<p> Factors that affect alliance and outcome in couple therapy are crucial to the therapeutic process, yet currently research on this is scarce. The current study sought to expand the knowledge of alliance and outcome in couple therapy by analyzing the effect motivation has on alliance and outcome. Results of this study found that there was a significant correlation between motivation and alliance and that baseline motivation has a significant effect on outcomes. Other variables such as level of client distress were also explored and found to be related to motivation, alliance and outcome. Altogether, the findings of this study indicate that partners' levels of motivation have important implications for the therapeutic alliance and outcome in couple therapy.</p>

<p> There is significant anecdotal evidence of a growing number of psychoanalytically trained practitioners adapting aspects of the internal family systems (IFS) model into their clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how these therapists make sense of their approach. Data were collected in the form of semi-structured interviews with practitioners and analyzed using constructivist grounded theory. Eleven participants revealed a wide array of experiences that were theoretically conceptualized within a unified framework. Three themes emerged from the data analysis process: (a) therapists' relationships with experiential IFS practice, (b) the therapist-client relationship, and (c) IFS/psychoanalytic hybrid theory. Therapists' relationships with experiential IFS work were found to be diverse and complex, but related to their own experiences in the role of client. Therapists' feelings about the perceived lack of theory underpinning the IFS model were related to their stated relationships with intellectual protector parts. Therapists' feelings about the clinical utility of the therapist-client relationship were complex and tended to deviate from the canonical IFS model in ways that are consistent with the psychodynamic use of the relationship in treatment. Specifically, participants described using the therapist-client relationship to facilitate parts work, many viewed part-to-part relating between therapist and client as providing significant clinical information, and they cited a belief in the importance of using IFS-based psychoeducation and interpretations to help clients gain insight into their internal dynamics. Finally, the ways in which therapists combine the IFS model and psychoanalytical theory into a new, hybrid theory is described, including a view of the unconscious as populated by IFS phenomena, viewing clinical stuckness as related to early psychological trauma that requires experiential work to abate, and the view of the Self-to-part healing relationship in the IFS model through an attachment theory lens. It is proposed that the IFS model traverses divides across the major psychoanalytic models. This may reduce feelings of foreignness among psychodynamic practitioners and create a fertile ground in which hybrid theory can grow. The limitations of this study and implications for practice, training, and further research are discussed.</p>

<p> In Therapeutic Assessment individuals are given feedback based on questions developed prior to administration of psychological testing. It is hypothesized that feedback delivered in this manner results in greater therapeutic outcomes than standard feedback administration. This study compared the therapeutic outcomes of individuals who received Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Second Edition &ndash; Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath &amp; Tellegen, 2008) feedback based on personally-developed questions to the outcomes of individuals who received standard MMPI-2-RF feedback. The study utilized a two (group) by three (time) design; the sample consisted of 39 undergraduate university students (17 men, 22 women). Nineteen participants received feedback based on their questions, while 20 participants received standard feedback. Symptoms of distress and self-esteem were assessed prior to MMPI-2-RF administration, immediately after MMPI-2-RF feedback, and two weeks after feedback. Participants also rated their perceptions of the assessment process at the final two time points. Results indicated that all participants, regardless of feedback style, experienced statistically significant decreases in anxiety and depressive symptoms two weeks after feedback. There were no differences in self-esteem or perceptions about the assessment process between groups or across time. This study provides further evidence of the therapeutic utility of feedback, but does not suggest that basing feedback on client-developed questions results in a greater magnitude of therapeutic benefits than standard feedback. An additional finding was that all participants were engaged in the assessment process as evidenced by a 100 percent valid MMPI-2-RF profile rate, which speaks to the importance of making individuals aware they will receive feedback prior to testing as it may lead to increased engagement in the assessment process. </p>

<p>Paracosms, or imaginary worlds, are phenomena only recently taken into account by the field of psychology, with only a smattering of publications on the topic. Whereas previous research has focused primarily on paracosms&rsquo; creative contributions to society, the perspective of this thesis postulates the value and role of the paracosm as it serves the internal system of the psyche. The paracosm is explored in its self-preserving function: an internal world that the psyche builds to replicate the infantile experience of wholeness through contact with a continuous selfobject. In this way the psyche is seen as maintaining itself through imaginal involvement in a paracosm, mirroring the self as world, when there is no external selfobject available. Hermeneutic and heuristic approaches utilize both the research of previous theorists and the author&rsquo;s reflections on her own paracosmic activity in discussing the positive and negative aspects of paracosms as a psychological, trauma-related coping mechanism. </p>

<p> This dissertation will discuss the research question, "What is the experience of providing therapy to sex abusers?" based on the results of a qualitative case study. A literature review will establish the preceding research related to sex abuse treatment. By filling a gap in previous research, this researcher seeks to encourage sex abuse treatment providers by authenticating their experiences, to provide valuable information to educators, as well as to inform legislators, the judiciary, and the general public about sex abuse treatment. Based on nine transcribed and analyzed interviews with providers of sex abuse treatment to adult male sex abusers who abuse children, this researcher discovered five themes and fourteen patterns within the providers' experiences. This study augments awareness of the field of sex abuse treatment as articulated by practicing providers.</p>

