Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Shadow Garments: Costume Creation For Integrating Alienated Parts Of The Self, Mega M. Galvin

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This study explores costume creation as a narrative-based intervention for integrating "shadow" parts, or aspects of the self that are repressed or alienated due to shame, trauma, or social pressure. Grounded in Jungian analytic psychology, narrative therapy, and expressive arts theory, the research addresses the limitations of traditional talk therapy in accessing somatic memory and proposes costume making as a pathway for externalization and re-authorship. Using a qualitative, participatory study inspired by Pat B. Allen’s Open Studio Process, four adult participants engaged in a three-session workshop to design, construct, and wear costumes representing their identified shadow aspects. Data was collected …

Beyond Symptoms: Examining Perinatal Mental Health Care Among Black, Indigenous And People Of Color With Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome, Vinaya Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) are as a public health concern in the United States. Individuals from minoritized racial/ethnic groups face a significantly elevated risk of maternal morbidity, mortality, mental health disorders, and associated adverse outcomes. Emerging studies also reveal a higher likelihood of experiencing perinatal mental health concerns in individuals with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), currently known as polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS). People who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a person of color (BIPOC) face unique healthcare challenges given the added structural and social burdens. This online survey study aimed to 1) understand the relationship between PMOS …

Artificial Intelligence And Social Equities: Navigating The Intersectionalities In A Digital Age (Editorial), Daisuke Akiba, Julie Albright

Publications and Research

This editorial article introduces and synthesizes the Special Issue, “Artificial intelligence and social equities: navigating the intersectionalities in a digital age,” which examines how AI systems intersect with race, ethnicity, and interconnected identity dimensions across global contexts. The eight contributions span healthcare, digital media, higher education, organizational communication, and speculative futures, addressing anti-racist psychiatric algorithms, AI-generated visual disinformation, epistemic injustice between the Global North and South, algorithmically mediated rural–urban divides, culturally untranslated technology transfer, accessibility auditing across the AI lifecycle, and the tension between mechanical objectivity and empathic understanding. Read together, they show that AI is neither inherently …

A Brief Self-Help Intervention For Anxiety And Depressive Symptoms Utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy And Dialectical Behavior Therapy Within Correctional Settings, Genevieve L. Ray

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Individuals within incarcerated settings are far more likely to experience symptoms that meet criteria for a mental health disorder compared to the general population. This population is often underserved due to various financial and resource constraints. Self-help interventions have grown in popularity due to their proven effectiveness and accessibility for consumers, particularly for anxiety and depression symptoms. A self-help intervention for those in a correctional setting would not require extensive additional personnel amid financial constraints and would increase access to care. Many self-help interventions that are currently published apply to the community population, but readily accessible resources that reside in …

"Help Me Live It The Way You Do": Grounding Singaporean Responses To The Rorschach Situation, Casey Y. Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary research on the Rorschach and culture is striking for the latter’s disappearance as a variable of significance (Meyer et al., 2015; Meyer et al., 2007; Mihura et al., 2013; Viglione & Hilsenroth, 2001). This erasure is chronicled and reproduced in the narratives of universal objectivity, of extensive international meta-analyses, of replications, of standardized norms (Ritzler, 2004; Smith et al., 2018; Smith et al., 2020; Weiner, 2004). A different story emerges, however, when we ask, how has culture disappeared? The proposed study is a multimethod qualitative analysis of Singaporean responses to the Rorschach, aimed at generating sensitive yet critical discourses …

The Health And Well-Being Of Grandparents Who Report Major Responsibilities For Grandchildren: Perceived Physical Health, Depressive Affect, And Life Satisfaction, Tze-Li Hsu Phd, Patricia Drentea Phd

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

This study examines how grandparents who report major responsibilities for their grandchildren experience perceived physical health, depressive affect, and life satisfaction compared to grandparents who do not report these responsibilities. Using data from the third wave of MIDUS (2013–2014), a nationally representative dataset focused on mid to later life (n = 1,819), we analyzed a sample of grandparents. Ordered logistic regression was used for perceived physical health, and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was used for depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. Results indicate that grandparents with caregiving responsibilities are more likely to be women, non-White, and have lower incomes and …

