<p> Recent studies have focused on international students&rsquo; needs and experiences in counseling training and supervision, however, there is a lack of research regarding effective approaches for supervising international students. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether international counseling supervisees' perceptions regarding the degree to which multicultural discussion occurred in their university supervision moderates the relationship among supervision related variables, including acculturation, counselor self-efficacy, supervisory working alliance, and role ambiguity in supervision. The research questions were: (a) Does the frequency of cultural discussions in university supervision, as perceived by international counseling supervisees, moderate the relationship between acculturation to the US and counseling self-efficacy among international counseling students in the US, (b) Does the frequency of cultural discussions in university supervision, as perceived by international counseling supervisees, moderate the relationship between supervisory working alliance and counseling self-efficacy among international counseling students in the US, and (c) Does the frequency of cultural discussions in university supervision, as perceived by international counseling supervisees, moderate the relationship between supervisory working alliance and counseling self-efficacy among international counseling students in the US. Three moderation analyses were utilized, using regression analysis, to answer each research question. The results from the analysis indicated no significant moderating affect of frequency of multicultural discussions among supervision related variables of interest. Interpretation of the results included possibility of a direct relationship among the variables, or other potential moderators as well as probability of false negative results (Type II Error).</p>

<p> The literature supports that as leaders pursue personal and professional growth, they achieve a sense of well-being, become healthier, more engaged, and more productive. This study explores how Christian leaders who have a strong core spiritual identity experience growth toward their <i>best-self. </i> According to the literature, the best-self is a positive psychology approach to personal growth that utilizes a person&rsquo;s natural strengths and skills to describe one&rsquo;s personal best. Adult identity development is multifaceted and influenced by numerous factors. A spiritual identity built upon strong beliefs results in a salient identity that influences every part of one&rsquo;s life. Utilizing a generic qualitative methodology and a snowball sampling strategy, eight participants were interviewed. Multiple consistent themes were identified in the data: (a) an integration of spiritual identity (b) enhanced self-awareness (c) saliency of spiritual identity, (c) roles and motivations defined by faith, (d) altruism, (e) role identity as a calling, (f) faith-based decision-making, (g) intrapersonal and interpersonal prayer, a personal relationship with God, (h) the need to be supported by like-minded individuals, (i) the alignment of organizational values and personal values, and (j) personal growth defined by God. One unexpected finding was the way the participants defined best-self. Based on their narratives, the participants viewed their best-self, including their talents and abilities, as being defined by God, stating that to become the person that God designed them to be would be achieving best-self. The significance of spirituality in the workplace was discovered through the participants&rsquo; experiences. This was also supported in the literature. These themes are presented and explored along with recommendations for future research.</p>

<p> Therapist self-disclosure is a controversial topic in that it has been historically and widely debated in past research and literature across theoretical orientations. Much of the existing self-disclosure research focuses on the effects that therapist self-disclosure has on the therapeutic relationship, using varied methodology in its definition and measurement of how, when, and in what context therapist self-disclosure is utilized. There are also very few studies that investigate frequency rates of therapist self-disclosure; of those that do exist, results are mixed. Additionally, there is little to no research on how self-disclosure is used by student therapists, in actual psychotherapy sessions, particularly in the context of sessions in which difficult or traumatic subject matter is discussed. Accordingly, the purpose of the present study was to qualitatively explore verbalizations of student therapist self-disclosure in psychotherapy sessions with trauma survivors. A sample of 5 therapist-participants from university-based community counseling centers were selected, and transcribed videotaped sessions in which client- and therapist-participants discussed trauma were analyzed. A qualitative and deductive content analysis was employed, using a coding system that was created based on the extant literature on therapist self-disclosure, to examine verbal expressions of therapist self-disclosure in psychotherapy sessions with trauma survivors. The results indicated that the therapist-participants used many different forms of self-disclosure (self-involving disclosures, disclosures that are not otherwise specified, personal self-disclosure, and demographic self-disclosures, in order of frequency) both within and out of trauma discussions. More specifically, self-involving disclosures (SINV-PERS) tended to occur more frequently within trauma discussions while personal and demographic disclosures (SDIS-PERS and SDIS-DEMO) tended to occur more frequently in non-trauma discussions. Therapist self-disclosures comprised 6 of the 9 proposed coding categories over all 5 psychotherapy sessions. It is hoped that this study will raise awareness around the issue of the use of therapist self-disclosure in psychotherapy, both in general and with clients who have experienced traumatic events during the course of their lives. The findings have implications for both future studies examining therapist self-disclosure as well as clinical training practices in graduate programs for student therapists, an area of study that is currently under-researched.</p>

