This mixed-methods study sought to examine the impact of learning the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model on novice therapists' self-of-the-therapist work. Criterion sampling was used to recruit participants enrolled in an IFS graduate course in Virginia Tech's Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) Program. Participants completed three sets of questionnaires (Self-Compassion Scale, Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, and Professional Quality of Life Scale V. 5) both before and after completing the course. Twelve of the 23 participants volunteered to contribute to the qualitative portion of this study in semi-structured focus groups or individual interviews. The qualitative data were analyzed using grounded theory to assist in building theory for whether and how IFS can build awareness of internal process and increased self-compassion in novice therapists, therefore contributing to their self-of-the-therapist work. The quantitative data reported an increase in Self-Kindness, Common Humanity, Mindfulness, ability to Describe one's experience, ability to Act with Awareness, and the ability to be Nonjudgmental and Nonreactive of one's experience after participants completed the IFS course. The quantitative data reported a decrease in participants' Self-Judgment, Over-identification, and Secondary Traumatic Stress after completing the IFS course. The qualitative data supported these findings. The themes that emerged for the qualitative data were an increase in Self-Leadership, Improved Relationships, and an increase in Self-Compassion. Overall, participants reported gaining greater awareness of their internal process and increasing their ability to be self-compassionate, which they report impacted and contributed to their self-of-the-therapist work. Limitations, clinical and training implications, and future directions for research are discussed. / Master of Science

While a significant amount of attention has been paid to the efficacy of marriage and family therapy (MFT), research on the effectiveness of MFT is lacking. Furthermore, university training clinics are an underutilized, yet excellent resource for collecting effectiveness research data. This study examined the current practices at the Center for Family Services, an MFT university training clinic, by examining therapists' ratings of therapy effectiveness for clients seen more than once over the past five years (n = 558). Data on therapy modality, treatment length, fee for services, presenting problems, and termination category were examined. A statistically significant relationship was found between treatment outcome and each of the following variables: treatment length, number of presenting problems, and termination category (completed or dropout). Furthermore, termination category best discriminated membership in the three outcome groups. A statistically significant relationship was not found between treatment outcome and the following variables: therapy modality and fee for services. Strengths, limitations, suggestions for future research, and implications of the findings are discussed. / Master of Science

Limited knowledge is available about the experiences and outcomes of family members, specifically those of children who were raised by parent(s) with disability. This gap in research is highly consequential, influencing the development of policies that are based on prejudiced assumptions about disabled parenting, rather than on empirical evidence. This study examined the experience of 13 adult children who were raised by at least one parent with disability in order to obtain a first-hand account of their perspectives. A transcendental phenomenology facilitated objectivity while capturing the essence of their experience. Research questions presented were the following: (a) What has been the experience of adult children who grew up with parent(s) with disability? (b) What familial, interpersonal, and/or personal contexts (if any) have produced a strengths-based retrospection of the experience? The study utilized Walsh's family resilience framework as a theoretical guide to counter deficit-focused research that has dominated disability research. Findings suggest the highly systemic and contextual quality of the experience, with children reporting overall strengths-based retrospections. Participants described family processes that were critical to the development of individual resilience, including belief systems, organizational processes, and open communication. Findings also demonstrated the development of favorable child outcomes such as empathy among adult children who were raised by parent(s) with disability. The findings have research, policy, and clinical implications, emphasizing the need to amplify disability discourses within the field of family science. / Doctor of Philosophy / Discrimination against parents with disability is a long-standing issue in US history, impacting policies that lead to the involuntary separation of families. Assumptions about disabled parenting that focus on individual impairment may have contributed to this issue. The purpose of this study was to examine the experience of adult children who grew up with a parent(s) with disability, to obtain a first-hand account of their perspectives. The research questions presented were (a) What has been the experience of adult children who grew up with parent(s) with disability? (b) What familial, interpersonal and/or personal contexts (if any) have produced a strengths-based retrospection of the experience? Based on an analysis of 13 single interviews, Walsh's family resilience framework was utilized to present the findings. Findings revealed three broad themes that characterize the experience. Overall, children report strengths-based perspectives, describing the family processes that were critical to effective navigation. The experience was also highly contextual and relational, challenging traditional perspectives that have historically prevailed. The study offers research, policy, and clinical implications, directing attention to the need to amplify disability discourses within the field of Family Science.

The purpose of this research is to explore the experiences of Black doctoral degree holders’ interactions with their White professors in a Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) program. There are a number of studies on the effectiveness of White professors and Black graduate students, but few focus specifically on the field of Marriage and Family Therapy. This study employed existential phenomenological methodology to examine Black MFT doctoral degree holders’ perceptions of their White professors. The experiences of six Black doctoral degree holders who attended COAMFTE-accredited programs were examined. The process involved an in-depth semi-structured interview. The study also revealed five major themes describing the meanings of Black doctoral degree holders’ experiences. These five areas of concern were: Perceptions of world: The program; Perception of others: White Professors; Perception of self: Participation; Perception of self: Participants; Implications for Black students; and Implications for White professors. The study suggests implications for future research on the lives of doctoral students, specifically, Black doctoral students’ who are enrolled in marriage and family therapy programs. Recommendations are offered on improving future interactions between Black students and White Professors based on changes by MFT programs, White professors, and Black doctoral students.

No description available.

