Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'General Psychology'

This dissertation used the exploratory single-case study method to address the research question of: How and to what extent has Uta Hoehne, a licensed psychologist, applied Alice Bailey's principles of esoteric psychology in a humanistic/transpersonalbased clinical practice?

Alice Bailey was an esotericist in the first half of the 20th century whose principles of esoteric thought resonate with many of the founding principles of humanistic/transpersonal psychology. Bailey wrote extensively about a type of psychology she called esoteric psychology (EP), which uses principles potentially applicable to clinical psychology. Uta Hoehne is a present-day licensed psychologist and skilled esotericist whose clinical practice has humanistic/transpersonal psychology roots.

She has applied EP techniques successfully in her clinical practice, originally as a supplement to conventional therapeutic techniques.

The research question was investigated using three data sources: 10 structured interviews with Hoehne; other Hoehne source data including published articles on her nonprofit Web site, approximately 200 unpublished documents, 60 hours of lecture recordings; and interviews with two of her senior students, also licensed psychologists.

The data involved general background information, the clinical use of esoteric psychology principles including what she called "higher psychic powers and energy," the esoteric perspective and protocol for multiple categories of DSM-IV-TR psychological disorders, and specific clinical tools with potential general application in humanistic/transpersonal psychology clinical practices. Also, the effectiveness of esoteric psychology techniques in others' clinical practices was addressed with two of Hoehne's students.

Content analysis yielded five principal categories that encompass esoteric psychology in general and Hoehne's specific clinical practices in particular. These categories concern esoteric psychology's perspective, orientation, understanding of disease, practices, and interface with humanistic/transpersonal psychology, and each contains further subthemes.

Hoehne's apparent success in therapeutic outcomes with application of Bailey's esoteric principles in a clinical practice with humanistic/transpersonal psychology roots demonstrates the appropriateness of further research into both the theory and practice of esoteric psychology and of consideration of a more general application in other humanistic/transpersonal psychology clinical practices. A clear resonance is revealed between these two approaches to psychology, and their areas of confluence and difference may work together to address the greater unfolding of human potential.

Although defined as the context from which our experiences occur, place often remains in the background of awareness, if not completely unconscious. Place is a subjective and unique experience yet common to all as a primary component of identity development and expression. The purpose of this dissertation research was to expand the understanding of the phenomenon of "psychology of place" as it relates to relocation. This inquiry investigated specifically why adults in mid-life chose to relocate to Sedona, Arizona.

This qualitative research methodology employed a phenomenological-hermeneutic framework to investigate the consciously lived experience of eight individuals, between the ages of 25 and 64 years old, who consider Sedona home. A parallel coder was utilized to help interpret the data. Participants in this study chose to move to Sedona as adults in mid-life and have resided there for a minimum of one year. Middle age is typically the prime time of one's career and yet people were drawn to Sedona for non-employment reasons. It was found that serendipity played a large role in the decisions made by many of the participants in this study. As the author, I explored the motivations for relocation by evaluating interpersonal reasons that were grounded in the current literature while also investigating place attributes that attracted these migrants. This dissertation addressed gaps in the literature, as well as deepened the exploration of place psychology and its role in identity development.

Clinical supervision serves as the indispensable heart of clinical training and professional development (Falender & Shafranske, 2004). While it is expected that clinical supervision be of high quality, some events or experiences may occur in clinical supervision that strain the supervisory alliance, hinder the supervisee's growth, and contribute to a poor experience of supervision, adversely affecting its effectiveness. A Q-sort methodology was used in this study to examine the opinions of five directors of clinical training regarding the impact of 50 counterproductive experiences (CEs) in supervision. The results suggested that each of the CEs drawn from the literature was believed to have an impact on supervision; however, events involving a failure to address the needs of the supervisee were opined to have the greatest potential for significant negative effects on the process of supervision. The findings of this study point to the significant role counterproductive experiences play in clinical supervision; the findings additionally contribute to the development of the Counterproductive Experiences in Supervision scale (CES).

Millions of people are spending billions of hours each week playing digital games. These astonishing numbers point to a vast reservoir of psychic material that has been relatively unexamined by the field of depth psychology. Yet, in a realm of virtual games where image is primary and fantasy is played out, soul (psyche) is clearly present in its various disguises.

Through play and fantasy, unconscious content of the psyche is able to express its deep longings. Hypnogogic landscapes of video games provide immersive realms in which players enact psychological dramas. However, to date most psychological research of game experiences has been primarily empirical analysis within cognitive behavioral psychology and neuroscience. The question of soul-making within games is rarely approached.

