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An Evaluation Of Mental Health And Methadone: Anxiety, Depression, And Drug Use, Gursimran Khahera

Master's Projects and Capstones

As a part of the Masters of Science in Behavioral Health field placement, an evaluation was conducted of the integrated treatment plan in mental health and substance abuse at Bay Area Addiction Research and Treatment (BAART) programs. The goal of the BAART programs are to provide comprehensive mental health and substance abuse outpatient recovery services, as well as on-site primary health care services for substance users, mainly opioid use. There is a link between increased substance abuse and increased rates of depression and anxiety. These disorders use the same neuro chemical pathway and are highly codependent upon one another. Because …

The Effect Of Tea And Its Constituent L-Theanine On Anxiety: A Review Of The Literature, Christine Gilbert

Food Science and Nutrition

Mental health disorders are a universal issue and affect millions of individuals every day. Anxiety is the most common type of mental disorder, affecting social, physical, and cognitive health. Although clinicians usually suggest prescriptive medications, they carry side effects, are expensive, and only acutely alleviate symptoms. As a result, recent interest has been directed towards nonconventional dietary therapies, including tea and its constituent L-theanine, for anxiolytic effects. Tea is the most prevalent beverage consumed after water; it is historically and globally accepted. The purpose of this literature review is to explore whether tea and its constituent L-theanine carry anxiolytic effects. …

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Workforce Development In Behavioral Healthcare Settings In Rural Mississippi, Arlen Davis Cooper

Doctoral Projects

Description and Significance of the Problem: The United States is facing a significant rural mental healthcare workforce shortage and an uneven distribution of mental healthcare professionals. The psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) may increase access to mental healthcare in rural underserved regions (NRHA, 2012). However, little is known regarding their distribution. The lack of uniform and consistent data collection methods regarding the number and the geographic distribution of PMHNPs in rural areas, specifically in rural Mississippi, exists. The importance of better data collection and improving infrastructure through collaboration with state licensing boards and state nursing workforce centers is …

Integrating A System Approach To Identify And Manage Aggressive Behaviors In Adult Males With Severe Mental Illness In A Psychiatric Hospital, Mitzie Alford-Jenkins

Doctoral Projects

Aggressive behaviors exhibited by patients with a serious mental illness (SMI) hospitalized in inpatient psychiatric hospitals are a challenging safety problem. Early identification of aggressive behaviors is vital to helping nursing staff develop proactive interventions that focus on prevention. Structured risk assessments identify the level of risk and allow for early interventions.

The purpose of the doctoral capstone project was to: (a) provide education to nursing staff on implementing a structured risk assessment tool in order to identify risk for imminent aggression, manage risk for imminent aggression, and record aggressive behaviors among adult males with severe mental illness (SMI); (b) …

Examining The Efficacy Of A Brief Group Protective Behavioral Strategies Skills Training Alcohol Intervention With College Women, Shannon R. Kenney, Lucy Napper, Joseph W. Labrie, Matthew P. Martens

Psychological Science Faculty Works

College students’ use of protective behavioral strategies (PBS; e.g., determining not to exceed a set number of drinks, avoiding drinking games) is related to lower levels of alcohol consumption and problems. The present study evaluated the efficacy of a novel brief, single-session group PBS skills training intervention aimed at increasing college students’ use of PBS and reducing risky drinking and consequences. Participants (N = 226) were heavy-drinking incoming first-year college women randomized to either a PBS skills training intervention or study skills control condition. Participants attended a 45-min group session and completed online surveys pre- and postintervention (1 month …

Being Undocumented In The United States: The Impact On Mexican Immigrants' Mental Health, Karina B. Samaniego Estrada

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was twofold: (a) to obtain a deep understanding of the phenomenon of being undocumented in the United States based on undocumented Mexican immigrants’ experiences and perceptions and (b) to identify how immigrants’ mental health was impacted by the phenomenon. A phenomenological research design was employed in this study and saturation was reached after a total of eight participants were interviewed. Several common themes emerged that described the participants’ experiences in varying aspects of their lives: low wages; guilt; fear of driving; financial difficulties; social isolation; limitations exclusive to undocumented immigrants such as limited access …

Serving Military Families: Perceptions Of Educational Counseling In A Virtual Environment, Taryn Stevenson

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

The advances in communication technology over the past 20 years have significant implications for the delivery of psycho-educational therapeutic services to populations that have been historically underserved due to remote locations lacking trained providers. One such population is military families, who also suffer from a negative stigma of asking for outside help or education for personal growth. This population also faces increasing mental health needs due to military deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). These operations have increased the number of returning service members who have been physically and mentally injured. The effect that these …

Mood Watcher: Interactive Visual Guide To Increasing Awareness Of Mood Disorders, Ziyan Han

