Theory and Philosophy Commons^™

Music Therapy As A Support Model In Massachusetts Special Education: A Literature Review, Bonnie Diamond

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Mental health directly impacts student propensity for making academic progress in the public education system. For children with disabilities, it is especially vital to develop and implement techniques within special education that deliver personally tailored benefits. According to the United States Department of Education, music therapy offers highly effective support to a wide range of students within the school setting so that they may achieve academic success and be supported in their social/emotional development (U.S Department of Education, 2011; AMTA, 2021). In examining the multifaceted ways that music therapy can offer support within the structure of education and mental health, …

Aligning With Adolescents: A Literature Review Of Art Therapy In Residential Treatment Programs, Olivia Moore

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Adolescents in residential treatment programs throughout the United States are a specialized population that demonstrate resiliency and hope every day. Many adolescents in these programs have experienced prominent levels of trauma that impact their ability to function in lower-level programs, foster homes, and in their communities. Residential treatment approaches may look like locked facilities with trauma-informed staff who provide programming options, mental health care, and safe living conditions for adolescents. Without strength-based approaches to treatment, this population may struggle to overcome their trauma, mental health challenges, and developmental needs. In this literature review, art therapy was offered to provide developmentally …

Attachment To Diagnostic Labels: Social Media, Over Identification, And Self-Efficacy For Personal Recovery, Robert Oehler

Student Research Submissions

This study explored the relationship between self-diagnosis, social media exposure, and how individuals interpret a diagnostic label. Different attitudes toward one’s diagnosis impact an individual’s attitudes toward therapy, compliance with care, and general psychological well-being. One such attitude is over-identification, how attached an individual is to their diagnostic label and how they see a diagnosis as a part of themselves, as this could have implications for their self-concept and attitudes toward therapy. We will ask the following questions: Firstly, do individuals with different diagnoses show meaningfully different levels of attachment to their diagnosis? Secondly, do individuals vary in their social …

Parallel Processes Of Posttraumatic Stress And Metabolic Dysfunction: Long-Term Costs Of Trauma On The Psychological And Physical Health Of 9/11 Survivors, Shane W. Adams

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Metabolic conditions (MetC) have been associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and may be critical indicators of the systemic physical sequelae of traumatic stress. Parallel process latent growth modeling wasapplied to longitudinal data collected from 35,788 9/11 survivors and used to model PTSD symptoms and MetC to determine how the development and course of one affect the other. A unidirectional relationship was found in which the intercept of PTSD symptoms predicted the slope of MetC. Hyperarousal (ß=.172) and emotional numbing (ß=.171) PTSD symptoms demonstrated the strongest association with the growth of MetC over and above …

Behavioral Indicators Of Reflective Functioning In Mother-Child Dyadic Interactions, Rachel Clingensmith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Positive parenting practices and secure attachments are consistently linked to healthy child outcomes (Ainsworth & Bowlby, 1991; Waters et al., 2000). Research on cognitive processes that scaffold parental behaviors which contribute to secure attachment is an essential contribution to the literature, particularly given the potential for early intervention with at-risk families. Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) is a construct of increasing interest which has been linked to secure attachments and positive child outcomes, with one commonly used self-report measure of PRF being the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ; Camoirano, 2017; Clingensmith, 2021; Luyten et al., 2017). As such, the purpose of …

Voiding The Unwanted Self: An Examination Of Racialized Violence In The United States, Benjamin Stark

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is concerned with the role of the psychic defenses projection and projective identification in the processes which lead to racialized violence in the United States. The dissertation posits that projection has been less considered as a primary driver of racialized violence than other psychic processes and should be better integrated into psychological research and literature on racialized violence. The thesis begins with a detailed examination of two instances of racialized violence, the first a macro example of nation vs. nation: the United States’ invasion of Iraq in 2003, before which the United States fantasized Iraq was developing weapons …

The Psychedelic Dasein: Modelling The Effects Of Psilocybin With Heidegger’S Phenomenology, Eamon Robert Stuart Macdougall

Major Papers

This paper argues that the mystical experience induced by psilocybin (understood through the tradition of Heideggerian phenomenology) modulates the attuned understanding of oneself, the world, and how the individual relates to the world. This kind of particular experience is not accessible to the individual through ordinary consciousness, therefore psilocybin may give us access to a new kind of understanding. This understanding may offer a solution to the empirical deficiencies surrounding the short-term and long-term effects of psilocybin, such as how a meagre two to three high doses have yielded unprecedented results in the treatment of tobacco addiction, and in the …