Beyond The Classroom: Five Considerations For Actualizing Social Justice In Practicum Education, Priscila Llamosa

Journal of Justice-Informed Social Work Practice and Research

Social justice, a core tenet of social work, is variably integrated into education programs' explicit curricula, leaving students with a limited conceptual understanding. Practicum[1] education, crucial for theory-practice integration, offers opportunities for developing social work skills while upholding social justice principles. This paper addresses how practicum instructors can nurture students’ social justice-oriented practice by presenting a framework for practicum education and examining its five components. Drawing from theory, empirical literature, and practice experience, the author suggests ways for practicum instructors to engage each component. Incorporating these into practicum education can enable students to actualize ADEI values in practice and …

A Critical Review On Enhancing Equity Of Mental Health Treatment Of African American Families Through Social Support And Social Capital, Julie Radlauer-Doerfler, Morgan E. Cooley, Heather M. Thompson, Atensia Earp Bowen, Gabe Caress, Alicia Best

Journal of Justice-Informed Social Work Practice and Research

African American adults and children experience both disproportionality and disparity when in contact with the mental health delivery system. There are a number of contextual factors that influence the treatment of African American families, such as systemic oppression or racism in both society and the behavioral health system or individual expressions of mental health symptomology. This review will provide an overview of how mental health disparities crossover systems, perceptions of mental health and mental health treatment among African American families, provide some context for why this review was written, as well as discuss the context of social support and social …

Breaking Barriers: A Student Led Racial Equity Assignment, Emily Murphy, Carol Bennett- Speight, Cecily Mitchell-Harper

Journal of Justice-Informed Social Work Practice and Research

This paper presents an innovative student led racial equity assignment in a small bachelor’s in social work program in the New York metropolitan area. This paper will define epistemological racism and utilize concepts from Narrative Theory and Critical Race Theory, to critically analyze what is taught about the pioneers of social work, identifying the stories and narratives that are told and the ones that are not told. This operationalization of the theories in practice with students will cultivate mindset shifts and strategies that enable participants to engage in social work practice that fully embodies the core values of the profession. …

Screening And Treatment Protocols Used In Nicus Across Minnesota For Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders (Pmads), Rachael Witt

Journal of Justice-Informed Social Work Practice and Research

Parents of infants with prolonged neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalizations are a population that is overlooked in recommended routine screening for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs), yet this population is at greater risk for developing diagnosable mental health disorders. Previous research shows that across the US, PMAD screening and treatment practices vary widely, with many NICUs not providing any routine PMAD screening, psychoeducation, or treatment options to parents. The objective of this study was to explore the current mental health screening and treatment protocols used in NICUs across the state of Minnesota to learn if there are areas …

Utilizing Personal Stories Of Race In Child Welfare Education, Laura D. Boltz, Veronica Knowles, Amari Cooper

Journal of Justice-Informed Social Work Practice and Research

Families of color are overrepresented in the child welfare system. This is an issue that needs to be addressed in multiple ways, including social work education. However, policy changes may make it more difficult to address race in the classroom in a way that doesn’t attract attention. One of the ways that educators can address this is by using personal stories from their own practice experience to educate their students. In this study we discuss the literature around using personal stories and include our own personal stories that we have used in the classroom to have difficult discussions surrounding race …

Evaluating The Authentic Family Engagement And Strengthening Approach, Morgan E. Cooley, Vaughn J. Crichlow, Gabriel T. Cesar, Marianna L. Colvin, Corey B. Best, Kristin Smyth, Robin Jimenez-Bean