Theses

Mood disorders are the extremely negative situations of mood that cause dysfunction in people's lives. There are a number of guides currently on the market (E.g., mood disorder self-help books, websites...) to help people with this problem, but their content is usually not customized enough to deal with each user's particular situation. In addition, the formats include content that is often text-dense and overwhelming. While there are great resources of personal mood disorder tests, suggested actions, and information about professional help, there is an opportunity to create a guide that connects these resources with a better designed format so that …

Identifying Program Needs Of Women Detainees In A Jail Environment, Jeanna Michele Rodda

Theses and Dissertations

Since the 1980s, the population of incarcerated women has been steadily increasing. Approximately 200,000 women are incarcerated in prisons and jails in the United States (Clarke, Phipps, Tong, Rose, and Gold, 2010). There is an increasing level of comorbidity among the population of incarcerated women, with the majority requiring mental health, physical health, substance abuse and pregnancy services at the time of their incarceration or soon afterwards. Incarcerated women face a number of challenges; they are cut off from their primary support system and their children. Their physical health deteriorates, they lack appropriate coping skills, and often experience withdrawal symptoms. …

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A Joyful Heart Is Good Medicine: Sexuality Conversion Bans In The Courts, Wyatt Fore

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Led by California and New Jersey, states have begun to ban Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE) for minors. States have targeted SOCE, also called ‘gay conversion therapy,’ by regulating state licensure requirements for mental health professionals. Conservative legal groups have challenged these bans in federal court, alleging a variety of constitutional violations sounding in the First and Fourteenth Amendments. More specifically, these legal groups propose theories claiming that the bans infringe upon individuals’ freedom of speech, free exercise, and parental rights. In this Note, I survey the history of these bans, as well as court decisions that have rejected constitutional …

Using The Minority Stress Model To Understand Depression In Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Individuals In Nebraska, Molly Mccarthy, Christopher M. Fisher, Jay A. Irwin, Jason D. Coleman, Aja D. Kneip Pelster

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Previous studies demonstrated the utility of the minority stress model in understanding health disparities for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations. Since most research has considered large metropolitan areas, predominantly in coastal regions of the United States, this research focuses on a midwestern state, Nebraska. This study sought to assess the relationships between depressive symptoms experienced by participants (N = 770) and minority stress variables, including experiences with violence, perceptions of discrimination, and respondents’ degree of self-acceptance of their LGBT identity. Regression analysis revealed that after controlling for demographic variables, self-acceptance, and perceived discrimination were correlated with depressive symptoms. …

Coping Strategies Mediate The Relationship Between Alexithymia And Health, Jennifer Bernard

Psychology ETDs

Alexithymia, a construct of impaired emotion processing, has been shown to negatively impact mental health and is associated with higher physical symptom reporting. This study examined the relationship between alexithymia, coping, and health in a large ethnically diverse sample of undergraduate university students (N = 605; 65% female; 45% Hispanic). Exploratory factor analyses were conducted to create a latent measurement model for emotional approach, active coping and avoidant coping. Structural equation modeling was used to test a hypothesized structural model for coping mediating the effects of alexithymia on mental and physical health. Results indicated the association between alexithymia and negative …

The Government Of Kenya Cash Transfer For Orphaned And Vulnerable Children: Cross-Sectional Comparison Of Household And Individual Characteristics Of Those With And Without, Lukoye Atwoli, Lonnie Embleton, Julius Koech, Paula Braitstein, Allan Kamanda

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Background: The ‘Cash Transfer to Orphans and Vulnerable Children’ (CT-OVC) in Kenya is a government-supported program intended to provide regular and predictable cash transfers (CT) to poor households taking care of OVC. CT programs can be an effective means of alleviating poverty and facilitating the attainment of an adequate standard of living for people’s health and well-being and other international human rights. The objective of this analysis was to compare the household socioeconomic status, school enrolment, nutritional status, and future outlook of orphaned and separated children receiving the CT compared to those not receiving a CT.

