
James SellsRegent University · School of Psychology and Counseling
James Sells
Ph.D.
About
26
Publications
10,256
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
816
Citations
Introduction
Skills and Expertise
Publications
Publications (26)
The purpose of this pilot, quantitative study was to investigate resilience and stress when predicting well-being in a sample of Ukrainian adults after accounting for the presence of children in the home during the coronavirus pandemic and six years into the Anti-Terrorism Operation. The total sample (N = 80) showed that the mostly female sample (9...
This study examined Assemblies of God pastors in the USA (n = 874) on role identity, well-being, religious coping, and attitudes toward seeking professional counseling. Overall, 14.1% had depression at moderate or higher severity based on the PHQ-9 scale (score of 10 or above), with an additional 25.7% in the mild category (score of 5–9). On the Cl...
Counsellor educators face complex challenges in the advancement of the counselling profession internationally. One way the counselling profession in Ukraine has been developed is through the use of cross-cultural engagement between local supervisees and U.S.-trained international supervisors. This qualitative study examined the phenomenon of the cr...
Pre-print
A community-based study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of relational vir-
tues as the curricular focus of a peer-led marital intervention within a Christian church.
The curriculum addressed pain and defense patterns of within marital relationships, with
relational virtues such as grace as mechanisms for change. A one-day marit...
Couple research, and specifically religion and couple research, is commonly conducted in individualistic cultures. The collectivistic milieu of China makes a useful contrast to Western culture. With Chinese churches, we conducted two studies on marriage relationships. In Study 1 ( N = 810), we report a survey on marriages of parishioners. Satisfact...
Humility predicts relationship satisfaction, partially mediated by commitment, in college students. The present study tested this mediation in a non-college sample of participants who have been in exclusive relationships for at least three months (N = 349). We supported a partial mediation model in predicting relationship satisfaction (Hypothesis 1...
The authors investigated the complex relationships of parental attitudes toward apologies, empathy, shame, guilt, and the parent's attachment orientation. Survey responses were obtained from 327 parents. A path analysis of the developed model demonstrated a close model fit (root-mean-square error of approximation = .07; comparative fit index = .93;...
In response to Smith and Okech (), the authors reason that protections for sexual minorities can thrive with protections for religious liberties. The authors (a) acknowledge that the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs' accreditation process is designed to ensure that counseling programs of religious or secular...
Professional counseling in Uganda has foundations in traditional cultures of its peoples, guidance offered in schools, and counseling to curb the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Currently, a definitive professional counselor profile in Uganda is being established. The Uganda Counselling Association continues the process of seeking legal authority to regulate co...
Online learning has emerged as a significant teaching medium, influencing how higher education is conducted in the U.S. and
globally. While widely accepted in select disciplines, distance learning as the method for counselor preparation is often
met with skepticism or resistance in the counseling profession. The purpose of this paper is to argue fo...
Divorce can be a distressing event. Although various studies have been conducted to better understand this phenomenon, little research has focused on the combined effect of age, initiator status, spousal infidelity, and spiritual well-being on divorce adjustment. To determine the effect of these 4 factors on divorce adjustment, 133 divorced women i...
This study focused on the relational conflict cycle within the relational restoration model proposed by Sells, Beckenbach, and Patrick. The model is drawn from contextual family theory, object relations theory, and the emotional focus theory. Participating couples (N = 215) completed a demographic questionnaire and four assessments measuring confli...
The article examines preliminary results of the reconciliation cycle presented as part of the Relationship Conflict and Restoration
Model (RCRM). This model is an integration of attachment theory, contextual family therapy, and narrative approaches. The
model was implemented in a workshop format with 5 couples. Implications from this workshop are p...
This descriptive survey, designed to ascertain frequencies of relapse among drug and alcohol counselors recovering from addictions to alcohol and/other drugs studied 657 male, 580 female, and 2 transsexual professionals ranging from 18 to more than 70 years of age. The 20-item instrument was administered online. A total of 1,239 usable responses we...
The article presents an integrated theoretical perspective on the origin, maintenance and alteration of relational conflict. It suggests that relational conflict and reconciliation can be understood as two behavioral alternatives that couples respond with during the experience of pain or other negative emotion. The presence of pain elicits a defens...
This study attempted to integrate theories of intimacy and differentiation with previously studied relationship variables to generate a predictive model of marital satisfaction. Findings from this study supported intimacy and spousal support as strong variables in predicting marital satisfaction but found no relationship between differentiation and...
A team of researchers consisting of counselor education professors and doctoral‐level counseling students conducted interviews with Honduran mental health professionals, including counselors, psychologists, pastors, community developmental specialists, and psychiatrists. The purpose was to understand the counseling process and profession that exist...
This paper reviews the published literature addressing forgiveness as a therapeutic issue. The review revealed four major themes. These included: diverse attempts in the literature to define forgiveness; the presentation of models of intervention; resistance among theoreticians and therapists to examine forgiveness as a therapeutic construct, and e...
A marital group intervention was developed to address communication, conflict, forgiveness, and reconciliation. This article reviews the history of marital group intervention and presents a description of an 8-week marital group intervention. Results indicated improvement in forgiveness skills, anger expression, and marital satisfaction at posttest...
Transtheoretical metaphors of purpose, process, and product can be helpful for counselors to organize and focus therapy and for clients to conceptualize current marital patterns and create alternative relational habits. The case study of Kevin and Stacey is used to illustrate these constructs.
This study of 44 supervision dyads investigated the effects of supervisor and trainee gender on the verbal interactions of participants and on their perceptions of trainee skill levels. Supervisor and trainee utterances were coded as being relationship or task focused. Male supervisors paired with male trainees engaged in more task-oriented discour...
Researchers examined the efficacy of brief time-limited (BTL) groups (i.e., 6 sessions) in a university counseling center by comparing BTL and semester-length time-limited (TL) group member evaluations at termination. BTL groups were found to be similar to TL groups on dimensions of Depth, Positivity, and Arousal. Implications of services offered t...
This paper reports on the development, validity, and reliability of a self-report instrument designed to assess a respondent's perspective of pain resulting from relational violations and work toward relational forgiveness based on a framework proposed by Hargrave (1994a). Presented here is the five-stage procedure used in the development of the In...