September 18, 2012 (ALEXANDRIA, VA) – Films from Alexander Street Press’s counseling collections will serve as the basis for a new academic study on sexual orientation in the psychotherapy session.  The study will be conducted by researchers from Arizona State University and the University of Tennessee, and is made possible by a $60,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.

Co-investigators Patrick Grzanka of Arizona State University and Joe Miles of the University of Tennessee will use twenty educational videos from Alexander Street Press’s recent counseling collections to conduct their research. The source material for their studies is more than 1,200 minutes of content, including actual psychotherapy sessions, simulated sessions, and documentary content.

By rigorously and methodically examining these films using qualitative methods, Grzanka and Miles hope to examine how therapists work with their clients to develop shared ideas about sexual orientation. The research team will also examine how psychologists and clients in the videos connect sexual orientation to other mental health issues, such as depression, and other forms of identity, including race and religion.

“Alexander Street’s counseling films are a powerful set of data for study,” says Grzanka. “They offer rare and authentic examples of how psychotherapists view discussions of sexual orientation and how they approach treatment. They are ripe for sociological inquiry into the practice of psychological science as it pertains to sexuality, which has historically been such a contentious issue in psychology.”

“We’re pleased to provide the content that will inform this important research,” says Elizabeth Robey, Counseling and Therapy Editor at Alexander Street Press. “These counseling films aren’t just impacting the classroom; they’re contributing directly to the field of research.”

Grzanka and Miles aim to present their initial findings at several forthcoming research conferences, develop articles on their results for science and technology journals, and build a searchable database of relevant literature to be hosted at www.socialactionrt.org.

Alexander Street Press’s counseling and therapy portfolio includes hundreds of films and more than one thousand hours of content across four collections, with more content added regularly. Collections include The Video Journal of Counseling and Therapy, volumes I and II of Counseling and Therapy in Video, and Counseling and Psychotherapy Transcripts, Client Narratives, and Reference Works. For more information, please visit: http://www.alexanderstreet.com/products/counseling-and-therapy.

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About Alexander Street Press
Alexander Street Press is an electronic publisher of award-winning online collections and video for scholarly research, teaching, and learning. Our products are available to libraries and educational institutions worldwide via annual subscription or one-time purchase. Learn more at http://www.alexanderstreet.com.

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