Research Methodology and Program Evaluation
DIRECTIONS: As you proceed through this Final Project Worksheet, please carefully attend to each of the bullets within each section. Remember to include your specialization below.
If you are a CMHC student or a MCFC student you may select any of the case studies and the client(s) you are interested in working with.
If you are a School Counseling student, there are two case studies that address students in the school environment. Please choose either Case Study 1 or Case Study 2.
Be sure to choose one that you are passionate about and that will help inform your future work as a counselor!
Please identify your specialization by placing a “X” in the appropriate space:
CMHC ___X____
MCFC__________
SC_____________
PART 1: APPLYING RSEARCH TO A CASE STUDY
Please identify which case study you will use by placing a “X” in the appropriate space:
Case Study 1 _____ Case Study 2 _____ Case Study 3 __X___ Case Study 4 _____
Identify the client of focus by providing some basic information (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, grade level, etc.):
Describe the presenting problem and the mental health concern you will address in your work with the identified client or student:
Name the counseling intervention(s) that you will investigate for use with this client:
Articulating the research question. Research questions follow a specific formula. Here is some information to help you in designing your research question below.
Here is an example of a research question: Is art therapy effective to improve communication in elderly people with dementia?
The format is as follows: Is ( name of intervention ) effective for treating ( name the population or category of your client ) diagnosed with ( mental health issue )?
Is psychotherapy effective counseling intervention to help middle-aged women suffering depression ?
PART 2: APPLYING RESEARCH TO A CASE STUDY
Using the Walden Library, search the professional counseling databases to identify current, peer-reviewed research articles which investigate the intervention and mental health disorder you have chosen to research. List three article citations (in APA format with links to the articles) that you have identified for use in your Final Project. Each article should adhere to the following guidelines:
· Use only peer-reviewed article published in the last 10 years.
· Include at least one quantitative and one qualitative research design.
· Do NOT use a meta-analysis type article. Meta-analysis articles include results by combining and analyzing data from different studies conducted on similar research topics. These are not helpful for purposes of this assignment.
· Include the permalink for each article. See the Week 5 resources for a handout on how to do this!
ARTICLE 1
Tamplin, L. (2014, November 27).
https://www.aipc.net.au/articles/a-case-using-brief-psychodynamic-therapy/
Please identify your which type of journal article by placing a “X” in the appropriate space:
Quantitative _________
Qualitative ____X______
Mixed Methods_________
ARTICLE 2
Chapman, L. (2013, April 24).
https://www.aipc.net.au/articles/a-case-using-art-therapy-techniques/
Please identify your which type of journal article by placing a “X” in the appropriate space:
Quantitative _________
Qualitative _____X_____
Mixed Methods_________
ARTICLE 3
Barry, J. (2009, October 15).
https://www.aipc.net.au/articles/a-case-using-behaviour-therapy/
Please identify your which type of journal article by placing a “X” in the appropriate
Quantitative _________
Qualitative ____X______
Mixed Methods_________
PART 3: APPLYING RESEARCH TO A CASE STUDY (Evidence-Based Practice)
Using the following information as a guide, develop a polished APA formatted paper for the final project. A template is provided for the final project. You will submit the worksheet for Part 1 and Part 2. You will analyze three scholarly articles and apply the findings to your case study.
Homosexual people have continuously been discriminated against and stigmatized on many occasions by their families, religion, in their workplaces and also by friends (Meyers, 2015). Depression is one serious mental disorder arising from multifactorial discrimination among the people who identify themselves as lesbians (Khan, 2017). This case study specifically focuses on counseling interventions in addressing the issue of depression among lesbian people. I this study, a 40-year-old Latina woman Natasha is used under the choice made for case study 3. She reports being in love with another woman Nicole. Natasha being a family member of “Diehard Catholics” is so much afraid of what the family may do once discovered she is a lesbian. Thinking about this so much has affected her social life, health and even performance in the work and is afraid to lose her job as well. Natasha spends sleepless nights, a clear symptom of depression. She, therefore, refers herself to counseling which now forms the foundation of this study. Psychotherapy as a counseling intervention best suits to address Natasha’s mental disorder-depression. This study focuses on psychotherapy as a counseling intervention concerning depression treatment. the study also highlights three articles relating psychotherapy a solution to depression in the middle age women gender
Research Question:
Is psychotherapy effective counseling intervention to help middle-aged women suffering depression?
Search Strategy:
The strategy used in this study included the relevant keyword and Boolean search combination. The search combinations used were specific to identify the relationship between “Discrimination and homosexuality.” Another Boolean combination used was “depression and lesbianism”, “middle-age women and depression” as well as “counseling interventions and depression to lesbians” The keywords used to search were; Types of counseling interventions, depressions well as, lesbianism mental disorders.
Annotations
Article 1.
