Browsing by Author "Morgan, Amy A."

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Against the Odds: A Structural Equation Analysis of Family Resilience Processes during Paternal Incarceration
    Morgan, Amy A.; Arditti, Joyce A.; Dennison, Susan; Frederiksen, Signe (MDPI, 2021-11-04)
    On any given day, approximately 2.1 million children in Europe have an incarcerated parent. Although research indicates that material hardship is associated with parental incarceration, and particularly paternal incarceration, little is known about family processes that may mitigate the harmful effects of such hardship on children with an incarcerated parent. Guided by a resilience framework, this study examined how family processes mediate the effects of material hardship on youth academic adjustment within the context of paternal incarceration. Using Danish data that assessed key family constructs, structural equation modeling was used to perform a mediational within-group analysis of primary caregivers (n = 727) to children with an incarcerated father. Results indicate that although social support and parenting skills did not yield mediating effects, caregiver mental health strongly mediated the effects of material hardship on youth academic adjustment during paternal incarceration. Findings suggest that economic conditions, as well as caregiver mental health symptoms, are important areas of intervention that may promote family-level resilience for youth of an imprisoned father. We conclude with research and practice recommendations to advance our understanding of resilience among families with an incarcerated parent.
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    Bearing the Burden: Rural implications of licensed professionals' exclusion from Medicare
    Fullen, Matthew C.; Wiley, Jonathan D.; Morgan, Amy A. (2019)
    Medicare beneficiaries are unable to access mental health services provided by some licensed master’s-level clinicians, including licensed professional counselors (LPCs). Provider shortages in rural localities, combined with Medicare policy exclusion of these licensed mental health professionals, exacerbates rural mental health care access disparities. Very little is known about the impact of LPC exclusion from Medicare on rural beneficiaries. This study explored the lived experiences of mental health professionals who have turned away clients because of their Medicare-ineligible provider status. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was employed as a qualitative form of inquiry to guide the research design, participant recruitment, data collection, and analysis. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 9 Medicare-ineligible mental health professionals from a single, Mid-Atlantic state in the United States who have turned away clients because of their Medicare-ineligible provider status. Evidence from rural and nonrural practitioners highlighted the contextual implications of Medicare provider exclusion on rural beneficiaries. One superordinate theme, undue burden, is described through three emergent themes from the interview data: geographical disparities, intersectional hardships, and practice constraints. The results suggest that current Medicare provider regulations may create disparities of mental health care availability and accessibility for Medicare beneficiaries from rural communities. The qualitative evidence of this study describes systemic and proximal factors that result in unexpected termination, deterred help-seeking behavior, and untimely treatment for older adults and disabled clients within rural mental health care settings.
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    The Medicare mental health coverage gap: How licensed professional counselors navigate Medicare-ineligible provider status
    Fullen, Matthew C.; Wiley, Jonathan D.; Morgan, Amy A. (2019)
    This interpretative phenomenological analysis explored licensed professional counselors’ experiences of turning away Medicare beneficiaries because of the current Medicare mental health policy. Researchers used semi-structured interviews to explore the client-level barriers created by federal legislation that determines professional counselors as Medicare-ineligible providers. An in-depth presentation of one superordinate theme, ineffectual policy, along with the emergent themes confounding regulations, programmatic inconsistencies, and impediment to care, illustrates the proximal barriers Medicare beneficiaries experience when actively seeking out licensed professional counselors for mental health care. Licensed professional counselors’ experiences indicate that current Medicare provider regulations interfere with mental health care accessibility and availability for Medicare-insured populations. Implications for advocacy are discussed.
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    The transition to teletherapy in marriage and family therapy training settings during COVID-19: What do the data tell us?
    Morgan, Amy A.; Landers, Ashley L.; Simpson, Jessica E.; Russon, Jody M.; Case Pease, Jenene; Dolbin-MacNab, Megan L.; Bland, Krista N.; Jackson, Jeffrey B. (Wiley, 2021-03-20)
    In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known about how university training programs transitioned to teletherapy. This study describes the transition of two university marriage and family therapy (i.e., master's and doctoral) training clinics to teletherapy and presents preliminary analyses of the types of clients and cases that converted to teletherapy. A series of chi-square analyses, a t-test, a logistic regression model, and a multiple linear regression model were employed. Four key findings emerged: (1) most cases converted to teletherapy; (2) Hispanic ethnicity was the only demographic characteristic to significantly predict conversion to teletherapy; (3) individual cases were significantly more likely to convert to teletherapy than relational cases; and (4) the number of prior in-person sessions attended significantly predicted conversion to teletherapy. Teletherapy conversion implications are discussed across four systemic levels: client, student trainee, supervision, and larger systems.