Methods: This project analyzes …

Trauma Informed Practices For Oakland Unite Service Providers, Maereg D. Haile

Master's Projects and Capstones

Oakland, California - a home to almost 400,000 residents - is the top five most violent cities of the nation. There are lots of factors that greatly contribute to violence including: Poverty, housing/homelessness, unemployment, food insecurity, educational attainment, substance abuse. These factors feed to greater healthy disparities and increased trauma in low-income communities – specifically in east and west Oakland. Measure Y, now called Oakland Unite, is the current violence prevention effort that is set for reauthorization in November 2014. In order for these efforts to continue, Oakland Unite has started looking at comprehensive violence prevention initiatives that includes mental …

Mental Health Awareness Building Via Android Application, James Faraday, Joshua Martin

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

The goal of this project was to create a tool that provides students at Minnesota State University, Mankato with mental health information through a freely available smartphone application (App). Our approach used a software engineering design process that focused on who our customers are, what resources are available, and how we can best connect the two to improve student lives. We identified the stakeholders involved and worked with campus mental health professionals to help shape our App. While there is a broad range of mental health topics, we have focused on materials related to depression. The first process of the …

Educating The Whole Child: Evidence Of Health And Wellness Instruction In The Schools Serving Low-Income Students, Andria M. Shook Phd

Dissertations

Educators in the United States are expressing concern about student physical and mental well-being. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in the past three decades, and today, one in five children experiences symptoms of mental illness. Low-income children are especially subject to these conditions. The long-term consequences for the country as a whole are significant. Schools are particularly well placed to address these problems by supporting the well-being of the whole child. Efforts have begun in select schools and districts to incorporate health and wellness instruction into the school day. This study identifies existing health and wellness components that three …

Effects Of The Interaction Of Religion And Internalized Homonegativity On Psychological Well-Being, Ashleigh C. Young

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of the current research is to contribute to knowledge regarding the ways in which religion impacts the mental health of lesbian women and gay men. A body of existing literature shows support for religion as a means of bolstering psychological well-being. However, there is a dearth of research on the unique ways in which religious sexual minority individuals may be differentially affected by religion, considering the presence of heterosexist beliefs and norms in many mainline Western religions. The current research explores the effects of the interaction between religion and internalized homonegativity on psychological well-being. Possible relationships between religious …

Age-Related Differences In The Experience Of Health Anxiety And Use Of Coping Strategies, Lindsay A. Gerolimatos

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The experience of heath anxiety among older and young adults is poorly understood. Most studies (e.g., Abramowitz & Moore, 2007; Gramling et al., 1996) have examined cognitions and behaviors associated with health anxiety, with little to no studies examining emotions and physiological arousal. The present study induced health anxiety in a laboratory setting with 36 older and 36 young adults by providing false health-related feedback. Outcome variables included physiological arousal (heart rate, blood pressure), self-reported arousal (distress, fear of body sensations), and self-reported emotions recorded across three periods: baseline, induction, and recovery. Repeated measures MANCOVAs were conducted with baseline measures …

An Efficient Standardized Method Of Maintaining Quality Assurance In Therapeutic Treatment Record Keeping, Kelsey Michael Bradshaw

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Quality assurance (QA) within the field of mental health is the practice of monitoring and reviewing services to ensure adherence to specified standards of care. Agents within State governments and various organizations influence record keeping procedures through ethical guidelines and law. For instance, client records must be maintained for all clients receiving mental health services, including informed consent, releases of information, treatment plans, and progress notes. Accurate and timely record keeping procedures assure quality mental health services. However, professionals sometimes err in the maintenance of client records, which can have a negative impact on services, clients, and practitioners. To assist …

Primary Care: Mental And Behavioral Health And Persons With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, David A. Ervin, Ashley Williams, Joav Merrick

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: There are multiple ways to address the mental and behavioral health needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

METHOD: In this paper, we do not argue for a particular approach or set of approaches, but instead review the benefits of integrating mental and behavioral health supports with primary healthcare based primarily on our experience in and understanding of healthcare systems in the United States. It is estimated that between 35 and 40% of people with IDD also live with psychiatric disorders. NADD, an association for persons with developmental disabilities and mental health needs in the US holds …

Cost-Effectiveness Of Treating Oppositional Defiant Disorder: A Comparison By Treatment Modality And Mental Health Provider Type, Julie Denise Malloy

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the treatment outcomes for Oppositional Defiant Disorder by provider license type and therapy modality. Administrative data from Cigna Insurance Company for 9,904 ODD cases were analyzed to determine the cost, number of sessions, dropout rates, and recidivism rates for treatment of ODD. Descriptive statistics indicate that the mean cost of treatment for ODD across all professions is $389.83. Analyses revealed significant differences in total cost by profession, as well as cost per session for different license types with counselors providing therapy for the lowest average total cost, followed by MFTs, MSWs, Psychologists and then MDs. Chi square …

Peer Support In Managing Psychiatric Symptoms Of Rural Adults With Mobility And Sensory Impairments, Craig Ravesloot Ph.D., University Of Montana Rural Institute

Health and Wellness

Little is known about the mental health of people with disabilities who live in rural America or the potential benefit of providing peer support services for these individuals. Stress diathesis models of psychiatric disorders suggest the challenges of living with a disability in rural areas may predispose individuals to higher rates of psychiatric disorders (Monroe & Simons, 1991). In addition, rural mental health service providers struggle to meet the needs of rural individuals with primary psychiatric diagnoses, and they may not be trained to assist people with disabilities who have secondary mental health conditions (New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, …