In this qualitative interdisciplinary study of game studies and depth psychology, the relationship between digital games and psyche is explored through the lens of archetypal psychology. The overarching goal is to address whether the constructs of archetypal psychology provide an adequate psychological framework for understanding the phenomena of digital game worlds.

This study looks primarily to archetypal psychologist and Jungian psychoanalyst James Hillman, to ground the research in depth psychological concepts of archetype, image, and soul. Hillman’s four concepts of personifying, pathologizing, psychologizing, and soul-making, as conveyed in Re-Visioning Psychology (1975/1992), provide the guideposts for the structure of interviews with four prominent game narrative designers, fieldwork discussions, and hermeneutic investigation of the literature.

The results of this dissertation demonstrate games as a virtual theater where psyche can play; the psychological necessity of personification and regression through fantasy; the role of archetypes in the creation process of game experiences; and the importance of archetypal influences within game realms for broader and richer context for soul’s participation. In addition, this study provides initial languaging allowing archetypal psychologists and game designers to enter into both game analysis and exploratory conversations, resulting in deeper meaning-making in gameplay. This work introduces depth psychologists to the important domain of digital games for soul and suggests to game designers a new access path as game designs evolve in new directions.

Keywords: Archetypal psychology, Jung, Hillman, videogames, pathology, soul.

People make many decisions with consequences that are delayed, rather than immediate. Of particular interest are decisions in which long-term gains must be balanced against short-term costs. Such time trade-offs can be advantageous or deleterious to the decision-maker: the decision to abstain from immediately entering the labor force and instead pursuing a lengthy education benefits the educated in the long-term although their short-term wages are lowered. In contrast, the decision to overeat increases the short-term enjoyment of food but decreases long-term health. A large body of research in psychology has shown that the ability to delay gratification and elect long-term over short-term gains leads to superior life outcomes.

Expanding on this tradition, my thesis examines time-tradeoffs in two domains: first, I examine the resolution of time-tradeoffs in settings in which people are asked to explicitly decide between short-term and long-term gains. This line of work is closely connected to economic models of decision-making that account for the role of time in shaping decisions. I then transition to examining the resolution of time-tradeoffs in settings in which time trade-offs are implicit. Specifically, I examine the way in which people explore unfamiliar environments in order to maximize information. Maximizing information represents a time-tradeoff because the goal of obtaining information generally requires the decision-maker to eschew known sources of short-term rewards in order to explore new options whose benefits will be reaped only in the long-term.

Collectively, I describe a large body of experiments that examine these two classes of decision-making and put forward two new models of decision-making, the ITCH model of intertemporal choice and the MaxInfo model of exploratory decision-making, that account for the data from these experiments and extend the state of the art.

This dissertation compares the integrated vipassana movement of North America and the school of psychology. The comparison examines both healing practices and ontological paradigms. The integrated vipassanā movement in the United States is defined by that element of vipassanā teachings that blends Theravāda Buddhist practices with American cultural mores as promoted and disseminated by Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Existential-humanistic psychology is here represented by the teachings of Rollo May, James Bugental, and Irvin Yalom. This inquiry seeks to apprehend the nature and efficacy of compassionate and caring present-moment attention in the context of two distinct ontological orientations. The analysis begins with each tradition's description of humanity's most fundamental flaw: dukkha and angst. The examination of these maladies of life is followed by a comparison of these traditions' respective portrayals of health and harmony: Buddhist liberation as compared with existential freedom. This study then examines and compares the way in which these traditions employ the blended healing practices of compassion and present-moment awareness. The findings include the observation that the Theravāda concept of no-self and the existential notion of the groundlessness of being provide for two distinct kinds of healing: one promotes a grace born of skillfully encouraging a depth of surrender of self, and the other speaks to creating an authentic world for oneself. This dissertation finds that the two traditions offer practices and orientations that may be used complementarily.

The current study examined how parental underestimations of child’s weight status, parental worry, and the Theory of Planned Behavior variables (attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control) predict intentions to adhere to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) recommendations of four childhood health behaviors. These behaviors include: 1) eating five fruits and/or vegetables per day; 2) spending two hours or less on screen time (television, computer, and video games) per day; 3) engaging in at least one hour of physical activity per day; and 4) limiting (having zero) sugarsweetened beverages. Parents (N = 78) of overweight and obese children, ages six to 13 years old, were recruited from pediatric medical clinics and participated in an online study, where they were exposed to these AAP behavioral recommendations for children and completed online measures. Attitudes predicted of behavioral intentions for all recommendations except fruit and vegetable consumption. Subjective norms marginally predicted behavioral intentions for physical activity and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Perceived behavioral control predicted behavioral intentions for the four recommendations. Parental worry predicted behavioral intentions for fruit and vegetable consumption. Additional theoretical and practical implications of this research are also discussed.

