Digital Commons Network^™

A Commentary On Trauma’S Different Layers, Mike Kaufman , M.A., L.M.F.T.

Counseling and Family Therapy Scholarship Review

This article highlights how trauma may be caused by factors aside from catastrophic events, physical violence or accidents resulting in physical injury. Examples of trauma beyond the more commonly known causes are detailed. This article also emphasizes how individuals engaging in psychotherapy may at times lack awareness that their self-reported dilemma, or symptoms, may stem from early relational trauma. The following commentary originated with first-hand clinical experience and was reinforced by literature. It is important to recognize that individuals reporting symptoms of depression and anxiety are most effectively treated in psychotherapy when past trauma is accurately identified as the root …

How To Promote Neuroplasticity Following Trauma, Elizabeth Thiel

Counselor Education Capstones

No abstract provided.

Utilizing A Trauma Informed Approach To Build Resiliency In Underrepresented College Students, Marie Lindloff

Counselor Education Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Childhood Trauma On The Brain & Interventions For The School Counselor, Chelsea Scott

Counselor Education Capstones

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Combat Experience On Adult Learning For Students Enrolled At Liberty University In Spring 2019, Stephany Dawn Pracht

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation joins an active conversation in the behavioral sciences regarding the challenges of assimilating the adult experienced trauma into the adult education setting. This quantitative study employed a nonexperimental, causal-comparative research design to explore the perceptions of current and former combat-experienced military students about their academic experiences. By exploring the needs in higher education that are concerning and prevalent among those who have experienced active combat, this paper discusses the effects of the combat experience on current and former military members as they seek to acclimate to the academic world. This study was guided by Malcolm Knowles’s idea that …

Intersection Of Post-Traumatic Growth And Forgiveness: A Catalyst For Healing, Jama L. Davis, Robyn Simmons, Kristy Ford

Faculty Publications and Presentations

This presentation will connect the experience of post traumatic growth with the empirical support of forgiveness as an intervention with survivors of trauma. Research specific to the link between Post-Traumatic Growth and Forgiveness will be examined with the formulation of a tool-kit appropriate to this therapy.

Decreasing Stress Through An Emotion Regulation And Non-Judging Based Intervention With Trauma-Exposed College Students, Megan Cherry

Doctoral Dissertations

Among college students, trauma and PTSD symptomatology are associated with negative consequences (e.g., poor academic performance, stress sensitivity, and negative coping). College is often a stressful time, and those who have experienced trauma, particularly those experiencing PTSD symptoms, are vulnerable to heightened stress sensitivity and negative outcomes. It is imperative to identify interventions that decrease stress for trauma-exposed college students to reduce the deleterious effects of related outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine whether emotion regulation and non-judgment could be enhanced in trauma-exposed college students through a short, mindfulnessbased intervention, and whether the intervention would lead to …

A Qualitative Examination Of College Disability Services For Students With Traumatic Brain Injuries, Susan C. Davies, Michael R. Crenshaw, Elana R. Bernstein

Counselor Education and Human Services Faculty Publications

Adolescents and young adults are at relatively high risk for sustaining traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). These injuries can result in persistent disabilities, including a range of cognitive, physical, and social-emotional deficits that can be particularly challenging for college age students. This qualitative study explored disability services for college students with TBIs through interviews with directors of 18 college Offices of Disability Services (ODS). Respondents provided general information regarding their service model, the most common disabilities served, as well as the number of students with TBI served, and more specific information pertaining to services for students with TBI. Results indicated ODS …

Breathing Life Into Life: A Literature Review Supporting Body-Based Interventions In The Treatment Of Trauma, Andrea Werbalowksy

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In the recent turn toward a more trauma-informed practice of mental health counseling, a glaring gap remains between the research validating that trauma is a somatic experience and the continued privileging of cognitive and behaviorist interventions commonly used to treat trauma. In an effort to explore this gap, this paper presents a literature review inquiry into the neurophysiological and overall life effects trauma can have on the people who experience it. The review further explores how Stephen Porges’s Polyvagal Theory elucidates the benefits of using body-based therapeutic interventions in the treatment of trauma. The inquiry investigates the wide gap between …