Embodied Fatness In Boys: A Critical Phenomenological Study, Sean Leadem

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation was an exploratory study of experiences of fatness in boyhood using a hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative method. The author conducted in-depth, open-ended interviews with participants who identify as men and for whom fatness or related body-difference was an issue in childhood or adolescence to gather data on the meanings of fatness for boys and the men they become. Data analysis was organized around the existential dimensions of embodiment, temporality, and relationality. Themes emerging from this analysis included a) the discovery of fatness as ambiguous meanings mediated by others, b) fatness as a problem in a horizon that does not …

The Social Construction Of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (Pmdd), Raya Balabanova

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The creation of psychiatric diagnoses, otherwise known as psychiatric nosology, is a complex endeavor, one involving a great deal of social construction. One diagnosis in particular, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), exemplifies the different factors that go into the creation of psychiatric labels. After decades of research, activism, and debates, PMDD was included in the diagnostic and statistical manual (DSM-5), which is widely used by clinicians in the U.S. This thesis aims to describe how the symptoms described by PMDD caught the attention of the medical profession and how PMDD was shaped into the diagnosis it is today. The introduction of …

Exploring Social And Emotional Functioning In Emerging Adult Survivors Of Adverse Childhood Experiences, Sara Babad

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As many as two thirds of adults in the United States have experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and 60% of these individuals have experienced multiple, or cumulative ACEs. ACEs are associated with a range of outcomes, including social, emotional, and cognitive changes, health risk behaviors, psychopathology, worse physical health, and early death. Although some ACEs effects have been well-researched, social and emotional changes have received minimal attention in the literature in general. Research on ACEs effects in emerging adults (ages 18 to 25), an already vulnerable population, is also limited. Furthermore, there is debate in the field as to which …

The Impossible Situation? Impasse As Psychotherapeutic Paralysis, Possibility, And Progress, Leo Cancelmo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Psychotherapeutic impasse has long been understood in the clinical literature as treatment stagnation and even failure, both from one-person and two-person psychodynamic perspectives. However, there is a dearth of empirical research that delves deeper to understand this complex and rich phenomenon. Using semi-structured interviews with nine psychodynamic therapists speaking about individual adult patients, this study examined experiences of impasse to better understand treatments that become embroiled in a kind of paralysis. Qualitative analyses revealed dyads where patients were conceptualized as struggling chronically with negative feelings about themselves and others, and who experienced traumatic personal histories. Impasse in and of itself …

Asian Immigrant Parents And Their Asian/Asian-American Children: Bridging The Emotional Gap, Natalie Vergara Realubit

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

This manuscript explores and examines Asian/Asian-American identity and values. A brief discussion of Asian immigration history, intergenerational trauma, and the impacts of COVID-19 will be linked to Asian identity. Eastern values are explored in conjunction with Western values to highlight the differences and contradictions Asians/Asian-Americans navigate. Biculturalism is explained, as well as how the navigation of values results in individuals living in their ethnic and host cultures simultaneously. Acculturation and enculturation, the model minority myth, education and the American Dream, and bicultural stress experienced by Asian-Americans and Asian international students are explored to highlight the various ways in which biculturalism …

"A Fallen Woman": The Use Of Metaphor In Psychoanalysis, Matthew Schneider

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study sought to understand the use of a central metaphor in a psychoanalytic treatment and its relationship to the process of change for the analysand. In linguistics, a metaphor is a word, phrase or idea that stands in for another idea. In psychoanalysis the relationship between conscious and unconscious conflictual material can share similar metaphorical connections as conscious thoughts or behavior often stands in for an unconscious wishes. The presence of a word or phrase that appears in speech in the context of particular affective moments in an analysand’s experience could be understood to be linked to unconscious processes …

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy: Implications For Treating Trauma, Kara L. Harrison Psy.D.

Psychology Doctoral Specialization Projects

Trauma related symptoms and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) have been increasingly recognized for the key roles they occupy in mental health and overall individual well-being within both adult and childhood populations. They often represent significant barriers to the provision of mental healthcare within military populations and individuals diagnosed with serious mental illness (SMI). This original contribution to practice explores the significance of Equine Assisted Psychotherapy as a novel adjunctive approach to treating trauma. symptoms in adults and children. An extensive literature review examines current research and discussion on common definitions and nomenclature. It begins with discussion on the broader areas …

Borderline Personality Disorder: A Review And Analysis Through The Lens Of The Unified Theory, Paulihna S. Cechak

Dissertations, 2020-current

Abstract

In the field of psychology, there are many different ways to understand or make sense of a phenomenon. Researchers, theorists, or practitioners can approach topics via many different paradigms or schools of thought that guide their general understanding, programs of research or approach to therapeutic practice. Although this diversity of analysis affords some strength in terms of allowing many perspectives, it also brings with it a serious problem of fragmentation. With the countless theories and paradigms, we lack a shared language and meta-theoretical framework that assimilates and integrates the various bodies of knowledge and perspectives into a coherent frame …