The purpose of this dissertation is to describe a doctoral research study designed to implement Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) writing revision strategies, delivered in a completely online format, for college students. There is an insignificant amount of empirical research that has been conducted supporting writing interventions for college students. Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) is a writing intervention for which a significant amount of empirical research has been conducted in regards to its efficacy in elementary, middle, and high schools, with results showing positive effects for students of all ages. SRSD has features that lend itself to web-based interventions as well. Research on web-based interventions for students of all ages is on the rise, and is significant in regard to the methods of communication in which students today function. This study investigated the efficacy of a web-based version of SRSD provided to college students in freshman writing classes. The three SRSD revision strategies chosen to investigate were REVISE, SCAN, and Compare, Diagnose, Operate. The results indicated those SRSD participants who reported using at least one of the revision strategies at some point during the semester received higher course grades in their writing classes, in comparison to those participants who did not use the strategies; secondary analysis indicated that although the SRSD students' grades were higher, when group size was controlled, the difference in grades was not statistically significant. Qualitative analyses indicate that students felt as though the REVISE and SCAN strategies were most effective, and may be the most socially valid. The findings are discussed in the context of the procedures necessary for creating effective evidence-based writing interventions in the college setting.

The present study utilized the microanalysis techniques for grounded theory described by Strauss and Corbin (1998) to better understand the lived experience of having rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as a young adult woman. The sample consisted of eight women between the ages of 25-36, each of which participated in a 60-90 minute telephone interview that explored how they feel, think, and behave in terms of their RA. A theory emerged from the data that reflected the process of moving from diagnosis to acceptance for the participants. This process was described as being akin to a roller coaster because of the myriad of ups and downs associated with the RA experience. The findings from this study may help to inform the understanding of how young adults experience life in terms of their RA and, therefore, has potentially positive implications for other young adults with RA as well as their health care professionals, family, and friends.

Research examining success in college and career suggests that success in college, when measured by GPA, may not be a strong predictor of success in work, including salary and career satisfaction. This study examined how individual person variables, such as personality, motivation and drive, may better the predictive value of GPA. Predictors of college success, extrinsic career success and intrinsic career success as measured by GPA, salary and job satisfaction, respectively, were examined. Three models were developed and analyzed using structural equation modeling. In the models, demographic variables, personality, work motivation and work drive were assessed. Participants included 64 male and female undergraduate participants from a small private university and 107 male and female graduates of the same university. Those with higher GPAs tended to be female and to show more Conscientiousness, work motivation and work drive. Higher salaries were associated with being male, having obtained a higher educational degree and being less neurotic. Higher career satisfaction was associated with being male, White, having obtained a higher educational degree, having a higher undergraduate GPA, being less neurotic and less open. Results highlight the incongruencies between the personal attributes that tend to be associated with success at school and those that tend to be associated with work.

This study researches the journey of transformative learning experiences of adult men and women who have adopted a positive attitude in dealing with challenging and life-threatening issues. By applying a Western grief model and the principles of “living the present moment” and “letting go” derived from Buddhist psychology, this study aims to identify ways to transform mental suffering and grieving into positive energy that may help to provide comfort to individuals in despair.

The research paradigm is transpersonal and the method of this study is narrative analysis. A combination of face-to-face and telephone interviews as well as email exchanges with eight individuals who shared their personal experiences in adopting a positive attitude in overcoming difficult situations were employed. These participants have battled and conquered their unique life-challenging situations.

The stories of these individuals document their challenges with grief and include insights learned from these experiences and the ways in which they transformed these experiences into catalysts for positive energy. Seven themes became evident and significant in their journey in coping with suffering, and paved the way for their transformational learning experiences. They are: a) Reaching acceptance, b) the importance of a support network, c) making meanings of suffering, d) impermanence, e) letting go of the past, f) living in the present moment, and g) spirituality. It is hoped that this transformational learning experience will enable other people from diverse demographic, professional, and cultural backgrounds to embrace a Western grief model in combination with Buddhist psychology to better cope with their loss or grieving, and help them to understand the opportunity for growth these life challenges can present.

