Theses and Dissertations from UMD
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item When The Shoe Is On The Other Foot: A Qualitative Study of Intern-Level Trainees' Perceived Learning From Clients(2007-07-10) Stahl, Jessica Vogel; Hill, Clara E.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Although research on therapist development indicates that therapists attribute the majority of their learning about therapy to their clients (e.g., Orlinsky, Botermans & Ronnestad, 2001), learning from clients has only been explicitly addressed in anecdotal accounts (Bugental, 1991; Crawford, 1987; Freeman & Hayes, 2002; Kahn & Fromm, 2002). The closest researchers have come to empirically investigating learning from clients is by studying the impact of clients on their therapists (e.g., Farber, 1985; Myers 2002). However, this literature is still in its infancy and warrants further exploration. The purpose of this study was to extend the literature on therapist development and the impact of clients on their therapists to the study of learning from clients. To this end, 12 trainees (5 male; 7 female) who had recently completed pre-doctoral internships at university counseling centers were interviewed about what they learn from clients. In addition, participants were asked how they realized what they learned from clients, what they do with what they learn from clients and what variables contribute to how much they learn from clients. The data were analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research (Hill, Knox, Thompson, Williams, Hess, & Ladany, 2005; Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997). Participants reported learning things about doing therapy, themselves, client dynamics, human nature, the therapy relationship, and the usefulness of supervision; these lessons were reflective or participants' level of development as they primarily reported learning higher-order skills (e.g., Cummings, Slemon & Hallberg, 1993; Sakai & Naasserbakht, 1997). In addition, participants highlighted the importance of consultation and self-reflection in order to recognize learning; this is consistent with literature on experiential learning (Abbey, Hunt & Weiser, 1985). In discussing what they do with what they learn from clients, participants indicated they have or will apply what was learned to future clinical work; in addition they indicated that their lessons from clients fostered some kind of personal growth. Finally, participants indicated that a number of variables influenced the amount they learned from their clients: therapist, client, and therapy relationship characteristics, time, a new or remarkable therapy process, and new supervisors or settings. Implications for practice and research are discussed.Item Characteristics of Natural Helpers(2004-10-26) Stahl, Jessica Vogel; Hill, Clara E; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Research on natural helping to date has been lacking in theoretical foundations and simple methods of identifying natural helpers. The current study was designed to test a theory-based measure of natural helping and explore how individuals cluster on measures evaluating proposed theoretical characteristics of natural helpers. Participants were 168 undergraduates who completed a series of self-report measures related to natural helping (e.g. empathy, social support, interpersonal strengths) and were rated by two volunteer clients on a measure of therapy process and outcome. Cluster analysis revealed five clusters, including one of natural helpers who obtained above average client ratings and had an above average composite score of all natural helping measures. Natural helpfulness of each cluster as well as validity, reliability, and utility of the theory-based measure of natural helping are discussed. Finally, the initial theoretical propositions regarding natural helping are revised and implications for future research are addressed.