Keywords

gifted, family therapy, adolescent counseling, video-based intervention

Abstract

Globally, children have long been considered our most vulnerable community members. In recent years, children's mental health has faced an alarming decline. In 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health. As rates of mental health diagnoses and hospitalizations have continued to rise, the need for mental health practitioners has also increased. Despite these demonstrated needs, few counselors are educationally equipped to manage the needs of neurodiverse adolescents. This two-manuscript dissertation aims to shed light on one subpopulation of neurodiverse adolescents: those with gifts and talents. Chapter two (Manuscript 1), Giftedness: A Relational Approach, describes these youth's complex developmental and mental health concerns while offering tangible strategies practitioners can utilize in therapeutic spaces. Chapter three (Manuscript 2), Counselor's Knowledge and Self-Efficacy Towards Gifted and Talented Youth: An Exploratory Investigation Utilizing a Video-Based Intervention, seeks to add to educational gaps on behalf of practitioners by providing the results of an empirical study that utilized a video-based intervention to elicit an increase in counselor's rate of knowledge and self-efficacy regarding gifted and talented youth. The video-based intervention elicited a statistically significant increase in self-reported knowledge, M = -.65680, 95% CI [.819, .495], t(64) = 8.094, p <. 001 and a statistically significant increase in self-efficacy, M = .135, 95% CI [.252, .018], t(64) = 2.307, p < 0.05. Finally, Chapter Four provides implications for the field of counselor education, and suggestions for future research are explored.

Completion Date

2024

Semester

Spring

Committee Chair

Kelchner, Viki

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

Counselor Education and Supervision

Format

application/pdf

Language

English

Rights

In copyright

Release Date

November 2027

Length of Campus-only Access

3 years

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Campus-only Access)

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

Accessibility Status

Meets minimum standards for ETDs/HUTs

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Restricted to the UCF community until November 2027; it will then be open access.

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