Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy Commons^™

A Narrative Study Of Emotions Associated With Negative Childhood Experiences Reported In The Adult Attachment Interview, Lynne Hartman

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Attachment patterns, which tend to be stable over time, are passed from one generation to the next. Secure attachment has been linked to adaptive social functioning and has been identified as a protective factor against mental illness. The parents’ state of mind with regard to attachment—as measured with the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) (Main, Goldwyn, & Hesse, 2002)—predicts the attachment classification for the infant in Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Procedure (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978). Earned-secure individuals have overcome negative childhood experiences to achieve a secure state of mind in adulthood. Earned security, like continuous security, strongly predicts infant security …

Effectiveness Of Psychotherapy For Youth In Poverty: A Benchmarking Study Of A Public Behavioral Health Agency Using A Client Feedback System, Jonathan Kodet

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a public behavioral health (PBH) agency that had implemented continuous outcome feedback as a quality improvement strategy.

Method: I investigated the pre-post treatment outcomes of 4,389 ethnically diverse youths (6 to 17 years old) at or under the poverty line participating in treatment (from January 2008 to March 2014) for a broad range of primary diagnoses including depression and anxiety disorders (23%); adjustment disorders (27%); Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (13%), various V-codes (18%); bipolar disorders (3%); and substance use disorders (2%). I also investigated the treatment outcomes …

The Utilization Of Evidence-Based Treatments In Trauma Treatment Of Active Military Personnel And Their Families, Matt Brickell

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study reviewed the literature regarding the effectiveness of evidence-based treatments in addressing traumatic stress injuries such as post-traumatic stress disorder in active military personnel and their families. Top tier treatments recommended by the Department of Defense and Department of Veteran Affairs Clinical Practice Guidelines for the treatment of traumatic stress disorders are discussed, and the literature is critically examined with a focus on exploring the reported evidence of effectiveness. In addition, this study contributed unpublished archival clinical outcome data from evidence-based treatment of active military personnel and their families in real-world clinical settings. The effectiveness of an evidence-based treatment …

The Fatherhood Factor: The Impact Of The Father-Child Relationship On The Social, Interpersonal, And Recidivism Risk Factors Of Previously Incarcerated Men, Larissa A. Maley

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Of the men who return home from prison, nearly 7 out of 10 will be re-arrested and sent back within 3 years of their release (Travis, Solomon, & Waul, 2001). This trend has large- scale implications, not just for individuals, but for their families and communities as well. Clearly, understanding the factors that contribute to a man’s success or failure in staying out of prison is extremely important in constructing policy and programs to assist these at-risk individuals and communities. Of the few studies that have explored the lives of previously incarcerated men, some have found fatherhood to be a …

Efficacy Of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy With The Use Of In-Room Coaching, Cassie Shacklett Reeve

Dissertations

One significant consequence of oppositional and defiant behavior is an increase in negative interactions between caregivers and the child exhibiting those behaviors (Greene & Doyle, 1999). Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an empirically supported treatment that targets the development of a nurturing parent-child relationship along with teaching effective discipline strategies to decrease child noncompliance (Bodiford-McNeil & Hembree-Kigin, 2010). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of PCIT when modified by utilizing strictly in-room coaching. This type of research would allow for expanded use of this empirically supported treatment into community agencies and clinics which do not …

The Counselor Experience In Counseling Clients Who Have Been Sexually Assaulted, Carrie J. Tremble

Dissertations

Despite sexual assault being the second highest reported violent crime in the United States, the literature regarding the experience of counselors who counsel clients who have been sexually assaulted is limited. This qualitative study explored and described the lived experiences of 9 counselors who, in the last five years, have provided counseling services to at least five clients who had been sexually assaulted when they were at least 18 years of age. The phenomenological data analysis approach of Moustakas (1994) was utilized to guide the data collection and analysis. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, the participants were able to share their …

Coping Responses And Mental Health Symptoms In Incarcerated Juvenile Males, Jennifer Renae Newhard

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Coping responses develop throughout the lifespan of an individual. Unfortunately for some, difficult life circumstances may lead to the use of maladaptive forms of coping. This study investigated coping responses amongst male incarcerated juvenile offenders and examined which specific mental health symptoms may occur with specific coping responses. The goal of this study was to determine whether male incarcerated juvenile offenders utilize avoidant coping responses over approach coping responses. Also, this study investigated whether specific mental health symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, anger, and disruptive behaviors, were more prevalent amongst those who utilize avoidant coping responses. De-identified, archival data for …

Factors That Promote And Inhibit Client Disclosure Of Suicidal Ideation, Robert William Orf

