Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Clinician Perspectives On Fistula Mental Health, Victoria K. Leonard

Doctoral Dissertations

Background – Obstetric fistula is a childbirth injury caused by prolonged labor that leads to stillbirth and incontinence, spurring social exclusion and isolation. These layers of trauma put women with fistula at great risk for psychological suffering, which has profound negative socioeconomic impacts on them, their families, and communities. This study captured treatment as usual at Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CCBRT), the country’s largest provider of fistula care.

Method – Improving holistic fistula treatment requires engaging the clinicians who care for women with fistula. This study aimed to investigate the training, beliefs, and treatment approaches of nurses and …

Animation As Therapy For Mental Health Treatment Across Diverse Populations And Contexts, A Literature Review, Daneile Tabana

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Scientific research has explored and identified the beneficial relationship between health and creative expression, recognizing art therapy as a source of healing. Animation has been newly recognized as an art therapy medium with potential for therapeutic healing and increased psychological well-being. This review of the literature on animation therapy explores the history of the modality’s interaction with the population observed and the effects of animation on the cognitive processes, discusses current theoretical orientations and treatment options for treating a range of conditions that affect mood, thinking, and behavior with animation therapy, and considers culturally informed and client-centered practices alongside traditional …

Utilizing Flow Arts Movement As An Expressive Arts Therapy Tool To Treat Trauma: A Literature Review And Autoethnography, Shannon Mcgrail

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This expressive arts-based autoethnography research explores the effectiveness of using flow arts movement as a tool of expressive arts therapy to treat symptoms of trauma for individuals who experienced a traumatic event in their lifetime. While research on the use of flow arts movement to treat mental illness is in its early stage, much can be drawn from the literature on expressive arts therapy and dance/movement therapy research with a range of populations addressing trauma. Through exploration of trauma through neuroscience, mind, body, and integrated mindfulness through flow, this work aims to bring an understanding of using intermodal expressive arts …

A Manualized Occupational Therapy Communication Skills Module For Clients With Ptsd, Lacey Kinard, Steven M. Gerardi

Spring 2024 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experience a variety of barriers and challenges that impact their daily occupational performance, engagement, well-being, and quality of life. There is a lack of research in the area of manualized occupational therapy (OT) treatment options for people with PTSD. Literature has expressed a need for the development of a manual-based OT treatment program for people with PTSD with communication skills training as an intervention component. The purpose of this project is to create a manualized OT communication skills intervention module for occupational therapists to implement with clients with PTSD for improved occupational performance and …

The Relationship Between Parental Trauma History And Perceptions Regarding Their Child’S Healthcare And Utilization Of Healthcare Services, Krishna Patel

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

TITLE: The Relationship Between Parental Trauma History and Perceptions Regarding Their Child’s Healthcare and Utilization of Healthcare Services

Adverse child events (ACEs) have been associated with a number of physical and mental health problems and have also been linked to increased health care utilization. While parents who have an ACE history may tend to seek healthcare services for themselves, limited studies have examined the impact of their trauma history on seeking healthcare services for their child. Healthcare utilization may also depend on the parents’ level of health anxiety, as well as their anxiety about their child’s health status. This …

Making Mindfulness More Accessible: A Practical Guide To Trauma-Informed Mindfulness, Leslie Formby

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Mindfulness is currently embedded in a growing understanding of how trauma permeates and adversely impacts peoples’ physical and psychological well-being. Increased awareness of the prevalence of trauma and its harmful effects has led to renewed interest in mindfulness to help manage the challenges generated by the detrimental effects of trauma.

These effects may draw people to mindfulness and, in turn, may make the benefits of mindfulness out of reach. Mindfulness methods and practice adaptations have been found to help trauma survivors experience the benefits of what the Buddha taught. As a support for those engaging in mindfulness and meditation, this …

Breaking The Chains Of Generational Trauma, Carmen Parra

Sociology Student Work Collection

Negative experiences may be passed down from generation to generation resulting in Generational Trauma, many of us may be living with those consequences without ever noticing it. This analysis takes a look at the roots of generational trauma and how it is developed from one generation and repeatedly passed down without a stop. We explore different methods that can be followed for healing and further therapeutic methods for more severe cases.