Everyone experiences loss and difficult challenges in the course of a lifetime. How we view and react to them determines the effect they have on the rest of our lives. This study will contribute to the need for more research in this area by asking the following question: “How do actions derived from Buddhist principles help to alleviate suffering among people facing challenges of change?”

Many studies have investigated problems with the ability achievement discrepancy (AAD) method of diagnosing specific learning disabilities (SLDs). The definition of an SLD includes the presence of a deficit in one or more cognitive processing systems. Researchers in other studies found that the AAD method overdiagnoses English language learners and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and underdiagnoses students with cognitive processing deficits. Although SLD diagnostic methods have been widely researched, much less information is available regarding SLD diagnostic methods that predict important student outcomes, such as high school completion. The General Abilities Index (GAI) is an SLD diagnostic method that can identify cognitive processing deficits. This study examined the relationships between cognitive processing deficits and the GAI method, high school completion status, performance on state standards assessments, and SLD eligibility. Using a multivariate, nonexperimental design, this study analyzed 149 datasets from records of students tested for an SLD between 1996 to 2013. A GLM analysis found that several types of cognitive processing deficits predicted math and writing performance on the state standards assessment and predicted not being diagnosed with an SLD, while the GAI method failed to predict any relationship with the dependent variables. Positive social changes from this study may include improved SLD diagnostic practices and improved educational interventions that target the cognitive processing deficits. Improved educational outcomes for SLD persons may reduce the high rates of unemployment, substance abuse, and incarceration experienced by the adult SLD population.

As with all psychological constructs in their infancy, it is important to operationalize a definition as part of the construct validation process. As a phenomenon that continues to gain recognition amongst the psychological community, Moral Injury (MI) is no different. Although Litz et al. (2009) introduced and defined MI as the "psychological, biological, spiritual, behavioral, and social impact of perpetrating, failing to prevent, or bearing witness to acts that transgress deeply held more beliefs and expectations," Drescher et al. (2011) found that a similar working definition was "inadequate" and lacked clarity according to trauma experts' opinion. The following exploratory, qualitative study attempts to validate and enhance the current definitional understanding of MI by identifying associated thematic signs and symptoms as reported by 100 randomly selected veterans from the Combat Subsample of the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS). Major themes generated by blind coders were compared with thematic signs and symptoms of MI as developed by Drescher et al. (2011). Although MI was not identified as a theme by coders, signs and symptoms of MI were identified throughout the data.

The purpose of this study is to examine the degree to which licensed psychologists are aware of the impact of shame as an underlying cause for various types of psychopathology in clinical and forensic settings. As a self-conscious emotion underlying numerous psychodynamic concepts, shame has largely been disregarded in the mostly behavior-based diagnoses described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). However there is significant research supporting the importance of shame for conceptualization in both clinical interventions and forensic assessments. In order to examine the degree of awareness of the concept of shame as presented in numerous forensic and clinical studies, a survey was designed and disseminated among members of the American Psychological Association, the California Psychological Association, the Los Angeles County Psychological Association, the Forensic Mental Health Association of California, and the American Academy of Forensic Psychology. Although limited by small sample size, results indicated a general lack of appreciation of the importance of shame. Neither workplace setting, nor the type of educational background, nor the number of years in practice significantly predicted the number of questions answered correctly in the survey about shame. However, participants with a Psy.D. degree, in Institutional settings tended to answer guilt a significantly greater number of times than their Ph.D. non-institutional setting peers, particularly when they had been practicing for a shorter amount of time than those peers.

The present study is a critical analysis of the literature about motivation in the treatment of anorexia nervosa. This dissertation provides a comprehensive overview of the theoretical and empirical literature on motivation to change in the treatment of anorexia nervosa, including discussion of the support for factors hypothesized to be associated with treatment motivation as well as identification of factors that require additional study. It will also provide conceptual clarity of motivation as a construct in anorexia nervosa treatment research. Current literature reveals how differences in the way motivation is conceptualized, studied, and assessed may limit our understanding of its role in anorexia nervosa treatment. Recommendations are therefore made regarding the adoption of a more consistent and shared understanding of the construct.

