Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Bonn, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 249-268).

Youth living in the United States are experiencing increasing rates of mental health issues (New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2003; U.S. Department of Education, 2006) and are less likely to receive mental health services (U.S.DHHS, 2009). Children and adolescent mental health services are fragmented, often times ineffective, and difficult to obtain (Brown, 2006; Center for Mental Health in Schools, 2008; Jacob, 2008). Children of color and children living in poverty (ASCA, 2009; Panigua, 2005; Shavers, 2013; and Vera, Buhin, & Shin, 2006), are more likely than their peers to experience mental health disorders and less likely to receive outside mental health services (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,1999; U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, 2001). Professional school counselors, play a significant role in identifying, meeting and connecting students in need of additional mental health services (ASCA, 2012; Jacob, 2008) and are advised to collaborate with community agencies to better meet the mental health needs of all their students (ASCA, 2009; ASCA, 2012). If left untreated, mental health issues can have a direct impact on students’ learning and academic performance (Adelman & Taylor, 2006). In response, there have been many recent initiatives to promote mental health in schools, including H.R. 628: Mental Health in Schools Act currently being considered by a United States congressional committee. School-based mental health counseling programs (SBMHCPs) have been implemented to address the fragmented mental health delivery system for children and adolescents needing mental health services (Center for Mental Health in Schools, 2003; New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2003; & Surgeon General Report on Mental Health, 1999). There is limited research about SBMHCPs from the perspective of those who have been addressing the mental health needs of students for decades—professional school counselors and professional school counselor educators. This qualitative study examined professional school counselors’ and counselor educators’ experiences working collaboratively with school-based mental health counselors. Seventeen school counselors (n=17) and five (n=5) counselor educators participated in a structured online questionnaire. Phenomenological data analysis methods were used to analyze the results (Hays & Woods, 2011; Moustakas, 1994). Results describe professional school counselor and counselor educator’s perceptions about school-based mental health programs, the roles of professional school counselors and school-based mental health counselors, training recommendations, and funding issues related to school-based mental health programs.

Increasing violence in the work environment created a need for an effective intervention to debrief traumatised workers. The aim of this study is to compile a profile of an effective trauma debriefer that can be used as a criterion for the selection of trauma debriefers. The task description of the trauma debriefer is based on the literature studied. The profile of the trauma debriefer was compiled using the characteristics of a self-actualised person, as described by the Humanism, as well as the skills based on Ivey's Microskills Hierarchy Model. Structured, non-directive interviews were conducted with five experts on the training of trauma debriefers. A qualitative analysis was made of the interviews, based on the personality characteristics and skills identified in the literature. A profile of an effective trauma debriefer that can be used as criterion during the selection of trauma debriefers, was compiled. Conclusions and recommendations were made and limitations were identified. / Toenemende geweld in die werksomgewing het gelei tot 'n behoefte aan 'n koste- effektiewe intervensie vir die ontlonting van getraumatiseerde vverkers. Die doei van die navorsing is die samestelling van 'n profiel van 'n effektiewe traumaontlonter, ten einde die profiel as kriterium vir die keuring van traumaontlonters te gebruik. Die taakbeskrywing van 'n traumaontlonter, gebaseer op relevante literatuur, is opgestel. Die profiel van 'n effektiewe traumaontlonter is aan die hand van die persoonlikheidskenmerke van die selfaktualiserende persoon, soos vervat in die Humanism©, en die vaardighede, gebaseer op Ivey se Mikrovaardighede Hierargiese Model, saamgestel. Gerigte, nie-direktiewe onderhoude is met vyf kundiges op die gebied van opleiding van traumaontlonters, gevoer. Die onderhoude is kwalitatief ontleed aan die hand van die persoonlikheidskenmerke en vaardighede vanuit die literatuur. 'n Profiel, wat as kriterium vir die keuring van effektiewe traumaontlonters gebruik kan word, is saamgestel. Gevolgtrekkings en aanbevelings is gemaak en beperkinge is geidentifiseer. / Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

Thesis (MA (Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / South Africa has been a democratic country for more than ten years, and still transformation is not visible in many areas. Psychological services are inaccessible and unaffordable for the larger part of South-Africans. The B.Psych degree was specifically implemented to address this problem. The course aims to give graduates access to registration as counsellors at the HPCSA in order to bring psychological services to people more easily. This study thus explores the employment patterns of registered counsellors in South Africa. These counsellors have been trained to deliver services within the primary health care sector because most people use services within this sector. Only eight percent of registered counsellors in South Africa are working within this sector. Most registered counsellors are working in the education sector or the private sector. Counsellors that are working in the education sector are primarily delivering educational services and not psychological services. Counsellors that are working in the private sector are contributing to making services inaccessible and unaffordable to many people. The absence of workers in the primary healthcare sector is mainly because there is little employment for registered counsellors within this sector. The findings of this study are in accordance with the findings of Kotze (2005) that accessibility to psychological services did not significantly change with the implementation of the B.Psych course.

