Psychology Commons^™

Xylo-Bot: A Therapeutic Robot-Based Music Platform For Children With Autism, Huanghao Feng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience deficits in verbal and nonverbal communication skills, including motor control, emotional facial expressions, and eye gaze / joint attention. This Ph.D. dissertation focuses on studying the feasibility and effectiveness of using a social robot, called NAO, and a toy music instrument, xylophone, at modeling and improving the social responses and behaviors of children with ASD. In our investigation, we designed an autonomous social interactive music teaching system to fulfill this mission.

A novel modular robot-music teaching system consisting of three modules is presented. Module 1 provides an autonomous self-awareness positioning system for the …

Age Bias In Clinical Judgment: Moderating Effects Of Ageism And Multiculturalism, Kristin Pyne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The proportion of older adults in the United States is growing rapidly (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014) and mental health concerns in older adults are expected to increase rapidly (Choi, DiNitto & Marti, 2015). Despite increasing caseloads of older adults, few practicing psychologists have received specific training or specialization in geropsychology (American Psychological Association, 2016). Simultaneously, a growing body of literature demonstrates differential treatment of older adults in psychotherapy (Kessler & Bowen, 2015, Kessler & Schneider, 2016, Mejia et al., 2018). The present study aimed to examine the prevalence of clinical bias toward older adults among clinical trainees and to explore …

Wood Or Steel? Six Practices For An Effective Learning Relationship From Martial Arts To Psychology, Jessica Luginbuhl

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Becoming a psychologist is founded on supervision, the practice of learning the craft by doing the craft under the watchful eye of an expert. Becoming a black belt in martial arts is based on a similar principle of endless practice with the guidance of a master. How a teacher, supervisor, or sensei navigates the relationship with their student is crucial to the student’s ability to arrive at mastery of the craft. Methods for creating an appropriate and effective teacher/student relationship are explored by examining parallels between teaching practices used by karate teachers, and teaching practices used by graduate-level supervisors. Relevant …

The Role Of Awareness In Traumatic Brain Injuries: Interviews With Experts, Dominique Chao

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Approximately 2.8 million US citizens sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) annually, with more than 275,000 requiring inpatient rehabilitation (Taylor, Bell & Breiding, 2013). As rehabilitation techniques are refined and adapted to increase the speed of recovery and functional independence following TBIs, there is an ongoing need for better prognostic assessment tools. Research has shown that a lack of self-awareness following TBI is associated with poorer outcomes (e.g. employability, community reintegration) following discharge from inpatient hospitalizations (Cheng & Man, 2006; Robertson & Schmitter, 2016) and can result in decreased motivation (Simmonds & Fleming, 2003), compromised safety, poor community re-integration, and …

Treating Substance Use Disorders Through An Attachment Lens: A Case Example, Kathleen Locker

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Substance use treatment addresses addiction behaviors, increasing coping skills, and sobriety but current modalities do not address the insecure attachment styles that may contribute to substance use for many individuals. Insecure attachment styles seemingly have a bidirectional relationship with substance use and are therefore are likely an important aspect of treatment. This case example focuses on an attachment therapist’s work with a young man with a substance use disorder and attachment insecurity. Attachment theory interventions are proposed to address potential contributors of continued substance use. This paper proposes that using attachment theory in combination with existing treatment modalities for substance …

Could A Robot Be Your Psychotherapist?, Benjamin Huston

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

As technology has advanced over the years, it has been integrated into psychotherapy and changed the way that people receive mental health care (Schopp, Demiris, & Glueckauf, 2006). Many of these advances, such as telehealth practices, were seen as unsustainable until the public Internet offered broader access to technology-based care in the 1990s (Schopp, Demiris, & Glueckauf, 2006). These technology-based practices have since grown in popularity and with a recent increase in telehealth practices, text-based therapies, and applications to aid in mental health practices, modern therapy looks very different than it did even ten years ago (Fiske, Henningsen, & Buyx, …

The Elephant And The Felon: A Look At Criminal Sentencing And Treatment Through The Lens Of Jonathan Haidt's Moral Matrices, Samantha Horkott

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Criminal sentencing in the United States has shifted over the years. This paper outlines the current role morality plays in the sentencing and punishment of criminals. Recent work in moral psychology points the way to a better approach. Jonathan Haidt’s moral matrices, from his book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion, provide a signpost for more efficacious treatment of those on parole or under community supervision, overall contributing to the reduction of recidivism. In sum, Haidt’s work in moral psychology could lead to fairer sentencing and more effective treatment.

