Dissertations in CACREP-Accredited Counseling Doctoral Programs: An Initial Investigation

Faculty in 38 CACREP-accredited doctoral programs in the US described their dissertation products over the last three years, composition of their dissertation committees, and their satisfaction ratings with dissertation products and processes. Results indicated traditional dissertation formats were predominant. Over half (54%) of completed dissertations were quantitative and 40% were qualitative. Committees typically included two or three counselor educators and at least one outside faculty member. Faculty were modestly satisfied with dissertations, citing the need for more rigor and consistency of standards. Higher satisfaction was related to committee composition as well as the use of a variety of research methods

Working with clients who self-injure: Providing alternatives

The topic of self-injurious behavior (SIB) has been gaining widespread attention. Although college counselors engage in various types of treatments in order to uncover the underlying reasons for a client's SIB, there is another step in treatment that might be helpful to clients who self-injure.This step involves alternatives to self-injury. The authors provide various alternatives to self-injury and discuss matching the alternative to the function and type of SIB

Violence, coping, and mental health in a community sample of adolescents

The current study examined the coping strategies, exposure to violence and psychological trauma symptoms of violent adolescents compared to less violent and nonviolent adolescents in a community sample. An anonymous self-report questionnaire was administered to students in six public high schools (grades 9–12). The 10% most violent adolescents were identified and compared to their less violent and nonviolent peers. A total of 3724 students represented 68% of adolescents in all targeted schools. Ages ranged from 14 to 19 years; 52% were female; and 35% were African-American, 34% Caucasian and 23% Hispanic. Analyses revealed that violent adolescents compared to their less violent and nonviolent peers employed more maladaptive coping strategies, were exposed to higher levels of violence and reported higher clinical levels of psychological trauma symptoms. Maladaptive coping was also significantly associated with psychological trauma symptoms and violent behavior, even after controlling for the influence of demographic factors. The findings support the importance of appropriate identification, assessment and referral services for adolescents in nonclinical settings, and the role that coping strategies play in contributing to adolescent mental health and well-being

Understanding the experiences of survivors of a loss by suicide: A photovoice study

Suicide is a devastating loss that leaves behind many survivors who are left to cope with unique obstacles such as isolation, stigma, and the question of why the death occurred. All of these aspects can lead to negative mental health consequences and make it difficult to express the grief experience verbally. Words may not provide the fullest description of the experience, but photographs may provide survivors the opportunity to share their experience on a deeper level. In this study, the researchers used photovoice methodology to explore the experience of survivors. The result included seven themes with a total of 15 photos. These enriching photographs not only give voice to survivors of suicide, but also bring the survivors’ voices out of isolation and provide other individuals within the survivors’ community with a powerful message of their grief experiences

Development and evaluation of assessments for counseling professionals

It is imperative that counselors understand how to critically evaluate assessments before using them to make clinical decisions. This evaluation can be conducted through integrating the 5 sources of validity. Each source of validity is discussed, along with methods to appraise psychometric quality, throughout this special issue

Family Communication Patterns and the Mediating Role of Communication Competence and Alexithymia in Relation to Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Citation metadata

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) affects a growing number of youth and transitional-aged youth. Nock's (2009) comprehensive model of NSSI engagement points to a range of factors that combine to predict who is at a heightened risk for self-injury. The present study examined the impact of specific interpersonal factors, family communication patterns (i.e., conversation and conformity orientations), and communication competence on five supported measures of self-injurious behaviors. We further tested whether alexithymia, or a person's inability to identify and describe their emotions, mediated family communication patterns and communication competence in predicting NSSI behavior. Family communication patterns, specifically conversation orientation, had a positive impact on lifetime NSSI behaviors. While communication competence positively related to both lifetime and current NSSI behaviors, alexithymia mediated these relationships. Implications for treatment are provided

Will’s Choice: A Suicidal Teen, a Desperate Mother, and a Chronicle of Recovery [book review]

A worst fear of most counselors is a client who attempts or commits suicide. While a counselor focuses on the safety of the client, he or she sometimes may forget about the impact on the family and friends of the suicidal client. Will’s Choice is a true story about an adolescent youth who battled with depression, ultimately attempting suicide, and the journey of his recovery

The relationship between nonsuicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation

This correlational study was conducted with 403 undergraduate college students from 2 universities. The authors used path analysis and bootstrap regression to analyze the relationships between variables. Locus of control and family connectedness related to current nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) engagement. However, when entered into the same regression, the variables current NSSI engagement and current NSSI number of methods used mediated all other relationships with suicidal ideation. Implications to current theories and clinical practice are provided

Factors Linked with Increases in Nonsuicidal Self-Injury: A Case Study

This case study explored eight clients in outpatient mental health counseling who reported engaging in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) within the 90 days prior to intake. Information on client self-injury, psychological symptoms, and coping behaviors were collected from clients at intake and termination. At program termination, counselors’ treatment methods, number of sessions, and credentials were collected. To explore changes in NSSI during counseling, descriptive statistics and frequencies were used. Most clients decreased or extinguished self-injury behaviors by termination, while two clients increased. Problem-focused and avoidant coping strategies appeared to differentiate clients who decreased from clients who increased self-injurious behaviors by termination