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Spirituality Within Reach: A Pathway Through Meditation, Serena C. Cyr Sep 2017

Spirituality Within Reach: A Pathway Through Meditation, Serena C. Cyr

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Meditation is an ancient spiritual practice that has been demonstrated to be beneficial in reducing chronic pain, substance use, and eating disorders, as well as aiding in the treatment of sleep disorders, cancer, and psychological distress. In an effort to enhance the benefits, many contemporary meditation practices have been secularized, focusing on the cognitive, the psychological, and the emotional components, while de-emphasizing the spiritual aspects of meditation. However, spiritual meditation practices also demonstrate benefits, including stress reduction, improved emotional well being, increases in pain tolerance, reductions in mental health symptoms, and increased faith. However, little is known regarding the effects …


Evaluation Of Psychology Clinicians’ Attitudes Towards Computerized Cognitive Behavior Therapy, For Use In Their Future Clinical Practice, With Regard To Treating Those Suffering From Anxiety And Depression, Nivek Dunne Jul 2017

Evaluation Of Psychology Clinicians’ Attitudes Towards Computerized Cognitive Behavior Therapy, For Use In Their Future Clinical Practice, With Regard To Treating Those Suffering From Anxiety And Depression, Nivek Dunne

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Computerized Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CCBT) is an empirically supported therapeutic modality used in the treatment of anxiety and depression. It is an important area of research considering there is much research lacking in this area, especially regarding trainee and qualified psychology clinicians' attitudes which are informative in terms of uptake and adherence. This study examined trainee and qualified psychology clinicians' attitudes towards CCBT for use in their future clinical practice, with regard treating those suffering from anxiety and depression. Overall, 31 participants took part in the research, which resulted in 31 completed informed consent forms and questionnaires being returned to …


Comparison Of Implicit Thought And Learning In Individuals With Schizophrenia, Camilla Seippel Jun 2017

Comparison Of Implicit Thought And Learning In Individuals With Schizophrenia, Camilla Seippel

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This investigation studied implicit learning differences in individuals with schizophrenia. Three implicit learning strategies were examined: priming, procedural, and incidental learning. Twenty-six participants with schizophrenia were recruited from various outpatient clinics and programs in Orange, CA to participate in this study. Participants were administered a psychological battery composed of tests to measure individual differences in implicit learning abilities within the group. Differences in crystallized and fluid knowledge abilities within the different implicit learning conditions were tested. Demographic information was also collected and where possible included for the purpose of accounting for demographic variations amongst participants. Demographic variables included the participant’s …


Immersive Cultural Plunge: How Mental Health Trainees Can Exercise Cultural Competence With African American Descendants Of Chattel Slaves A Qualitative Study, Clandis V. Payne May 2017

Immersive Cultural Plunge: How Mental Health Trainees Can Exercise Cultural Competence With African American Descendants Of Chattel Slaves A Qualitative Study, Clandis V. Payne

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative study utilized ethnographic techniques to explore the potential for change in mental health trainees resulting from the participation in an in vivo Immersive Cultural Plunge (ICP) within the African American Descendant of Chattel Slave community. The ICP combined Multicultural Immersions Experiences (MIE) of Cultural Immersion (CI) and Cultural Plunge (CP) to contribute to the developing body of research utilizing MIEs that incorporate contextual, experiential, and historical knowledge to teach the skill of cultural sensitivity. During the 12- hour ICP the participants experienced an orientation, a lecture, a tour/community interaction, a multimedia presentation within an African American community. In …


Impacts Of Playing Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (Mmorpgs) On Individuals’ Subjective Sense Of Feeling Connected With Others, Dustin R. Weissman Feb 2017

Impacts Of Playing Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (Mmorpgs) On Individuals’ Subjective Sense Of Feeling Connected With Others, Dustin R. Weissman

PsyD Program in Clinical Psychology Doctoral Dissertations (Santa Barbara)

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are a substantial part of the multibillion dollar gaming industry. Millions of people of all ages across the globe engage in game play. With the average gamer logging 26.6 hours a week online instead of engaging in real world activities and responsibilities, this genre has created an international epidemic. In the last ten years the literature on this topic has gained interest and momentum. Researchers continue to explore the innumerable reaches of MMORPGs and how the gamer and their community are affected. The aim of this study was to gain a more comprehensive understanding …


Psychologists' Hope For Recovery At First Diagnosis Schizophrenia: A Training Model, Marissa Sicley-Rogers Jan 2017

Psychologists' Hope For Recovery At First Diagnosis Schizophrenia: A Training Model, Marissa Sicley-Rogers

