Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2015, Counselor Education (Education)

Research suggests that graduate students in counseling and beginning counselors rate grief and death-related topics as those with which they are most uncomfortable (Kirchberg & Neimeyer, 1991; Kirchberg, Neimeyer, & James, 1998). Yet, historically, little training has been provided to students in the area of grief counseling (Allen & Miller, 1998; Ober, Granello, & Wheaton, 2012; Stephenson, 1981). This is concerning given that research also suggests professional training and experience is a strong predictor of perceived grief counseling competencies in helping professionals (Charkow, 2002; Ober et al., 2012). This study explored grief counseling training and competencies with master's level counseling students in the field experience part of their training. The Grief Counseling Experience and Training Survey (GCETS) was used to assess professional training and experience with grief and the Death Counseling Survey (DCS) and its five subscales (Personal Competencies, Conceptual Skills/Knowledge, Assessment Skills, Treatment Skills, and Professional Skills) were used to assess perceived grief counseling competencies. Descriptive information revealed participants lacked grief counseling training, despite nearly three-fourths of them having already worked with grieving clients. Further, respondents rated themselves as competent on general counseling skills related to grief (e.g., practicing self-care, exhibiting genuineness, providing a supportive setting in counseling, etc.), but scored much lower on grief-specific knowledge and skills (e.g., having knowledge of grief theories, being able to articulate developmentally appropriate grief reactions, and recognizing complicated grief symptoms, etc.). Regression analyses were used to explore the relationship between perceived grief counseling competencies and the variables of age, gender, professional training and experience with grief, and type of grief counseling training received. Age was found to be a sign (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD), Wright State University, 2012, School of Professional Psychology

The relationship that exists between siblings is unique, significant, and often lifelong, and to lose a sibling to death impacts the surviving sibling for a lifetime. There are many factors that can affect the bereaved sibling's grief responses, such as developmental factors, funeral attendance, cause of death, family dynamics, and time since the death. Interventions for the bereaved include individual, family, or group therapy, and support groups. Unfortunately, surviving siblings are often the “forgotten mourners” who are not connected to supportive services, and/or the community is lacking in programming for assisting bereaved children. Given the unique aspects of sibling bereavement and the limited resources that may be available to these youth, it seems necessary to consider ways to expand the availability and accessibility of support and coping resources that youth can utilize to promote their resilience. It is argued that the Internet can provide an appealing means to provide youth information, resources, and connection to other bereaved siblings. This paper presents the contents of a website, Sibs Remembered, developed for adolescents to help them understand their grief process, learn effective ways to cope, memorialize their sibling, and connect to others who share their pain. The website contains pages that list common grief reactions, celebrities who had a sibling die, songs and movies dealing with grief, activities for anniversaries and birthdays, and journal ideas. Limitations and future directions for providing online support are also discussed.

Master of Music (MM), Ohio University, 2007, Music Therapy (Fine Arts)

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the grief process and group cohesion were affected by the incorporation of music therapy interventions into grief support groups. The participants (n=13) were members of grief support groups who were registered in one of three possible groups. Each group met weekly for six weeks. Experimental Group A received music therapy interventions along with the grief counseling programming. Experimental Group B received the grief counseling programming with recorded background music while the Control Group received only the standard support group curriculum without music interventions. A standardized tool, the Hogan Grief Reaction Checklist (HGRC), measured the grief process in pre-test/post-test design through six factors of grief. A post-test Support Group Questionnaire measured group cohesion at the end of the six weeks. Analysis revealed no significant differences of the grief process or group cohesion among the three groups. A linear regression revealed no significance of group cohesion predicting the grief process.

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2012, Sociology

Since Durkheim's (1897/1979) classic study, sociologists have understood that while suicide appears to be a highly personal and private act, it is also a social act. In 2009, nearly 37,000 Americans died by suicide (American Association of Suicidology, 2012). Experts estimate that every suicide intimately affects at least six individuals, both family members and friends, connected to the suicide decedent (Shneidman, 1969). A central question in the field of suicide bereavement is how suicide grief differs from other types of loss (Jordan, 2001). However, such a focus has restricted suicide grievers studied to next-of-kin relationships, despite emphasis that suicide grievers constitute several populations (SAMSHA, 2010). By investigating suicide loss in peer relationships through a qualitative study, this dissertation serves to diversify scholarly inquiry of suicide grief. Moreover, employing the disenfranchised grief framework (Doka, 1989; 2002) as a theoretical lens emphasizes the sociality of suicide loss, especially in terms of relational status and stigmatized dimensions of death by suicide (Charmaz & Milligan, 2006). Twenty-six peers were identified through chain referral sampling strategies (Berg, 2007) and in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face and telephone interviews were conducted. Results identify several new variants of disenfranchised grief in terms of stigmatized loss and relational status. A continuum of intrapersonal, intermediary, and group-based or extrinsic coping behaviors was developed to conceptualize and understand participants' varied re-enfranchisement experiences. In particular, participants' involvement in suicide prevention advocacy such as fundraising walks and programs contributes insights into the process and meanings of re-enfranchisement among peer suicide grievers. At the macro-level, this impetus towards advocacy for suicide prevention among participants is considered through the lens of the health social movement literature wit (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2017, Higher Education

