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Therapy Dogs in Schools: A Proposal
No full textMental health challenges among children and youth are on the rise, while mental health funding and resources in schools stay the same or decrease. In addition, counsellor approaches and school policies do not allow for creative approaches to meet the diverse needs of students. The aim of this capstone is to propose the use of therapy dogs in schools to help school counsellors and the school community. The literature review examines the benefits of human-animal interaction, and dives deeper into the specific use of therapy dogs in a variety of settings. Considering the need for more plentiful and creative supports to meet the growing mental health and social emotional needs of students, this capstone includes a proposal for a resident therapy dog program in a middle or high school setting. The three-pronged program is designed to help alleviate the growing mental health and social-emotional demands being placed on school counsellors and also support the overall wellness of not just individual students but the whole student body. The program proposal includes program design, screening and certification, communication with stakeholders, addressing concerns, implementation, maintenance, and evaluation
Burnout in Healthcare: Revisited Through a Relational-Family Systems Lens
No full textBurnout in healthcare is an ever-growing problem, especially in the aftermath of the current COVID-19 global pandemic. The effects of burnout are far-reaching with significant impact to both patients and healthcare professionals, calling into question the viability of certain professions and teetering healthcare systems globally. Current measures are inadequate for the pressures faced of many healthcare systems and its professionals experiencing burnout—this has only been further exacerbated by the pandemic. A shift needs to occur in both reframing the problem and solution through a systems theory lens, integrating a relational model of burnout. This is in part because healthcare is conducted via interprofessional teams working in hierarchical structures and in coordination to provide high quality, empathetic care to patients. This capstone thesis will aim to conceptualize both the problem and solution through a holistic systems theory lens via a relational family systems model towards the aim of a contemporary path forward in addressing burnout in healthcare
An Investigation of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy as Effective Counselling Modalities for Emotion Regulation Following Traumatic Brain Injury
No full textThe purpose of this Capstone Research Project is to explore the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and implementations of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) use towards emotion regulation (ER) for clients with acquired traumatic brain injury (TBI). To begin the background of this topic as well as the significance and purpose of the paper will be presented. This will include a brief description of traumatic brain injury, why this is an area of interest to me and how this research can be beneficial to the counselling field. Chapter 2 will comprise of a literature review including an analysis of the current use of CBT with ER, specifically focused on individuals that have acquired TBI's or similar symptomatology. Chapter 3 will contain literature indicating DBT's efficacy in helping populations with similar emotion dysregulation as traumatic brain injury. The concluding chapter will contain a summary of the findings and suggestions for therapeutic applications. In addition to recommendations for counsellor's use of DBT with TBI clients
Sexting, Slut Shaming, and Mental Health in Adolescence
No full textSexting is a new way adolescents can explore relationships and their sexuality, but it can also lead to slut shaming. Sexting and slut shaming can have negative psychological impacts on adolescents. This capstone seeks to answer the research question: how can mental health workers help youth overcome the negative psychological consequences of sexting and slut shaming? This literature review discovered that adolescents sext and slut shame to confirm their heterosexuality and to gain social status. Sexting and slut shaming reinforces the sexual double standard, sexual violence, and rape culture, and parents and educators are also often part of the problem. It is proposed that sex education be updated to be sex positive and comprehensive for the digital technology that permeates society, in order to reduce psychological distress among adolescents
Childhood Trauma and Play Therapy: A Responsive Approach in Elementary School Counselling
No full textChildhood trauma is a public health concern with a significant presence in Canada's population. The literature shows several domains of impairment that result from childhood trauma, including attachment, biology, affect regulation, dissociation, behavioural control, cognition, and self-concept. From the school perspective, untreated mental health problems in childhood interfere with the ability to succeed in school. In particular, self-regulation, learning and memory, and social relationships are three key difficulties traumatized children experience in the school setting. School counsellors have a particular responsibility to respond in trauma-informed and developmentally-appropriate ways to students' social, emotional, and safety needs. In North America, play therapy has continued to emerge as the preferred and primary evidence-based therapeutic approach for children to target a range of behavioural, developmental, academic, social, and conduct problems and disorders; however, it has not been sufficiently researched in the context of school-based play therapy practice by school counsellors. In fact, many school counsellors are not using play therapy in their practice and most are not trained in using it at all. This capstone seeks to explore how elementary school counsellors can use play therapy approaches to support students who have experienced childhood trauma. It presents an introductory professional development session for elementary school counsellors in childhood trauma and play therapy and suggests future directions for research in the fields of play therapy and childhood trauma
Establishing Trauma Informed Care in a Correctional Setting
No full textHaving worked in corrections for many years, I have learned the value of trauma informed practice. Offenders are exposed to a system that is focused on security and public safety, conditions that can re-traumatize the offender. Little is known about the system's role in the traumatization of the offenders. What is known is that offenders in the correctional system experience higher trauma rates then the general population Recognizing the trauma behind the behaviour or crime of the offender might help to reduce traumatization and create a more productive healing process. Therefore, it is important to be aware of the offender's historic trauma and find new approaches focused more on the trauma and less on the behaviour or the crime