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Recovery from schizophrenia is a widely disputed topic among mental health professionals. In spite of scholarly research supporting improved prognosis in schizophrenia, some mental health professionals maintain the belief that recovery from schizophrenia is impossible. A constructionist paradigm frames an understanding of recovery, and describes how different recovery models of schizophrenia may be integrated. From a qualitative approach, this study explores diagnosed individuals’ personal accounts of recovery from schizophrenia. Narrative research provides a framework for analyzing first person, written accounts of recovery from schizophrenia from a criterion-based sample of 18 participants. The results of the study provide insight into dynamic …


Transracial Adoptees’ Thoughts On Culturally Competent Parenting, Molly Conley Jan 2017

Transracial Adoptees’ Thoughts On Culturally Competent Parenting, Molly Conley

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Transracial adoption, the adoption of a child of a different race than those of the adoptive parents, occurs in approximately 40% of all adoptions. While transracial adoption alone is not sufficient to cause mental health concerns, it does pose a series of unique challenges that can impact self-esteem, racial identity, and sense of belonging in adoptees. Much of the research on adoption focuses on adoptive parents, collecting quantitative data from adoptees, and mental health professionals’ views of adoptees’ experiences. This study elicited feedback from adult transracial adoptees on Vonk’s 2001 model of culturally competent parenting. Data were interpreted using Interpretive …


Parental Advocacy, Stress, And Efficacy: The Hidden Costs Of Diagnosing Learning Disabilities, Katherine A. Behar Jan 2017

Parental Advocacy, Stress, And Efficacy: The Hidden Costs Of Diagnosing Learning Disabilities, Katherine A. Behar

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The allocation of educational resources has been a widely debated topic. While scholars and government officials have focused their attention on how resources are divided, significantly less attention has been paid to how parents are advocating for their children to obtain necessary resources themselves. Existing data agree that fighting for educational resources can cause stress to parents (Levine, 2006). This is especially true for parents of children with learning disabilities. These children often require more individualized academic and educational attention. Currently, little research exists which focuses on the relationship between parental stress and parental self efficacy (the belief that one …


The Application Of Western Models Of Psychotherapy By Indian Psychotherapists In India: A Grounded Theory, Gurjeet Sidhu Jan 2017

The Application Of Western Models Of Psychotherapy By Indian Psychotherapists In India: A Grounded Theory, Gurjeet Sidhu

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The following study explored the experience of Indian psychotherapists applying Western psychotherapy to Indians. Charmaz’ (2006) Grounded theory methodology was utilized. Seven Indian psychotherapists were interviewed. Interview data yielded the theory of Modification as Resistance. Modification as Resistance captured Indian psychotherapists' attempts to modify Western psychotherapy to resist the erosion of local ways of healing due to the dominance of Western science. Results add to existing critiques of Western psychotherapy applied to Eastern populations. Recommendations based on results are offered to facilitate evidence-based practice (American Psychological Association [APA], 2006) with diverse populations. This dissertation is available in open access at …


The Effects Of Session And Outcome Rating Scales Used In A Wraparound Setting, Alexandra Giatrelis Jan 2017

The Effects Of Session And Outcome Rating Scales Used In A Wraparound Setting, Alexandra Giatrelis

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study investigated the usefulness of session and outcome rating scales within a wraparound program in New England. The extensive needs of youth with serious emotional disturbance (SED) categorizations and their families require highly coordinated systems of care that not only deliver adequate services, but contend with the momentum of often contentious and unsuccessful relationships these families have typically experienced with social service systems. Outcome and session rating scales, along with measures of fidelity, hold the potential to provide rapid feedback on both outcome (outside of sessions) and working alliance (within sessions), as well as the consumers’ perspective on the …


The Process Of Resolving Spiritual Struggle Following Adulthood Trauma, Aimee L. Keith Jan 2017

The Process Of Resolving Spiritual Struggle Following Adulthood Trauma, Aimee L. Keith

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Spiritual struggle has been described as a disruption in religious practice and spirituality resulting in questioning beliefs, experiencing discord within religious communities, decreasing spiritual practices, and experiencing painful cognitions such as the belief that one is being punished by God. This study used constructivist grounded theory to explore how women identifying as Protestant Christians at the time of the traumatic event resolve their spiritual struggles. Eleven conceptual categories, which are presented in a stage model, emerged from the data. The stages were Experiencing an Event Discordant with Beliefs, Emotional Reaction (following the traumatic event), Questioning (of beliefs, suffering and identity), …


Double Whammy: Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Of Older African Americans Experiencing Hiv & Age Related Comorbidities, James W. Chavers Jan 2017