Grief can impair the ability of a person to function productively, and it can prevent doctoral students from completing their degrees. The purpose of this study was to (a) develop a better understanding of the grief process, (b) use writing as a method of understanding my personal grief process, (c) share my experiences of coping with grief and dissertation work to help other doctoral students face challenges in the struggle to complete their degrees, and (d) uncover suggestions to help guide university faculty and staff when offering support to other grieving doctoral students. The researcher examined her personal experiences with grief and dissertation work and then connected those experiences with those of the larger higher education community. The researcher found she needed to (a) allow time for the grieving process without rushing through it or trying to conform to a time frame established by others, (b) frequently assess life and career goals to determine whether doctoral study still fit those goals, (c) research a subject relevant to life after the loss rather than before the loss, (d) utilize a research method appropriate to both her and her study, and (e) utilize support from a variety of sources. This study adds to the limited literature about grief and doctoral attrition and contributes to the existing body of knowledge available to assist grieving doctoral students complete their degrees.

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2017, Nursing: Nursing - Doctoral Program

Background: In 2013, over 39,000 children in the United States died, with approximately 80 percent of deaths occurring in a pediatric critical care unit. The death rate for critically ill children treated in pediatric critical care units decreased by half in the last two decades, yet remains at 2.39 percent. There is a small body of current knowledge which examines the lived experience of nurses who care for dying children, the grief they experience, and how they individually or with the aid of organizational interventions resolve their grief. No current studies have examined the culture nurses create that helps them collectively manage work-related grief. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore how nurses in two pediatric critical care units use shared behaviors to help manage work-related grief and continue providing care in the stressful pediatric critical care environment. Method: Focused ethnography was the method used to examine the shared culture nurses create that helps them manage work-related grief. Thirty-three informants were interviewed, 20 from the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and 13 from the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU). Data were comprised of interviews, and researcher reflections, with themes and domains abstracted from the data. Findings: Study findings demonstrated that PICU and CICU nurses had very different strategies for grief management. These differences were explicated in the five domains abstracted from the research data. The five domains were further broken down into themes. Domain I: Values and Beliefs reviewed shared values and beliefs held by critical care nurses in both units. Themes which comprised this Domain are: Always Learning – Always New, Dignity in Life – Dignity in Death, Bringing Comfort, and Meaning in Work. Domain II: Causes of Grief, was comprised of the themes: Hyper-Responsibility, Prevented from Bringing Comfort, Bonding, Alive One Day, Dead the Next, and Acuity of the Unit. (open full item for complete abstract)

MLS, Kent State University, 2013, College of Arts and Sciences / Liberal Studies Program

Carol E. Briney is the founding executive director of Reentry Bridge Network, Inc. and Reentry Solutions, Inc. Briney believes that a systematic approach is required to reduce the likelihood of recidivisim. For nearly a decade, she has written and facilitated holistic pro-social programs inside prisons and in community forums. Her programs support bridging the gap between prison and community by focusing on human value, grief-impairment, daily literacy, reentry and job readiness, trauma-informed care, the healing arts, and understanding poverty. Briney's work is founded on her strong belief - If we can’t help people to realize their own universal value, how can we expect them to see the value in their victims or their environment? This is gained through asset building, not punitive action. It takes community to reduce recidivism.

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2024, Antioch Seattle: Clinical Psychology

