Doctor of Ministry , Ashland University, 2024, Doctor of Ministry Program

The purpose of this project was to discover the extent to which students in U.S.-based Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE)-accredited programs had received training in trauma-informed care (TIC) pastoral practices for adolescents. Fifty-two surveys were completed by chaplains within various healthcare settings who had received ACPE training within the previous ten years. The results showed overall disappointment with the amount of TIC training received and a perceived lack of preparedness for providing pastoral care to traumatized adolescents. The results indicate a critical need for more research and training in TIC for this commonly overlooked population.

Doctor of Ministry , Ashland University, 2024, Doctor of Ministry Program

The purpose of this project was to create a resource that would provide practical insights leading toward discernment for Evangelical Christians considering professional chaplaincy. The manual A Handbook of Discernment for Evangelicals Considering Ministry as a Professional Chaplain was written and evaluated by a team of twelve professionals who serve as pastors and chaplains. A Likert survey with additional qualitative questions was administered to determine if the handbook successfully led to discernment and provided practical tools for entering the profession of professional chaplaincy. Responses indicated the handbook would be an effective tool for discernment for persons considering professional chaplaincy.

Doctor of Ministry , Ashland University, 2023, Doctor of Ministry Program

The purpose of this project was to impact Christian couples from New Life Church in Colorado Springs through an eight-week workshop to practice prayer and risk taking to deepen their intra and interpersonal connection with each other and God. The post-test measures included qualitative measures of participants' awareness connecting their capacity to be aware of and participate with the work of the Holy Spirit. The quantitative post-test instrument showed that the participants' awareness regarding what interferes with their identity security with God was increased due to the study. The qualitative post-test instrument showed an increase in the participants' awareness regarding how their relationship with God impacted their intra and interpersonal relationships.

Doctor of Ministry , Ashland University, 2023, Doctor of Ministry Program

The purpose of this project was to impact the Christian formation in a select group of women in a virtual community through an eight-week study using "Forming: Change by Grace Curriculum, 10th Anniversary Edition" written by David Takle. The design of the project included the administration of pre-test and post-test questionnaires. The project results showed positive growth in all five categories of measured goals. The participants showed the highest improvement in their practice of two-way journaling on the subject of processing their disappointments.

Doctor of Ministry , Ashland University, 2023, Doctor of Ministry Program

The purpose of this project was to impact the participants' practice of discipleship with a select group of African American women in the Detroit, Michigan metro area through a biblical training course on discipleship. The design of the project included weekly biblical teachings measured through the administration of pre- and post-survey questionnaires, with qualitative questions. The study was to encourage discipleship through the practice of spiritual disciplines and cultural history. The participants were challenged to change their daily habits to include spiritual disciplines. The results of the study demonstrated growth in the practice of spiritual disciplines.

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Media and Communication

Generations of women in the Evangelical Church have embodied narratives passed from mother to daughter, from church leadership, and through their religious communities. These narratives, including those of women's subservience and deserving of suffering endured from spouses, church leaders, and others, have origins in the earliest days of church history. In this thesis I examine how such narratives are embedded in books on pubertal guidance targeted to mothers and daughters in Evangelical Christian communities. Building on Fish's work on interpretive communities, Gramsci's conceptualization of hegemony, Foucault theorizing on power, and an interdisciplinary literature on the interaction between religion, culture, and politics, I interrogate themes of puberty, sexual function, gender roles, consent, and gender-based violence addressed in books on pubertal guidance, and how these books contribute to or reinforce evangelical Christian doctrinal narratives on gender and sexuality. Through a methodological approach using grounded theory, narrative inquiry, autoethnography, and textual analysis, findings indicate Evangelical Christian culture creates an interpretive community which drives only acceptable interpretation of religious texts (primarily the Bible), gender norms, and patriarchal power dynamics. Themes emerging from the texts analyzed, including Complementarianism, submission, purity, modesty, inadequacy, and silencing, have deep consequences not only for women and girls in Evangelical Christian communities, but for society at large as the legislative push for adherence to Evangelical Christian doctrinal ideologies work to remove access to basic human rights for people who do not adhere them. Misinformation, incomplete information, and hegemonic narratives serve to perpetuate gender inequality and have broad effects on women's and girls' mental, emotional, and physical health. In light of the most recent intrusions by Christian Nationalists into the legislative (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2023, Counselor Education (Education)