Exploring Sex And Contact Sport Differences In Baseline Impact Post-Concussion Symptom Scale Scores Among Collegiate Athletes Without A History Of Concussion, Madison Mackenzie

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Introduction: The use of baseline or preseason cognitive testing, including symptom endorsement, to quantify post-injury changes, is a practice supported by most major sports associations. In the absence of baseline data, normative data are used for this purpose and research suggests that those data often fail to accurately represent some groups of athletes, particularly non-concussed female athletes in all sports. In clinical practice, inaccurate normative scores can mask or exaggerate post-injury changes which can result in mismanaged athlete care and inaccurate return-to-play decisions. This study examines differences in baseline symptom scores between male and female athletes in different types of …

Fostering Trauma-Informed Schools By Considering The Experiences Of Teachers In Working With Trauma-Exposed Students, Allison A. Stiles

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

High rates of trauma exposure among youth in the United States and the detrimental effects of trauma on students’ psychosocial and academic outcomes are well-established. Such findings have engendered the emergence of trauma-informed schools across the nation. While research regarding trauma-informed schools has understandably focused on the needs of students, shockingly little is known about teachers’ experiences in working with trauma-exposed students. In particular, very few studies have examined the relationship between teachers’ indirect exposure to student trauma and related symptoms of secondary traumatic stress (STS), as well as factors that may predict STS levels or explain variation in the …

Educating And Training The Next Generations Of Security Staff In Suicide Risk Assessment In Correctional Settings: Development Of Cultural Competencies, Ashley Christianson

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Cultural competence in suicide risk assessment has become a necessity given the demographic diversity in the U.S. corrections population and the increasing rate of suicidal behavior in jails and prisons. With few exceptions, little attention has been paid to the cultural training of both clinicians and security staff, and the development of cultural competencies in this field. This paper will focus exclusively on examining the case for cultural competence when conducting a suicide risk assessment in a correctional setting. The author reviews factors that are key in the education and training of culturally informed jail-based therapists and corrections officers, including …

The Zero Suicide Initiative: Implementation Tailored For Individuals With Chronic Suicidality In Community Mental Health Centers, Helen Louise Littrell

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

In 2018, Suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in the United States (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019), and the American suicide rate continues to rise (Hedegaard, Curtin, & Warner, 2018). The lack of impact in reducing the suicide rate highlights the need to further understand how to help suicidal individuals. Nearly one third of suicides are preceded in the previous year by a visit to a mental health physician (Luoma, Martin, and Person, 2002). This paper proposes a tractable and research-validated strategy for Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) to appreciably reduce the suicide rate among their …

Identifying Gaps In Transitional Care For Adolescent Parents And Their Infants Leaving The Nicu: A Needs Assessment, Stevie Griglak

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Parents of infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) are more likely to experience posttraumatic stress, anxiety, feelings of hopelessness, difficulties caring for or bonding with their infants, and financial concerns than parents who deliver full-term, healthy newborns (Ionio et al., 2016). Some NICU admissions may last several months before the premature and/or critically ill infant is stable enough for discharge, and other times the likelihood of discharge is uncertain. Arguably, teen parents with NICU infants are confronted with even more stressors throughout their newborn's hospitalization and post-discharge when they settle into their role as a new parent. …

Correctional Staff Attitudes Toward Transgender Individuals, Neilou Heidari

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Compared to the general population, transgender individuals face higher rates of victimization, violence, substance use, physical health issues, and mental health problems. Transgender people are more likely to face barriers in finding and maintaining employment and housing due to discrimination. As a result, they are more likely to participate in illegal economies such as sex work and drug distribution. These factors contribute to the overrepresentation of transgender people in jails and prisons in the United States. Specifically, 16% of transgender adults have been incarcerated, compared to 2.7% of the general population. While under custody, transgender individuals are at risk of …

Narrative Therapy To Reduce Self-Stigma: Empowering Children, Adolescents, And Their Families, Jillian Baldwin