Journal of Justice-Informed Social Work Practice and Research

Persistent racial disproportionality of Black and brown families in the child welfare system across decades and generations highlights the need for a comprehensive understanding of the consequences of child removal and the urgency of authentic family engagement initiatives. The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether a group of child protective investigators who received (1) specialized training and (2) monthly family engagement and antiracism coaching during supervision sessions demonstrated fewer monthly removals of children from families compared to a group of investigators in the same service area who did not receive specialized training or coaching. The secondary purpose …

Sicker Americans Are More Likely To Misuse Prescription Medications, Esther Oshaji, Andrew S. London

Population Health Research Brief Series

Prescription medication misuse is a long-term population health problem in the United States. This data slice uses data from the National Wellbeing Survey (N=32,789, 2021–2025) of U.S. adults ages 18–64 to examine how the number of chronic health conditions a person has is related to their misuse of prescription opioids, tranquilizers, sedatives, or stimulants in the past 12 months. The authors find a dose-response pattern: misuse rises from 2.8% among those with no chronic conditions to 11.7% among those with three or more conditions. Mental health conditions show stronger associations with misuse than physical health conditions.

(Re)Claiming Homeplace: Dance As Embodied Resistance & Healing For Health & Spatial Justice, Preeya G. Kannan

University Honors Theses

This thesis argues that dance functions as both an upstream public health intervention and a form of radical spatial resistance; creating healing, agency, and belonging among historically marginalized communities. Drawing on bell hooks' concept of homeplace, Jasbir Puar's assemblage theory, Nancy Krieger's eco-social theory, and Katherine McKittrick's Black geographies, I position the body as both an ecological and political landscape shaped by histories of colonialism, racial capitalism, displacement, and resilience.

Through this community-based participatory research study, Homeplace, I explore dance as a form of social prescription that centers liberation rather than pathology. Movement is often reduced in public health discourse …

Determinants Of Corporal Punishment And Severe Physical Punishment In Egypt: A Mixed-Methods Analysis For Child Protection Policy, Marwa Moustafa Nassef

Theses and Dissertations

Corporal punishment (CP) and severe physical punishment (SPP) remain a major public health, child rights, and child protection policy concern. In Egypt, despite legislative reforms, survey-weighted analysis of the 2021 Egypt Family Health Survey (EFHS) 2021 (CAPMAS, 2022) reveals prevalence rates of 60.5% for CP and 27.4% for SPP among children aged 1–14 (author’s calculations using EFHS-2021, n=7623), yet evidence distinguishing the determinants of routine corporal punishment from escalation to severe physical punishment remains limited in low- and middle-income contexts. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological framework, this mixed-methods study identifies key drivers of CP and its escalation to SPP among Egyptian …

Living Through Misinformation: An Autoethnography Of Autism In Chinese Communities, Joy Lu

Ought: The Journal of Autistic Culture

This critical autoethnographic essay examines how misconception, misinformation, and disinformation shape understandings of autism within Chinese communities and produce tangible harm for autistic individuals and their families. Drawing on lived experience, advocacy work, digital observation, and cross-cultural analysis, it explores how language, medical practices, social media, and professional authority sustain persistent misrepresentation.

The essay argues that this misinformation is not merely the result of ignorance, but a socially reinforced and institutionally supported system of knowledge. By situating personal encounters within broader cultural and structural contexts, it highlights the interconnected roles of language, power, and exclusion in shaping autistic lives. It …

Understanding And Enhancing Suicide Prevention Strategies In The Military: The Roles Of Culture, Leadership, And Command Climate, Kelly Johanna Pires

Dissertations

Military service members are shaped and molded to fit a military culture that emphasizes mission readiness and continuous preparedness. Countless hours are spent training for various situations that can arise. Many trainings are geared toward worst-case scenarios that can cause an increase in stressors and traumatic events. They are expected to demonstrate resilience and overcome adversity to remain mission-ready. This expectation to be mission-ready creates the space for mental health difficulties as well as stigma and avoidance of help-seeking behaviors. In many cases, the desire to stay mission-ready creates a barrier for conversations around mental health. The military emphasizes qualities …

