Research

This study investigates the psychological experiences of Active Law Enforcement Officers (ALEO) involved in addressing suicidal crises among fellow law enforcement officers. Police suicides present unique complexities, influenced by factors such as marital and work conflicts, PTSD diagnoses, firearm-related deaths, and separation or divorce. While police officers are not necessarily more likely than the general population to complete suicide, research highlights their elevated rates of suicidal ideation and planning. In cases where suicidal crises escalate to the point of requiring intervention, ALEO members play a crucial role. These professionals, trained to manage acute distress with resilience and emotional intelligence, face additional challenges when the individual in crisis is a fellow officer. Personal connections and shared professional experiences can complicate their ability to maintain detachment and organizational trust. This study addresses the limited understanding of how ALEO cope with the emotional toll of intervening in these high-stakes, deeply personal situations

This study explores the needs, challenges, and experiences of community mentors and Counsellingg therapist supervisors who oversee practicum students in professional training programs. The research aims to identify gaps in institutional support, training, and resources to enhance the quality of mentorship and supervision in practicum settings. A mixed-methods approach will be employed, combining quantitative surveys with validated tools such as the Supervisory Working Alliance Inventory (SWAI) and qualitative interviews to gain in-depth insights into mentorship dynamics. Key focus areas include mentor satisfaction, confidence, cultural competence, and the challenges faced during supervision. The intended outcomes of this study include actionable recommendations for improving institutional support systems, such as the development of training modules and mentorship toolkits. 

This study used quality improvement methods to implement a new care bundle for children presenting to a pediatric emergency department (ED) with mental health concerns. A key innovation was offering low-risk patients the option to be assessed in a partnered clinic instead of the ED. The bundle included standardized suicide risk screening (Ask Suicide-Screening Questions), the HEADS-ED tool for brief mental health assessment, and a 96-hour follow-up appointment option. Implementation was guided by iterative plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles, and success was measured using run charts. Within five months, key components were reliably used with over 80% of eligible patients. Over six months, nearly 90% of referred low-risk families received clinic appointments within 96 hours. The study demonstrated that quality improvement methods can effectively implement a reliable care bundle in the ED setting, offering low-risk pediatric mental health patients a timely and appropriate alternative to ED-based care.

This phenomenological study examined the lived experience of addictive eating. This study sought to answer the question, “What are the lived experiences of addictive eating among individuals who self-identify as food addicts?” It investigated the gap of literature in the two theoretical frameworks, substance based addiction and behavior based addiction. This study used the transcendental phenomenological design to examine the shared meaning of the lived experiences for addictive eating.  Twelve participants volunteered to participate in the study. However, three withdrew through the use of Moustakas’s transcendental phenomenological methodology shaped the data analysis of the semi-structured interviews. Nine participants, all of whom were women, shared their experiences of addictive eating through a virtual interview. The essence of the experience provided a new appreciation for addictive behaviors to fill a knowledge gap with non substance based addictions. The results from the current study revealed common themes of addictive eating are (a) obsessional thinking; (b) eating is shameful; (c) eating elicits positive emotions; (d) eating is an escape behavior; (e) eating is an emotional regulation behavior; (f) impulse control deficits; (g) seeking control through justification; (h) food is relational; (i) adverse childhood events; (j) negative self-concepts in comparison to others; and (k) food creates physiological effects.