Master of Science / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Amber V. Vennum / Values dictate who we are, how we see the world, and how we choose to interact with others. They are imbedded in culture. Therapists and clients are dictated by values that in a large part determine the course of therapy (L’Abate, 1982). Mindful to not impose personal values on their clients, therapists may attempt what is being called a value-neutral approach, inadvertently reinforcing certain dominant cultural values about relationships that may, or may not, be in the best interest of the client’s relationship. Therapists practicing within American culture may unintentionally reinforce instrumental views of relationships in the therapy room if they attempt to remain value-neutral. The present study explored the influence of instrumentalism on therapist’s values and roles they take in therapy with two studies. Study 1 involved the construction and refining of scales that intended to measure (a) attitudes towards commitment (b) instrumentalism in romantic relationships. The attitudes towards commitment scale was created with high reliability and the instrumentalism scale was discarded and new items were created for the second study. Study 2 involved a mixed-methods approach to explore the influence of instrumentalism on therapists’ definitions and use of neutrality, as well as therapists’ roles in couple’s therapy. Participants for study 2 were sent a survey asking about demographics, relationship and commitment values, their definitions of neutrality, and the roles they take in couple’s therapy and whether they advocate more for individuals or relationships. When therapists advocate more for the relationship they are more likely to have more positive attitudes towards commitment, are less likely to endorse soft reasons for relationship dissolution, see themselves as part of a collective, and be religiously active.

Étude comparative de l'autonomie professionnelle dans le couple marié en droit français et en droit Haïtien. L'autonomie, consacrée puis méconnue en droit haïtien, est l'exemple d'une intégration ambigüe du droit français dans le droit de la famille en Haïti. Par ailleurs, l'autonomie professionnelle se révèle être une "coutume", qui justifie de revoir la problématique dans un ordre juridique renouvelé. / Comparative study of professional autonomy in the married couple in French law and Haitian law. Autonomy, then devoted unknown in Haitian law, is an example of an ambiguous integration of French law in family law in Haiti. In addition, professional autonomy appears to be a "custom", which justifies a review of the issue in a legal renewed.

This thesis is a report of the practical aspects and the problems of classification and documentation of a collection of memorabilias from the Crown Princess Couple's Wedding in Stockholm 2010. The collection contains 38 objects collected by Nordiska museet [The Nordic Museum], Sweden's largest museum of cultural history. Nordiska museet has a total collection of over 1,5 million items collected since 1873. My ambition in this thesis has been to describe my work with the classification and documentation of these new objects and their context. One of the main problems was how to combine the modern objects with the old existing collection within the two classification systems used at the museum. Four case studies were made toillustratethe different types ofproblems that occurred and the solutions found.I have also highlightedthe importance of being coherent when working with documentation and some of the consequences of classification.

Couple therapy is a frequently sought domain by couples who experience problems in their relationships. Couple therapy has been researched intensively, but few studies incorporate a holistic account of the therapeutic process. This study aims to explore and integrate the therapist's and the couple's experiences of change in the context of couple therapy. The ecosystemic epistemology and the narrative metaphor forms the foundation from which the therapy and the research is approached. Qualitative research methods are employed from within a naturalistic paradigm which allows for personal and unique meanings to emerge. Rich descriptions of the therapist's and the participant's stories of change are provided. Multiple perspectives are offered in the stories which reveal the reciprocal motions between the therapist's and the couples' change processes. Recurring themes are extracted from the stories which punctuate the pivotal change processes that were experienced by the therapist and the couples during the therapy. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Couple therapy is a frequently sought domain by couples who experience problems in their relationships. Couple therapy has been researched intensively, but few studies incorporate a holistic account of the therapeutic process. This study aims to explore and integrate the therapist's and the couple's experiences of change in the context of couple therapy. The ecosystemic epistemology and the narrative metaphor forms the foundation from which the therapy and the research is approached. Qualitative research methods are employed from within a naturalistic paradigm which allows for personal and unique meanings to emerge. Rich descriptions of the therapist's and the participant's stories of change are provided. Multiple perspectives are offered in the stories which reveal the reciprocal motions between the therapist's and the couples' change processes. Recurring themes are extracted from the stories which punctuate the pivotal change processes that were experienced by the therapist and the couples during the therapy. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)