This study explored the lived experiences of romance and love among the Adult Third Culture Kids (ATCKs) population. A total sample of 10 participants was collected for the purpose of the study (five female and five male). Participants were of varying ethnicities, 25–46 years of age, met the study criteria for TCK identity, and reported at least one previous or current romantic relationship. Participants endorsed a history of a mobilized lifestyle and living in countries differing from their own passport country prior to the age of 18. Utilizing an Interpretive Phenomenological approach, participants were interviewed remotely and asked to describe their personal experiences with love, romance, and past/current romantic relationships. Data collected from these interviews ultimately revealed the importance of having a significant connection with a partner as the foundation of the loving experiences. This connection was accomplished via the sharing of language, cuisines, and cultural experiences. Finding commonalities in life perspectives and interests added to this felt sense of connection. ATCKs were faced with challenges regarding a sense of acceptance from their partner and their partner's friends/family. In addition, some ATCKs were also faced with the unique concern of whether they would be followed abroad. This was a significant form of commitment. Participants were asked to characterize the commitment, passion, and intimacy experiences within their romantic relationships per the Sternberg Triangular Theory of Love. Commonalities of traits associated with each of these love qualities suggests that the Sternberg Triangular Theory of Love is applicable to the lived experiences of ATCKs. Furthermore, the Triangular Theory of Love Scale was an optional measure provided to participants who were not interviewed. Results from this measure were acquired from 16 ATCK females, 14 of which are married. Averages from the measure revealed a significant degree of intimacy and (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Fine Arts, Miami University, 2024, English: Creative Writing

Debridement is a collection of poems about subjects including the modern gay male experience and the ways difficult and even traumatic events can become negotiated parts of the self. The collection focuses on the dissolution of a marriage between a man and woman, male intimacy, queer fatherhood, violence and navigating grief. By employing narrative, particularly fable, beside lyric forms, and through the use of images related to mycological phenomenon, the collection asks the reader to consider how shame and feelings of worthlessness might be transformed into self-validation and understanding. The poems encourage the reader to view life as involving calculated risk and liminality, to step foot into a world where arrival is an illusion and becoming is a constant.

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2024, Antioch New England: Clinical Psychology

Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is positive psychological change that can result from the struggle with trauma or other highly stressful events (Calhoun & Tedeschi, 1999; Calhoun et al., 2010). The aim of this study was to capture the rich narratives of individuals who have experienced pregnancy loss and reported PTG. The narratives of ten participants were investigated to better understand what areas of posttraumatic growth they experienced following this often-devastating loss, as well as the processes that led to this growth. Participants of this study reported experiencing growth in the domains of (a) Relating to Others, (b) Personal Strength, (c) New Possibilities, (d) Appreciation of Life, (e) Spiritual Change, and (f) Altruistic Expansion. The findings of this study support the existing literature on posttraumatic growth, suggest future directions for research, offer recommendations for behavioral health and medical practitioners, and provide insight into the experience of growth following pregnancy loss. This study outlines strategies that may help facilitate this growth. It is my hope that this study will be a resource for those grieving the loss of a pregnancy, as well as a resource their friends, family, and professionals who wish to provide support through this process. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Social Work

Spirituality has been popularized as a support for those in addiction recovery. Millions of individuals have transitioned from active addiction to addiction recovery through interventions informed by spiritual and religious principles. However, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that relapse rates within the United States remain high. This data may indicate a potential discrepancy between the present utility of spirituality and its practical implementation. Many researchers have attempted to find solutions and pathways that utilize spiritual components that would benefit those in addiction recovery. Theories and definitions abound for spirituality in addiction recovery, yet the operational and developmental nature of spirituality remains clouded. These limitations frustrate plans to reduce relapse rates by effectively implementing spiritually or religiously aligned program elements. Therefore, this project proposes three papers aimed at addressing this substantial gap: Chapter 2 is an inductive scoping review of empirically-focused peer-reviewed articles exploring how spirituality is defined and measured within addiction recovery literature. This chapter aims to assess how spirituality is presently defined within the context of addiction recovery literature and will consider definitions, components, indicators of health, and measurement as elements of how spirituality is structured. Chapter 3 is a deductive qualitative content analysis that explores how a synthesis of Canda's operational model of spirituality and Worden's Tasks of Grief align with the operational principles of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). AA has helped millions transition from active addiction to addiction recovery through a practical spiritual process. The content analysis study will explore the operational literature of AA, explicitly examining the content for components of spirituality and spiritual change. Doing so rigorously will bring additional insight to future work and (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2024, Genetic Counseling

