Shaun Lester, PhD

American Journal of Family Therapy, Volume 35, Number 4, July 2007 , pp. 363-376(14)

Two hundred four consecutive psychotherapy initiators who called for an initial appointment at a university-based family therapy clinic during a one-year period were examined to see what factors influenced nonattendance. Researchers considered factors such as demographics, substance use, medical and psychiatric involvement, clinic practice, and constellation expected to attend. The 118 (58%) initiators who kept their appointment differed significantly from the 86 (42%) who did not in distance to the clinic, partner's age, number of children, marital status, employment, time of appointment, and therapeutic constellation. Divorce, unemployment, having a partner between the ages of 18-24, and having children were significant indicators of nonattendance. An appointment scheduled between 1:00 and 4:59 P.M., seeking conjoint psychotherapy, and living between 6 and 25 miles from the clinic were significant indicators of attendance. Implications for improving initial appointment attendance are presented.

By Shaun Lester, M.A. & Steven M. Harris, Ph.D.

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Texas Tech University Electronic Theses & Dissertations: ETD-06282007-124002

Many men are reluctant to initiate individual therapy. Although other researchers have developed alternative approaches to entice men to initiate individual therapy, no one has examined whether men are more likely to seek conjoint therapy (i.e., couple and family therapy) than to seek individual therapy. This study examined factors associated with therapy initiation in order to predict the gender of therapy initiators. Consecutive therapy initiators. telephone intake and therapy assessment data collected between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2004 were analyzed. Factors that have been shown to influence theory initiation were entered into a series of Chi-square analyses and a MANOVA. Type of therapy sought, age, marital status, ethnicity, income, education level, employment status, number of individuals in the home, referral source, presenting problem, previous experience in therapy, emotional distress, and family distress were analyzed to determine if they differed significantly by therapy initiators. Significant gender differences were found between type of therapy, referral source, emotional distress, and family distress T-scores. As predicted, proportionately, more men than women requested couple therapy and proportionately more women requested individual therapy. However, proportionately more women unexpectedly requested family therapy than men.  Proportionately more men than women had a personal referral source and were severely or clinically emotionally distressed. Men scored significantly lower than women in family distress. The four significant predictor variables (type of therapy, referral source, emotional distress, and family distress T-scores) from the Chi-square and MANOVA analyses were entered into a binary logistical regression to predict gender. Each variable entered in the logistical regression equation was significant. Compared to family therapy, if the initiator is seeking couple therapy the odds (likelihood) almost quadruples that the initiator is a man. Comparing family to individual therapy does not increase the odds of initiators being men. Compared to no referral, if there has been a professional referral the odds double that the initiator is a man but nearly triple if there has been a personal referral. Comparing no emotional distress to clinical or severe distress almost triples the odds that the initiator is a man. As the family distress T-scores increase, the odds of the initiator being a man decreases by nearly one.

By Shaun Lester, Ph.D.

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Houston Press

A week ago, The New York Times reported that demands on the city's 24-hour suicide hotline had ballooned as never before. Alan Ross, a veteran employee of the hotline's sponsor - the Samaritans of New York - said last year's 28 percent increase in demand "was like nothing he had ever seen before."

By John Nova Lomax

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Crisis Intervention of Houston, Inc. & FBISD

A first-of-its-kind proprietary student services program for crisis intervention and counseling is now available to middle and high school students of the Fort Bend Independent School District (FBISD) through a collaboration between the district and Crisis Intervention of Houston (CIH). Introduced for the 2008 – 2009 school year, TalkLine is a free telephone hotline number dedicated to FBISD students and operated by Crisis Intervention of Houston (CIH) to provide confidential and immediate crisis counseling and referrals to community resources 24- hours a day, seven days a week by calling 281-240-TALK (8255).

By Judi Martin

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FBISD School Health Advisory Council

Dr. Shaun Lester of Crisis Intervention of Houston estimated a 1% usage in a 3-4 month period. He discussed the average time for a call, the missed call wait time and the average answer call wait time.

By Theresa Kopnicky

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Obuno Magazine    

Educational Resources Information Center

Understanding how they learn best is important for beginning and returning college students. This self-awareness can assist students in developing their classroom learning, study skills, and instructional habits throughout their college careers. For this reason, a quick, inexpensive learning style inventory appropriate for college populations was constructed to aid them in understanding their learning strengths. The Self Administered Inventory of Learning Strengths (SAILS) was constructed as an alternative to traditional learning style inventories, which have some problems. The instrument, its rationale, and proper uses are described. The developed inventory assesses learning styles in the domains of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic preferences. The test has been piloted in several New Mexico community colleges and universities. Results have established that it is easily self-administered and provides useful information for college students. The inventory is attached.

By Janna Siegal, Ed.D. & Shaun Lester

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