Longitudinal Predictors And Effects Of Parental Rejection Of Sexual Minority Youth, Matthew John Louis Page

Open Access Dissertations

Coming out to parents is a significant milestone for lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) youth, and negative reactions can be detrimental to youth functioning. However, it is not yet clear what factors are related to parental rejection. This longitudinal study examines if parent homonegativity and religiosity predict parental reactions to youth disclosure of same-sex attractions, and if these reactions predict youth psychosocial maladjustment and spirituality. Participants consist of 173 youth (ages 14-24) and one parent to whom they have come out. Structural equation modeling is used to examine the hypothesis that parental homonegativity and religiosity predict more negative reactions to …

Incarceration And Reintegration: How It Impacts Mental Health, April M. Marier, Alex Alfredo Reyes

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Background: Previous criminal justice policies have been non-effective leading to overpopulated prisons and unsuccessful reintegration. There is a lack of effective supportive and/or rehabilitative services resulting in high rates of recidivism and mental health implications. Objective: This study investigated the perceived impact that incarceration and reintegration with little to no supportive and/or rehabilitative services has on the mental health status of an individual. The emphasis was on participant perception and not on professional reports because of underreporting and lack of attention to mental health in the criminal justice system. Methods: Focus groups in the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley …

Research Brief: "The Impact Of Sport And Physical Activity On The Well-Being Of Combat Veterans: A Systematic Review", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief is about the influence that sports and exercise have on veterans' well-being and therapies that impact the well-being of combat veterans. In policy and practice, healthcare practitioners should prepare comprehensive treatment models that encompass physical activity and sports where appropriate, and support groups should encourage veterans to participate in competitive sports or other recreational activities; the DoD could expand programs to provide sports to more disabled combat veterans and the VA should re-evaluate its programs to ensure there are no barriers to participation. Suggestions for future research include studying the effects of sports and exercise on the well-being …

Predicting Successful Drug Court Graduation: Exploring Demographic And Psychosocial Factors Among Medication-Assisted Drug Court Treatment Clients, Autumn Michelle Frei

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of psychosocial factors on drug court graduation among a medication assisted treatment drug court population. The extant research identifies drug courts as effective in reducing recidivism and relapse rates; however meta-analyses of the drug court literature reveal that there is little explanation as to why drug courts are effectual and especially for whom. This study examined trauma, mental health, and social support to determine predictive psychosocial factors of drug court participants while controlling for certain demographics. The analyses showed that social support was predictive, but failed to identify trauma or …

Estimating The Prevalence And Correlates Of Psychiatric Disorders And Mental Health Problems Among Undocumented Mexican Immigrants Using The National Latino And Asian American Study, Elián P. Cabrera-Nguyen

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the prevalence and correlates of psychiatric disorders and mental health problems among undocumented Mexican immigrants using the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS). Two approaches were used to obtain estimates for likely undocumented Mexican immigrants (LUMIs): (1) creation of a proxy variable, and (2) multiple imputation using chained equations. Results indicated that LUMIs had greater prevalence rates for specific anxiety disorders, depressive disorders and poor self-rated mental health compared to documented Mexican immigrants. Next, potential mediators of poor mental health were identified. Finally, LUMIs were compared with other Latino groups by nativity status. This study concludes …

Placing The Promotion Of Health And Well Being On The Irish Prison Agenda - The Complexity Of Health Promotion In Irish Prisons, Catherine Macnamara, Patricia Mannix-Mcnamara

Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies

The prison population experiences significant health inequality and social exclusion (Department of Health 2002). Once incarcerated, prisoners are at increased risk of mental illness and have higher exposure to communicable diseases (WHO 2008). Prisoners generally have poorer health because imprisonment negatively impacts upon the health of the individual (WHO 2008). However, the prison setting offers a unique opportunity to implement targeted health promotion initiatives with a population that may have had very limited experience of accessing health services prior to incarceration. The World Health Organisation recognises the need for health promotion in prisons. This is evidenced in the Health in …

A Mental Health Epidemic: The Case For Mental Health Programs On College Campuses And How To Increase Awareness, Connor Deason

Senior Theses

This senior thesis project focused on the problem of mental health on college campuses. Specific interest was placed on students at the University of South Carolina. In the end, the goal was to create a product that could be used by the Counseling and Human Development Center to help increase the use of student mental health services and reduce levels of stigma surrounding mental health problems. In talking with staff members of the Counseling and Human Development Center, staff members shared a desire for a video that would advertise the services of the Counseling Center. Thus, the true purpose of …