Adler School of Professional Psychology

Black students at predominantly White institutions experience general and race-related stressors during their time in college. Counterspaces, defined as settings situated within larger social contexts that disrupt harmful dominant narratives and cultural norms, are one way Black students cope with stressors. The present study explores the utility of a Black women-focused book club as an inclusive and identity-affirming space for Black women attending an elite and private predominantly White institution. Over the course of a 4-month semester, two Black women cofacilitators held a monthly book club series (Kitchen Table Talk) with four main elements: Black feminist book selections, online journal prompts, invited Black women speakers, and in-person group discussions. When the program concluded, we considered how this bibliotherapeutic program offered a critical wellness counterspace for participants through qualitative data collection with a subset of eight Black women who attended at least one Kitchen Table Talk session during the semester. In response to questions about institutional climate and sense of belonging, we identified three themes: (a) culture of Whiteness (e.g., racial tokenization), (b) culture of productivity, and (c) culture of incohesion (i.e., lack of unity among Black student organizations). Second, we analyzed how and why the programmatic elements of Kitchen Table Talk facilitated positive mental health and wellness among Black women. As a campus counterspace, the book club fostered emotional expression, narrative identity work, and communal care in ways that resonated with the women's lived experiences. The group cultivated a healing environment rooted in affirmation and connection, underscoring the value of culturally grounded, community-based spaces that address wellness and identity holistically-especially for those whose needs are often overlooked in mainstream therapeutic settings.

Leaders navigating AI-driven digital transformation increasingly face a paradox. High investment, disappointing returns, and setbacks persist despite growing computational capability. Drawing on three quantum principles, we introduce Quantum/AI fluency-the capacity to engage paradoxical thinking while harnessing AI's computational power to intentionally recast and redesign legacy workflows. To cultivate Q/AI fluency, we present the USE framework-Uncertainty, Superposition, and Entanglement-with three response pathways and six specific leadership practices to navigate organizational AI adoption.

Parenting beliefs are shaped by cultural, intergenerational, and relational influences within family systems. This qualitative study examined the broad cultural factors influencing the expression of parenting beliefs among Taiwanese American parents. Semistructured interviews were conducted with six Taiwanese American parents residing in the Midwest. Thematic analysis yielded five salient topics: initial foundations for parenting, influence of one's own childhood on parenting, influence of ethnic identity and acculturation, evolution of parenting beliefs over time, and parenting methods employed. Findings suggest that parenting beliefs function as organizing frameworks that are relationally embedded and dynamic rather than fixed or prescriptive. Participants described selectively retaining, modifying, or rejecting intergenerational and cultural influences as they adapted their parenting beliefs to contextual demands. Clinical implications for family counseling include the importance of exploring parents' belief systems, intergenerational narratives, and cultural meaning-making processes to support culturally responsive and collaborative practice.

Infidelity impacts a significant number of people with potentially devastating consequences. Many people choose to stay with their partner following infidelity, but there is limited research on the decision-making processes in affair recovery from the perspective of the injured partner. The current study explores this phenomenon through semi-structured interviews with 11 injured (i.e., did not have an affair) partners who chose to remain with their partner after experiencing infidelity. Nine main themes were identified: (a) stance on infidelity, (b) sharing with others, (c) reasons to stay, (d) apology, (e) social support, (f) sexual intimacy expectations, (g) rebuilding trust, (h) therapy, and (i) other resources. These findings extend existing research on affair recovery by intentionally giving voice to the decision-making experiences of injured partners in affair recovery. Considerations for clinicians working with individuals and couples, such as understanding the reasons to stay in the relationship and renegotiating relationship boundaries, are discussed.

Objective Opportunities for professional education and training in clinical sexology vary widely across the provinces in Canada and the states of the United States. The goal of this study was to obtain a comprehensive understanding of clinical sexology training in North America.Method This mixed-methods study includes quantitative surveys and qualitative data obtained through interview and personal communication. Data were obtained independently and were integrated at the interpretation stage to allow deeper understanding of the strengths and barriers to clinical sexology training in North America.Results Clinical training in sexology is primarily available to health professionals as part of continuing education or post-graduate certificates and is often costly and time intensive. There is a dearth of integration of sexual health education throughout schooling, starting in grade school and continuing through advanced degrees in health care. While some degree programs in the health professions include competence in sexuality as part of their accreditation requirements, these competencies are inconsistently met by training programs. The lack of integrated sexual health training for health professionals reinforces stigma around discussing sexual health and is a violation of biomedical ethics. The additional burden of obtaining training in clinical sexology is a barrier to increasing the diversity of the sexual health workforce. A major exception to this overall trend is Quebec's recognition of sexology as an independent profession with its own accreditation standards and a full academic curriculum from bachelor to PhD in sexology.Conclusion Professional training in clinical sexology in the US and Canada has both strengths and weaknesses. Current sociocultural influences limit access to sex education across the lifespan and create challenges in advancing the profession. Future research should work to identify ways to advance access to comprehensive sex education and training in clinical sexology.