Attachment, Trait Mindfulness, And Expectations In Married Women: A Moderated Mediation Model, Elizabeth Larson

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Historically, the term marital satisfaction has been used to describe the subjective quality of marriage; however, some researchers have proposed that marital satisfaction as a construct overlooks fundamental relational components that could elucidate a more precise portrayal of marital functioning. Utilizing archival data, I examined individual differences in attachment orientation and trait mindfulness predicting marital expectations, a process that informs marital satisfaction. Using a moderated mediation model, I hypothesized that (a) attachment avoidance would negatively predict marital expectations, (b) trait mindfulness would mediate the relationship between attachment avoidance and marital expectations, (c) attachment anxiety would moderate the relationship between attachment …

Language As The Medium: A Literature Review. Harnessing The Prolific Power Of Dramatic Language As A Therapeutic Tool In Drama Therapy, Edward Freeman

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Language in and of the theatre, with its palate of variegated writing styles and playwrights from throughout time, has the potential to be harnessed, focused, and systematized for use as a therapeutic tool within drama therapy – the field’s artistic medium. Drama therapy could benefit from having a specific medium germane to its artform which has the potential to provide practitioners with a common resource and means of communication, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning, as well as align the field with other creative arts therapies. Language encompasses all forms of human communication – speaking, writing, signing, gesturing, expressing facially – …

Smartphones And Somatizing, Jonathan Berkowitz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project explores the relationship between smartphone use, somatizing, and mentalized affectivity. The sample consisted of 511 iPhone users who completed an online survey that included scales measuring somatizing, mentalized affectivity, and general symptoms, as well as measures of smartphone engagement and addiction. Participants also provided data from their screentime application, and information about game-playing tendencies. A series of regression models were used to analyze data.

Results showed that smartphone addiction and game playing predicted somatizing, and did not interact with mentalized affectivity. Game-players somatized more than non-game players, and within the game-playing subgroup, those who reported spending more time …

How Psychotherapists Practice In The Digital Era, Josh Weinstein

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The digital era, marked by digital devices connected via high speed data networks, has altered human experience in profound ways over the past 40 years. The potential for novel forms of human relating and fulfillment of desire has led to myriad changes in behavior, thought and unconscious activity. While many adapt or thrive in expanded reality, for some, the digital can be context, source and/or location for psychological affliction. When those who suffer seek psychological relief, how psychotherapists listen for, conceptualize and work with the effects of the digital matter a great deal. While theoretical and quantitative research literature exists …

Lived Experience: The Training Of Therapists, Actors & Human Beings, Richard Williams

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

There is much in common between theater and therapy. Both happen live. Both are explorations of human experience. Both require participants to be emotionally and mentally present. Both are hard to do well (and easy to do poorly). Training to be a clinical psychologist requires hours of coursework, administrative work, supervision, and on the job clinical experience. Training to be a professional theater maker or actor requires hours of rehearsal. The elements of acting are deconstructed during training so that rehearsal consists of voice-work, physical theater, scene study, etcetera. Training to be an actor entails much more practice of the …

An Interpersonal View Of Personality Disorders, Mariafé T. Panizo Jansana

Dissertations, 2020-current

One of the most controversial psychological disorders in the mental health field is personality disorders. Personality disorders are difficult to study and difficult to treat. Among other issues, high comorbidity among personality disorders interferes with its reliability and differential diagnosis. Substantial efforts in the last decades are attempting to address some of these issues by rethinking the way personality disorders are diagnosed, and special attention has been placed on traits-based dimensional models. Despite the multiple advantages of traits-based dimensional models, there is some hesitancy in the field regarding whether these models are truly equipped to serve as the basis for …

You Are Resilient: Trauma-Informed, Strengths-Based Treatment For Low-Ses, Urban Youth, Courtney Molina

Dissertations

The focus in this review was to explore the benefits and optimal use of trauma-informed, strengths-based care for the therapeutic treatment of low-socioeconomic status (SES), urban youth. Specific focus was given to evidence-based research on the treatment of emotional and behavioral dysregulation among low-SES, urban youth. The review was guided by the following research questions: How can emotional and behavioral dysregulation be symptoms of trauma among low-SES, urban youth; What makes trauma-informed and strengths-based care optimal for the treatment of low-SES, urban youth with dysregulation; and What are clear guidelines for providing trauma-informed, strengths-based care to low-SES, urban youth with …