Double Whammy: Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Of Older African Americans Experiencing Hiv & Age Related Comorbidities, James W. Chavers

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

HIV among older African Americans represents one of the fastest and largest growing populations of infected groups in America (CDC, 2008). With the availability of anti-retrovirals (ARV), or AIDS cocktail drugs, HIV has become a chronic illness. As African Americans are living longer with HIV, they are encountering the diseases that are consonant with aging. The effect of aging with HIV and an age-related comorbid condition can be physically and emotionally debilitating. Many of these older adults are also dealing with poverty, stigma, poor healthcare access, and limited social support. The purpose of this study was to explore how these …


From Dawn To Dan: The Journey Of Karate Masters., Brandon W. Maynard Jan 2017

From Dawn To Dan: The Journey Of Karate Masters., Brandon W. Maynard

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The contributions martial arts training can make to mental health treatment have scarcely been explored by researchers in psychology. Practitioners of martial arts, such as karate, report that the training improves self-esteem, concentration, and emotional well-being. Several studies have provided empirical evidence in support of these anecdotal reports, but very few have utilized participants who have advanced training in martial arts to examine the emotional impact such training has across time. This study takes a phenomenological approach to studying the emotional effects training has had on master-level martial artists (fourth-degree black belt or higher) in the discipline of karate. Eight …


Iraqi Refugees And Cultural Humility: A Mental Health Professional Training Program, Megan Brunmier Marsh Jan 2017

Iraqi Refugees And Cultural Humility: A Mental Health Professional Training Program, Megan Brunmier Marsh

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This paper describes the development of a thorough nine-hour professional training program targeting the cultural humility of mental health clinicians who are treating new Iraqi refugee communities. I used the 15-step evidence-based Comprehensive Program Development Model created by Calley (2009) for the design of the structure, curriculum, and materials for this proposed program (Calley, 2011). The training program is informed by conceptual frameworks of cultural competence and humility, ecological systems theory, and social justice with goals of (a) exploring clinicians’ cultural attitudes in order to improve self-awareness at multiple levels (e.g., physiological, psychological, interpersonal), (b) increasing clinicians’ knowledge about Iraqi …


Disclosure Of Gender And Sexual Minority Identities In Military Cultures Post-Dadt, Katherine E. Evarts Jan 2017

Disclosure Of Gender And Sexual Minority Identities In Military Cultures Post-Dadt, Katherine E. Evarts

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) banned legally-supported discrimination against United States (US) military personnel who identify with sexual minority identities, but has the repeal also had an impact on gender and sexual minority veteran and military personnel comfort with disclosing such identities to Veterans Affairs (VA) mental health providers? The current research illuminates veteran and military personnel perspectives about this possible shift in VA mental health care culture, as well as about ways that such disclosure could be further facilitated in order to improve the care provided. US veterans who identify with sexual minority identities have multiple, …


Unforgiving Pain: A Qualitative Exploration Of Chronic Pain And Self-Forgiveness, Ellette K. Dipietro Jan 2017

Unforgiving Pain: A Qualitative Exploration Of Chronic Pain And Self-Forgiveness, Ellette K. Dipietro

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation describes a qualitative study exploring associations between self-forgiveness and pain perception in the narratives of women with chronic pain. Quantitative research has demonstrated strong relationships among chronic pain, affect, and health, and among forgiveness, affect, and health. The largely unexplored overlap between these areas suggests the possibility of an inverse relationship between self-forgiveness and pain perception. A single preliminary study was found in the research literature supporting this relationship (Carson et al., 2005). A literature review explores the construct of forgiveness, differentiates religious and psychological conceptualizations, distinguishes other from self-forgiveness, and touches on the connections among forgiveness, health, …


Behavioral Interventions That Treat Aggression: Employees Implementation Experiences Within Adult Psychiatric Settings, Alyse Catherine Donovan Jan 2017

Behavioral Interventions That Treat Aggression: Employees Implementation Experiences Within Adult Psychiatric Settings, Alyse Catherine Donovan

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

When adults hospitalized within inpatient psychiatric settings engage in aggressive behavior, it can have detrimental psychological and physical effects on not only other patients, but on hospital employees. Several adult psychiatric inpatient facilities have successfully reduced rates of patient aggression through the implementation of behavioral interventions. While there is much research on factors that lead to successful implementation of evidence based interventions, the literature had not yet explored the subjective experience of employees who are asked to implement behavioral plans in adult psychiatric settings. This study utilized Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis to gain an understanding of employees’ perceptions of barriers and …


Exploring The Experience Of Grandchildren In Custodial Grandparent Care, Maura Kathleen Cole Jan 2017

