Browsing by Subject "Self-help groups"
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Item Behavior and perception changes in a marital enrichment group among married college couples(Texas Tech University, 1973-08) Dollins, Claude DNot availableItem Divorce and the faith community: some experiences of women(Texas Tech University, 2003-12) Christensen, Faline BatemanWomen of faith who divorce are very likely to turn for support to their community of faith. Generally, mental health providers who offer services to divorcing or divorced women are seldom knowledgeable about their relationships, whether positive or negative, with social institutions such as churches. This dissertation is a qualitative study using phenomenological and feminist approaches to explore and describe the experiences of divorced women who consider themselves to be part of faith communities. Participants responded to an invitation to complete an open-ended questionnaire on the Internet. Issues pertinent to qualitative research on the Internet are addressed. Respondents were asked to tell about their relationship with their faith community, to tell their divorce story, and to tell what it means to be a divorced woman in their faith community. Findings indicate that women's beliefs and expectations about marriage, divorce, and deity influenced the timing and process of making the decision to divorce. In addition, the process of the divorce decision led to unexpected changes in women's beliefs about themselves, their ex-spouses, their families, and their faith communities. Precipitants of divorce were also found to have an influence on the responses of the faith community, its leaders, and family members to the women's divorce decision. A change in the way divorced women of faith are perceived is proposed, to role models and wise women. Practices and interventions, with specific attention to psychotherapy and counseling, which were identified by the respondents, along with specific suggestions for improvement, are discussed.Item "My child...she is top of my heart...she is making it keep beating you know?": describing the experiences of Mexican American adolescent fathers(Texas Tech University, 2004-12) Cardona, Jose Ruben ParraMexican American teenagers have the highest birthrate of any Latino ethnic group in the U.S. Although programs for Anglo and African American teen fathers have demonstrated promising results in assisting young fathers to stay connected with their children and become more involved in parenting practices, research on and development of intervention programs for Mexican American teen fathers are limited. The primary goal of this study was to explore the experiences of being a Mexican American adolescent father. A second goal was to obtain information about the experiences of being a participant in a teen fathers group especially designed for adolescent fathers. In order to reach these goals, using a descriptive phenomenological qualitative approach, six adolescent fathers were interviewed three times each. Five life-world features emerged in this study: (a) putting me down, (b) experiencing my baby's mother's family, (c) being supported, (d) watching my fiiends fade away, and (e) looking around. Four phenomena of the lived experience were also identified: (a) not giving up and deciding to be a dad, (b) wanting to be a good father, (c) figuring out my relationships after becoming a father, and (d) telling in group the person I want to be. Results indicated that despite facing intense challenges in their lives, teen fathers who participated in the teen fathers group, remain committed to becoming good fathers for their children. Participants also identified positive experiences of the teen fathers group that assisted them in achieving this.Item Narratives of a grief experience: widows' perspectives on an ongoing grief support group(Texas Tech University, 2004-12) Hardin, Michael PaulThis study was designed to better understand the experiences of widows who join and remain in "widow-to-widow" ongoing support groups. This research study explored the meanings 12 widows attribute to being in twice-weekly contact with one another. An interpretive phenomenological perspective informed the examination of their lived experiences. The participants were asked to report on their experiences beginning around the time of their husband's death, continuing into the experiences in the time-limited group, through the early part of the group formation and experiences over the time the ongoing support group has been together. The present study compiled individual accounts of the widows' understanding of what has been helpful within an ongoing widow-to-widow support group and their perception of the outcomes.