Social justice advocacy is a necessary role for counselors. It is a part of their identity and ethical obligations to engage in advocacy with and on behalf of any individuals and communities experiencing injustice related to systemic disenfranchisement stemming from marginalized status due to race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and social economic status among others. To promote social justice in counselors, counselor education programs are increasingly emphasizing the integration of social justice pedagogy in counselor training programs. The diversity among counselor trainees and faculty presents simultaneous experiences of both privilege and oppression and this creates a challenge in determining how students develop specific interests and commitment to social justice. The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of the relationships between the social justice training environment, social justice self-efficacy, social justice outcome expectations and social justice interest and commitment among masters counseling students. The conceptualization of the development of social justice interest and commitment was based on the social cognitive career framework. The current study examined the relationship between the linear combination of social justice training environment, social justice self-efficacy, social justice outcome expectations and social justice interest and commitment. The study also examined the amount of variation in social justice commitment explained by social justice training environment, social justice self-efficacy, social justice outcome expectations and social justice interest. Finally, the study identified the most robust predictors of social justice commitment among the 116 participants in the study. Based on the findings of the study, there was a positive significant relationship between social justice self-efficacy, social justice outcome expectations and social justice interest with social justice outcome expectations bei (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Ministry , Ashland University, 2023, Doctor of Ministry Program

The purpose of this project was to discover how hospice chaplains provide end-of-life care. A total of fifty-seven surveys were completed by chaplains working in various settings who have provided end-of-life care. The survey focused on the practices of how chaplains implement end-of-life care. Therefore, the results accurately portray the practice of chaplains who provide end-of-life care. The results showed what professional chaplaincy looks like and the current issues and struggles evangelical chaplains experience today.

Doctor of Ministry , Ashland University, 2022, Doctor of Ministry Program

The purpose of this project was to impact the participants' pastoral care skills through reflection on CPE principles with a select group of local pastoral caregivers in Freetown, Sierra Leone, through participation in a five-week small group. The design of the project included the administration of pre-test and post-test questionnaires, along with the weekly case presentations that utilized self-reflection and group reflection. The results revealed that reflection impacted the pastoral care skills of the participants as the participants became more critical of their current skill levels of pastoral care and reported incorporating new practices into their pastoral care.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2022, Theology

Women who have been physically, psychologically or sexually abused often do not completely process the trauma of their wounds. As a result, some women may display physical and psychological manifestations of their continued trauma. In a contemporary setting that adheres to a dualism that separates mind and body, the symptoms reported by these women are often not associated with their previous trauma. This continued trauma often interferes with the woman's ability to relate to her family, her community, and her faith. This dissertation names this trauma, “the wounds of women,” and explores the varied manifestations of these wounds. It then uses Scriptural and theological lenses to explore wounds, identity, and the meaning of wounds in resurrected bodies. An examination of theologies of forgiveness provides wounded women, and those called to attend to them, a pathway forward. In the end, an exegesis of the story of the healing of the woman with the hemorrhage in Mark 5:23-34 encourages women to open their wounds to God's healing grace.

Doctor of Ministry , Ashland University, 2022, Doctor of Ministry Program

The purpose of this project was to discover the components of chaplaincy burnout with chaplains on the East Coast of the USA. It was the intent to raise chaplains' awareness and understanding so that they would take seriously the impact of burnout and the importance of self-care. One hundred and sixty-two chaplains were invited to participate in the survey. Ninety-seven chaplains completed the survey. The survey results revealed that chaplains demonstrated an awareness of the components of chaplaincy burnout. The opinions were prompted on the components of chaplaincy burnout based on what they believed and what they did.

Doctor of Ministry , Ashland University, 2022, Doctor of Ministry Program

The purpose of this project was to create a resource that identifies the essentials of spiritual care for Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) students in healthcare chaplaincy. This project's design included developing a practical manual to facilitate CPE students' learning and professional development in healthcare chaplaincy. The manual covered the entire process of pursuing professional chaplaincy and assessed a group of healthcare chaplains for relevance and practicability. The survey results showed that the resource manual identified the essentials of spiritual care for CPE students in healthcare chaplaincy. The participants displayed strong agreement on its relevancy and practicability

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2021, Antioch New England: Marriage and Family Therapy

Adult adoptees may be blocked from feeling securely attached to their romantic partners and they may not even know it or what to do about it. The literature shows adult adoptees being overrepresented in insecure attachment styles, and not enough attention has been paid to the effect this has had on adoptees in their romantic relationships. In fact, no known study, to date, has provided an attachment-based psychoeducational approach for this marginalized population. The purpose of this introductory qualitative study was to explore the experiences and meaning-making of attachment, specifically related to adoption, for the adult adoptee and their romantic partner once they had attended a Hold Me Tight program (based on the principles of emotionally focused therapy). Semistructured dyadic interviews of three couples who identified as one partner being adopted were analyzed by using experiential thematic analysis. Results of this study demonstrated the need for the adult adoptee to vulnerably share their experiences of adoption-related attachment injuries with their partner. This sharing created new understandings, awareness, and a deeper connection for the couples. Themes included sharing adoption-related attachment burden with their partner, finding the reason for adoption-related attachment injuries, attachment in the adoptive parent relationship and transitions from birthmother to adoptive parents, adoption-related attachment injury of social stigma, and the adoptee's negative view-of-self. These themes point to the need to promote attachment security for these unique couples through attachment-related education programs such as the one used in the study. One important finding was that avoidantly attached adult adoptees could lean into more securely attached behavior with their romantic partners after learning about their attachment through the HMT. The results of this study highlight a need for researchers, mental health professionals, families, and society to under (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Ministry , Ashland University, 2021, Doctor of Ministry Program

