Article

Podcasts as an Evolution of Bibliotherapy

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Abstract

For over a century, clinicians have utilized a variety of written materials—a practice traditionally referred to as bibliotherapy—to address a diverse range of client issues and facilitate the process of growth, healing, and change. Recently, podcasts have experienced a dramatic increase in popularity and cultural influence, which has allowed the medium to expand access to learning information that was once primarily delivered in print media. Through a review of current digital media trends, relevant academic literature, and several clinical applications, this manuscript highlights the suitability of podcasts to function as an evolution of the traditional practice of bibliotherapy and provides guidelines for effectively selecting and integrating podcasts into clinical practice.

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... com/shows/) offer extensive catalogs of research-informed content related to a variety of mental health and wellness topics. Researchers from a broad range of disciplines have affirmed the educational benefits of podcasts and have advocated for their use in promoting mental health awareness and literacy (Casares & Binkley, 2021, Casares, 2022Davidson et al., 2019;Harter, 2019). Furthermore, literature on the clinical applications of podcasts indicates that the medium is a beneficial tool for promoting growth and change (Doumas & Hannah, 2008;Vernon, 2010), adjuncting bibliotherapy practices (Casares & Binkley, 2021), treating substance use disorders (Gustafson et al., 2011;Shaw et al., 2013), and facilitating career development (Venable, 2010) and psychoeducation (Davidson et al., 2019). ...
... Researchers from a broad range of disciplines have affirmed the educational benefits of podcasts and have advocated for their use in promoting mental health awareness and literacy (Casares & Binkley, 2021, Casares, 2022Davidson et al., 2019;Harter, 2019). Furthermore, literature on the clinical applications of podcasts indicates that the medium is a beneficial tool for promoting growth and change (Doumas & Hannah, 2008;Vernon, 2010), adjuncting bibliotherapy practices (Casares & Binkley, 2021), treating substance use disorders (Gustafson et al., 2011;Shaw et al., 2013), and facilitating career development (Venable, 2010) and psychoeducation (Davidson et al., 2019). ...
... Reviewed key technical considerations with students and troubleshot connectivity/access issues. 8. Addressed student questions, concerns, and barriers to internet/technology access (Casares & Binkley, 2021, Casares, 2022Besser et al., 2021;CACREP, 2015;COAMFTE, 2021;Fronek et al., 2016;McGhee et al., 2019;Remley & Herlihy, 2019;Shepard & Brew, 2005; Van Wyk, 2019). ...
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Podcasts are a convenient, portable, and increasingly popular resource for conveying and consuming information. Accordingly, the ever-expanding catalog of podcast content offers counselor educators, counseling students, and clinicians a wealth of free learning materials. This article provides an overview of current podcast trends, prior uses in educational and clinical settings, and outlines several strategies for utilizing podcasts to enhance student learning and development in marriage and family counseling courses.
... Individuals with low levels of mental health literacy use podcasts as a medium for psychoeducation, such as learning new information and skills and enhancing their understanding of their own mental state [28]. Podcasts serve as a digital medium to reduce stigmatizing attitudes towards mental health disorders. ...
... As shown in Figure 1, podcasts are interactive media that support professional counsellor consulting services for academic stress prevention. Podcasts can disseminate specific information (Quintana & Heathers, 2021), preventing academic stress with access to educational and social news (Casares Jr & Binkley, 2021 Podcasts from research results combined in consulting services to develop academic stress prevention skills according to the steps for making podcasts. Podcasts are generally made from pre-production, production, and review (Mayangsari & Tiara, 2019). ...
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... On balance, counselors possess unique professional and dispositional faculties, which can be creatively channeled to engage audiences in a manner that is compatible with the medium of podcasting (Allen, 2019;Avarachan, 2017;Davidson et al., 2019;Egorova, 2018;Quinones, 2016;Samadder, 2018). As such, counselor educators may opt to utilize podcasts to promote student engagement and enhance instructional approaches (Middleton, 2009;Rockinson-Szapkiw & Walker, 2009;Salloum & Smyth, 2013), while counselors may elect assign existing podcast content to clients for the purposes of providing a convenient source of informational material (Barton & Merolli, 2019;Hurst, 2019), normalizing client issues (Moe et al., 2018), facilitating an innovative psychoeducational activity (Davidson et al., 2019;Johnson et al., 2012), or functioning as an evolution of the traditional practice of bibliotherapy (Casares & Binkley, 2020). ...