Critically And Creatively Engaging With Trauma-Informed Mental Health Research And Treatment Of Lgbtqia+ Communities As Expressive Arts Therapists: A Literature Review, Kelli Lavallee

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Expressive Arts Therapists are uniquely situated as both artists and mental health counselors working in psychological pedagogy rooted in systems of oppression. Given the arts-based approaches to the therapeutic relationship, it can be unethical to offer these approaches without acknowledgement of the ways in which the arts intersect with social justice, and justice is only viable if practitioners critically review the clinical mental health education they are consuming from the institutions they learn in, specifically trauma-informed mental health research assimilation and treatment approaches for Expressive Arts Therapists in training, practice, and education. A review of the literature in this paper …

Moving Through Depression: Development Of A Dance/Movement Therapy Method In Psychiatric Inpatient Care, Melissa Olmedo

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Short-term psychiatric hospitalization is a challenging health care model due to its short duration of care, treating the highest risk psychiatric population. Priority care within a short-term psychiatric hospitalization involves monitoring a patient’s safety for stabilization by decreasing acute mental health symptoms. Holistic psychotherapy treatment options are needed to meet the severity of patients’ symptoms for effective stabilization within a short-term model of care. This paper investigates the first implementation of a dance/movement therapy (DMT) method within two short-term units in a notable Boston hospital. The DMT group called Mindful Movement was facilitated weekly as single sessions to adults ranging …

Self-Care Domains, Benefits Of Self-Care In Graduate-Level Training Programs, And Ways To Incorporate Self-Care Education And Practices In Graduate-Level Training Programs, Krystel Segovia

Dissertations

A literature review was conducted to examine the concept of self-care as a proactive means to manage the stressors of life, enhance professional competency, and live a well-balanced lifestyle, particularly for graduate-level psychology students. Different levels of distress, including stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout, were researched and discussed. The various domains of self-care were discussed as were the benefits of engaging in regular self-care practices. Finally, various ways to incorporate self-care into already established graduate-level training programs at universities and practicum training sites were discussed to enhance the training experience as well as mitigate burnout in the novel clinician.

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 …

In Search Of Psychiatric Kinds: Natural Kinds And Natural Classification In Psychiatry, Nicholas Slothouber

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In recent years both philosophers and scientists have asked whether or not our current kinds of mental disorder—e.g., schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder—are natural kinds; and, moreover, whether or not the search for natural kinds of mental disorder is a realistic desideratum for psychiatry. In this dissertation I clarify the sense in which a kind can be said to be “natural” or “real” and argue that, despite a few notable exceptions, kinds of mental disorder cannot be considered natural kinds. Furthermore, I contend that psychopathological phenomena do not cluster together into kinds in the way that paradigmatic natural kinds (e.g., chemical …

Dependability Of Two Group Observation Methods Across Rater And Time, Kayla E. Bates-Brantley

Dissertations

Collecting efficient and reliable behavior assessment data is often a goal for school districts and school psychologists. Unfortunately, the most accurate methods of behavior observations, systematic direct observations (SDO), can be time-intensive and often requires specific training. This often minimizes the number of trained professional available for observation procedures. Planned activity check (PAC), a variation of momentary time sampling, has the potential to combine the accuracy of SDO with efficiency. However, few studies have evaluated the psychometric principals of PAC. The current study sought to evaluate the reliability and dependability of PAC by comparing PAC to an individual-fixed (I-F) SDO. …

Religion And Spirituality In Clinical Practice: An Exploration Of Reluctance Among Practitioners., David Drew, Jessica Banks

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Across the United States, an overwhelming majority of the population claim that religion and spirituality beliefs shape their worldview and assist in coping with life stressors. Yet, the literature has shown that mental health practitioners reported discomfort integrating religion and spiritually in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to explore whether license-holding mental health professionals in Southern California develop reluctance toward addressing religion/spirituality with their clients. Through snowball sampling, 52 clinicians composed of social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, nurses, psychologists, and psychiatrists were recruited across Southern California (N =52). The participants were measured descriptively based on …

A Trauma-Informed Art Therapy Approach For Boys With Sexualized Problematic Behaviors: A Group Method, Rebecca Cyr

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Treatment of sexualized problematic behaviors (SPB) in children and adolescents is a clinically significant issue that has little research to support the fundamental need for treatment. Sexualized problematic behaviors (SPB) can be an indication of a child’s own complex trauma and sexual abuse history. Using a relational, trauma-informed, and developmental approach to treatment in combination with art therapy, children demonstrating SPB can learn how to better express themselves, respect themselves and others, and heal a fragmented sense of self. Developmentally, these children and adolescents are in the stage where identity formation is the main task. Therefore, this series of art …