Digital Commons Network^™

Combating Trauma And The Immigrant Paradox In Schools, Emma Bergman

Honors Projects

Over time, research on immigrant populations has revealed a trend known as the immigrant paradox in which, the further generations get from the generation of immigration, the poorer their outcomes are in areas such as mental health, delinquency, substance abuse, and education. Though a definitive explanation for this trend has yet to be identified, prevailing theories include several social, familial, and community-based factors such as the impacts of bilingualism, parental expectations, biculturalism, co-ethnic peers, quality of schools, and community support. Little attention has been paid to individual factors such as mental health and trauma. The present study proposes the transgenerational …

Trauma Is A Wound: Demonstrating The Use Of Character Analysis To Practice Clinical Analysis, Madisyn Beare

Honors Projects

Evidence-based treatments of trauma require clinicians to base their treatments on the client’s specific and individual needs, experiences, cognitions, and place in recovery. Essentially, each new client is a new and unique case, and the practice of understanding how trauma may affect an individual only comes from clinical exposure.Literature provides the public with somewhat of an aid in these circumstances: fictional characters are not real people, and therefore can undergo limitless character analyses. Analyzing a fictional character allows clinicians the ability to practice their exploration of various behavioral indicators of mental health concerns while honoring the ethical code of non-maleficence, …

Invisible Ailments: A Collection, Jane L. Godiner

Honors Projects

"Invisible Ailments" is a collection of short stories that trace the depth, breath, and sweeping range of lived experiences of people struggling with mental illness. While it is a work of fiction, the people in these stories might feel eerily familiar — to your friends, your family members, your loved ones, or, if you're brave enough to admit it, yourself.

The Generational Impacts Of Sexual Violence: In The Context Of The Rwandan Genocide, Chloe Nicole Wesson

Honors Projects

This study analyzes the Rwandan Genocide as a main case study to examine the generational impacts of the sexual violence perpetrated. The research will also examine the history of sexual violence against women in periods of conflict. These generational impacts can be seen in the public health sector, the Rwandan economy, psychological and spiritual effects on future generations, and cultural significance in Rwanda. Mothers struggling to parent their children conceived out of rape and trying to work through trauma while also working to heal their daughters. The generational impacts will be observed specifically from the female perspective (i.e. girl, young …

Better Serving Students In Foster Care In The Classroom, Emily P. Cihon

Honors Projects

Within this work, I utilize research to educate current and future teachers on the inner-workings of the foster care system and how to utilize this information to inform teaching and better serve students in foster care in the classroom. Through surveying preservice teachers I located common questions about the topic such as reasons for the increase in the number of children in foster care, grounds for removing children from their homes, moving them through hearings, and finding placements, guardians, and advocates. I had the opportunity to learn from and interview foster care alumni and advocates who work within the foster …

Perdido En La Transculturación: Compromisos De Identidad En La América Latina Judía, Jacob Bernard Baskes

Honors Projects

Esta investigación explora los procesos de negociación y compromiso presentes en la experiencia judía de América Latina. Durante siglos, esta identidad ha existido junta con otras, sean nacionales, religiosas, o raciales, lo cual resulta en una nueva identidad compleja y singular. A través de novelas de Eduardo Halfon (Guatemala), Achy Obejas y Leonardo Padura (Cuba) e Isaac Goldemberg (Perú) en adición a una investigación antropológica en Lima, el texto explora una colección de temas que incluye el movimiento, la memoria, el exilio, la diáspora, el trauma, y el mestizaje. Cada tema aquí analizado tiene un rol profundo en la formación …

How Music Therapy Effects The Traumatized Brain: Neurorehabilitation For Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Through Music Therapy, Jordan Winter Payne

Honors Projects

This review discusses the neurological components of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and how both structures and processes in the brain are altered in individuals with the disorder, specifically the neural network that includes the prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, and the amygdala. This impacts awareness and responsiveness to stimuli. After examining these aspects, invasive and non-invasive treatment approaches are examined, with a specific emphasis on the treatment approach of music therapy. Musical stimuli are processed in many areas of the brain, so it has therapeutic potential for modulating neurological changes. Music therapy applies music clinically to address a variety of goals …

Early Childhood Special Education Professional Development Workshop, Amanda Sandstrom

Honors Projects

The initial steps to creating the proposed event, a professional development workshop for Inclusive Early Childhood (IEC) Education majors, included determining the needs of current students. To achieve this, an online survey was sent out to all current undergraduate IEC students. The aim of this survey was to determine in which areas current students would like further instruction or training. The survey focused on three areas significant areas of education: teaching students with disabilities and disorders, communicating with colleagues, mentors, and paraprofessionals, and integrating specialist therapy strategies into the classroom environment.

This data, once collected and analyzed, identified two target …

Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Through Body Adornment, Linore Huss

Honors Projects

I conducted a series of interviews with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder survivors or their family members and completed an interactive body of work in body adornment and jewelry that reflects their stories. Last year I decided to focus on the people behind the trauma rather than the trauma itself, which I feel connects the survivor and the viewer more deeply than presenting a general image. Each piece draws from a survivor's personal story, the titles pulling from interview quotes, and the interaction with the viewer representative of each personal struggle.

Treating Trauma: The Efficacy Of Emdr As A Treatment For Ptsd, Grace S. Crawford

Honors Projects

This literature review examines the efficacy of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) relative to other evidence-based treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), such as Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). The paper explores the problem of PTSD; outlines the history, theory, and initial trials of EMDR; and examines five randomized controlled trials which compare EMDR to PE or CPT. Results suggest that neither treatment model produces significantly greater reductions in PTSD symptoms, though there is some evidence that EMDR may be better tolerated and produce desired results faster than other treatments.