This presentation offers practical strategies for teaching grounded theory (GT) and mentoring students through the research process. It clarifies GT’s core logic and the iterative relationship between data collection and analysis. Participants engage in a brief coding activity and are introduced to a five-phase timeline for structuring GT dissertations.
Incarcerated individuals with mental illness (IIMI)experience live with the well-documented double stigma of criminality and mental illness by mental health professionals. This stigma can bleed into research with IIMI, despite Human Subjects protections. Research design can address ethical risks early and set researchers up for success. An experienced prison researcher will discuss risks grounded in her 30 years' experience and provide resources for preventing errors that can cause problems.
This session examines research gaps in exercise-based interventions as complementary approaches for trauma recovery. Participants will review current evidence and consider emerging research priorities related to optimal exercise types, dose-response relationships, population differences, measurement strategies, and mechanisms of change. Practical, low-cost study designs for counseling settings will be discussed to support data-driven practice.
The following presentation will discuss specific themes and play behaviors in play therapy that may indicate a child's dangerous use of technology. These themes were gathered from an extensive questionnaire sent to Association for Play Therapy members. Therapists will be able to identify strategies for addressing therapeutic themes that emerge during sessions. Resources to support parents will also be provided.
Counseling researchers addressing systemic mental health challenges need rigorous tools for policy analysis. Drawing on perspectives from education, public health, and public administration, this session offers a well-rounded introduction to policy analysis for counseling researchers at any experience level. Attendees will learn how this multi-framework approach enhances analytical depth, supports equity-centered inquiry, and produces policy recommendations grounded in counseling research.
This session will reframe research as a practical tool for advocacy in non-research-focused counseling programs, where heavy teaching loads often limit institutional expectations for research publication. Based on ACA code of ethics and CACREP standards, the session will highlight strategies to integrate research into teaching, examine key challenges and benefits, and guide attendees in creating a brief, actionable plan to implement advocacy-based research that improves student learning outcomes