Examining The Acculturation Experiences Of Syrian Refugee Emerging Adults In The United States Of America, Fatemah Alghamdi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Refugees are vulnerable populations who experience premigration traumatic events and postmigration acculturation stress. While research on immigrant mental health issues has been plentiful, there has been a clear lacuna of scholarly investigation into the acculturation experiences of Syrian emerging adults, particularly as it relates to the types and dynamics of acculturation behaviors. Acculturation is a factor that predicts emerging adults’ academic and occupational success and their interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships.

This qualitative investigation was conducted within the framework of interpretative phenomenology, which allows for meaningful, organic exploration and description of participants’ stories. Data were collected from 12 emerging adult Syrian …

Back To Belonging: Nature Connection And Expressive Arts Therapy In The Treatment Of Trauma And Marginalization, Jesse Newcomb

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

There is increasing research on the benefits of incorporating nature-based approaches into mental health. This can be done in myriad ways both in and out of the counseling office. This literature review focuses on the benefits of incorporating nature as co-therapist and kin rather than only material or metaphor, particularly in the treatment of people who have experienced trauma and or marginalization. According to Herman (1997), wounds made relationally must be healed relationally, and the literature reviewed in this paper suggests that connection with the “more-than-human” world (Abram, 1996), and coming back into a sense belonging in the larger web …

Beyond Words: Expressive Arts Therapy In Individual And Group Process In Recovery From Trauma, Agnes Carbrey

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

This paper describes expressive arts therapies that are interventions for the treatment of trauma. A literature review of this broad topic is narrowed to define art therapy used in conjunction with talk therapy, and provides brief examples from dance movement therapy, visual arts therapy, poetry-journaling-storytelling therapy, and sound-music therapy. Recent innovations in the field include the use of body-oriented interventions and group processes. When thinking about trauma, the body is a positive and negative reservoir of memory, and trauma may be trapped in the body. The author reviews the overlap between contemporary art, contemporary dance movement analysis, and forms of …

A Potential Loss Of Childhood: Trauma, Its Effects, & The Elements Of Healing, Kayla J. Reis

Selected Honors Theses

Trauma is likely to be experienced by many children in many different ways. Through an exploration of the current literature, this thesis, unearths a detailed look into four different trauma types: unaccompanied migrant youth, manmade disaster, natural disaster, and the domestic child welfare system. Regardless of how the child experienced trauma there were similarities amongst consequences and symptomology of the trauma. Many of the effects of trauma being evident through Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, behavioral issues, poor educational achievement, and poor relationship skills. Six current and well-established interventions were analyzed for their efficacy amongst the four trauma …

The Effect Of Expressive Therapies On Refugee Children And Adolescents: Meta-Analytic Findings, Brian Kristopher Cambra

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Millions of displaced families are seeking refuge in countries that are not their own due to war, violence, persecution, political unrest, and natural disasters. This global crisis is forcing researchers and practitioners to consider how refugees are coping with trauma associated with their migration process. Effective therapeutic approaches are needed in a global effort to address the traumatic impact of forced migration. This meta-analytical study investigates the effectiveness of expressive therapeutic modalities, including play, art, music, sandplay, theatre, and writing therapies, in helping children and adolescents cope with refugee trauma. A theoretical understanding of the neurobiological and human ecosystemic frameworks …

Unveiling The Mask:Sexual Trauma's Impact On Academic Achievement, Behavior, And Self-Identity, Teshaunda Hannor-Walker, Sarah Kitchens, Lacey Ricks

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Sexual trauma is an unfortunate but a common and often masked experience for many students in America. While sexual trauma in itself is not a mental health disorder, it can become a risk factor for many academic and mental health problems. Trauma-informed schools can play an important role in helping students deal with the aftercare of a traumatic experience.