Multicultural education in counselor education is a popular topic among counselor educators and scholars. To date, scholars have focused on understanding the experiences of counselor educators who teach dedicated multicultural courses. However, less attention has been given to other counselor educators who are required by ethical and training standards to address multicultural issues across the curriculum. The purpose of this study was to understand counselor educators’ experiences addressing multicultural issues in courses that do not have a specific multicultural or diversity focus. I used phenomenological methodology to explore the experiences of counselor educators who hold doctoral degrees in counseling or a related field, have taken a multicultural/diversity course in their graduate training, are full-time clinical or tenure-line faculty members in CACREP-accredited programs, and have never taught courses dedicated to multicultural or diversity issues. Twelve participants (six men and six women), ranging in age ranged from 31 to 65, participated in the study. Ten participants identified as White, one African-American, and one Hispanic. The research team identified eight themes: (1) reasons for avoidance, (2) constraints, (3) qualities and practices, (4) educator as a factor in student development, (5) infusion, (6) personal background, (7) awareness of biases and assumptions, and (8) counselor educator responsibility/gatekeeping. Findings from this study will add to the literature regarding infusion of multicultural issues across the curriculum. Additionally, the implications offered will serve as a resource for counselor educators as they experience unique personal and professional challenges when addressing multicultural issues in classrooms beyond the main multicultural or diversity course offered in counseling programs. Implications for this study may lead to development of more focused guidelines on how to increase the increase the comfort of counselor educators as they facilitate multicultural discussions and assist counselors-in-training in working toward cultural competence.

Teaching is a central role of counselor educators. However, teaching in counselor education lacks guiding standards or best practice recommendations. Existing scholarly dialogue predominantly features the perspectives of educators and addresses content knowledge, techniques, activities, and assignments for courses across the curriculum with relatively less emphasis on foundations of teaching. The purpose of this study was to develop greater understanding of counselor educator dispositions, orientations, and behaviors that students perceive as important to their learning. Q methodology was utilized to gather and distill counselor education students’ (N = 48) preferences for characteristics identified via focus groups and a comprehensive literature review. Factor analysis revealed four distinct factors, upon which 45 participants’ sorts loaded and which accounted for 41% of total variance. The findings of this study support the importance of the person of the counselor educator in the teaching and learning process in addition to behavioral characteristics. Moreover, these findings support the use of student learning style assessments and customization of course facilitation to fit students’ unique preferences and values.

<p>The study aimed to understand and advance the dynamics that influence psychological aggression. Psychological aggression can be defined as, verbal and non-verbal communication with the intent to harm another person mentally or emotionally, and/or control another person. In our society, the occurrence of psychological aggression in relationships is far more tolerated then physical aggression, but the effects can be more long term and harmful. The study hypothesized that an individual’s level of differentiation of self--a person’s ability to differentiate between feeling and thinking in times of stress--and their gender have a role in the severity of psychological aggression. The study was approved by IRB and using an online survey through MTurk asked participants about experiencing and perpetrating psychological aggression in their romantic relationships. The study had 192 participates in the multiple regression analyses, who provided some support that the level of differentiation of self and severity of psychological aggression, experiencing and perpetrating, have a negative significant relationship. Gender was found to not impact the relationship between differentiation of self and severity of psychological aggression. Clinical implications, limitations, and future directions for research were addressed. </p>

Billions of mental health care dollars for millions of children and adolescents in need has garnered significant attention within the behavioral health industry to reduce costs while improving treatment efficacy through the identification and implementation of evidence based practices with youth populations requiring therapeutic services. This hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative research approach in the field of psychology is a consumer driven one in the world of business. Line by line context and discourse analyses, which included both a prior and inductive coding, of the verbiage and phraseology of 10 boys and 10 girls, aged 8-12, actively engaged in outpatient psychotherapy, formed the foundation for 31 themes that captured a shared experience or a consumer driven “view inside the therapist’s office.” These results are represented through 6 main themes indicating that a) “knowledge fosters investment” upon entry into and initiation of mental health services when therapists and parents recognize that b) “words have power to facilitate success,” only if, guided by childhood development but chosen thoughtfully for each child. Further, c) “therapy is therapy across the lifespan,” such that therapeutic care for minors deemed legally dependent reflected treatment for legally independent persons with implementation methods influenced by age. Lastly, age, as a definitive factor, impacted the means by which the youth in my study experienced d) “autonomy… and developed e) “therapeutic rapport…” in references to e) “boundaries…” that mitigate the entire treatment experience. The outcomes of this study offer the research and practice community opportunity to move children from the “object” of the treatment to “agents” in their treatment by respecting the ideas expressed by youth themselves.

Thesis (Psy. D.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-46).

Thesis (Psy. D.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, Wheaton, IL, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-46).