Narrative Roots - What We Inherit, What We Tell, What We Become: Intergenerational Storytelling, Meaning-Making, And Mental Health, Adam Sholder

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

This capstone synthesis explores how the family stories we inherit and the stories we tell across generations shape who we become, with particular attention to their impact on identity and mental health. Drawing on narrative identity theory, reflective practice, and relational understandings of family life, it introduces the Recursive Narrative Integration Model, which positions intergenerational storytelling as both a method of inquiry and a mechanism of meaning-making. Informed by a recursive process of creative and reflective writing, this synthesis approaches storytelling not only as an object of study, but as a lived and generative practice through which experience and narrative …

Multiple Interest Holder Perspectives Of The True Grit Sci Residential Program: A Mixed Methods Program Evaluation, Keara Mcnair

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Young adults with spinal cord injury (SCI) face significant challenges during the transition to adulthood, including barriers to independence, community participation, and psychosocial adjustment (Ingimarsdóttir et al., 2023; Zebracki et al., 2010). Current rehabilitation models in the United States prioritize short-term physical recovery and offer limited support for the developmental and contextual needs that shape long-term outcomes after SCI, particularly during transitions from inpatient rehabilitation to the community (Anderson et al., 2024; Bryden & Gran, 2024). Community-based programs may help address these gaps, though few have been rigorously evaluated using implementation science frameworks that attend to health equity, contextual influences, …

Barriers And Bridges: Exploring Factors That Shape Mental Health Service Utilization In Rural America, Margaret Wiwuga

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

Despite disproportionately higher suicide mortality rates and comparable prevalence of mental illness across urban and rural communities in the United States, rural populations across the nation experience significantly lower access to and utilization of mental health services, naturally leading to worse comprehensive outcomes. This literature review examines multifaceted factors shaping mental health service use in rural America, taking note of both barrier and enabling factors that impede or enable these unique populations’ willingness and ability to access and use mental health services. Ten articles published prior to September 9, 2025, were selected from the James Madison University Libraries’ Psychology and …

The Impact Of Trump Administration Immigration Policies On Connecticut Educators And Families, Elena C. Bielesz

Honors Scholar Theses

Anti-immigrant rhetoric, policies, and practices, which have grown increasingly prevalent due to the current national political climate, have adverse effects on the mental health of immigrant families and the teachers that support them in Connecticut. This study seeks to represent the opinions of Connecticut K-12 MLL (Multilingual Learners) Education Teachers and Administrators whose daily lives are impacted by the anti-immigrant and anti-refugee policies and procedures. The study employed a human subjects-based approach supported by a review of related literature. MLL Educators from around the state of Connecticut were interviewed. These interviews found that while immigration-based trauma and stressors are common …

Making Sense Of Hospitalization: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of Covid-19 Patients’ Psychological Experiences In Indonesia, Mira Wahyu Kusumawati, Heni Dwi Windarwati, Setyawati Soeharto

The Qualitative Report

While previous research has probed into the experiences of COVID-19 patients during isolation in hospitals, little is known about their psychological experiences and the meaning of such experiences. To address the gap,this study was designed to explore the psychological experiences of patients who were confirmed positive for COVID-19 while undergoing isolation in hospitals. Using a phenomenological approach, we recruited 19 COVID-19 survivors who were confirmed positive for COVID-19 in the first six months of the pandemic entering Indonesia, located in Madiun Regency, East Java Province, Indonesia. We conducted face-to-face semi-structured interviews with health protocols and analysed the data using the …

Values-Based Clinical Ethics: A New Model Of Health And Ethics Consultation For Patients Suffering In Extremis, Adam Trainer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation argues that contemporary clinical ethics is inadequately equipped to support patients suffering in extremis because it relies on an insufficiently discriminating account of health and a constrained model of moral reasoning. Drawing on Bernard Lonergan, it reconceives health as an emergent, multi-layered, heuristic notion shaped by biological, psychological, social, and existential goods. On that basis, it critiques principlism’s global applicability thesis and the undergirding claim that its principles form part of the common morality, arguing that this justificatory structure is philosophically insufficient and practically limited for clinical ethics in cases marked by profound suffering, moral plurality, and normative …

