Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas A&M University, 2005. / "Major Subject: Counseling Psychology" Title from author supplied metadata (automated record created on Feb. 23, 2007.) Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas A & M University, 2003. / "Major Subject: Counseling Psychology." Title from author supplied metadata. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas A & M University, 2003. / "Major Subject: Counseling Psychology." Title from author supplied metadata. Includes bibliographical references.

<p> Research has shown that providing therapy clients with a treatment consistent with their preferences can increase the effectiveness of the therapy, possibly by reducing the dropout rate or by increasing the level of therapeutic alliance. Client preference and spirituality/religion were identified as two of four areas that can be responsibly adapted to the client while still maintaining evidence based practice. The purpose of this study is to examine if an individual who reports as highly spiritual will prefer a mindfulness based therapy (Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy) over a traditional evidence based treatment (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy).</p>

<p> 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 &ldquo;pragmatics of hope and respect&rdquo; (p. 1) and despite Berg and Dolan&rsquo;s declaration of hope&rsquo;s importance in SFBT, little process research has been published looking at the &ldquo;pragmatics&rdquo; 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 seen as a common factor in human relationships. </p><p> To begin to address this gap, a pilot study was conducted of an Insoo Kim Berg training recording, <i>Irreconcilable Differences,</i> in order to explore how she listened, selected and built hope in her work. Based on a SFBT technique focus, the preliminary results suggested Insoo Kim Berg builds hope relationally through the solution-building by working within the clients&rsquo; focus and their presenting problem. Four different yet interrelated hope phases in the SFBT solution building process were identified. To address this gap further, based on a SFBT stage focus, three cases by Insoo Kim Berg were analyzed in this study, <i>Irreconcilable Differences, Over the Hump,</i> and <i>I&rsquo;d Hear Laughter.</i> The goal of this research was to demonstrate the how Berg listened, selected, and built hope with clients to validate her progression within and across the five SFBT solution-building stages, in all three cases through constant comparison, and to show how these findings are congruent with SFBT hopeful tenets. All with the intention of allowing the pragmatics of hope and respect to become more transparent for future SFBT practitioners. </p><p> Findings suggested building hope appears to be a relational process to building solutions and is co-constructed. Berg demonstrates how she embodies a hopeful stance throughout the duration of therapy. Results show how Berg builds hope within and across her progression of the solution-focused brief therapy solution-building stages, utilizing SFBT techniques and processes, which all align with the foundational SFBT tenets.</p>

In order to break the cycle of poverty for disadvantaged children through early intervention, a counseling component is needed. As perceived by parents and teachers, counseling services would reduce the long-range damaging effects caused by social problems such as crime, violence, and drugs. This study attempted to determine the counseling needs of three- to five-year-old educationally disadvantaged children. The research method was descriptive and used a questionnaire. The survey questionnaire was administered to a sample of 22 parents and 22 teachers at a Head Start facility. Survey respondents were 44 African-American subjects: 1 male and 43 female teachers in Atlanta, Georgia. In conclusion, a counseling model was proposed to implement subsequent results of this study.

<p> Although one-third of partners in couple therapy have experienced childhood abuse, our field has developed few specific interventions that address the lingering effects of child abuse on current couple dynamics. A common impact on adult survivors is the struggle to trust their intimate partner. Furthermore, asymmetrical gendered power processes often erode trust. Given the propensity for adult-survivor couples to experience a distrusting emotional culture, this dissertation studied the effect of gendered power dynamics on trust in partner interactions, as well as identified clinical processes of Socio-Emotional Relationship Therapy (SERT) that helped adult-survivor couples change power disparities to a mutually supportive and trusting emotional culture. </p><p> This dissertation includes two publishable papers. The first article articulates relational trust theory, which integrates feminist, social constructionist views with relational ethics. This theoretical conceptualization describes how the intermingling of gendered power interactions and adult-survivor power responses negatively impact emotional connection. The second article presents the results of a longitudinal grounded theory study of video and transcripts of 40 SERT sessions with four heterosexual adult-survivor couples. The findings from the research were applied to an additional four couples to refine the final grounded theory on how to work with the intersection of trust, gender, and power issues of adult-survivor couples. Three key themes on gendered power processes emerged: 1) gendered fear of being vulnerable, 2) unique gendered power approaches, and 3) distrustful reactions. The analysis identifies five key clinical processes to enhance trust: 1) recognize gendered power&rsquo;s effects on relational safety, 2) comprehend the socio-emotional experience of partners, 3) accentuate relational needs, 4) initiate partners sharing power, and 5) identify trustworthiness of partners. The study also delineates components of relational vulnerability that augment trust. </p><p> The final dissertation chapter compares the findings from the grounded theory analysis to current CFT models with adult-survivor couples and discusses clinical implications for addressing the complex interplay of gender, power, and trust in partner interactions. A significant contribution of this dissertation is a better understanding of the link of trust with gender and power dynamics in adult-survivor intimate relationships and how to sensitively address relational processes interfering with trust.</p>