Tamplin, L. (2014, November 27). A Case Using Brief Psychodynamic Therapy. Retrieved from https://www.aipc.net.au/articles/a-case-using-brief-psychodynamic-therapy/
The article explains a 54-year-old woman Wendy presenting a problem of crying constantly and extreme anxiety among others, to a Counselor seeking advice that formed the purpose of this study. This is after she was told by the husband that he wanted a divorce after being married for twenty-nine years and with two children. Wendy started these problems twelve months before husband’s divorce proposal when she discovered changes in Him. He started attending the gym and reading personal development books. The problem statement for this case study was “speaking out fully helps a counselor help a client in solving distress” The ethical and cultural considerations the counselor focuses on were to respect Wendy’s take to keep her issues private and not told to another person. analyzing the results, the counselor comes up with relevant concepts necessary to conduct an impactful counseling session to a client. Article 2.
Chapman, L. (2013, April 24). A Case Using Art Therapy Techniques. Retrieved from https://www.aipc.net.au/articles/a-case-using-art-therapy-techniques/
The article is about a case using therapy techniques. In it is a 40-year-old woman Jodie married and has three children with a full-time professional career on which she works. She has a problem of anxiety together with her husband due to financial constraints arising from lack of satisfaction in their jobs. She quitted working at some point in time and it has led to a problem with raising her three children. The problem statement in this study the writer seeks to study is “can therapy help a stressed woman regain by creating self-awareness” The professional therapist in this study employs several therapy techniques as methodologies and structures to carry out the exercise. She, therefore, goes to a therapist for help. The therapist’s primary function following this study is to develop an understanding of the client’s problems and evaluate them first to know the best strategy to use to help the client. As a research methodology, the therapist in this study uses counseling sessions with a series of questions to carry out the task. The ethical and cultural considerations highlighted to respect the client’s age and also her marriage. The study ethically respected the client’s need for her information to remain confidential. Conclusions and findings in this study showed that therapy indeed can influence a woman’s perception of issues of her concern and enhance self-awareness to know what to do change her current situation.
Article 3.
Barry, J. (2009, October 15). A Case Using Behaviour Therapy. Retrieved from https://www.aipc.net.au/articles/a-case-using-behaviour-therapy/
This article is about a case study of a woman Rose who needed counseling to help her relieve her fears about driving. She had an accident 15 years ago and had not tried driving again since then. The aim of this case study to establish whether behavior therapy can help relieve driving fears about driving to Rose. This forms the statement problem of this study case,” behavioral therapy is effective to eliminate driving fears to women” The therapist in this study decides to use behavioral techniques with Rose to help her overcome her fears which explain on research method used in this study. The counselor in this exercise employs the use of counseling sessions to carry out the research. However, the cultural and ethical considerations made in this study are not clear. Finally, in the findings, the therapist concludes that behavioral therapy helps solve problems on behaviors based on the action-oriented approaches. The capacity of the therapy to work in such a case depends on the active participation of the client and the therapist. All in all, it proved to work best to eliminate fears such as driving from the client named in this study.
Evidence-Based Practice
Discrimination of whichever kind leads to the development of mental illnesses specifically depression. Depression is a mental illness most prevalent and severe among people of the female gender compared to those of males. Counseling forms the appropriate way to address the issues related to depression. Also, there are various techniques types of counseling interventions used in the counseling field. The most relevant and ideal counseling intervention in depression is psychotherapy. It’s a behavioral therapy based on cognitive recognition. The studies in the three articles explained clearly relates to the case study 3 in this project. The three articles prove that women are severely affected by shifts in their daily life i.e. family, relationships marriages, etc. developing depression-related disorders. The articles also show psychotherapy as a counseling technique is impactful in solving depression. Using counseling sessions by the client and the counselor, psychotherapy is capable of solving depression and other mental disorders. Hence, psychotherapy is an effecting counseling intervention to help eliminate depression among middle-aged women.
Treatment Goals (CMHC, MCFC Only)
The preliminary treatment goal for the client in my case study 3 is the number of counseling sessions. The number depends on the severance of the depression. Hence, I recommend using a multiple counseling session for my client for the therapy to effective.
Action Plan (SC Only)
With consideration for the mental health issue of the client, create an Action Plan of next steps a School Counselor could take once the issues are identified. Discuss three different actions to help the client as applied to the role of a school counselor.
Implementation strategies are critical to effectively address the needs of our students. Discuss the Mindset Standard(s) and Behavior Standard(s) students will demonstrate through classroom lessons, activities and/or individual/small group counseling. Please see https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/home/MindsetsBehaviors.pdf
Managing data is key. Consider how such competencies would be measured to assess student progress.
References
Khan, M. (2017). Multifactorial discrimination as a fundamental cause of mental health inequities. Retrieved from https://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12939-017-0532-z
Meyers, L. (2015, July 22). Treating depression and anxiety. Retrieved from https://ct.counseling.org/2015/07/treating-depression-and-anxiety/