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Approximately 36,000 people commit suicide in the U.S. each year, making it the fourth leading cause of death for adults between 18 and 65-years-old. Clients participating in psychotherapeutic treatment are at elevated risk for suicide, due to the emotional distress that drives their entry into psychotherapy. Therapists cannot know the full extent of their clients’ risk for suicide if clients do not fully confide their thoughts and intentions. The current study sought to discover factors that inhibit and promote client disclosure of these thoughts and behaviors. The study utilized the Suicidal Ideation in Psychotherapy Questionnaire (SIPQ), a questionnaire developed for …

Psychotherapy And The Embodiment Of The Neuronal Identity: A Hermeneutic Study Of Louis Cozolino's (2010) The Neuroscience Of Psychotherapy: Healing The Social Brain , Ari Simon Natinsky

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In recent years, there have been several ways in which researchers have attempted to integrate psychotherapy and neuroscience research. Neuroscience has been proposed as a method of addressing lingering questions about how best to integrate psychotherapy theories and explain their efficacy. For example, some psychotherapy outcome studies have included neuroimaging of participants in order to propose neurobiological bases of effective psychological interventions (e.g., Paquette et al., 2003). Other theorists have used cognitive neuroscience research to suggest neurobiological correlates of various psychotherapy theories and concepts (e.g., Schore, 2012). These efforts seem to embody broader historical trends, including the hope that neuroscience …

Seasoned Psychotherapists' Experience Of Difficult Clinical Moments, Kirk J. Honda

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Purpose: This phenomenological study was concerned with the clarification of the experience of the difficult clinical moment which is defined as a discrete moment in which the psychotherapist experiences distress as a result of his or her work with a client. Method: Retrospective descriptions of experience of difficult clinical moments were obtained from a diverse sample of ten seasoned psychotherapists in the Seattle area. The interviews were transcribed, analyzed, and summarized, and these summaries were confirmed by each participant as being an accurate representation of their experience. Results: Thematic analysis revealed six themes of experience during a difficult clinical moment: …

Ways Of Being In Trauma-Based Society: Discovering The Politics And Moral Culture Of The Trauma Industry Through Hermeneutic Interpretation Of Evidence-Supported Ptsd Treatment Manuals, Sarah Peregrine Lord

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

One hundred percent of evidence-supported psychotherapy treatments for trauma related disorders involve the therapist learning from and retaining fidelity to a treatment manual. Through a hermeneutic qualitative textual interpretation of three widely utilized evidence-supported trauma treatment manuals, I identified themes that suggested a particular constitution of the contemporary way of being—a traumatized self—and how this traumatized self comes to light through psychotherapeutic practice as described by the manuals. The manuals included: 1) a trauma focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for children; 2) an eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy for adults; and, 3) an early intervention and debriefing therapy series for post-traumatic stress …

The Relationships Between Attachment Style And Boundary Thickness, Dore Lavering

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Despite the multitudes of research on attachment and many different aspects of relational structures, only one study to date has researched the relationship of adult attachment to boundary thickness. The possible benefits to understanding this relationship would provide therapists and clients a better conceptualization of individual's internal working model of attachment. This study investigated the relationship between the Hartmann Boundary Questionnaire (HBQ), a measure of boundary thickness, and an adult romantic attachment measure, the Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory-Revised (ECR-R) two dimensions of attachment. This study theorized that attachment anxiety would be related to thinner boundaries and conversely attachment avoidance …

Supporting Families With Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia: Encouraging Whole Family Health, Kathryn A. Kraft

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In this dissertation, I discuss the medical and psychological needs of families with children with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH). Due to these needs, I have designed and described a program of social support and psychoeducation to be offered to parents and families. Specifically, I discuss the difficulty that parents have when finding out that their child has CAH, the emotional toll this takes on a parent, on their relationship, and on their family. Using a Family Systems Illness Model, I designed a program that takes into account family functioning, organization, structure, and communication when determining what would be most helpful …

Big Five Personality Traits, Pathological Personality Traits, And Psychological Dysregulation: Predicting Aggression And Antisocial Behaviors In Detained Adolescents, Katherine S. L. Lau

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study tested the utility of three different models of personality, namely the social and personality model, the pathological personality traits model, and the psychological dysregulation model, in predicting overt aggression, relational aggression, and delinquency in a sample of detained boys (ages 12 to 18; M age = 15.31; SD = 1.16). Results indicated that the three personality approaches demonstrated different unique associations with aggression and delinquency. The psychological dysregulation approach, composed of behavioral dysregulation, emotional dysregulation, and cognitive dysregulation, emerged as the overall best predictor of overt aggression, relational aggression, and delinquency. After controlling for the Big Five personality …

Motivational Interviewing Assessment And Behavior Therapy As A Stepped-Care Approach To The Treatment Of Adolescent Depression, Tanya N. Douleh