<p> Globally, more than 1.9 billion people are overweight, and 600 million are obese (World Health Organization [WHO], 2016). The consequences are expensive: The associated costs to treat co- morbid illnesses in the United States amounted to $190.2 billion (Cawley &amp; Meyerhoefer, 2012). Elevated body mass index (BMI) is directly related to premature death, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders, and cancers (WHO, 2016). Weight regain after weight loss has emerged as one of the most significant obstacles for weight management therapeutics, undoubtedly perpetuating the epidemic of excess weight that affects over 60% of American adults (Maclean, Bergouignan, Cornier, &amp; Jackman, 2011). Weight management is a complex and covert interplay between biology, psychology, and environment (Brownell, 2010; Moffitt, Haynes, &amp; Mohr, 2015). The majority of weight management treatments have demonstrated high prevalence of relapse after weight loss and failed long-term efficacy after diverse healthcare treatments (Dombrowski et al., 2012; Moffitt et al., 2015; Munsch, Meyer, &amp; Biedert, 2012). This dissertation examined the most effective forms of evidence-based psychotherapeutic and technological interventions for weight management treatment, focusing specifically on populations between the normal and overweight BMI range from peer-reviewed journals dated from 1950-2017. The objectives of this doctoral project were four-fold: (a) to conduct a systematic literature review and gather information from experts in the field regarding weight management, (b) to explore the biopsychosocial implications related to weight re-gain after loss, (c) to identify the most effective psychotherapeutic interventions and mHealth implications that aid long-term weight management, and (d) to disseminate these findings using a professional presentation.</p>

<p> This applied theoretical paper explores the underlying capacity for caregivers to raise emotionally intelligent, well-adjusted children who grow up able to respond effectively to the demands of a complex world. A guiding supposition of the research is that diminished access to institutional privilege, especially when unrecognized and unprocessed by caregivers, is likely a risk factor connected to a variety of deleterious outcomes associated with the social determinants of health as defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This connection resulted from asking the question, &ldquo;How does the underlying capacity for caregivers to understand and manage diverse and complex dimensions of their personal identity, especially in terms of how they relate to institutional power and privilege, serve as a protective factor in meeting the developmental needs of their children for a safe, stable, and nourishing emotional environment?&rdquo; To answer this question, two well-respected theoretical orientations were identified that each spoke to half of the question, but when brought together, could much more elegantly address many more aspects of the question in an integrated and holistic fashion. Specifically, John Bowlby&rsquo;s Attachment Theory provided important context as to what developmental needs children have for a safe, stable, and nourishing emotional environment. On the other hand, Jean Baker Miller&rsquo;s Relational-Cultural Theory was adept at offering a nuanced perspective on understanding diverse and complex dimensions of personal identity, especially as those dimensions interfaced with institutional privilege. Bringing these two perspectives together and synthesizing them into a new approach, an approach named Attachment-Informed Relational-Cultural Therapy, was the culmination of the research. One important outcome of the research was how it framed secure attachment as an unearned privilege (i.e. attachment privilege) that is affected by and simultaneously affects multiple variables in the caregiver and child dyad. These variables can themselves then become either protective factors supporting further secure attachment or risk factors threatening to damage or destroy it. Through the process of linking childhood attachment themes to the theme of access to institutional privilege it is hoped a greater capacity may be achieved for supporting caregivers in understanding and managing diverse and complex dimensions of their personal identity.</p>

<p> The purpose of this longitudinal qualitative study was to investigate youth experiences of trust and mentor experiences supporting youth trust in longer-term formal youth mentoring relationships. Trust was defined as youth relying on and confiding in their mentors based on experiences of mentor reliability, honesty, and emotional sensitivity and protection from emotional harm. Thematic analysis was conducted on interview data from a longitudinal dataset, involving analysis of narratives from interviews (n=147) with youth, mentors, and parents for mentoring matches that lasted at least two years. Overall, participants in this study identified multiple ways trust was experienced by youth and supported by mentors. Additionally, various experiences seemed more or less critical depending on the timepoint in the relationship. Mutuality in confiding--involving mentor intentionality around making such confiding developmentally appropriate, appropriate to the nature of the mentoring relationship, and done in the service of the mentee and not the mentor--was a central way youth experienced trust and mentors supported youth trust. Youth demonstrated considerable strengths in wanting to rely on and confide in their mentors, in valuing such experiences for the emotional support and meaningful well-being they conferred, and in being self-protective around engaging in these experiences depending on various aspects of mentor attunement, time, and level of trust developed in the relationship. Youth experiences of trust became, over time, more multifaceted, and as such, some events that may have seemed negative or that perhaps carried greater potential for rupture in the beginning of the relationship seemed understood and experienced by youth as weighing less heavily as time went on and trust was known in many ways. While these experiences seemed to play out somewhat uniquely in each match, the themes found in this study captured common elements shared across these longer-term matches. Sociopolitical context and social ecology were found to be important for the development of youth trust. Two main contextual themes highlighted in this study, talking about race and racism, and family involvement, were especially important for supporting meaningful and beneficial experiences of youth trust in this context and setting. Implications for research and practice are discussed.</p><p>

