Join the Office of Research Administration and Dr. Ingrid Weigold for “Personal Growth Initiative and the Therapeutic Process: An Exploratory Study”

C.P. and Cornelia Chima Family Center, Conference Room

Thursday, November 12, 2015

12-1 pm

Guest Speaker

Dr. Ingrid Weigold is currently an Associate Professor in the Collaborative Program in Counseling Psychology in the School of Counseling. She graduated with her degree in counseling psychology in December 2007 and joined the faculty at The University of Akron in August 2008. She teaches master’s- and doctoral-level courses in research design, statistics, lifespan development, theories, and assessment. Her research interests include personal growth initiative, the influence of human agency on college and international student success and persistence, scale validation, and data collection methodology. Her work in these areas has been published in top-tier journals such as Psychological Methods, Psychological Assessment, and Assessment. She is involved with several national boards. For example, she is the incoming Associate Editor of Research for the Journal of Mental Health Counseling, the treasurer for the American Psychological Association Division 17’s Section on Positive Psychology, and the secretary for the American Psychological Association Division 17’s International Section.

What’s on the Menu…

Personal growth initiative (PGI) refers to a person’s active and intentional desire to grow internally in domains that are salient to the person (e.g., social, vocational). PGI theory emphasizes its potentially important role in the psychological counseling process as a way to either provide clients high in PGI with the means of being more involved in therapy or teach clients with low levels of PGI the skills necessary to engage in the growth process. However, few studies have examined PGI in relation to counseling, and none have investigated its relation to psychological distress or therapeutic outcomes. This is the first study systematically examining the role of PGI in the therapeutic process. Participants were gathered from a community-based mental health setting and assessed for levels of PGI, psychological distress, and interpersonal issues at their initial appointment and when they left therapy. I investigated how PGI related to distress and interpersonal functioning at the first session, if PGI predicted whether or not clients would stop therapy unexpectedly or before meeting their goals, and how PGI related to psychological issues when both were measured longitudinally. 

Come, bring a lunch, and learn more about Dr. Weigold’s exciting research!

Contact RschSrvsGA8@uakron.edu with any questions