Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Art Therapy And Chronic Pain: Exploring Pain Tolerance, Body Sensations And Emotions, India Brown

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Over four weeks, topics of emotion, physical and body sensation, and chronic pain using art therapy were explored. The therapy provided a foundation for practicing mindfulness, increasing awareness, and expressing various symptoms such as somatic discomfort and emotional dysregulation. I co-facilitated a group consisting of individuals between the ages of 23 and 70 identifying as male or female, with a mix of white and black clients from the middle-class bracket. The group participated in art therapy and mindful meditation sessions in an outpatient program. Through this experience, I discovered that many individuals dissociate from their pain and emotional well-being. While …

The Breath As A Holistic Regulator: An Expressive Arts Therapy Community Project, Jacobita Munoz

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This capstone offers the idea that evolution has challenged appropriate breathing and led humans to breathe incorrectly, thus negatively affecting their physical and mental health. As breath can damage the body, it can also serve as a regulator of the mind and body. This thesis points out the multiple effects when uniting controlled respiration, drumming and nature sounds. Breathing, music and nature have many things in common. These include repetition, pattern, awareness of the present moment and relaxation. They all contain a rhythm, and they offer self-regulatory skills. Music-based expressive arts therapies intervention is postulated to provide breathing techniques, united …

Examining The Effects Of Religion-Based Meditation On Stress Levels In Palestinian Muslims, Dana Elqaq

Honors Thesis

Given the intractable conflict in Palestine, those living in the area are exposed to constant stress and trauma. A wealth of prior research findings clearly reveals that stress, with an emphasis on traumatic stress, leads to decrements in mental and physical well-being. Thus, it is important to consider implementing interventions that might help people in this area cope with stress. Researchers have advocated for the use of meditation to lower stress and anxiety levels. In the current investigation, I will present findings from a study that I conducted in Palestine, looking at the impact of mindfulness meditation on effective coping …

La Pausa Sagrada: Embodiment Of Relational-Cultural Mindfulness- Development Of A Method, Annalise Reinhardt Kohlberger

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper addresses the history, theory, and practices in relational-cultural therapy (RCT), mindfulness, and phototherapy, the theoretical and philosophical foundations upon which I developed a method integrating related practices and approaches. The method combined relational cultural mindfulness, mindful photography, and phototherapy for promoting stress reduction and well-being in Mexican mothers of children with developmental disabilities. Research shows that parents of children with disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience even greater amounts of parental stress, due to the child behavior problems presented in children with ASD and the holistic impact they have on family life (Torbet et al., 2019). …

The Potential Of Using Dance/Movement Therapy In Treating Depression In The Adult Population In Thailand: A Literature Review, Vararom Tavivoradilok

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Depression is becoming increasingly prevalent in Thailand, and while many depressive symptoms manifest through the physical body, there are few treatments for depression in Thailand that involve the physical body. Previous research suggests that Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) can effectively treat depression by incorporating the physical body and individuals’ embodied feelings into the treatment process. This literature review aims to explore the potential of incorporating DMT into the treatment for depression in the adult population in Thailand, by reviewing literature about DMT practice for depression and existing treatments for depression in Thailand. The findings suggest that while physical body incorporation …

Mindfulness-Based Gratitude: Curriculum Guide For An Online Six-Week Course, Anne Marie Pfeiffer

Mindfulness Studies Theses

This is a two-part paper. The first part of the paper presents research on how both mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) and gratitude interventions (GIs) offer a promising way to help mitigate the physiological and psychological effects caused by chronic stress by increasing one’s overall sense of well-being (Keng et al., 2011; Wood et al., 2010). Individually, mindfulness and gratitude practices may enhance positive effect and well-being, which suggest that combining both practices may further increase positive outcomes (Hicks et al., 2017) due to their complementary nature. However, research should be approached with caution as there are many methodological limitations that need …