This qualitative research project (a) studied psychotherapists' and clients' subjective and intersubjective experiences of somatic empathic resonance, and (b) made observations on the nonverbal dynamics associated with this phenomenon. The applied definition of somatic empathic resonance was the felt sense of oscillating with another individual's emotions, thoughts, sensations, or experiences. Data were collected through psychotherapy session video recordings and post-session interviews. The interviews were analyzed through Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). IPA findings yielded themes related to tension-release dynamics, sensory-energetic experiences, and body areas associated with empathic resonance. Participants' reports of sensory-energetic phenomena were variously interpreted as nervous system sensations, awareness of sensory flows, awareness of bioelectromagnetic fields, and an experience of nondual consciousness. The nonverbal dynamics present in the video recorded psychotherapy sessions were studied. The observations indicated that various postural, gestural, facial, vocal, breathing, and cross-modal dynamics may be associated with moments of mutually reported empathic resonance. The study's limitations were outlined. Recommendations for future research were offered.

Current research supports the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Mendes, Mello, Ventura, Medeiros Passarela, & Jesus Mari, 2008; Bradley, Green, Russ, Dutra, & Westen, 2005). Art therapy (AT) has been used effectively with sexually abused children and adolescents (Deblinger & Heflin, 1996; Cohen & Cox, 1995; Pifalo, 2002), and integrated treatments show potential for enhanced PTSD symptom reduction (Bryant, Moulds, Guthrie, & Nixon, 2005; Pifalo, 2007). However, no research on the use of an integrated CBT and AT approach has been studied on adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse with ongoing PTSD.

This dissertation examined the feasibility of an integrated CBT and AT group treatment for adult survivors (N=5). A relationship between participation in treatment and reduction of symptoms of PTSD, depression, dissociation, and anxiety was indicated. The results of this study provide initial support for this manual-based treatment and demonstrates the potential of integrated treatments.

The purpose of this descriptive non-empirical dissertation was to examine the utility of the concept of complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) to conceptualize, assess, and treat veterans returning from Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) who have been exposed to traumatic event(s). Many have been exposed to unique traumatic factors, such as frequent deployments of greater length, urban combat theaters, and guerilla warfare. The prevalence of mental health disorders within this veteran population is high while utilization of services remains low. This body of work explores to what extent veterans present with trauma symptoms that may be different from PTSD as historically defined in the DSM system, and that more closely resemble CPTSD symptoms. CPTSD is a subset of psychological trauma that has a unique and broad range of disturbances affecting self-regulation, systems of meaning, and self-perception. The body of work presented here synthesizes the current literature on this veteran population, traumatic stress disorders and treatments, moral injury and moral distress, and betrayal trauma theory to present an argument in favor of the utility of the CPTSD concept. This dissertation may be used in the following ways: (a) to enhance the relevance and understanding of CPTSD specific to the returning veteran population, and (b) to serve as a framework for future research and implementation of a phase-based treatment. While available PTSD treatments may be applicable for these veterans, they do not account for emotion regulation deficits and, in some cases, may be contraindicated. Following a critical review of the literature, the researcher developed phase-based and skills-focused treatment protocol as a creative solution to bridge the gap between PTSD and CPTSD treatments. The potential limitations of the protocol are assessed and opportunities for future directions are presented.

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological research was to explore the influence of the Catholic Church teachings and culture on the recovery and healing of women survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA). This study intended to identify which attributes of Catholicism these survivors consider salient. Narratives of 8 women raised as Catholics who were abused sexually as children and experienced a minimum of two years of psychotherapy were collected in individual interviews and then analyzed.

A review of the vast array of studies on the long-term effects of CSA reveals numerous psychological, social, and behavioral difficulties in adults, ranging from poor self-esteem and depression to sexual disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Briere & Elliott, 2003; Kim, Talbot, & Cicchetti, 2009; Lemieux & Byers, 2008). The available literature rarely considers whether religious factors themselves play a role in the creation or maintenance of the difficulties from which these women later suffer. I speculated that the healing of the woman and her presenting problems are compounded when she is engaged in what may be called traditional psychotherapies. In addition to the tenacious suffering that may emerge during the psychotherapy process, the Catholic survivor may be struggling with issues such as the perpetual silence of the church, the belief that faith comes from the leaders of the institution, the idea that God cannot be separated from a sense of religion, and the need to first acknowledge sins before the Lord. The focus of this research was to explore the women's lived experiences of recovery within the broader context of Catholicism. To best support clients, it is essential to develop openness to cultural variability and an ability to reach clients within their own cultural frameworks. The current study forms part of a body of work on the developmental and cultural aspects of spirituality and their interaction with healing from trauma. A willingness to learn from the client about her experiences, coupled with professional training and consultation may facilitate improvement in clients who suffered trauma and for whom religion and spirituality have played an important role in their lives.

