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“This Is The Psychology We Need”: Maya Immigrant Views On Mental Health Treatment, Robin Chancer

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

This paper engages the theme of psychological-physical-spiritual health among displaced Maya communities. To pursue knowledge about the communities’ visions for thriving in the United States, I worked with Maya leaders in Ohio to coordinate a series of dialogues utilizing a Participatory Action Research paradigm. Participants exposed ways in which Western institutions (including hospitals, mental health providers, and schools) reenact elements of colonialism and fail to offer culturally sensitive care. The participants emphasized a key missing element in their well-being: renewing the relationship with the Earth that they lost through colonization and forced migration. To separate physical/mental health from these elements …

January 2nd 2023, Story Lee

Landshark Literary Review

This piece was written during a sleepless night worrying about the current downward spiral of treatment of trans people. It is a quiet look into the almost-mundane fears and struggles of American trans people.

Influences On General Music Teachers' Mental Health During The Collective Trauma Of Covid-19, Abigail Van Klompenberg

Visions of Research in Music Education

The purpose of this collective case study was to examine elementary music teachers’ mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research questions were: 1) What factors influenced music teachers’ mental health and well-being during COVID-19?; 2) How did music teachers support their own mental health and well-being during COVID-19?; 3) How might stakeholders (such as schools, administrators, and community members) better support educators during challenging times? Data included semi-structured interviews, informal observations, and a researcher journal. Participants were three elementary music educators teaching K­­–5 music in geographically and demographically diverse public schools throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Through “data …

The Effect Of Covid-19 On Substance Use And Mental Health On A College Campus, Georgia L. Coffman

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

In this research, the author surveyed a university population to determine the impact that COVID-19 has had on substance use and mental health. Current research provides significant data indicating worsening mental health and substance use. This paper looks at how applicable those trends are to a small private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. The data included 261 respondents composed of students, faculty, and staff of the university. The results reveal that college students, faculty, and staff experienced statistically significant increases in feelings of unhappiness, depression, loneliness, hopelessness, agitation, and irritability during the pandemic compared to before the pandemic. Data analysis of …

The Future Of Early College: An Interview With Dr. Leon Botstein, Dumaine Williams

Early College Folio

The first public, tuition-free Bard High School Early College (BHSEC) opened in Brooklyn in 2001. Today, an entire network of Bard Early Colleges operates in partnership with public school systems to offer students affordable access to higher education in a cohesive, engaging environment. Simultaneously, alternative takes on early college (Early College High Schools, dual enrollment, early entrance) have proliferated across the United States, providing even more opportunities for younger students to earn college credit.

In December 2022, the author, Dean of Bard Early College, sat down with Bard College President Leon Botstein to examine how the pandemic made new demands …

Music Education Majors And Mental Health: A Follow-Up Study, Philip D. Payne

Research & Issues in Music Education

Music education majors across the United States (N = 1029) self-reported indicators of depression, anxiety, personality, and stress. According to the results, music education majors are highly busy, and report elevated levels of stress as compared to their peers. Semester enrollment averages include: 18.5 hours (including 0 credit courses) a semester, rehearsing an average of 9.08 hours a week, and a majority of whom work an average of 13-15 hours a week all while reporting high perceived stress levels. Furthermore, 74% of respondents required additional screening on the DSM-V for depression with over 70% exhibiting symptoms of moderate or severe …

Does Homework Work Or Hurt? A Study On The Effects Of Homework On Mental Health And Academic Performance, Ryan Scheb

Journal of Catholic Education

St. Patrick's Catholic School is a coeducational Catholic preparatory school located in a large northeastern city. The school serves an exclusively non-white, working-class student population who demonstrates the motivation and potential to attend and graduate from college. The school’s mission calls for its staff to be guided by cura personalis, meaning they will care for the whole person; yet, data show that the school’s students were extremely stressed out and that much of their stress was attributable to homework. This study sought to determine if reducing the amount of homework could improve students’ mental health while not negatively impacting …

Military Chaplains’ Provision Of Psychological Assistance To Soldiers In Ukraine, Artem Makovskyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

This article presents the results of a theoretical analysis of and the author's personal practical experience with the work of military chaplains in providing psychological assistance to Ukrainian servicemen. Researchers in the field of psychology of religion have identified a number of functions of religion,--namely communicative, regulatory, integrating, ideological and compensatory--on which the pastoral activity of a military chaplain can be analyzed in their provision of psychological assistance to combatants. A comparison of the tasks facing military psychologists and military chaplains is carried out based on legal documents. Emphasis is placed on those moments where they can functionally complement each …

Neurodiversity: How One Word Can Hold So Much Meaning, Rocco M. Olivieri Ii

Soaring: A Journal of Undergraduate Research

The term “neurodivergent” should be used over the phrase “mental disability” because it is a more accurate, much safer, and easily accessible term to use. There are many reasons why the language surrounding mental disabilities should be changed. The stigma of the word “disability” alone can be damaging enough to a disabled person. Furthermore, the phrase “mental disability” doesn’t accurately describe what they are and instead implies an inability to mentally function. Both of these factors combined has led to openly mentally disabled people fear for their safety as their diagnosis can be used against them once it’s public knowledge. …