Exploring The Experience Of Grandchildren In Custodial Grandparent Care, Maura Kathleen Cole

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Grandparent-headed families are a growing trend as social policy has moved increasingly toward kinship care for children in out-of-home placements. While much of the current research focuses on the characteristics and potential causal factors in the formation of such families, there has been little qualitative research focusing on the lived experiences of the involved children. This study explores the subjective, meaning-making experiences of six latency-aged grandchildren between the ages of 6 and 11 being raised by their grandparents. This study utilized Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis methodology, and semi-structured interviews, to attain the personal accounts and experiences of these children. The findings …


A Day In The Life Of A Sim: Making Meaning Of Video Game Avatars And Behaviors, Jessica Stark Jan 2017

A Day In The Life Of A Sim: Making Meaning Of Video Game Avatars And Behaviors, Jessica Stark

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

With video game usage--and criticism on its activity--on the rise, it may be helpful for the psychological community to understand what it actually means to play video games, and what the lived experience entails. This qualitative, phenomenological study specifically explores user behaviors and decisions in the simulated life video game, The Sims. Ten participants completed one- to two-hour long semi-structured interviews, and the data was transcribed, organized into 1,988 codes, which were clustered into 30 categories, and from which six themes ultimately emerged. These resulting themes are: self-representation; past, present, and future; purpose for play; self-reflection; co-creation; and familiarity. The …


The Experience Of Qigong Among Women Cancer Survivors, Jennifer Sveund Jan 2017

The Experience Of Qigong Among Women Cancer Survivors, Jennifer Sveund

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Research has shown that qigong can be beneficial for a variety of health related conditions; However, evidence suggests that in the United States, a lack of well designed clinical trials limits the efficacy of qigong in the context of cancer treatment. Research has indicated that careful consideration should be given to the design of randomized control trials using qigong due to the conflicting philosophical methodologies. In the United States, qigong has been under investigated, particularly lacking are qualitative inquiries into qigong use and cancer survivorship. This study is an interpretative phenomenological inquiry that sought to understand women’s experience of qigong …


The Experience Of Foster Parents: What Keeps Foster Parents Motivated To Foster Long Term?, Rodrigo Diaz Jan 2017

The Experience Of Foster Parents: What Keeps Foster Parents Motivated To Foster Long Term?, Rodrigo Diaz

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The number of children entering foster care has increased significantly in recent years, leading some to categorize the foster system as being in a state of crisis. More foster parents are needed, as are better retention methods. It is pertinent to understand the experiences that foster parents have that affect their decision to continue or cease fostering. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to understand the needs of foster parents based on their experiences and perceptions. The overarching research question sought to determine the lived experiences of foster parents who were navigating through, or taking part in, the …


How Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing (Emdr) Trained Therapists Stabilize Clients Prior To Reprocessing With Emdr Therapy, Edward H. Brendler Jan 2017

How Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing (Emdr) Trained Therapists Stabilize Clients Prior To Reprocessing With Emdr Therapy, Edward H. Brendler

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Helping clients develop resources and stability required to tolerate reprocessing memories can be a considerable part of psychotherapy, particularly with clients who are suffering symptoms related to complex developmental trauma or cumulative multiple-event trauma. There is a paucity of research regarding how experienced EMDR Therapy practitioners experience helping their clients to develop resources required to tolerate reprocessing of trauma memories. This dissertation is an in-depth study of five participants, each a licensed mental health practitioner in the State of Washington, who are trained in EMDR and experienced working with clients who are suffering symptoms of trauma. Each participant was interviewed …


Journey To Success: Lessons From Successful Same-Sex Couples, Jeni L. Wahlig Jan 2017

Journey To Success: Lessons From Successful Same-Sex Couples, Jeni L. Wahlig

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Therapists are often called upon to support same-sex couples along their journey to success. Yet, only limited information is available for understanding what success means for same-sex couples, what the journey to success might look like, and how we might support them in navigating that journey. In this dissertation, I seek to begin to fill this gap in knowledge by conducting an extensive literature review of factors that affect same-sex couple relationship success and a qualitative research study. In the study, I use narrative inquiry to explore the challenges and life-events important to couples’ journeys toward success; the resources and …


Early Psychosis And Trauma-Related Disorders: Clinical Practice Guidelines And Future Directions, Casey A. Cragin Jan 2017

Early Psychosis And Trauma-Related Disorders: Clinical Practice Guidelines And Future Directions, Casey A. Cragin