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This latest edition of The Creative Arts in Counseling is a powerful, evidence-based examination of how creative expression can be used in counseling with clients of various ages and backgrounds. It explores the clinical application of all of the major creative arts, including music, dance/movement, imagery, visual arts, writing/literature, drama, play and humor, and-new to this edition-animal-assisted therapy, therapeutic horticulture, and nature/wilderness experiences. The history, rationale, and theory behind each art form are discussed, in addition to its clinical benefits and uses in counseling settings. Each chapter contains a variety of practical exercises that clinicians, instructors, and students can incorporate immediately into their work, as well as "creative reflections" for personal and professional self-evaluation. The final chapter summarizes the 126 exercises that appear throughout the text so that readers can quickly access exercises that meet their needs. Requests for digital versions from the ACA can be found on wiley.com. To request print copies, please visit the ACA website. © 2016 by the American Counseling Association. All rights reserved.
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The use of multimedia-driven instruction in college courses is an emerging practice designed to increase students’ knowledge. However, limited research has validated the effectiveness of using multimedia to teach students about functional behavioral assessments (FBAs). To test the effectiveness of a multimedia tool called Content Acquisition Podcasts (CAPs), this study utilized a pretest–posttest design across two groups of students. One group received instruction on FBAs in the form of a CAP, whereas the other group received a typical lecture (control comparison). Results revealed that members of the CAP group performed better on the posttest compared to the students who received the lecture when the pretest scores were controlled for previous knowledge. In addition, students in the CAP group had lower self-reported levels of cognitive load. Implications for the use of CAPs and future research are discussed.
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Therapists recognize that popular media culture is an influential force that shapes identities and relationships in contemporary society. Indeed, people have serious relationships with the commodities and practices that emerge from pop culture. However, they often lack the conceptual and conversational resources to engage meaningfully with clients about pop culture's influence in their lives. Cultural studies is introduced as an interdisciplinary approach that provides frameworks for both theory and practice that position therapists and clients to critically examine the role of pop culture in their lives. Cultural studies and narrative therapy are discussed as praxis allies that share a populist political intention and counter-hegemonic discursive practices. The integration of cultural studies methodologies into narrative therapy practice with a parent and her teenage daughter is illustrated through a case vignette.
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Creativity plays a critical role in today’s society by aiding an individual’s response to the mounting complications of modern life and assisting in the maintenance of mental health. Though counselors seek to promote similar developments in their clients, they often do so without the benefit of any particular training in theories of creativity or creativity-enhancing techniques. This article examines literature in the fields of creativity, counseling, and education to highlight the essential nature of creative processes in counseling and psychotherapy, ultimately presenting a rationale for the incorporation of creativity in counselor education.
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Parents frequently bring children to therapy with the notion that their child has a ‘problem’. Children can begin to internalize these labels and negative attributes created by others. This article introduces a method for marriage and family therapists to integrate cinematherapy and narrative techniques. The method provided is to be utilized after a family has viewed a film chosen conjointly by the family and the therapist. This article includes suggestions as to how the family can externalize the movie character's problem, instances when the character defeats the problem and the qualities the character demonstrates while overcoming the problem. A case example has been included demonstrating the effectiveness of the method and clinical implications for future application. Practitioner points Watching movies has become a popular pastime for many families, so client compliance is likely. There are numerous situations that would allow this method to be utilized with the family unit, such as ‘problem’ children, grief and loss and childhood anxiety. Therapists should consider keeping lists of appropriate films that accommodate clients' culture and ethnicity.