Background: Vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (vEDS) is a life-threatening connective tissue disorder caused by pathogenic variants in the COL3A1 gene. Patients can experience aortic or arterial dissections and hollow organ rupture. While it is rare, affecting between 1/50,000 and 1/200,000 people, support organizations exist. The goal of this study is to determine what information would be helpful for support organizations of the vEDS community to prioritize programming regarding mental health support and how the social aspect of support organizations impacts mental health. Methods: People with vEDS and their first-degree family members, including spouses/partners, were surveyed about their mental health, traumatic experiences -including vicarious trauma -, and support organization participation. An electronic survey was administered, which included the STOP-D, OSSS-3, demographic questions, and questions regarding support organization participation, priorities, exposure to trauma, what materials they would like a support organization to provide regarding grief/trauma, and preferred ways of receiving information. Results: One hundred forty-three people participated. Statistically significant relationships were found between experiencing trauma and vicarious trauma (p=0.002) and having access to a provider who listens and confidence in a provider's knowledge of vEDS (p=0.001). Ninety five percent of those who reported vicarious trauma also reported experiencing at least one traumatic event. There was no association found between vicarious trauma and subtype of experienced trauma, or between vicarious trauma and support group participation. Although not statistically significant, high stress was reported for both people with vEDS (65%) and their unaffected family members (60%). Participants also wanted a variety of materials or programs from a support organization, including peer support, individual and group therapy, information on advanced directives, and 24/ (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2024, Communication Studies (Communication)

In this dissertation, I explore the experiences of members of the Newtown/Sandy Hook community and their experiences with grief in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting 11 years after the tragedy. I use Communicated Narrative Sensemaking Theory and Communal Coping to explore and discuss the coping that community members may or may not have experienced in the wake of the shooting. I conducted this research through an interpretive framework, where I interviewed 10 members of the Newtown/Sandy Hook community who were active within the town at the time of the shooting. I used the phronetic iterative analysis (Tracy, 2020) to code participants' experiences. In Chapter 1, I discuss the prevalence of school shootings and their impact on community grief as well as my personal experience of the shooting. In Chapter 2, I provide a rationale for the current study, discussing the complex nature of grief, and the role of communication within it, and detail the Communicated Narrative Sensemaking Theory and Communal Coping. In Chapter 3, I provide a detailed explanation of the methods used to address my research questions. In Chapters 4 and 5, I describe and provide an interpretation of my findings. In Chapter 4, I discuss the Communal Coping present within participants' narratives. In Chapter 5, I discuss how members of the community experience grief after the shooting as well as the main themes present in participant narratives. In Chapter 6, I present theoretical implications for the Communicated Narrative Sensemaking theory and Communal Coping and practical implications. I also share limitations to the study and suggestions for future research. I conclude the chapter with personal reflections on my experience conducting the study.

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2024, English

You Have to Save Something is a collection of nonfiction essays about growing up in Appalachia as the eldest daughter in a blue-collar, working-class family. The writer narrates profound moments with her family, especially with her brothers and their friends in a small community where they gained insight into their economic place, their losses, their abilities, their father's tremendous work ethic, and their mother's depression along with her particularly harsh methods of punishment. Memory and story are often connected to and shared through treasured objects that were and remain connected to the fabric of the family's life and to the writer herself. At the heart of these essays is a fondness for the place and the people that endures throughout the writer's life and into the present day.

Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), Xavier University, 2024, Psychology

Despite statistically low help-seeking among younger and older adults, no studies to date have analyzed how age may impact the likelihood of recommending help-seeking to others suffering depression, particularly following bereavement, with the likelihood of pursuing help-seeking for oneself . The current study aimed to address this problem by investigating the correlates of recommending help-seeking for others, the correlates of personal help-seeking, and examining how the presence of bereavement, and age of both the bereaved and potential recommender affect perceived need for services. The final sample (N = 358) consisted of both young adults (n = 128) and older adults (n = 230). Results indicated both older and younger adults were more likely to recommend help-seeking for others than for themselves, p < .001. A 2x2x2 ANOVA found that both older and younger adults were more likely to recommend that those experiencing depression in the context of bereavement should seek help than those experiencing symptoms of depression outside of bereavement, p = .018; both older and younger adults recommended help seeking more to the young protagonist in the context of bereavement than to the older adult protagonist, p = .019; both young and older adults were equally likely to recommend help-seeking to each protagonist, p = .835, and younger adults were no more likely to recommend older adults seek help than the older adults themselves, p = .935. Finally, regression results indicated perceived depressive disorder in the protagonist predicted increased help-seeking recommendations across all conditions after controlling for participant age, p < .001. These findings provide evidence that advocacy efforts to increase mental health utilization among young and older adults should focus on why these patterns are occurring (e.g., ageism, stigma, etc.).