Exploring Identity Through Clay: A Humanistic Art Therapy Case Study With A Blind Chinese Adoptee, Virginia Jade Leicht

Expressive Therapies Theses

This qualitative case study explored how working with clay in art therapy can help support a blind man’s identity exploration. This paper addresses the problem of many traditional therapeutic approaches within the art therapy realm: They rely too heavily on visual engagement, which can limit the accessibility and opportunities for self-exploration and identity development for those who are blind. The study was grounded in current research and foundational theories based on the humanistic art therapy approach. Clay is considered an accessible medium that engages multiple senses and allows for emotional exploration and meaning making, specifically through tactile and sensory-based engagement …

A Pilot Study Of A Culturally Responsive Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention For Black American High School Students With Social Anxiety, Hannah Thomas

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Cognitive-behavioral interventions have been shown to be effective for treating social anxiety, yet few have been evaluated for racially and ethnically minoritized youth, including Black American adolescents. These interventions also do not address sociocultural factors, including racial discrimination and mental health stigma, that may shape the experience of social anxiety among Black American youth and serve as barriers to care. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a pilot evaluation of the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of Interacting and Changing Our Narratives (ICON), a culturally-responsive, school-based cognitive-behavioral group intervention for Black American high school students with social …

Exploring The Impact Of University-Recognized Spaces On Racial Battle Fatigue Among Black Faculty & Staff At Historically White Institutions, Tiffany M. Courseault

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Black Faculty and Staff (BFS) at Historically White Institutions (HWIs) navigate environments shaped by racial microaggressions, systemic inequities, and institutional marginalization. These conditions contribute to Racial Battle Fatigue (RBF), a psychological, behavioral, and physiological response to sustained exposure to racialized stress. While institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives are often positioned as mechanisms for improving campus climate, existing research suggests they frequently fail to address the lived realities of BFS. This study examined how university-recognized communal spaces function as critical sites of support, resistance, and mitigation within these environments.

Using a narrative inquiry methodology, this study explored the lived …

Abortion Politics And Policy: Stigma And Access In The Silver State, Celene Fuller

Lincy Institute Events

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) overturning Roe V. Wade, states have taken divergent paths in regulating access to abortion services. In 2024, Nevada voters overwhelmingly passed Question 6 proposing to codify abortion rights into the state constitution. In November 2026, Question 6 will again be on the ballot for final confirmation. If it passes, these rights will be protected from future legislative action.

Despite Nevadans’ strong support for abortion rights, the state’s dearth of abortion providers limits access to these services. As this lecture explores, both providers and individuals seeking abortions, …

Starting With Story, Not Symptom: Narrative Collapse And Cultural Repair In Appalachia, Wayne Coombs Ph.D.

Journal of Appalachian Health

Appalachia’s opioid crisis reflects uneven burdens, especially in distressed coalfield counties, and it cannot be solved by symptom tracking alone. This commentary argues for a narrative shift, starting with story and cultural repair alongside clinical care. Narrative collapse is defined here as the loss of shared, dependable public meaning across groups, not the absence of storytelling in families, churches, and recovery circles. Trauma science suggests that chronic threat reshapes nervous systems across generations, making safety a prerequisite for renewed trust. Drawing on narrative identity research, the piece proposes peer story work as infrastructure that can reduce shame, support treatment engagement, …

Community As Coping: Mental Illness And Homelessness Within A Tent Camp, Karen A. Snedker, Jennifer Mckinney

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

"Drawing from interview data with residents of Tent City 3, a sanctioned homeless camp, we illustrate the complex connections between mental illness and homelessness from the residents’ perspectives to understand how living in this tent city helps residents manage mental health."

Mental Health Consequences Of Sex Trafficking, Brenda Myers-Powell

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.