Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Music Therapists Behind Locked Doors: The Role Of Trauma Exposure And Current Music Therapy Practices In Correctional And Forensic Psychiatry, Deanna K. Bush

Masters Theses

The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore the role trauma exposure has on the possible development of symptoms of Vicarious Traumatization (VT) in the lives of Board Certified Music Therapists employed in correctional and forensic settings. Research was conducted through completion of an electronic survey. Additionally, the researcher sought to identify current music therapy practices as well as differences between practicing in forensic settings and correctional settings. The participants involved in this study were Board Certified Music Therapists who work in forensic and correctional settings. Survey invitations were electronically sent to 133 prospective participants as listed on either …

Sleep Hygiene Practices: A Cross Cultural Survey Of Sleeping And Dreaming In College Students, Ivan Noe Martinez Salazar

Masters Theses

There is consensus that a sizeable percentage of people in most developed countries do not obtain adequate amounts or quality of sleep. These disruptions in sleep, when chronic and severe, can lead to psychological, behavioral and health consequences. The focus on behavioral and contextual factors that impact sleep has been termed “sleep hygiene”. An on-line anonymous survey collected sociodemographic information, as well as self-reports on sleep, sleep hygiene practices and dreaming across two cultural groups (English & Spanish speaking responders). A total of 204 participants (majority of them college and graduate students) answered the survey. Both cultural groups, English and …

The Effects Of Schedule Density Of Reinforcement For Alternative Behavior On Resurgence, Kathryn M. Kestner

Dissertations

Resurgence is the reemergence of a previously extinguished response when an alternative response no longer produces reinforcement. Although returning to previously successful methods for obtaining reinforcement is likely advantageous, resurgence also occurs in the form of treatment relapse. An individual may return to problematic behavior (e.g., aggression, self-injury, drug use) when an alternative behavior (e.g., communication response, coping skill, social behavior, etc.) is no longer successful at producing a reinforcer. Behavior analysts rely on treatments based on differential reinforcement of alternative behavior, and resurgence has been demonstrated following changes to reinforcement schedules due to errors in treatment integrity or intentional …

Functional Analysis Of Gambling, Mack S. Costello

Dissertations

Given high rates of gambling and the growing population of disordered gamblers, there is a need to develop assessment strategies with improved treatment validity. More specifically, assessment strategies are needed that identify the controlling variables for disordered gambling and, thus, provide guidance in the selection of treatment and prevention strategies. This study sought to develop a functional analysis for gambling by utilizing a simulated gambling environment in which contextual variables hypothesized to be causally linked to disordered gambling could be systematically manipulated. Seven experienced gamblers participated in the multi-element, single-subject experimental study. Participants who endorsed at least some problems from …

Clinical Efficacy Of Music Therapy In Addiction Counseling: A Systematic Review, Marissa Renee Rinehart

Masters Theses

A previous systematic review study by Mays, Clark, and Gordon in 2008 reviewed music therapy research to look into the clinical efficacy of music therapy and addiction counseling. Their research concluded that the present literature contained few articles that had quantitative evidence and the music therapy that was presented was not an independent therapy for treatment for patients with substance abuse. This systematic review sought to research literature within the past six years that studied the effects of music therapy on clients who were dealing with substance abuse to review the progress of music therapy research since the 2008 article …

Preferences For Evidence-Based Depression Treatments: An Emphasis On Patient-Focused Care, Lauren A. Frye

Dissertations

Research indicates most depressed patients in the general U.S. adult population seek depression treatment in primary care settings where the prevailing method of treatment is antidepressant medication. Although primary care physicians regard this approach as a preferable first line method of depression treatment, studies indicate many patients do not. Several studies have found depressed patients in these settings prefer psychotherapy or counseling over anti-depressant medication. Many advocate patient preferences should be integral to the treatment decision making process. There is a demonstrated propensity towards psychotherapy or counseling over antidepressant medication among depression patients. However, it is unclear which psychological depression …

Increasing Physical Activity In Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Katherine B. Lalonde

Dissertations

Experts recommend that individuals walk 10,000 steps or more per day and doing so has been shown to have several health benefits. Unfortunately, many people fall short of 10,000 steps per day. Exercise levels are characteristically lower in people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) than in people without ASD. The present study comprised two experiments that used goal setting and reinforcement to increase physical activity in young adults with ASD. The first study employed a multiple-baseline-across-participants design in combination with a reversal design to determine the effects of a treatment package on the number of daily steps taken by young …

Choices Related To Maximizing Quality Of Life At End Of Life, Theresa Lynn

Dissertations

Humans, including those residing in the United States, can live in denial of their own mortality. Because of this, futile care is sometimes provided, often at great monetary expense and for little or no return in terms of quality or length of life. At least two opportunities exist for making choices regarding care at the end of life in the U.S.: completing advance directives and choosing hospice care. This dissertation consists of three studies related to this topic. The first is a quantitative study about advance directives and attitude toward death. The advance directive completion rate among adults in the …

An Evaluation Of The Primary Care Providers’ Perspective Of The Effects Of Moderate Alcohol Consumption On Health, Gisele Tchamba

Dissertations

The complexity of health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption (MAC) is well documented. From the World Health Organization recent report, impact of harm from alcohol consumption was 3.3 million deaths or 5.9 percent of all global deaths (WHO, 2014).

Yet, the benefits of MAC for better health and longer life expectancy compared with abstinence are advocated in numerous studies (Nova, Baccan, Zapatera and Marcos, 2012). However, the nature of alcohol, its role on human sufferings has generated disagreements in the scientific community. Analysis of the results of early studies advocating better health for moderate drinkers, reveal discrepancies regarding the influence …

"I'Ve Been There Too": Peers In Co-Occuring Services And Fidelity Over Time, Jennifer E. Harrison

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment (IDDT) is an evidence-based pracitice (EBP) for adults with co-occuring mental illness and substance use disorders, a group with poor outcomes. In Michigan, IDDT has been altered by adding peer specialists to treatment teams in some of 68 teams and 122 fidelity reviews. Results included that fidelity significantly improved over time (F(2, 120) = 1.87, p

Critical Self-Reflection Questions For Professsionals Who Work With Grandfamilies, Megan L. Dolbin-Macnab

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

One of the reasons that grandparents raising grandchildren may not receive needed services is because they perceive professionals as being judgmental or holding negative attitudes toward them. As such, it is important for human service professionals to critically examine their opinions and attitudes toward grandfamilies, within the context of larger social structures, for the purposes of identifying those views that might interfere with the delivery of high quality services. This practice brief provides an overview of critical self-reflection questions that can be used, in a variety of ways, for training purposes. By utilizing these critical self-reflection questions, professionals can discover …

Practice Recommendations For Mental Health Professionals: Perspectives From Grandparents And Their Adolescent Grandchildren, Kendra A. O'Hora, Megan L. Dolbin-Macnab

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

Although grandfamilies are consumers of a variety of mental health services, less is known about what these families, particularly the grandchildren, want from practitioners. To gain insight into how practitioners can best meet the needs of grandfamilies, 40 custodial grandmothers and their adolescent grandchildren were interviewed. Results of a qualitative analysis indicated that grandmothers and grandchildren did not make clear distinctions between various types of services and service providers. Grandchildren, in particular, emphasized the need for mental health professionals to facilitate mentoring and to provide opportunities for grandchildren to socialize with other grandchildren who have been through similar circumstances. Grandmothers …