The number of deaths by suicide each year in the United States is rising. Men, women, and people of all ages die by suicide at high rates. Someone diagnosed with anorexia or bulimia is at significantly greater risk of completing or attempting suicide, making clear the importance of understanding how...
This dissertation presents two qualitative studies investigating expert trauma counselors’ experiences of clinical decision-making and countertransference. Chapter 2, Acutely Alert: A Grounded Theory of Clinical Decision-Making Processes of Expert Trauma Counselors addresses the research question, what are the clinical decision-making experiences and processes of expert trauma counselors? Chapter 3, Exploring...
The purpose of this dissertation is to convey research on counselors’ experience of administrative supervision. While research in counseling has given much attention to clinical supervision and the relationship between clinical supervisor and supervisee, it has not adequately attended to the important and influential role of administrative supervision and its...
On social media platforms and on blog sites, disordered behavior as a lifestyle choice is a growing trend that supports and promotes behaviors related to self-harm and anorexia. Web content advocating self-harm and anorexia can be found easily through search engines or can be concealed in the social media sphere...
This dissertation presents the results of two studies that explored the constructs of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and self-compassion. Each study employed a cross-sectional survey design to survey elementary, middle, and high school counselors in Oregon. The online questionnaire was developed using the Professional Quality of Life Scale (Stamm, 2009),...
Counseling professionals working with adolescent populations are reporting more and more adolescents experiencing suicidal ideation and attempt each year. The current literature on adolescent suicidality lacks theoretical presence, appears to rely on implications from findings on suicidal adults, and seems limited to in-patient teenaged populations (e.g., Horton et al., 2015;...
Gifted education has historically involved disproportionate rates of identification and enrollment for both students of color and students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, depriving these groups of more challenging learning opportunities. Giftedness transcends subgroups, spanning all racial, socioeconomic, and disability categories; still, data indicate that Asian and White students are identified...
For good reason, suicide is of growing concern across the nation; rates continue to increase annually in the United States. Accurate assessment remains an obstacle to effective treatment for individuals who are suicidal. Without proper screening, a client cannot get a referral to see a specialist and therefore cannot receive...
Emerging adulthood is a newly-defined developmental phase that occurs during the traditional college years (18-22) (Arnett, 2015). These students at colleges and universities are showing a dramatic increase in emotional distress, with the largest increase occurring in anxiety and stress symptomology (Association of University and College Counseling Center Directors, 2017)....
Mental health professionals are dedicated to improving outcomes in therapy. Research over the past 50 years has shown psychotherapy to be effective in both improving the functioning of and diminishing the overall distress experienced by clients. Several factors have been constant predictors of outcome in therapy, including length of treatment,...