Dance/Movement Therapy Used As An Intervention To Heal Racial Trauma Within The Black Community: A Literature Review, Jennifer Noboise

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The history of dance within the black community has served an important role while living through a racist and discriminatory society. Dance has been used to express anger, grief, and joy during hardships and moments of rejoicing from the black experience. African American people have endured years of trauma and abuse from oppressive systems. Research has been conducted to demonstrate that dance/movement therapy has been effective in treating those who have experienced a form of trauma since the trauma is stored in the body. Examining trauma symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and substance use, the research found these symptoms diminished …

Adverse Effects Of Early Exposure To Pornography And The Utilization Of Art Therapy, Meghan Potts

Art Therapy Counseling Final Research Projects

Pornography is not a new phenomenon in our culture or world. With the expansion of the affordability, accessibility, and anonymity of pornography, demand and consumption rates have also escalated, along with the adverse impact associated with this growth (Coopersmith, 2006 as cited by Dines, 2017). This two-year grant proposal seeks to focus its efforts on serving children, the population being exposed to this widespread phenomenon (Wright, Paul, et al., 2021). The full-time art therapist will carry out trauma-informed prevention and intervention methods to advocate for the mental and physical health of children in individual, relational, and community contexts. This will …

Therapeutic Approaches To Working With Perinatal Loss Clients: A Grounded Theory Study, Heather H. Olivier

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Perinatal loss (i.e., miscarriage, stillbirth, termination, and infant death) is commonly referred to in the literature as an invisible loss, non-loss, and even medical event. It is an ambiguous loss exhibiting the dialectical contradiction between the physical absence and psychological presence of the baby accompanied by disenfranchised grief, a reaction to a loss that is unacknowledged by society. Despite the likelihood of mental health clinicians working with clients who have experienced perinatal loss, there has yet to be a therapeutic model designed specifically for the unique grief and trauma reactions presented in this population. Existing grief models do not address …

Rural Social Work Practice: Trauma-Focused Interventions Social Workers Use, Jose Carbajal

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

This research study examines rural social workers’ level of trauma knowledge and trauma treatment self-efficacy and the use of evidence-based interventions (CBT, TF-CBT, CPT, EMDR and PE). A retrospective design was used to examine Texas rural social workers’ use of evidence-based interventions. The Texas rural social worker sample (N=19) was extrapolated from a larger study (N=1007) conducted in 2014 examining Texas social workers’ trauma treatment and their use of evidence-based interventions. Descriptive and correlation statistical procedures were implemented to analyze the data for the current study. The results show social workers’ knowledge of trauma and treatment self-efficacy scores are above …

Mental Health Experiences Of Black Males Beyond Juvenile Delinquency, Jasmine D. Spratling

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Incarceration rates around the United States continue to increase for Black male adolescents. These numbers are even more significant in Atlanta, where youth spend time in juvenile detention centers and return soon once released. Summary findings from existing research showed the lack of mental health services provided once a youth has been released from incarceration, but a lack of specifics around the services needed remains. The purpose of the current study was to explore the experiences of Black male adolescents who received little to no trauma informed care post-incarceration. A qualitative, phenomenological approach was used to conduct semistructured interviews with …

Trauma Exposures Across The Life Course For Individuals Who Experience Incarceration, Maria Morrison

Brown School Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. incarcerates more people than any other country in the world, with 2.2 million people currently behind bars, 60% of whom are people of color. At the same time, there is an unprecedented political consensus to develop strategies for reducing the incarcerated population and safely returning the majority of incarcerated individuals to society. While there has been a substantial research focus on the potential of this population to commit acts of violence post-release, this tells only half the story. This dissertation hopes to provide a more complete picture of the role of violence in the lives of individuals released …

Break The Chains Of Generational Trauma, Jessica Calalay

Sociology Student Work Collection

Generational trauma is complex. When you can identify the trauma, you can heal the trauma. You are not alone.

Where I’M From: Internal Manifestations Among Cambodian Women Using The Expressive Arts A Literature Review, Noeun Chhim

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Chronic mental illness has affected many Cambodian people, but, culturally, Cambodians aren’t accustomed to opening up and discussing their feelings, rather defining mental illness to craziness and seeking help is presumed taboo. Thus, Cambodians are often reluctant to talk about their experiences and/or their related illnesses. Though Cambodians have experienced inconceivable suffering and violence during the Khmer Rouge era, for the purpose of this thesis, I will be discussing the role of Cambodian women and investigate the extent of what they’ve witnessed and experienced. Cambodian women have suffered through many years of trauma and grief, during and after the Khmer …

Eating Through Trauma, Thea R. Jordan

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

Ever skipped a meal because you didn't feel hungry? This is likely because the body was not in a state of rest and digest. When our bodies are overloaded with cortisol (stress hormones), and adrenaline we are not able to effectively digest food, leaving us in a heightened state that is deeply disruptive to the nervous system.

