Beyond Interviews: The Use of Aesthetic Forms of Data in Research

The purpose of this roundtable is to demonstrate how aesthetic forms of data can be used to capture the experiences of participants in qualitative research.  We will present a narrative inquiry that serves as an example for incorporating multiple forms of aesthetic data, including participant-generated pictures, timelines, journals, and an online forum.  We will discuss how these aesthetic forms of data help construct a fuller understanding of their experiences and contribute to the data analysis.  We hope to engage in conversations about the intentional use of alternative forms of data and discuss their strengths and limitations.

Objectives

To discuss various forms of aesthetic data.To demonstrate the use of alternative data in qualitative family therapy research.To identify strengths and limitations of aesthetic data.

Financial Stress and Marital Quality: The Moderating Influence of Communication

This study explores the negative relationship between financial stress and marital quality and examines couple communication as a potential moderator. Using a sample of 373 married U.S. couples, an Actor-Partner Independence Model (APIM) was run to determine the influence of husbands’ and wives’ financial stress on both their own and their partner’s reports of marital quality. Results found negative associations between both actor and partner reports of financial stress and marital quality. Further, couple communication moderated the negative associations between both husbands’ and wives’ financial stress and husbands’ marital quality. Specifically, the negative influence of financial stress on husbands' marital quality was less severe when coupled with healthy couple communication.

Objectives

1. To explore actor and partner effects of financial stress on marital quality using an actor-partner interdependence model (APIM).2. To examine healthy couple communication as a moderator between financial stress and marital quality.3. To identify and discuss healthy couple communication as a mechanism couples and clinicians can use to alleviate the negative relational impact of financial stress.

LGBTQ Youth in Foster Care and Issues Around Ambiguous Loss and Relational Connections

This round table presentation focuses on LGBTQ+ foster care youth coming out, ambiguous loss and relational connections. Due to their orientation, they may have difficulty finding foster care parents who are supportive, knowledgeable, understanding and accepting. Many foster care parents are not yet aware of orientation and may reject these children once they find out. They may be discriminated against and moved from placement to placement, adding to their ambiguous loss experiences. Therapists can create meaningful, strong relational bonds with LGBTQ+ foster care youth and these supportive relational connections can serve as a bridge and solid support in their lives. We will address how therapists can help build relationships that identify healthy coping skills and accepting images that provide continuity and attachment.

Objectives

1. Participants will learn about unique challenges facing LGBTQ+ foster care youth and ambigious loss..2. Participants will learn how therapists can be a valuable resource and system of support.3. Participants will learn guidelines for working with LGBTQ+ foster care youth.4. Participants will learn why it is important that therapist training address issues pertaining to LGBTQ+ foster care youth.

Responding Appropriately To Victims' Disclosures: A Case Study

As the words hung in the air, a disheveled mother of three decided to take her chances with the unknown rather than continue living the terrorizing, abusive life with which she had become all too familiar. The months that followed demonstrated a successful case study of how law enforcement can respond appropriately to victim disclosures, from initial contact to ongoing prosecution to continued follow-up and support.

Objectives

Objectives:1) Empower victims to remain "active," by showing results of an active victim and how the continued involvement led to change in the local judicial system.2) Illustrate the impact of emotional abuse and highlight it for those who don't understand it.3) Show the outcome of a multidisciplinary approach to victim support.

Contextual Therapy: A Unique Clinical Framework for Intervening with Adolescents and Emerging Adults

This workshop will teach participants how to incorporate a contextual therapy framework in their clinical work with adolescents and emerging adults (18-29 year olds). Some of the most basic tenets of contextual therapy such as fairness, entitlements, and relational ethics are highly applicable when working with adolescents and emerging adults clinically. This particular clinical population also seems to benefit from having the violations of love, trust, and loyalty they have experienced validated. This presentation will highlight specific contexual interventions with this population. This presentation will provide participants with (a) a contextual-based framework for conceptualizing systemic challenges faced by clients during adolescence and emerging adulthood and (b) basic contextual interventions that can be used in addressing specific issues that adolescents and emerging adults often face.

Objectives

1. Participants will be able to recognize specific challenges adolescents and emerging adults face and how incorporating a contextual therapy framework can provide increased clinical clarity.2. Participants will be able to design systemic interventions grounded in a contextual therapy framework to address common clinical concerns of adolescent and emerging adult clients.3. Participants will be able to evaluate how to incorporate a contextual therapy framework into clinical practice, based upon unique settings, client demographics, and most common presenting problems.

GRACE: Fostering Connections and Supports for Transgender Youth and Their Families

Transgender youth face many challenges, and families of transgender youth can offer unique supports. Research shows that transgender youth resiliency is greatly increased with the support of even one family member. This workshop aims to support family educators and family therapists in guiding families through the emergence process of transgender youth. Additionally, this workshop will incorporate the affirmative care approach and systems theory as the underlying theoretical foundations to view transgender and gender variant youth and their families. Furthermore, application of the Affirmative Care approach through analysis of the GRACE model with youth and their families will be presented. 

Objectives

To provide a strengths-based approach as a lens to view the emergence process for transgender youth and their families, and to provide evidence to support the importance of incorporating the family into the emergence process.To provide current and relevant literature on the implications of the emergence process for transgender youth; and specifically, a process to guide families navigating the emergence process as a family life educator or family therapist.To provide application of Affirmative Care through use of the GRACE model with transgender youth and their families engaging in family therapy or parent education groups.