Dissertations

Depression is a significant public health concern with a lifetime prevalence of 24.01 for adolescents in grades 9-12 (Lewinsohn, Hops, Roberts, Seeley, & Andrews, 1993) and a point prevalence of 4-6% (Kessler, Avenevoli, & Ries, 2001). The risks associated with adolescent onset depression include comorbidity, depressive episodes continuing into adulthood, and suicidality. These risks make it imperative to develop effective treatments to address adolescent depression. Stepped care is an approach to treatment which involves treatment of illness using the least invasive measures first and moving toward more invasive treatment as indicated by ongoing assessment. Through a single-participant design, the current …

Les Enfants Dans Les Coins: Une Comparaison D’Autisme En France Et Aux Etats Unis, Danya J. M. Rubin

Scripps Senior Theses

The year 2012 was a year of great controversy surrounding autism in France. Thus it is an ideal time for an investigation of the treatment of and attitudes about autism in France, specifically in comparison with the United States. This investigation encompass several specific categories, and the Freudian psychoanalytic method against the behavior modification method, the French education system and the identification of autism, "Maternal Madness" - the connection between sexism and autism, the philosophy of humanity and the history of medical experimentation and psychiatry in France. This paper questions how is it that all these categories influence the opinions …

Psychologists And Medications In The Era Of Interprofessional Care: Collaboration Is Less Problematic And Costly Than Prescribing, William N. Robiner, Tim R. Tumlin, Tanya Tompkins

Faculty Publications

Increasing emphasis on interprofessionalism and teamwork in healthcare renders psychologists’ collaborations critical and invites reexamination of psychologists’ roles related to medications. The Collaboration Level outlined by the APA’s Ad Hoc Task Force is more achievable and in synch with health reform than prescription privileges (RxP). RxP remains controversial due to training and safety concerns, lacking support from health professionals, psychologists, and consumers. Differences in educational preparation of psychologists relative to prescribing professionals are discussed. Enactment of only three of 170 RxP initiatives reveals RxP to be a costly, ineffectual agenda. Alternatives (e.g., integrated care, collaboration, telehealth) increase access without risks …

My Journey From Physician To Psychologist: Relational Touch In Psychotherapy, Brita S. Reed

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

A physician's armamentarium includes the presence of the tool of touch which is used not only to diagnose and to heal, but also to reassure patients that they are safe and well cared for in the hands of the physician. The use of touch in the practice of psychology, however, is relatively proscribed. In this essay, I examine how we, as psychologists, can best "hold" our clients without the use of touch. In the first part of this essay, I explore some theoretical considerations on relational touch in psychotherapy. I define relational touch as touch that occurs between people and …

Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy: A Descriptive Study, Erica Jex Gergely

Dissertations

The current study seeks to examine the program operations and treatment practices of individuals and organizations providing equine-assisted therapy services nationwide. Currently, there are several hundred programs across the United States that utilize equine-assisted therapy to treat common mental health problems in children, adolescents, and adults. Not all equine therapy programs function under the same theoretical model and therefore do not deliver treatment services using equivalent principles or techniques. In addition, program policies, procedures, and ethical guidelines of each provider vary. To date, there exists a paucity of research regarding equine-assisted therapy including both qualitative and quantitative data.

The present …

Suicide Rates Among Young, Married Women In Nepal, Kirra L. Hughes

Capstone Collection

In 2009, a Maternal Mortality and Morbidity (MMM) report carried out in Nepal by the Family Health Division of the Department of Health Services accidently stumbled upon a surprising leading cause of death in Nepali women of reproductive age (15 - 49). The result: suicide. And the numbers are still on the rise. There have since been no comprehensive follow-up studies and none, to my knowledge, that are currently ongoing. This leaves an urgent need for research to be done on the causes of these suicides (Benson and Shakya, 2011; Bertolote et al, 2005; Pradhan et al, 2009).

Globally, there …

Individualism And Collectivism As Moderators Of Affect And Attributional Style In Predicting Life Satisfaction, Jo M. Holmquest

Graduate Theses

The present study examined the effect of person-level individualism and collectivism on attributional style and frequencies of positive and negative emotions as predictors of life satisfaction. Participants were 224 individuals (age range 18 to 78, M= 39.63, SD = 13.78; 73% women; 56% Filipinos) who answered an online survey. Results from regression analyses showed that attributional style is not a statistically significant predictor of life satisfaction. The analyses also showed that across all participants, and among those who did not score high in individualism and low in collectivism, the frequency of positive emotions, as compared to the frequency of negative …

Psychotherapy As Cultivating Character, Mike W. Martin

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

Duff R. Waring argues that, in some instances, psychotherapy should be viewed as healing (or alleviating) mental disorders and also as cultivating good character in patients (Waring 2012). In these instances, psychotherapists should understand their patients as having character faults that are manifested as mental disorders, as having nascent virtues they can build on during therapy, and as moving toward goals that can be specified in terms of both improved mental health and greater moral virtue. Waring’s discussion is deeply illuminating, but it suffers from a major difficulty: the failure to take adequate account of the differences between the perspectives …

An Intergenerational Study: Mirrors As A Tool For Self-Reflection, Susan Ridley

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

Globalization and advances in technology have resulted in a loss of cultural, community, and individual identity. Having a strong sense of self can be a protective factor in resisting peer pressure and involvement in negative behaviors, and a determining factor in the formation of one’s coping skills, and resiliency to life’s challenges. This was especially important for adolescents who are negotiating the developmental growth from childhood to adulthood, and older adults who are transitioning from the independence of adulthood to the dependence of old age.