Does A Single Night Of Mindfulness Meditation Improve Sleep And Stress In Female College Students?, Koushik Thudi

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Several recent studies have shown that mindfulness-based practices have been effective in treating sleep problems. However, these studies have primarily looked at multi-component interventions that take place over several weeks or months. No studies have evaluated the efficacy of short-term mindfulness-based practices on sleep the same night. This study aims to do just that. The sample consisted of 10 students attending the University of Arkansas. All participants slept in a sleep laboratory on two consecutive weekday nights. During one night, they completed a mindfulness-based exercise. The other night, they completed a similar control task (counterbalanced). Polysomnography-based sleep data were collected …

Exploring The Process Of Mindful Breathing With Stressed Mothers, Caleb D. Farley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mindfulness exists in many parenting and family interventions and are intended to decrease stress, improve familial relationships, and indirectly improve child wellness, and these mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) are relatively effective at doing so. However, critical issues remain related to designing effective and useful interventions for school-based and other community practitioners. Specifically, research has not demonstrated clear relationships between parent mindfulness practice increasing generalized mindfulness behaviors (i.e., awareness and acceptance), experiencing subsequent parental stress reduction, and reporting decreased behavior problems in children. The current study examined these relationships between practicing mindfulness and experiencing changes in parents’ mindfulness process, wellbeing, and perceptions …

Development And Initial Validation Of The Mindful Self-Regulated Learning Scale (M-Srls), Sarah Wolff

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Modern mindfulness is a catch-all term. Just exactly what it looks like within the context of education and how it is taught vastly varies. As such, program fidelity and integrity is questioned. Here a definition of mindful self-regulated learning is proposed and the Mindful Self-Regulated Learning Scale (m-SRLS) is developed. This includes item generation and development, systematic testing of item performance, scale dimensionality, convergent and divergent validity, measurement invariance across groups and subgroups, and scale reliability over a series of five pilot studies and five primary studies using independent samples. The resulting m-SRLS is a context specific measurement tool that …

A Systematic Review Of Studies Of Self-Compassion Interventions For Trauma And Stress-Related Disorders, Kayla Wilkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to explore how the effectiveness of self-compassion interventions can reduce symptoms of trauma and stress-related disorders. Self-compassion can be an essential part of treatment for trauma and stress-related disorders. Self-compassion consists of three components: self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. Self-compassion also relies on an individual to use emotional intelligence (e.g., emotional processing theory, meaning-making theory, polyvagal theory) to aid with increasing the level of self-awareness and appraising traumatic memories. For example, identifying post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms using self-compassion can promote emotional regulation, enabling awareness and acceptance of negative emotions caused by trauma. In addition, self-compassion can help …

Online Self-Compassion Training Vs. Expressive Writing: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Lauren Benyo Linford

Theses and Dissertations

Self-compassion is associated with a variety of positive outcomes including well-being and positive body image. There is a need for accessible online self-compassion resources that can be disseminated to the general public. This study examined the efficacy of The Gift of Self-Compassion course (GSC): a 30-day internet-delivered self-compassion training within a non-clinical general population sample. Outcomes examined were self-compassion, well-being, and body dissatisfaction. Using a randomized controlled design, this study compared the GSC to an expressive writing (EW) curriculum. Participants were 215 adults from the general population. Seemingly unrelated regression models were used to estimate treatment differences between groups as …

Time Of Day Preferences And Daily Temporal Consistency For Predicting The Sustained Use Of A Commercial Meditation App: Longitudinal Observational Study, Vincent Berardi, Ryan Fowers, Gavriella Rubin, Chad Stecher

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background: The intensive data typically collected by mobile health (mHealth) apps allows factors associated with persistent use to be investigated, which is an important objective given users’ well-known struggles with sustaining healthy behavior.

Objective: Data from a commercial meditation app (n=14,879; 899,071 total app uses) were analyzed to assess the validity of commonly given habit formation advice to meditate at the same time every day, preferably in the morning.