<p> Selective mutism is an anxiety disorder in which a student speaks in one setting but does not speak in another where speaking is expected, most often school. Most cases are noticed when the child starts school for the first time, however they often are not referred for treatment until 1-3 years later and often are referred to private agencies or therapists. The longer selective mutism continues, the more difficult it is to treat. School psychologists are in an ideal position to support school staff in the identification and intervention of selective mutism(SM), however, there have been no studies that specifically focus on the role of school psychologists in identifying and intervening on selective mutism. </p><p> This study surveyed working school psychologists to determine how many were aware of the condition of SM, how many had worked with students with SM, what types of assessments they used, the interventions implemented and the treatment outcomes. An online survey collected data from 165 participants regarding their experience, knowledge and perceptions as related to selective mutism. All of those surveyed were aware of selective mutism, 97% had had some contact with a student with SM, and 81% had worked directly with a student with SM. The majority of assessment methods included observations, interviews, and the BASC2 internalizing scales. Most of the respondents did not use specific scales that measured speaking. The services most provided were interviews with parents and teachers, followed up with suggestions, referrals to private therapists, and comprehensive special education assessment. The interventions used most frequently included one-to-one sessions, play therapy, and smallgroup. Systematic desensitization, behavior modification and cognitive behavior therapy, interventions most supported by the literature, were used only 20% of the time. The results of interventions varied with 42% of respondents indicating no progress with one or more students, more than 60% making "a little" progress, and 30% indicating they were very successful helping one or more students to became completely verbal. The results indicated a need and desire from school psychologists for training on selective mutism.</p>

<p> This qualitative phenomenological study explored the experiences of people with relational trauma in NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM), a somatically based psychotherapy. Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach of depth psychotherapy, neuroscience, attachment, and somatic therapy, the literature review examined the multifaceted impact of relational trauma and the mechanisms of implicit memory and somatic psychotherapy. The literature review also presented verbal and nonverbal therapeutic actions that theoretically support processes of change for the psychotherapy patient. Although much has been written theoretically about the psychotherapy patient&rsquo;s experience, there has been scant qualitative research from the perspective of the psychotherapy patient.</p><p> The researcher conducted interviews with six individuals who had been in NARM therapy to contribute to our understanding of the experience of the somatic, cognitive, emotional, and relational processes in the clinical dyad. The research participants included four females and two males, ranging in age from 30 to 63 years old. Using Giorgi&rsquo;s phenomenological method, interview transcripts were analyzed. Essential constituents were made explicit, and a refined structural description synthesizing the NARM patients&rsquo; common experience was developed.</p><p> The research identified 11 constituents that comprise the essential structure of the lived embodied experience of being in NARM therapy. They include (a) the patient connects to his inner experience of emotions, thoughts, and sensations; (b) the therapist finely attunes to the patient; (c) the therapy experience is present focused; (d) the body and its expressions and sensations are tracked and incorporated; (e) images facilitate the patient&rsquo;s process; (f) the patient&rsquo;s movements are enacted and processed; (g) the patient experiences a new embodied authentic sense of self; (h) the patient&rsquo;s personal resources are highlighted; (i) metaphor supports the patient&rsquo;s process; (j) the therapy experience is titrated; (k) relational patterns are explored.</p><p> The study suggests the value and efficacy of a resource oriented, integrative, psychobiological therapeutic approach which supports affect regulation for patients exploring implicit and explicit processes of self that were shaped by relational trauma. The research indicates that a holistic divergent discourse supports organization, integration and individuation</p><p> <i>Key words</i>: relational trauma, somatic psychotherapy, implicit memory, depth psychology</p>

<p> Extra-marital affairs are common in the US and frequently result in difficulties for individuals, families, and society as a whole. Empirical research on the topic is problematic. There is no universally accepted psychological definition of what behaviors or experiences constitute an affair; there are value-laden assumptions about marriage and affairs that are not usually questioned as part of the design or discussion of studies; and, there are non-trivial non-response biases in sampling on the topic. As a result there is a lack of meaningful psychological understanding of affairs and a dearth of evidence to support clear treatment directions for those who seek psychotherapy for this common issue. In an attempt to understand the essential psychological structure of the beginning of affairs, a descriptive phenomenological psychological study of the experiences from three adults who have had affairs (as they define them) and who had promised monogamy was undertaken. These interviews were transcribed, transformed and analyzed using Giorgi&rsquo;s (2009) descriptive phenomenological method for psychology. The resulting structure of the experience includes the following constituents: dissatisfaction with the marriage and hopelessness about it improving; a sense of the self and the spouse having a fixed character that does not change; a lack of curiosity for the spouse; a preference for passion and novelty; a sense of deserving sexual satisfaction; the experience of passion overriding judgment; and, a lack of real consideration of divorce as a solution to the dilemma prior to the affair. In addition, passive intentionality, (Husserl, 2001), is offered to explain how a series of interactions with another outside the marriage develops into an affair before it is grasped as such. This structure is potentially clinically meaningful as thus far it has not been articulated in a descriptive and complete manner. It offers direction for the future development of clinical interventions and provides entry points into: discussions of ethics, values, intimacy, passion and subjectivity; marriage reform; and, the socio-historical contexts in which the meaning of affairs is located. Keywords: Extra-marital affair, monogamy, non-monogamy, marriage, infidelity, couples&rsquo; counseling, Giorgi, phenomenological research methods, intentionality.</p>