Avoiding situations where you will be eating or skipping meals altogether is a simple protection mechanism that the body uses in the event it needs to fight or flight. When the body has been conditioned to be hypervigilant in the event of a …

Implementation Of Community-Based Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Program For Youth With Complex Trauma, Vira Salzburn, Kierstin Graham

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

This presentation will discuss the implementation and scale-up of an evidence-based Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TSY) program as a part of a larger community-wide safety and resilience-building effort. It will explain the effectiveness of TSY interventions for both clinical and non-clinical populations and highlight the physical, mental, emotional, and social benefits of a modified yoga practice for youth and young adults with complex trauma.

Analysis Of Zero Balancing Case Studies Through An Occupational Therapy Lens, Deanna Waggy Otr, Msa, Czb, Csla

Journal of Transformative Touch

Does Zero Balancing positively impact occupational performance? This is a question many Occupational Therapists (OTs) ask when discerning if Zero Balancing (ZB) is an evidence-based treatment modality. Case studies from the book Experiencing the Power of Zero Balancing: Case Studies of Journeys to Health and Wholeness (Quarry & King, 2016) were reviewed and compared to the Occupational Therapy domain of practice to show clear evidence that each case study had a positive impact on occupational performance. A comparison chart shows a direct link between the occupational categories and documented evidence of improved occupational performance through practitioner observation and client feedback …

Development Of A Capacity Building Program To Promote Trauma-Informed Services, Juan Miguel Medina

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Wichita County, Texas experienced decreased academic performances of elementary level children in 24 out of 45 communities. Higher numbers of traumatic experiences increase a child's risk of not meeting developmental benchmarks. The purpose of this capstone project is to support the development of a trauma-informed capacity-building program. Ungar's resiliency theory was used to understand the factors related to building resilience in children to prevent trauma. Using action research, the researcher explored how developing program content may improve an agency's system readiness to deliver effective trauma-informed care. Data were collected from a focus group with local social workers. Content analysis was …

Child-Centered Play Therapy’S Impact On Externalized Behaviors Of Children Who Have Experienced Trauma: A Single-Case Research Design, Timothy "T.J." Schoonover

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are defined as exposure to emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect, physical neglect, loss of a parent, domestic violence, family member with addiction, family member with depression or mental illness, and family member incarcerated (Felitti et al., 1998). ACEs have been studied for many years and have shown to have long term negative health and social-emotional outcomes and costs the world over $1 trillion a year (Bellis et al., 2019; Felitti et al., 1998; Hughes et al., 2017). Due to the emotional, physical, and dollar amount cost to not addressing the impact of ACEs …

Advocating For Neuro-Informed Music Therapy For Ptsd In Diverse Populations, A Literature Review, Shanell A. Percy

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Research indicates that music positively affects the brain, health, and wellness and continues to be researched for its effectiveness in treating PTSD. Traumatic memories are stored in the brain structures of the limbic system. Music has been shown to affect these brain structures, giving prospect to its use through music psychotherapy interventions as an effective treatment for PTSD. This review of music therapy literature assesses the effects of music on the brain, identifies current models for treating PTSD with music therapy, and considers culturally informed approaches to treatment. A widely known gap in the research of evidenced-based studies of music …

Bringing The Body Into Art Therapy: The Use Of Touch And Body Awareness In Creative Healing, Janna Corsetti

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The focus on the use of healing touch and body awareness in art therapy is critically lacking. Despite the research supporting the use of body-oriented techniques in clinical therapy, there is little research related to this use specifically in art therapy. Research reveals that healing touch and body awareness can be instrumental in healing trauma, if done with the proper training and boundaries in place. The first form of attachment and comfort for children is that of touch. Therefore, it is imperative to acknowledge the power of touch and body awareness when healing from traumatic experiences. The purpose of this …

Self-Compassion Integrated Art Therapy For Mothers During A Pandemic, Shannon Dover

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis reviews literature related to parental mental health and the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). COVID-19 is a collective trauma in which individuals experience the trauma differently depending on race, gender, and class. Women’s experience of living during COVID-19 related to changes in the workplace, caretaking, and more. The pandemic influenced parents and notably mothers with increased stress, depression, grief, and anxiety. The practice of self-compassion reduces shame and self-criticism which are common experiences during parenting and trauma. Self-compassion and art therapy can aid in resiliency and make living during COVID-19 more comfortable. With a literature review, results yield the following …

Understanding The Traumatized Brain, Sam Marion, Elizabeth Marston

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Students who have experienced trauma are often in need of behavioral intervention due to challenging behaviors and reactivity. Understanding the body’s threat response system gives insight into these behaviors and allows for empathy within the interventions. This presentation will outline basic neuroscience theories, propose interventions focused on self-regulation, and demonstrate how adding basic elements to existing interventions can increase efficacy.