Methods: First, the change in probability of meditating in 4 nonoverlapping time windows (morning, midday, evening, and late night) on a given day over the first 180 days …

Now What?, David L. Hart Jr, Rebecca J. Armstrong

FDLA Journal

NOW WHAT?

David Hart, Ph.D. and Rebecca Armstrong, Ph.D.

Making the decision to pursue an advanced degree is certainly commendable. To add to one’s knowledge base is ambitious and the results of such a commitment are monumental. However, it goes without saying that in that scheme, life’s challenges are ever-present, and along with other given responsibilities, the concept of time becomes a faded memory. If that is not enough, COVID-19 presented all degree-seekers with issues that seemed insurmountable. Many decided that virtual learning programs would provide an environment that allowed for success in the academic arena despite the forces that …

Maximising Effectiveness Of Talent Pools Through Mindfulness: An Empirical Investigation In A Multinational Corporation, Tarmo Raudsepp

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Traditional human resource management is looking to identify and develop talent for maximising human capital in a competitive environment with limited resources and negative demographic trends. Attracting, deploying, motivating, developing and retaining talented employees is a corporate norm for meeting organisational goals. Proper human resource processes through rigorous mapping of employees according to the performance-potential matrix allow the grading of employees against peer groups to establish talent pools for development and internal succession planning.

Mindfulness originates from 2,500-year-old Buddhist spiritual practices and has a rare combination of spirituality and science. Eastern perspective originates from Asian traditions focusing on the self-regulation …

Mindful Artmaking In Elementary Classrooms: A Path To Emotional Regulation, Christine Gober

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Abstract

In an era dominated by technological advancements and mounting external pressures, the emotional and mental well-being of the younger generation is a growing concern. This research paper explores the intricate relationship between mindfulness, art-making, and emotional regulation within the context of elementary classrooms. The modern world, filled with a plethora of stimuli, has escalated stress levels among individuals, especially children, leading to a surge in mental health issues. Mindfulness, deeply rooted in ancient traditions, teaches individuals to stay present, fostering a non-judgmental awareness of their thoughts and emotions. Art-making, on the other hand, serves as a medium for emotional …

Understanding Grief Through The Eyes Of A Child (Ages 3-12): Mindfulness And Other Mindful Modalities As Supportive Tools, Clare Duplace

Mindfulness Studies Theses

This study demonstrates how mindfulness and other mindful modalities can be supportive tools for children experiencing grief and loss. The literature reflects the importance of understanding the ways in which children grieve at varying ages and developmental stages, facilitating grief and death-related conversations, the connection between mindfulness and grief and the use of mindfulness-based interventions within the realms of grief and death. This thesis is supported through findings from peer-reviewed articles, books, podcasts, activities, and meditations. The creative project aims to reflect that grief and loss-related experiences can be openly talked about and supported through appropriate resources and mindful modalities …

A Mindfulness-Based Intervention For Educators: Cultivating Self-Awareness And Self-Compassion To Increase Well-Being And Mitigate Burnout, Emily Squyres

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Mindfulness-based interventions that include an element of self-compassion training are beneficial in mitigating burnout and increasing educator well-being when implemented in the educational workplace. The recent and continuing interaction with the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of actively cultivating collective mental health. Schools can no longer take a passive stance when it comes to bolstering resilience regarding mental health and well-being of their educators. The impact of negative stressors precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, along with other recent cultural and occupational phenomena, have taken a toll on mental resilience. To support educators, mindfulness interventions may be offered as a …

Childhood Learning Through Mindful Sensory Experiences In Nature: Attentive Earth And Body– A Five-Lesson Educator’S Guide, April Andrescavage