<p> Social network use is often accompanied by a seductive allure that compels people to showcase themselves in the best light possible. This allure may theoretically be possible due to the concept of social comparison, a notion that is measured in part by the Facebook &ldquo;friend count,&rdquo; a numerical value representing the user&rsquo;s number of online friends in the Facebook community. As there is no known research measuring this effect on current states, to close this gap in the literature it is asserted here that a memorable loss of one of these friends can have negative consequences. This study attempted to gauge the effect of the loss of these friends, colloquially known as &ldquo;being unfriended.&rdquo; This piece posits that being unfriended will increase state shame and decrease state self-esteem. To that end, a quantitative, experimental study was employed using 41 male and female, college-enrolled participants from a Midwest junior college to determine vicissitudes to state shame and state self-esteem after being unfriended on Facebook. An independent measures t-test was used to compare group mean differences between those who could adequately remember being unfriended and those who had little to no recollection of a recent unfriending episode. Results of the statistical analysis revealed that participants in the treatment group had no statistically significant increase in shame or decrease in self-esteem than those in the control group. Additional research in this area is recommended to further investigate additional variables used in this study, overcome limitations, and to fully explore superfluous possibilities such as potential mediators.</p>

<p> Being diagnosed with HIV challenges individuals physically, socially, and psychologically, and for most people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) in the U.S. occurs in the contexts of lives already burdened by socioeconomic disadvantage and structural racism. Despite these challenges, little research examines the developmental process of psychological adaptation to HIV diagnosis, particularly among high-risk heterosexual (HRH) low-SES PLHA of color. This study, informed by ecological theory and Critical Race Theory uses qualitative methods to address this gap by operationalizing a new multidimensional construct of adaptation comprised of three mutually reinforcing sub-constructs (acceptance, engagement in medical care, disclosure of HIV status), and examining the factors that influence adaptation. Black and Latino adult HRH-PLHA (N = 140) were recruited through peer referral in Brooklyn, NY in 2012-2015. A subset (N = 28) were purposively sampled for maximum variation for in-depth, semi-structured, qualitative interviews on the cognitive/behavioral process of adaptation to HIV diagnosis. Data were analyzed using an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Most participants were male (60.8%); Black (78.6%; [21.4% Latino]); aged 47 years (SD=7.12 years) on average. Most were unemployed (92.9%); lacked basic necessities in the past year (75.0%); had histories of homelessness (71.4%) and incarceration (85.7%); and met criteria for lifetime problematic substance use (78.6%). Analyses revealed a construct of adaptation to HIV diagnosis that is multidimensional, where each sub-construct (acceptance, engagement in medical care, disclosure of HIV status) is an important, albeit not equally influential aspect of adaptation. Rather, acceptance is the foundation of adaptation, and a prerequisite for engagement in medical care and disclosure. Successful adaptation is characterized as a dynamic process where delayed acceptance is common, disclosure is a life-long process, and for some participants, is positively transformative. Finally, findings showed adaptation is influenced by a dynamic interplay of individual-level and contextual factors (i.e. problematic substance use, social support, diagnosis in coercive environments, poverty and its resultant chaos, and the historical legacy of AZT-monotherapy). Implications include a need for interventions that incorporate trauma-informed approaches and that appreciate the pervasive influence of distal contexts (structural racism, poverty) on the lived experience of low-SES HRH-PLHA of color adapting to their HIV diagnosis.</p>

<p> Due to the increasing number of persons of Arab descent living in the United States, estimated at over 3.5 million in 2012, there has been a recognized need for a deeper understanding of acculturative, gender, and immigration-related stressors that Arab American women face. In response to this need, a one-day workshop for mental health professionals interested in or currently working with women of Arab descent living in the United States was developed. The workshop focuses on increasing knowledge of the various types of stress (e.g., acculturation, discrimination, gender role strain, parent-child relationships, care giver, familial, cultural expectations, work, school, etc.) experienced by Arab American women and providing culturally congruent stress reduction interventions. The development of the curriculum was informed by existing literature on people of Arab descent living in the United States, cultural issues in serving diverse populations, and stress management interventions. Interviews with 3 Arab American women were integrated with the literature and the 1-day workshop curriculum was developed. The curriculum was reviewed by 2 current practicing psychologists who rated the content, strengths, and weaknesses of the curriculum. Their feedback was incorporated into a compilation of suggestions and future directions for the refining and evaluating curriculum.</p>

<p> This qualitative inquiry takes place within a growing body of interdisciplinary work dedicated to reimagining community, one&rsquo;s relationship to it, and ultimately one&rsquo;s place within the global community. The study is rooted in depth psychology&rsquo;s recognition that the psyche is independently real and everything has meaning. Community is an ongoing story: a living myth. One can tally all the concrete aspects of community yet still not understand what makes community. To better understand community, this study used a hermeneutic-phenomenological approach to explore the lived experience of those living in a small Tuscan village, Pari. This entailed relying on an archetypal mythological lens to interpret a rich harvesting of interviews, storytelling, dreamy attention, and the researcher&rsquo;s own reflections. The goal was to understand what it means to be part of this ancient community today, to appreciate the dynamics at work within the community psyche, and to dream the community on into the future. It was found that life in this community has a rhythmic structure that permeates everyone and everything. The most important common thread was that love connects people to this place. It was also found that as this once self-enclosed community becomes increasingly porous to the world, the population diversity increases and self-sufficiency decreases. It was concluded that Pari&rsquo;s myth is to become a global village. The community&rsquo;s challenge for survival is to integrate its core rhythmic structure with the incoming technology age. </p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> community, door, myth, rebirth, hermeneutic-phenomenology, Janus</p>