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The podcast has recently emerged as a popular medium for comedians. It would not be accurate to describe the podcast as a wholly new, liberating medium that dispenses of all commercial logic in favor of the truly authentic, but it would be equally disingenuous to discount the feelings of empowerment and personal stability that the podcast medium has initiated for these comedians. Since April 2011, Paul Gilmartin, a stand-up comedian, television show host, and actor has hosted the Mental Illness Happy Hour (MIHH), a self-help podcast for those suffering from depression, anxiety, and frustration. Gilmartin's podcast has attracted over a million listeners since it debuted and has inspired a devoted following, thriving message board, and the sort of unexpected career revival that surprised even Gilmartin himself. While the man behind the microphone might be a comedian, MIHH is sobering, reflective, and unvarnished in its earnestness. I argue that the constitution of audience within this podcast disrupts more conventional understandings of fan–celebrity interaction. It tests previously held assumptions and makes ambiguous the lines between performer and audience, audience, and self-help community.
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Adolescent communication has seen a shift since the emergence of the digital culture. Researchers debate the impact of said technology on adolescent well-being; however, the fact remains that adolescents communicate using a wide variety of technological venues. It seems important for counselors to explore and understand the digital culture, as well as find ways to creatively connect with adolescents using a communication means they value: technology. This article will discuss several ways to integrate technology into counseling sessions, as well as ethical and other considerations.
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This article provides an overview of how loss affects young people of different ages and describes methods for helping bereaved children and adolescents. Case examples demonstrate the use of drawings to elucidate the inner experiences of young people who are grieving and to facilitate the counseling process. A format for a bereavement support group is detailed, and guidelines are provided for the use of bibliotherapy. Cultural, ethical, and counselor competency issues are also considered. The importance of counselors' awareness of the impact of their own loss experiences is also discussed.
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The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore clinicians' experiences of using Podcasts to assist with implementing an evidence-based practice (EBP). Twelve clinicians, including eight student interns, at a human service organization were interviewed about their perceptions of using Podcasts about implementing an EBP called Grief and Trauma Intervention (GTI) for Children. Major themes included that the Podcasts were helpful, liked the short length, fit their learning styles, useful teaching tool, wanted more clinical content and more engaging material, and that administrative support was important for use. Technological difficulties were a major barrier to use. There were some differences in experiences of the Podcasts between post-masters professionals and interns. Podcasts may be a useful technology to help clinicians implement EBPs, and future research on Podcast use is warranted.
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This article presents the results of a follow-up study examining the motivations of independent podcasters. Results from a web-based survey found that podcasting continues to be dominated by educated, professional males over 30, most of whom are not podcasting full-time. Podcasters are highly engaged with their audiences and continue to seek new business models to support potential full-time podcasting. Motivations for podcasting are consistent with the theory of produsage, which stresses the importance of community, feedback, and continual improvement. Podcasters take their activities seriously and see podcasting as an alternative to traditional radio.
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While the counseling community embraces the use of creative approaches in counseling and supervision, few researchers have attempted to empirically describe the process of including an art-based technique into counselor group supervision. A grounded theory design guided the exploration of including a case conceptualization drawing technique into six counselor supervision groups. Six doctoral-level supervisors, who were trained in an art-based technique, introduced the method to their group supervisees who were completing a practicum or internship. Data collection methods included individual and focus-group interviews, observations of visual case presentations, document reviews of visual case drawings, and journal-prompted inquiries. Results indicated that supervisor training in an art-based technique is a condition for yielding positive outcomes for counselor trainee development, client treatment, and the supervision group process.
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Career services professionals are increasingly involved in decisions regarding the use of technology. This article presents a number of considerations to be explored, including the characteristics and needs of today's students, available technologies, funding requirements, and confidentiality issues. The author recommends an approach that includes strategic planning, needs analyses, training, and ongoing support. Current asynchronous and synchronous technologies are described, and examples of the use of each in the context of career services are provided. The specific technologies presented are e-mail, discussion boards, video, podcasts, websites, Internet-based guidance and information systems, telephone, instant messages, and virtual rooms.
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Becoming a man is developmental. Boys model after men in their lives as well as figures they see in the media. When role models are positive, appropriate, and present, boys grow into constructive adults who contribute to society. This article examines how counselors can intentionally help young men mature into well-grounded and prosocial individuals through the use of models in films. It provides a list of some movies that counselors can use in the process. © 2014 by the American Counseling Association. All rights reserved.