The purpose of this project was to discover the extent to which identified factors can assist persons in achieving wellbeing during times of loss among a select group of participants from Columbus, Ohio. The design was a discovery project administered in the form of a survey distributed to volunteer participants. The results of the survey showed that most respondents chose avenues that would lead them to achieve wellbeing. Participants acknowledged the presence of God and feelings of love, security and acceptance as the primary keys to walking the journey toward wellbeing.

Doctor of Ministry , Ashland University, 2021, Doctor of Ministry Program

The purpose of this project was to impact emotional upheaval in a select group of adults with early childhood relational trauma from the Cleveland area through participation in individual Developmental Formational Prayer sessions. The design of the project included a pretest, then 16 sessions of Developmental Formational Prayer for each participant, covering the earliest stages of human development, and finally a posttest. The results after the sessions revealed that the participants had some decrease in emotional upheaval, but the most prominent change indicated was in the participants' level of awareness of the presence of Jesus during emotional upheaval.

Doctor of Ministry , Ashland University, 2021, Doctor of Ministry Program

The purpose of this project was to impact Christian married couples from Foundational Counseling Services through participation in an eight-week study on communication, conflict resolution and forgiveness. The project included quantitative and qualitative pre-test, post-test design that assessed knowledge, cooperation, and the importance of unity in the participants' marriage. The pre-test assessment showed participants had a genuine desire to resolve conflict in their marriage but with little application of Biblical principles and values within the marriage. Upon completing the eight-week experience, the post-test assessment demonstrated that participants exhibited understanding of the importance in resolving conflict to develop forgiveness and unity.

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2020, Antioch New England: Marriage and Family Therapy

As the dynamics of the United States' social landscape shifts in relation to the diversity of culture, ethnicity, values, and traditions, and as religion and spirituality have become highly diverse and fluid, diversity in spirituality has received limited attention in the field of marriage and family therapy. Utilizing an interpretative phenomenological analysis, this qualitative investigation explores common meanings and experiences of emotional intimacy of couples in heterosexual relationships where there are differences in spirituality. Overall, the results of this investigation demonstrate that in situations where heterosexual couples who display differences in spirituality attentively attuned to their individual and relational needs, their emotional intimacy satisfaction was enhanced; in situations where couples' attentiveness to their spirituality and religious differences was undermined, their individual needs suffered, and their emotional intimacy was impeded. Furthermore, this study shows that it is not so much the differences in the contents of spiritual beliefs between spouses in married relationships that determine the direction of their emotional intimacy satisfaction but their shared or divergent values on spirituality. Clinical implications for therapists are provided alongside study limitations and recommendations for future research.

Doctor of Ministry , Ashland University, 2020, Doctor of Ministry Program

The purpose of this project was to discover the degree to which a select group of counseling graduates from Ashland Theological Seminary -- Detroit have integrated the self-care practices taught in the mandatory Dimensions of Healing course into their personal lives. The design of the project included a quantitative and qualitative survey, that measured the degree to which self-care principles had been integrated. Participants demonstrated an understanding of the self-care practices taught, but struggled with implementation mostly due to a lack of time and resources.

Doctor of Ministry , Ashland University, 2020, Doctor of Ministry Program

The purpose of this project was to create a resource for Christian Caregivers that would educate them concerning formative practices for children. A group of sixteen experts in the three fields of ministry, psychology, and education were asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the resource through the completion of a survey. The response indicated that the resource was successful in educating Christian Caregivers concerning formative practices for children. The qualitative section of the survey also revealed that most respondents, though unfamiliar with the practices, were eager to implement them in their lives and the lives of those in their care.

Doctor of Ministry , Ashland University, 2020, Doctor of Ministry Program

The purpose of this project was to impact the spiritual life of women from the greater Columbus, Ohio area who self-report a history of sexual abuse in childhood by participating in the safe place prayer. The design of this project utilized a pre-test and post-test survey based on the project goals. The goal of impacting the participant's sense of being loved by others gained the highest mean of change. The women were able to sense they are loved by others and as a result, their spiritual life improved by participating in the safe place prayer.