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

The effects of self-stigma on children and adolescents with mental health diagnoses is a documented psychological issue in academic literature; however, no studies or articles to date present strategies for reducing its negative effects. Additionally, very few studies have connected the experience of parental stigma, or courtesy/affiliate stigma, and its effects on child and family well-being. Self-stigma has been conceptualized as existing on the opposite end of the spectrum from empowerment, suggesting that empowerment may serve as a promising approach to tackling self-stigmatization. This paper presents a novel therapeutic intervention for reducing self-stigma in children, adolescents, and their families through …

Families Healing Together: A Multi-Family Group Curriculum Proposal, Loraine Fishman

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

This paper presents evidence that supports the need to create and implement a trauma-focused multi-family group curriculum. The introduction provides a broad definition of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as a definition of complex trauma. The paper also reviews research for trauma-specific evidence-based interventions for individual, group, and multi-family group psychotherapy. A curriculum that involves multi-family support, family therapy, age-specific group treatment, and individual therapy is presented. In addition, limitations and future and multicultural considerations are discussed.

Feminist Therapy With Severe Mental Illness And Complex Trauma: A Case Example, Mimiko Watanabe

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Feminist therapy emphasizes empowerment through an egalitarian therapeutic relationship and collaborative approach of understanding symptoms and treatment. Feminist therapy can be used with all types of clients, including those with severe mental illness (SMI) as well as complex posttraumatic stress disorder (complex PTSD) which refers to the unique presentation of those who have experienced chronic developmental trauma (Herman, 1992). This case example focuses on a feminist therapist’s work with a young woman who has both SMI and complex PTSD, resulting in struggles across several domains. Feminist therapeutic interventions of developing an egalitarian relationship, exploration of intersectional multicultural dynamics, building empowerment, …

Bad Boys, Bad Boys: Masculinity, Performance Theory, And Prisoner Re-Entry, Jannae D. Bratcher

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Men and boys commit more crime, are more violent, and are more likely to be involved in the criminal justice system than women and girls (Cohen & Harvey, 2006; Carson, 2018; Zimmerman & Messner, 2010). Within the past two decades, criminal studies have begun to consider masculinity as a social construct to explain the gender gap in crime rates. However, more research is needed to understand its relationship to reentry and recidivism. The lens of masculinity as a performance is valuable and has a proud scholarly history, including the works of Judith Butler and Erving Goffman. This paper conceptualizes prisoner …

Biology Of Binge Eating Related Disorders And Proposal For Integration Into Treatment, Karlyne Morawe

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

The concerningly low recovery and high cross over rates of eating disorders with binge eating behaviors suggests there might be a missing element in current treatment approaches commonly used to address eating disorders. Research supports the existence of significant biological correlation between disorders that are characterized by binge eating behaviors. This paper examines some of the biological processes in which these disorders show the most significant correlations. These include the organism’s response to caloric restriction, the brain’s response to feeding, the biological drive for reproduction, sensory association to feeding, and habituated responding to the feeding process. Additionally, we will explore …

Doubled Up With Pain: Applying A Relational Framework To The Primary Care Provider - Chronic Pain Patient Relationship, Rebecca Hillel

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Treatment relationships between primary care providers (PCPs) and chronic pain patients are often rife with difficult interpersonal dynamics and experienced by both parties as being noncollaborative. It is important that PCPs are provided with recommendations to make these treatment relationships more collaborative. Relational psychological frameworks, such as intersubjectivity, can teach PCPs how to improve their relationships with chronic pain patients. This paper focuses on how to strengthen the working alliance between PCPs and chronic pain patients using intersubjective principles. Conceptualizing the working alliance from an intersubjective lens gives PCPs guidance about where to turn if their treatment relationships with chronic …

Clinician’S Resource Guide: A Compendium Of Child Treatment Resources, Carleen Knauf

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

As an early career clinician in a fast-paced field that is dedicated to working with others, saving time and energy where possible is invaluable. When I first started working with children, I was overwhelmed by the amount of time I was having to dedicate to research to find reputable resources to use in my clinical settings. I realized so much of my time and energy was going towards this research that by the time I entered the therapy room with my clients I was tired, frustrated, and overwhelmed by the lack of easily accessible resources. After working with and learning …