such differential outcomes are often attributed to minority stress, chronic stress that is specific to one&rsquo;s marginalized status and which is distinct from normal every day life stress. Current research, which attempts to assess the relationship between minority stress and health, is stifled by lack of a uniform measurement tool to operationalize the construct. The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive tool that encapsulates all of the major dimensions of minority stress, as defined by Meyer&rsquo;s (2003) LGB minority stress model. The final LGBT Minority Stress Measure is a 25-item self-report scale, with seven subscales: identity concealment, everyday discrimination/ microaggressions, rejection anticipation, discrimination events, internalized stigma, victimization events, and community connectedness. Results from 640 participants, including 119 of which identified as gender non-conforming, supported the psychometric properties of the scale. Additionally, consistent with existing literature, greater minority stress was associated with increased psychological distress.</p>