This was a qualitative intergenerational study on the process of self-reflection on identity. Mirrors have …

A Task Analysis Of Metacommunication In Time-Limited Dynamic Psychotherapy, Theodore Matthew Austin

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study examined how successful metacommunication unfolded in time-limited dynamic psychotherapy (TLDP) using the task-analytic paradigm developed by Greenberg (2007). Specifically, the purpose of the study was to discern the elements, themes, and temporal sequences that were common to effective metacommunication. In accordance with the paradigm, this was accomplished by the creation of a rational model, which combined existing theoretical literature on metacommunication and anecdotal clinical evidence. Next, the distilled components of metacommunication in six high-quality (HQ) sequences were contrasted to the distilled components of six low-quality (LQ) sequences in order to generate an empirical model. These sequences were selected …

Descending Into And Out Of The Maelstrom: Soma And The Survival Struggle, Rachel M. Urbano

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to highlight the ways “surviving therapists” adapt to the inner-spaces in which they are still affected by their traumas. Surviving therapists are defined as therapists who identify as having experienced a trauma caused by another human being while maintaining an observational stance in relation to their body and self-experience. Therapists are not immune to the lasting effects of trauma: they may experience somatic reactivity and painful affective states in working with trauma patients. As surviving therapists have experienced events they may unconsciously choose to keep out of awareness, they may rely on …

First Elderly Client In Therapy: Factors That Influence Student Interest In Geropsychology, Cristina E. M. Filippelli

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In the coming decades, the elderly population in United States (U.S) is expected to grow significantly (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1996). Consequently, the number of older individuals seeking mental health services will be greater than at any other time in the history of the U.S. The field of clinical psychology, however, is unable to meet the mental health needs of the current elderly population, and this gap is expected to widen in coming years. There is an ongoing discussion within the field of professional psychology as to how to train more clinicians to work with the elderly population (Gatz …

David Grove's Metaphors For Healing, David Pincus, Anees A. Sheikh

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Within the ever-expanding list of approaches to psychotherapy, there is a tendency to overlook deep imagery approaches. The current article reports on one such metaphor-based therapy developed by David Grove (Grove & Panzer, 1989). The approach is analyzed within the context of mainstream contemporary psychotherapy in general, the state of empirical understanding of common processes to psychotherapy, and in relation to other deep imagery-based approaches to therapy. Next, a step-by-step description of the techniques used within metaphor therapy are presented, along with a case example demonstrating the use of these techniques on a case involving pain symptoms. Finally, it is …

Client/Therapist Feedback And The Role Of The Alliance On Psychotherapy Outcomes, Elizabeth Preston Cisneros

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Through a system of patient-focused outcomes research which has employed a quality assurance system for tracking client progress in therapy, there has been consistent evidence that utilizing the system to identify those who are not responding to treatment and warning their therapist about the client’s risk significantly improves client outcomes in psychotherapy. Although outcomes have been improved, significant proportions of clients have treatment failures or see no improvement in therapy. Moreover, feedback to therapists appears to be most effective in improving outcomes for the minority of clients who are already at risk of treatment failure.

Attempts to augment the feedback …

Therapeutic Alliance And Client Satisfaction From The Client’S Perspective, Colleen Peterson, Armeda Stevenson, Katherine M. Hertlein, Stephen Fife

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

This was the second phase of a two phase mixed methodology study. Presented is the qualitative portion consisting of semi-structured phone interviews conducted with past clients in order to examine the relationship of the therapeutic alliance and client satisfaction with client retention and termination status.Findings were classified into three main categories: therapist characteristics, treatment structural characteristics and process characteristics.

Defining Intimacy In Diverse Asian Cultures, Blendine Hawkins, Katherine Herlein

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

America has continued to diversify as a nation, welcoming people from every race, culture and continent. The US Census Bureau (2004) reported that there were 13.5 million Asians in America and these numbers are increasing (US Census Bureau, 2004). This indicates that there is a greater demand for competent and effective mental health care to meet the needs of this heterogeneous group. Asian Americans can be best helped by a therapist who is sensitive, knowledgeable and has an understanding about the core values which are present in many Asian cultures. There are limited resources and treatment guides for this population …