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Bibilotherapy is presented as a strategy for cocreating therapeutic metaphors with clients. The use of these metaphors for promoting both first and second order change is enhanced when the metaphor is processed using Developmental Counseling and Therapy (DCT). Case examples are included to illustrate the combined use of these techniques.
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Millions of listeners tune in to Internet-based audio-on-demand programming (commonly known as audio podcasts). College students represent a large and influential group of consumers but little is known about this primary audience's podcast listening choices and related opinions. This research was organized within the uses and gratifications perspective and involved an online survey of college students who identified as podcast listeners. Results showed most collegiate listeners spent no more than an hour a month listening to podcasts, and fewer than half reported listening to all the episodes they downloaded. Most listeners found podcasts fun and entertaining and said they enjoy sharing what they have heard with peers. Respondents reported clearly identified program genre preferences, and reported ‘multitasking’ in a variety of specific ways while listening. This research does not attempt to answer all questions about the college student podcast audience, but it is a starting point for further study into this important user group. Recommendations for future research are offered.
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This study describes an often used but little studied clinical practice: reading assignments. Specifically examined are prevalence of use, books most frequently used, types of clients and presenting problems, procedures for use, and success and problems encountered. Results are based on a national sample of AAMFT members. A bibliography of most frequently used books is also provided.Systemic interventions in the treatment of families with adolescent drug abusers to attain drug-free behavior were presented in a previous paper (Quinn et al., 1988). This paper describes the latter stage of treatment which is required to stabilize drug-free behavior and promote a more functional family structure with modified interactional patterns. Neglect of these goals by hospital or outpatient treatment settings increases the likelihood of relapse in drug behavior or symptom substitution, such as running away or escalating relationship conflict. Issues discussed include developmental issues around the adolescent leaving home, marital conflict and balance, aspects of treatment with single-parent or blended families, the peer network, parental drug use, and the restoration or promotion of adolescent autonomy. Clinical illustrations provide documentation of these systemic interventions.
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Technological advances have impinged on every aspect of contemporary phenomenological experiences, including counseling and psychotherapy. The author explores the intersection of narrative therapy, specifically the traditional memory book, with the advances in information technology in the formulation of the digital memory book. The digital memory book is examined relative to the underpinnings of humanistic psychology and the postmodern paradigm that accentuate that people essentially construct their reality and inherently have the potential to influence their well-being. The potential for the digital memory book to complement therapeutic interventions is posited, and implications for counseling and psychotherapy are highlighted.
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Cybercounseling is an idea whose time has come, but counselors are not yet ready to say with conviction what it really is or how it should be employed. Counselors need continued interest and enthusiasm for its use, but for now, they should be experimental. The Internet will play an increasing role in how persons learn and behave. Counselors need to take greater responsibility for insuring that they hone their Internet learning skills and become sharp learners, not dull ones. The augmentation of traditional counseling with different cybercounseling features will benefit the efficacy of present day counseling and contribute to increasing the experience and research base of knowledge regarding the efficacy of cybercounseling and its different features. Insuring that all clients are skilled in information searching is the greatest gift of all. It is a skill that can be acquired irrespective of age, gender, race, or finances. Counselors should make it a critical priority in their counseling. Counselors should be known for what they bring about and not what they are called, the processes they use, or the standards they abide by. Cybercounseling and cyberlearning go together and are mutually reinforcing. They are a seamless process, one that appropriately expands the counseling field. In practice, it means a broader playing field with more opportunities for the counselor to score. Even a minimal listing of the present and potential benefits of cybercounseling suggests that it is much more than a passing fad. The existing support structures for cybercounseling suggest that the actual form it will take will very likely be with us in the future. (MKA)
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Film selection and children's reactions to films are discussed in this article based on a qualitative multiple-case study with three preadolescent-aged children experiencing parental divorce. Six films were selected based on recommended films in cinematherapy. Although many films have been recommended for cinematherapy, multiple participants' reactions to specific recommended films have not been explored frequently in the literature. Research is needed to document participants' reactions and responses to the many films that have been recommended for cinematherapy in the previous literature to determine the benefits, drawbacks, and efficacy of specific films for specific issues and populations. Findings include the importance of appropriate developmental level, closeness of issue match, preference for more recent releases, and good timing in the therapy process.