Mindfulness Studies Theses

The benefits of spending time outside in nature are well documented for children. However, due to both micro and macro systems level causes, children are spending less time in nature than they have in the past. Children spend a large amount of time in school, which makes it the perfect setting to incorporate more time outside into their day. This paper begins with a review of current and historical literature around the themes of childhood experiential learning, nature exposure, and mindfulness experiences that focus on sensory learning. This research has informed the development of the creative project titled Attentive Earth …

How A Mindfulness-Based Professional Development Program Supports More Ethical And Equitable Philanthropy, Tref Borden

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Philanthropy serves a vital role in the United States, bringing resources and support to a vibrant field of nonprofit organizations serving community needs. Despite its noble goals to better humankind, philanthropy often does harm through its grantmaking practices, perpetuating hierarchical power structures and inequity, and exacerbating the wealth and income gap that increasingly divides the country. This paper examines the structural, systemic aspects of philanthropy that foster potentially harmful practices and highlights ethical challenges in the field, and then demonstrates how mindfulness offers a means of countering those challenges to support a more ethical, equitable, and effective sector. A mindfulness-based …

Seeing And Unlearning Whiteness: A Mindfulness Workshop For Racial Justice, Emily Haranas

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Racism is a deeply embedded, foundational aspect of American society. However, because the privilege of Whiteness insulates White individuals from the workings of systemic injustice and oppression and enables them to choose the conditions of their accountability in the movement for racial justice, many remain painfully blind to this fact. As such, there is a significant need for those who have been racialized White to develop a critical awareness of the powers and privileges ascribed to their racial identity. The working premise of this thesis is that mindfulness can assist White individuals in unlinking the socialized habits of mind that …

Unlocking Creativity In The Visual Arts: Using Mindfulness And Open Awareness Meditation To Access Creative Insight, Erin Gocinski

Mindfulness Studies Theses

An artist's creativity is a vital resource, so it is important to nourish this internal phenomenon and develop helpful techniques when they experience a creative block. Researchers have discovered that mindfulness and meditation positively affect artists' ability to access creative insight. The research reviewed in this rationale paper demonstrates beneficial experiences for artists who are trying to foster creativity or move beyond a creative block. After reviewing research, there were common threads linking the reasons for artists’ creative blocks and the positive impacts of mindfulness and meditation. The creative project is a handbook designed for artists and provides information, meditative …

A Brief Mindfulness Intervention And Its Effect On Stress Response And Recovery: Rumination As A Moderator., Kacie Peters

Lewis Honors College Thesis Collection

It is inevitable that every human will encounter many stressors in their life, so research on this topic is generalizable to many and carries a heavy weight. While facing one small stressor may not be enough to have a significant impact, it is the degree of the stressors and the response to them that can dictate whether or not it leads to serious consequences (WHO). Stress can be characterized as a stressor or combined stressors that lead to physical, emotional, and mental strain (WHO). It is important that we know the ways in which to best recover from stress, otherwise …

Consideration Of Mindfulness Intervention For Hispanic Adolescents In A School Setting, Kierra Mcshine Gregory

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Hispanic adolescents’ accessibility to treatment options for depression is met with limitations associated with financial barriers and cultural misalignment. This research study aimed to bring to light an alternative psychotherapy treatment through the foundations of mindfulness interventions. The goal was to understand the experience of Hispanic adolescents when engaging in mindfulness in a school setting. The purpose of this study was to gather information about the experiences of Hispanic adolescents using mindfulness to support mental health practitioners, school counselors, and behavioral interventionists to provide treatment options that are accessible and meet the needs of this culture group. This explanatory case …

Mindfulness Skills And Retention Risk In First-Generation Undergraduate Students, Tim Morenz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

First-generation college students experience more negative emotional states and higher stress levels than their continuing generation peers, take approximately two years longer to complete undergraduate degree programs, and are less than one percent likely to re-enroll in college. Mindfulness skills have been reported to alleviate anxiety and stress, improve adjustment to college, and improve academic performance, but a gap in the literature existed specific to first-generation college students. Guided by the theory of planned behavior and the monitor and acceptance theory, the purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between trait mindfulness skills and retention risk in …