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Despite very high rates of trauma-related disorders among individuals with early psychosis, no clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of comorbid early psychosis and trauma-related disorders exist to date. Indeed, the routine exclusion of individuals with past and current psychosis from participation in trauma research and practice has limited the accumulation of research evidence that could inform such clinical practice guidelines. While preliminary research evidence suggests that traditional, empirically supported treatments for trauma-related disorders can be safely and effectively employed to reduce symptoms of posttraumatic stress and chronic psychosis, it remains unclear whether such treatments are appropriate for individuals in …


The Effects Of Gender And Perception Of Community Safety On Happiness, Jennifer K. Daffon Jan 2017

The Effects Of Gender And Perception Of Community Safety On Happiness, Jennifer K. Daffon

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Income-based indicators of happiness have been shown to be limited in their ability to predict happiness. Alternative measures of happiness have been gaining prominence in happiness research, and two predictors of happiness were investigated in the current study. The extent to which happiness (measured by affect, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being) could be predicted by gender and perception of community safety was investigated with 19,644 participant responses to The Happiness Alliance Survey. Multiple linear regression models indicated that gender and community safety are significant predictors of affect, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being. The effect of the predictor variables was similar …


Graduate Students And Geropsychology: Growing Need And Lacking Interest, Samantha Marie Hague Jan 2017

Graduate Students And Geropsychology: Growing Need And Lacking Interest, Samantha Marie Hague

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

As the population of older adults continues to grow with time, the need for geropsychology clinicians also grows. Many barriers exist that contribute to why elderly individuals are not receiving adequate psychological treatment. This study explores why graduate psychology students are often disinterested in working with older adults and whether it is possible that student interest could increase with more geropsychology graduate coursework and practicum training opportunities. This study also explores the possible connection between quality of elderly relationships and interest in working with the elderly. The results of this study support that Clinical and Counseling Psychology graduate programs lack …


Correctional Mental Health Providers’ Experiences Of Forced Termination On The Working Alliance, Karin Gepp Jan 2017

Correctional Mental Health Providers’ Experiences Of Forced Termination On The Working Alliance, Karin Gepp

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This is a study of the experiences of forced terminations in correctional facilities, particularly their impact on the working alliance between mental health service providers and incarcerated patients. The study includes an introduction to the research problem and its context, followed by a discussion of the literature on the working alliance in psychotherapy, conditions of forced terminations in the treatment of the incarcerated, the problem of forced termination and the working alliance in the correctional settings, and the study’s research methodology. The research methodology is qualitative and includes semi-structured interviews of providers in correctional settings and an analysis of these …


Attune With Baby: An Innovative Attunement Program For Parents And Families With Integrated Evaluation, Sara Beth Lohre Jan 2017

Attune With Baby: An Innovative Attunement Program For Parents And Families With Integrated Evaluation, Sara Beth Lohre

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Infants speak in their own language; sounds, screeches, cries, and howls that help them to communicate their caregiving needs. Unaware, parents may develop a checklist of caregiving approaches to the baby. The infant tells the adult directly what they need, and waits for the parent to respond. Infant talk may change from soft and quiet to loud and aggressive; coos and cries become crying and screams as the infant’s caregiver—communicating the intensity of emotion, urgency of their request, or their frustration with varied and sometimes inadequate, failed, or missing caregiving patterns the infant has no choice but to accept. When …


Exploring Acceptable Alternatives To Psychotherapy For Distressed Clients In Integrated Primary Care, Paul N. Leandri Jan 2017

Exploring Acceptable Alternatives To Psychotherapy For Distressed Clients In Integrated Primary Care, Paul N. Leandri

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Integrated Primary Care (IPC) is an effective, cutting-edge modality to treating both physiological and psychological problems using a holistic approach within primary care. One of the primary challenges associated with IPC is figuring out the most cost-effective way of treating the largest possible number of patients with behavioral health-related conditions, within staffing constraints. This has led to a preference for time-limited psychological interventions that work well for common mild behavioral health conditions. These time-limited interventions, however, are often inadequate for patients struggling with moderate to severe psychological distress. As such, we need alternative treatment options for this population. Research has …


An Exploration Into The Lived Experience Of The Jazz Funeral, Caryn R. Whitacre Jan 2017

An Exploration Into The Lived Experience Of The Jazz Funeral, Caryn R. Whitacre

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative phenomenological study set out to explore and understand the subjective lived experience of the Jazz Funeral ritual of New Orleans, Louisiana. This dissertation was guided by two principal research questions: 1) What is the lived experience of participation in the Jazz Funeral ritual? and 2) What elements of the Jazz Funeral are beneficial to bereavement as reported by the subjects? Research data were collected and arranged through the utilization of phenomenological research protocol. By recognizing that people are the experts of their own lived experience and listening to participants describe their lived experiences of this ritual, this researcher …