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2023, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Counselor Education

Forty-five percent of the 407, 493 children in foster care in the United States reside in a non-relative foster family home (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2021). Most foster placements have an end goal of reunification with the biological family; however, other placement termination routes exist including transition to a different foster home, transition to kinship care, transition to more appropriate levels of care, or transition through adoption. Foster parents form close relational bonds with their foster children, despite the likely eventual end of the fostering relationship. Foster parents often experience grief when a foster child transitions out of the foster home. This contextually embedded grief experience exists within the intersectionality of anticipatory grief, disenfranchised grief, and ambiguous loss. Foster parents report many unmet needs related to the grief phenomenon, including a need for counseling. Despite this need, little research exists pertaining to the counseling needs of foster parents. This qualitative portraiture study explores the grief experiences and related counseling implications of four foster parents from one midwestern state. In-depth interviews and artifacts construct three unique portraits detailing the foster parent loss experience. Data in this study underwent a two-step analysis process. First, data were framed by identifying emergent themes through sequential modes of analysis. Following the development of emergent themes, the listening guide method was employed to further achieve closeness to the material and identify deviant voice. The final portrait provides an artistic, narrative expression of each of the four individuals. Each portrait authentically displays the nuances of the individual foster parent's experience. The final individual portraits provide rich descriptions in context and are then used to identify a central story from within the phenomenon through cross-portrait analysis. Applying a cro (open full item for complete abstract)

MFA, Kent State University, 2023, College of the Arts / School of Art

This paper reviews a group of artworks and how they explore my relationship with women of my family, and the process of mourning. Since I was never allowed to grieve, this work comes from my need to mourn. The use of flameworking, glassblowing and drawing in an intuitive way, which results in three-dimensional linework and hollow forms, is used to unlock memories and explore the subconscious. Therefore, this paper explores how the work is strongly influenced by the surrealist movement, and by artists that use techniques associated with surrealism in contemporary art. The work will have mainly two types of components: networking and hollow forms. They represent the angst caused by loss and trauma, but also life continuing its cycle and coming through despite this. This will result in abstract pieces that explore tension through apparent instability or precarious balance.

MFA, Kent State University, 2023, College of the Arts / School of Art

I have mourned many people, most of whom are still alive. Forming and maintaining relationships has always been difficult for me. They blossom and die in unexpected ways. For the vast majority of my life, I have felt like an outsider, never quite fitting in with family, friends, or community. This has led to relationships ending in sudden and unexpected ways, and I carry an immense amount of grief with me. These experiences have led me to create a collection of mourning veils in which I explore my non-linear grieving process of interpersonal relationships. These pieces are heavily influenced by my identity as a fat, neurodivergent, genderqueer dyke. I find it impossible to separate my mourning process from my identities which often leave me alienated and on the outside of my communities. Through captured pearls, cast silver, linked steel chain, and laser cut acrylic, I create a structure for my grief to manifest. These wearable objects allow me to physically express the emotions I experience internally but struggle to appropriately display. The weight and/ or placement of the pieces make them impossible to ignore, much like the aching pangs of sorrow.

MFA, Kent State University, 2023, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of English

Rain & Otherwise is a poetry compilation that examines intimacy through various modes of the human experience. Among these experiences are themes of grief, existentialism, gender and sexuality, weather and global warming, space (micro v. macro), and familial lineage. This project aims to push the bounds of meaning and form through understatement, fragmentation of punctuation and space, and primarily sound as it relates literally to the ear and figuratively through interpreted meanings. This project is a result of the times we all find ourselves in, and ultimately strives to comfort the anxious souls of the era.

PHD, Kent State University, 2023, College of Nursing

Approximately one million women suffer from perinatal loss (PL) in the United States annually. Societal and provider knowledge and attitudes about the psychological effects of PL and the need for care and support have improved significantly since the 1980s. Anecdotal evidence indicates that experiencing PL still affects women decades later; however, its impact on their grief process and long-lasting effects has not been researched. These narratives are vital to informing support and care. The purpose of this study was to develop a theoretical framework describing grief processes and long-lasting effects on women experiencing PL before 1980. Women who experienced PL before 1980 (n=17) were recruited through purposive, snowballing, and theoretical sampling. Data collected during audio-recorded telephone interviews were analyzed using Charmaz's constructivist grounded theory method. Constant comparison and iteration were used to reach theoretical saturation. Symbolic interactionism which emphasizes how subjective meanings arise from societal interactions and change over time as individual experiences change, and which closely aligns with ideas underpinning grounded theory, provided a guiding framework to collect and analyze data in this study. Perinatal loss is a traumatic event women carry throughout their lifetime. A core category, Living with Loss, emerged as a dynamic process for participants where PL moves from the background to the foreground throughout their lives. Triggers can pull memories of loss into the foreground causing emotions and feelings related to the loss to resurface, while coping and support can return it to the background. Participants described experiences with PL before 1980 which have contributed to the long-lasting effects. This research provided a model for understanding the grief process in women who experienced perinatal loss prior to 1980. The theory emerging from this study may inform practice for nurses caring for women livi (open full item for complete abstract)