Bitumen recovery by the water-based extraction process produces waste streams known as tailings. When discharged into the tailing ponds, the coarse solids in the tailings stream settle out quickly, while the fine solids accumulate over years of settling to a solids content of 30-35% by weight. The formed fluid fine solids sludge, known as mature fine tailings (MFT), traps 1-3% by weight hydrocarbons within its stable slurry structure. The remediation of these mature fine tailings is one of the major challenges facing the oil sands industry. This study was intended to investigate the recovery of residual hydrocarbons in the MFT by froth flotation process. Using a laboratory Denver flotation cell operated in a batch mode, the effect of MFT dilution ratio by process water or tap water, the flotation hydrodynamics and aeration rate on hydrocarbon recovery kinetics was studied. It was found that at 1:2 dilution by weight of the MFT with process water, increasing aeration rate has a more favourable effect on recovering more than 85% of the hydrocarbons from the MFT. The hydrocarbon-rich froth produced was treated by naphtha and was found to produce a hydrocarbon product similar to diluted bitumen obtained in bitumen extraction process, suitable for upgrading. Similar approach was applied to the hydrocarbon-rich tailings from the Tailings Solvent Recovery Unit of paraffinic froth treatment. Satisfactory recovery of hydrocarbons from the MFT was obtained using a flotation column operated in a continuous mode, confirmed the results obtained from the batch tests. The tailings produced from the continuous flotation experiments were treated with polymer flocculants such as Magnafloc-1011 and Al-PAM to study the effect of hydrocarbon recovery on the remediation of the MFT. The results from initial tests showed that both flocculants were not as effective on flocculating MFT solids following the recovery of hydrocarbons by froth flotation. / in Chemical Engineering

More than 40 million American adults suffer from anxiety, but only a third receive care despite evidence of effective treatment. This is attributed to lack of access to adequate services, cultural-based myths, and prohibitive symptoms associated with anxiety, especially for marginalized populations such as racial minorities. Since spirituality is often used as a coping mechanism especially for racial groups, psychotherapy has slowly begun incorporating it into treatment. While this has the potential to reduce some barriers to care, the increasing number of Americans who are disaffiliating with traditional faiths or belong to minority spiritualities may not use the same coping mechanisms. The current study sought to contribute to the literature by obtaining a better understanding of whether the use of traditional spiritual activities and perceptions of God are different for spiritual majorities and minorities especially in managing anxiety. Using a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults (n=1525) from the Baylor Religion Study, structural equation models were tested to examine the relationships between anxiety and religious beliefs related to attachment to God as well as between anxiety and spiritual activities that encompass both social, organizational and private, subjective religiosity. Minority stress and attachment theories guided hypotheses that higher levels of anxiety would be associated with status as a spiritual minority but would be positively mediated by participation in spiritual activities such as worship services, prayer and scripture reading as well as mediated by more secure attachment to God. Results indicated that unlike spiritual majorities, spiritual minorities show lower anxiety levels compared with spiritual majorities unless using traditional forms of spiritual activities. Rather than positive or negative perceptions of the relationship with God, inconsistent perceptions were associated with higher levels of anxiety for all participants. Spiritual minorities had lower levels of both positive and negative perceptions of God's persona as well as lower levels of positive perceptions of the relationship with God, none of which correlated to anxiety. The results may indicate that spiritual minorities use other activities to successfully cope with anxiety and that they have greater anxiety when trying to conform to the dominant culture. This has important implications for practice given that many therapists lack training on how to incorporate spirituality into treatment. Distinctions between perceptions of the relationship with God and of God's persona indicate the need for further study of how more nuanced spiritual beliefs influence anxiety outcomes for a diverse range of spiritual practice and of the process by which individuals intentionally use spiritual tools to cope with anxiety. / Ph. D.

The Mildred Lake Settling Basin (MLSB) is the largest disposal site for mature fine tailings (MFT) at the Syncrude Canada Ltd oil sands plant. Since 1996, MFT densification in the MLSB has significantly accelerated due to microbial activity. Methane-producing microorganisms, known as methanogens, have become very active. A field and laboratory research program has been performed to study the mechanisms leading to the rapid densification. This research program consisted of historical monitoring data analyses, field investigations, small-scale column tests, and gas MFT densification tests. The field investigations have shown that the rapid densification of the MFT has occurred in the southern part of the pond ranging from 8 m to 15 m below the water surface. A connection existed between the rapid densification zone and the zone with intense microbial activity at the pond. The small-scale column tests demonstrated that, with increases of biogas generation, water drainage from the MFT was enhanced. Gas MFT densification tests showed that, stress histories and total pressure affected MFT densification property during microbial activity. Under high total pressure (6-7 m below pond surface) gas bubbles had difficulty to release. For MFT without pre-consolidation or under a preloading, during rapid gas generation, water was rapidly drained out. For over-consolidated MFT, water flowed back into MFT quickly during intense biogas generation. The concept of operative stress, the difference between the total stress and pore water pressure for the soil with large gas bubbles, was introduced to analyze the densification behavior of gassy MFT. Under high total pressure and under a preloading (1 kPa), excess pore pressure increased and operative stress decreased during rapid gas generation while water drainage from the MFT was accelerated. Total pressure and stress history also affected the structure and permeability of the MFT during microbial activity. Under low total pressure (1 m below pond surface) and without pre-consolidation, the MFT permeability increased after intense microbial activity. / Geotechnical Engineering

No description available.

No description available.