<p> Unemployment has been shown to have detrimental effects on the physical, psychological, and emotional health of unemployed men and women living in the United States. The purpose of this study was study the impact of long-term unemployment on a specific population of unemployed individuals, namely middle-aged, managerial-level U.S. males who had been involuntarily terminated from their employment.</p><p> This study found four main themes and subthemes related to the phenomenon. First, it was uncovered that the men had a shared Premonition of their eventual job loss. The second theme, Effects of Separation, detailed shared emotional, psychological, and physical effects the experience of being involuntarily separated and living through long-term unemployment had on the men. The symptoms presented in this study were categorized in subthemes of Initial Distress, Long-Term Distress, Duration of Distress, the Impact of Loss of Structure/Routine, Identity Changes, and at times some of the participants Switched to a Second-Person Narration.</p><p> The third theme, Coping with Unemployment, discussed shared strategies the men utilized to cope with their long-term unemployment experience including Retrospective Coping, Talking about the Experience Helps, Helping Others, Building Hope, and Understanding the Context of Unemployment: Age Discrimination, a subtheme that includes some participants' fears of age discrimination in their job search. The fourth and final main theme, Not Ready to Retire, noted how each of these men felt that he was not ready to retire&mdash;all five participants wanted an opportunity to work again for a variety of different reasons beyond just earning an income.</p><p> Additionally, this study explores how midlife can present itself as an opportunity for one to become more generative in the world. Unemployment can signify the beginning of a midlife crisis that ultimately may result in a re-imagining of self and re-orientation in the world. Finally, the study details ways in which this research was a result of an inspiration: an imaginal figure, Pirate, who introduced this area of research and continued to guide and inform the work throughout its completion.</p>

<p> Lack of common vocabulary has been an obstacle to the psychotherapy integration movement. This deficit has been particularly significant in the research on the psychotherapy relationship. The concept of meaningful involvement is central to the practice of reality therapy, a practice model developed by William Glasser, MD, which has not been studied extensively. The purpose of the present study was to contribute to a common vocabulary for psychotherapy integration and to clarify the definition of <i>meaningful involvement</i>. The selected research methodology was the framework method of narrative analysis coupled with the use of AnSWR, a computer-assisted data management and analysis tool. This methodology was applied to a written text, <i>Counseling with Choice Theory: The New Reality Therapy</i>. Results from the current study indicated that patterns of communication were most consistent with an instructional stance. These results were consistent with the instructional nature of reality therapy of psychotherapy, yet were not consistent with Glasser&rsquo;s focus on the therapeutic relationship as the central element of this school of psychotherapy. Further study is recommended on meaningful involvement within reality therapy in future research with data that allows for observation of nuances of communication, such as body language and tone of voice, is recommended to address this inconsistency.</p>

<p> Gowan and Gatewood's (1997) theory of coping with job loss provided a framework for studying how individuals cope with the stress of unemployment. Previous empirical evidence identified social support and financial resources as predictors of unemployed adults' coping outcomes. McKee-Ryan, Song, Wanberg, and Kinicki (2005), however, noted the need for further research to better understand the environmental and psychological coping resources used by unemployed adults. Savickas (2005) hypothesized that individuals who endorse greater amounts of adaptable thinking about their careers will also report a greater sense of well-being during career transitions. Thus, the present study examined how environmental and psychological coping resources are related to unemployed adults' well-being. In particular, this study tested whether career adaptability mediated the relationships between environmental coping resources (i.e., social support and financial resources) and well-being. Using a sample of 207 unemployed adults, it was hypothesized that career adaptability would mediate the relationship between social support and well-being and between financial resources and well-being. The SEM analyses indicated problems with the fit of the hypothesized measurement model, and thus the hypotheses were unable to be tested. Limitations of the current study's findings are discussed to inform future research and theory building. In particular, characteristics of the current sample, measurement problems, and the possible mismatch between this study's sample and Gowan and Gatewood's (1997) coping with job loss theory are discussed.</p>

<p> The purpose of this project was to demonstrate the need for a state-wide peer officer support model. Although support services were available, there were inconsistencies in how they were made available throughout the state. A survey was carried out to identify these discrepancies and advise on best practices and recommendations. One major obstacle was the issue of stigma attached to seeking assistance that prevents most officers from seeking services. The survey identified that peer officer support programs have higher rates of utilization over EAPs and mental health professionals. The vast majority of supervisors and officers were supportive of an option for peer officer training and supportive training programs. Smaller departments had fewer services available than larger departments showing a need for a state-wide peer support program. By utilizing the brotherhood of law enforcement personnel, administrators can help to build the foundation of a strong peer support model.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas A&M University, 2006. / "Major Subject: Counseling Psychology" Title from author supplied metadata (automated record created on Nov. 2, 2007.) Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references.