Consideration Of Mindfulness Intervention For Hispanic Adolescents In A School Setting, Kierra Mcshine Gregory

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Hispanic adolescents’ accessibility to treatment options for depression is met with limitations associated with financial barriers and cultural misalignment. This research study aimed to bring to light an alternative psychotherapy treatment through the foundations of mindfulness interventions. The goal was to understand the experience of Hispanic adolescents when engaging in mindfulness in a school setting. The purpose of this study was to gather information about the experiences of Hispanic adolescents using mindfulness to support mental health practitioners, school counselors, and behavioral interventionists to provide treatment options that are accessible and meet the needs of this culture group. This explanatory case …

Locus Of Control, Mindfulness, And Perceived Caregiver Burden In Informal Caregivers Of People With Dementia, Tiffany Marinos-Sterge

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAdult informal caregivers play an essential role in the care of people with dementia living in the community. Adult informal caregivers may experience a host of negative psychological, emotional, and physical effects because of their roles as caregivers. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to investigate the influence of locus of control and mindfulness on the perceived caregiver burden experienced by adult informal caregivers of people with dementia, controlling for relevant sociodemographic characteristics. Social determination theory and social learning theory provided the theoretical foundation for this study. Variables were measured using the Caregiver Burden Inventory, Mindfulness Attention Awareness …

Effects Of Mindfulness And Holotropic Breathwork On The Rehabilitation Of Adolescents Who Use Psychoactive Substances: A Pilot Study, Frank Sanchez-Quijano, Diana Ximena Puerta-Cortés, Julio Eduardo Mazorco Salas

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

This pilot study aims to compare the effects of mindfulness and holotropic breathwork treatments on adolescents in the rehabilitation process for psychoactive substance use. Participants comprised 18 female adolescents aged 15–18 admitted to the Fundación Grupo de Apoyo, affiliated with the Colombian Family Welfare Institute. The Fundación is dedicated to rehabilitation from, detoxification from, and prevention of psychoactive substance use. The study utilizes a mixed methods approach with an exploratory design. Heart rate is used as an important indicator of psychological well-being and overall cardiovascular health, and the mean pretest/posttest heart rates of the control and experimental groups are compared …

Exploration Of The School Mindfulness Project On The Executive Functions Of Elementary School Students, Jessica Brooke Savaiano

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between The School Mindfulness Project and the executive functions of elementary school students. Participants were teachers from an urban elementary school. Dependent t-tests were used to examine changes in executive functioning from pretest to posttest. The results did not show significant improvements in executive functions for the intervention group. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

The Relationship Between Loneliness And Experiential Avoidance After Implementation Of A Self-Compassion Intervention, Alyssa Mielock

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

An individual’s perception of a social relationship is distinct from an individual’s difficulty forming and maintaining social relationships. Loneliness is defined as an individual’s distress resulting from the discrepancy between perceived and desired social relationship quality. In the short term, loneliness may act as a motivator for an individual to seek social support to minimize distress. However, long-term loneliness is associated with physical and psychological impairments. There have been several risk factors identified that contribute to chronic loneliness, such as social isolation, psychopathology, and ineffective coping strategies. Ineffective coping may be one mechanism by which loneliness is associated with psychopathology …

Mindfulness Skills And Retention Risk In First-Generation Undergraduate Students, Tim Morenz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

First-generation college students experience more negative emotional states and higher stress levels than their continuing generation peers, take approximately two years longer to complete undergraduate degree programs, and are less than one percent likely to re-enroll in college. Mindfulness skills have been reported to alleviate anxiety and stress, improve adjustment to college, and improve academic performance, but a gap in the literature existed specific to first-generation college students. Guided by the theory of planned behavior and the monitor and acceptance theory, the purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between trait mindfulness skills and retention risk in …