There is limited literature available on the lived experience of psychopathic individuals who score in the 36.75-40 range on the Hare Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R), hereafter termed Extreme Psychopathy (EP). This qualitative study shows how the characteristics described in quantitative studies of psychopathic individuals manifest in the lives of real people identified with Extreme Psychopathy. Nine of 317 PCL-R assessments conducted between 1995 and 2009 by the researcher scored in the Extreme Psychopathy range. This research with embedded units focuses on the archival records of the three of these individuals who are deceased. Each case history is a critical test of Hare's construct of psychopathy. A thematic analysis was used to explore similarities and differences within and across case histories. These case histories demonstrate the life course perspectives and individual permutations of the 20 items of the PCL-R, uniquely portraying individuals in the Extreme Psychopathy range. It is recommended the term "Extreme Psychopathy" apply to individuals with PCL-R Total Scores falling within one SEM from the maximum score of 40.

The study of hatred is a historical one that has generated multiple explanations theorizing the nature and origin of this construct. Current theories suggest hate is a critical factor in the manifestations of the world's atrocities, such as terrorism, massacres, and genocide, however no single universal definition of the construct exists. Additionally, there is a paucity of research specific to the construct of hate or documentation of the specific factors that contribute to its development. This research explores the experience of hate using a phenomenological method of inquiry so that a deeper understanding of the "lived experience" of hate can be achieved. Individuals who self-identify as experiencing hate from the perspective of the hater, offer descriptions of the intrapersonal processes, specifically the underlying emotions, cognitions, and physiological responses, that occur when they are or have been in the throes of hatred. Participants identify hate as an emotion, one unlike any they had ever experienced before and one that is a combination of several emotions. Although hate is defined as an emotion, participants identify cognitive and physical changes that accompanied their experience of hate, implying that hate is more than just emotion, though often described as such by laypersons. Factors that led participants to name their experience as hate versus some other experience, along with the critical components of hate are described. These descriptions distinguish hate from anger, dislike and aversion. Positive aspects of hate, as well reflections for transforming hate are also included. Limitations of the study and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Children in foster care are a vulnerable population, having experienced abuse, neglect or other loss. For some children, foster care is a temporary stop on the way to reunification with their families; others never return home. Every year tens of thousands of children in the foster care system are "emancipated," or age out of the foster care system. Research suggests poor outcomes for former foster youth, who exhibit higher rates of homelessness, joblessness, poverty, alcohol and substance abuse, and mental health diagnoses than their age-matched peers. Most prior research on foster youth has focused on negative outcomes, although several qualitative studies have examined the experiences of youth in foster care, and one study has examined youth experience of self-reliance during the aging out process. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand better the experience of former foster youth who have aged out of care. Using the Foley Life Story Interview (FLSI), this study sought to elicit the experience of aging out foster youth with attention to how they found hope for the future; this is the first study to date that has examined the experience of former foster youth, the aging out process, and their experiences of hope through the lens of positive youth development, which holds that contexts can be altered to improve youth outcomes, and how such changes in context may actually create changes within the person.

Clinical supervision serves as the centerpiece in clinical training in which client welfare is assured and professional development is facilitated (Falender & Shafranske, 2004). While it is expected that clinical training be of high quality, some events or experiences may occur in clinical supervision that strain the supervisory alliance, hinder supervisees' growth, and contribute to a poor experience of supervision, adversely affecting its effectiveness. These events or experiences are considered to be counterproductive experiences (CEs). This study explored the beliefs of 8 experts in clinical supervision regarding CEs in supervision. The study employed Q-sort methodology and completed the first four steps necessary for the development of a preliminary scale of CEs. The results of this study suggest that each of the counterproductive experiences identified in the literature negatively impact supervision in the opinions of the experts. While specific items pertaining to ethical lapses and boundary crossings were found to have the greatest impact on supervision, events involving a mismatch between the supervisor's and supervisee's approach to learning were also believed to significantly impact the process of supervision.

The purpose of this project was to demonstrate the need for a state-wide peer officer support model. Although support services were available, there were inconsistencies in how they were made available throughout the state. A survey was carried out to identify these discrepancies and advise on best practices and recommendations. One major obstacle was the issue of stigma attached to seeking assistance that prevents most officers from seeking services. The survey identified that peer officer support programs have higher rates of utilization over EAPs and mental health professionals. The vast majority of supervisors and officers were supportive of an option for peer officer training and supportive training programs. Smaller departments had fewer services available than larger departments showing a need for a state-wide peer support program. By utilizing the brotherhood of law enforcement personnel, administrators can help to build the foundation of a strong peer support model.