The Experiences Of Iraqi Refugees In Canada: A Life History Study Of War And Resilience In The Aftermath Of Migration, Nada Nessan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis reports on a life history narrative on the experiences of Iraqi refugees who resettled in Canada after living through war. The aim of this study is to help change the narrow perspectives on the mental health of war affected populations to a broader perception shaped by cultural and social aspects and to inform the development of meaningful and cultural relevant programs and policies with a particular attention to the concept of resilience.

The first part of the study presents the chronological narratives, or profiles. of eight participants. The second part of the study is a thematic discussion of …

Antecedents Of Borderline Personality Disorder And Antisocial Personality Disorder: An Examination Of Gene X Environment Interactions, Amy L. Medina

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Current thinking suggests that genotypes associated with impulse-control disorders and negative emotionality, such as monoamine oxidase-a (MAOA), interact with negative early environmental factors like childhood maltreatment and develop into the disorders know as Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD). Using existing data from a prospective cohort design study of the consequences of child abuse and neglect, participants (N = 896 represent individuals with documented histories of child abuse and neglect and a matched comparison group that were followed up into adulthood and interviewed. A subsample of 631 participants gave permission for DNA extraction and analyses during …

Trauma And Intersectionality In Trauma Informed Ministry, Caitlin Simpson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Seminary students have reported feeling underprepared to work with traumatized individuals in pastoral care (Logan, 2017; Resane, 2014). Statistics reported that 82% of pastoral care recipients had a trauma history (Foreman, 2018). Understanding trauma (Herman, 1992) and intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989) were used to consider the varying impacts each can have on an individual. Scholar Fredericks Streets (2015) used the social services understanding of theology and trauma (Beh, 2012; Weems, 1988) trauma informed ministry (Wolf, et al., 2013) to develop trauma informed ministry. This qualitative study using constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 2013) explored the experiences of nine participants in learning about …

A Predictable Home Environment May Protect Child Mental Health During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Laura M. Glynn, Elyssia Poggi Davis, Joan L. Luby, Tallie Z. Baram, Curt A. Sandman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective

Information about the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent and adult mental health is growing, yet the impacts on preschool children are only emerging. Importantly, environmental factors that augment or protect from the multidimensional and stressful influences of the pandemic on emotional development of young children are poorly understood.

Methods

Depressive symptoms in 169 preschool children (mean age 4.1 years) were assessed with the Preschool Feelings Checklist during a state-wide stay-at-home order in Southern California. Mothers (46% Latinx) also reported on externalizing behaviors with the Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaire. To assess the role of environmental factors in …

A Behavioral Healthcare Approach To At-Risk Youth Substance Prevention Program Development, Debra Mcintyre

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Providing quality services that meet the needs of clients is key to organizational sustainability for behavioral health organizations. Strategic development of substance prevention programs for at-risk youth will play an important role in capacity building. The focus of this study was to identify the need for developing a targeted and effective substance abuse prevention program to support at-risk youth who have trauma experiences before they begin misusing substances to cope with their challenges. The Baldrige excellence framework was used to guide this descriptive case study of a behavioral health organization in the Northeastern region of the United States. The data …

Incorporating Psychological Trauma Into Adhd Differentials: A Pilot Study Of Primary Care Providers' Perspectives, Amber Nipper

PsyD Program in Clinical Psychology Doctoral Dissertations ( Seattle)

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP, n.d.), 40% to 50% of individuals seeking mental health services terminate prematurely due to lack of access, lack of transportation, financial constraints, child mental health professional shortages, and stigma related to mental health. These barriers contribute to primary care providers assessing and managing mental health concerns at increasing rates, particularly symptoms consistent with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD is a neurobiological disorder beginning in childhood that is defined as “a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development” (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013, p. 59). Current literature shows …