Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

Critical Embodied Praxis For Social Justice And Peace Educators: A Story Of Personal Transformation Through Analysis Of My Jewish And Settler Identities, Cara Michelle Silverberg

Capstone Collection

In this paper, I examine definitions of and relationships between violence, oppression, peace, liberation, and embodiment in the context of critical pedagogy in order to construct a theory of critical embodied praxis for social justice and peace educators. Considering the body to be a tangible vessel through which narratives and mechanisms of violence are expressed and maintained, I explore the potential of the body to be a vessel through which liberatory narratives may be generated and shared. After constructing a theory of critical embodied praxis, I illustrate this framework in action through a personal narrative that explores the intersections …

Do Psychopathic Birds Of A Feather Flock Together? Psychopathic Personality Traits And Romantic Preferences, Ashley L Watts, Jessica C Rohr, Katherine L Mccauley, Sarah Francis Smith, Kristin Landfield Howe, Scott O Lilienfeld

Staff and Researcher Publications

Objective: The goal of the present studies was to investigate whether people are especially attracted to psychopathic traits, and whether there are individual differences in such attraction.

Method: Female undergraduates (N = 270; Mage = 19; 57% White, 20% Asian, 8% Black) and female and male community members (N = 426; Mage = 37; 56% female; 81% Caucasian, 10% African American, 4% Asian) reported on their own personality and constructed their ideal mate for a dating, short-term, and long-term relationship from a list of 70 characteristics drawn from well-validated criteria for psychopathic personality and diagnostic criteria for DSM-5 personality disorders …

Probiotic Administration As An Adjuvant Therapeutic Treatment For Anxiety, Depression, And Cognitive Impairment Among Hypothyroid Patients, Erin R. Gorman

Selected Honors Theses

Hypothyroidism is a form of thyroid dysfunction that occurs when the thyroid gland does not make and secrete enough thyroid hormones to regulate certain processes in the body. Because thyroid hormones take part in many bodily functions, hypothyroidism can cause a large range of symptoms. Current research indicates that some strains of probiotics have beneficial effects on certain neurological and inflammatory diseases, leading to the impression that they can be used therapeutically for effective treatment of different mental health issues such as anxiety, stress, depression, and impaired memory. Because hypothyroidism often leads to such mental symptoms, it may be possible …

“Uno Logra Olvidar La Tortura”: Impactos De Las Dictaduras Militares Y Conversaciones Sobre Las Secuelas De La Tortura En El Instituto De Terapia E Investigación, Em Rosner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Investigué el impacto real de las dictaduras militares, y específicamente cómo las experiencias de tortura continuan marcando las vidas de los sobrevivientes y su habilidad de procesar los eventos de sus propias vidas, compartir sus experiencias con otras personas y hacer conexiones interpersonales. Mis preguntas primarias eran, ¿Cómo la tortura ha marcado la vida a largo plazo de las personas que la sufrieron? ¿Cómo impactan las experiencias de represión y tortura en las formas en que se construyen relaciones sociales y proyectos de vida? Para investigar este tema, entrevisté a personas que han tenido experiencias de tortura o que han …

Forgotten Children & Bonds That Heal: The Critical Nature Of Attachment, August Ashbaker

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

Human attachment is one of the most critical factors in proper neurological and physiological development. Attachment is built through the mutuality of emotional impact, as well as the regular reception of physical touch. Infants and children who have been deprived of these vital necessities through the lacking initiatives of their caregivers—through neglect—display visible signs of its physiological, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral impact. Research has found neglect to be the highest risk factor for permanent damage to brain development in comparison to other forms of complex trauma (i.e. chronic caregiver interpersonal trauma in childhood); it is also the most prevalent …

Meeting Point: Partner Dancing As Couple's Therapy, Rami Eckhaus

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This dissertation research explored the experience of partner dancing as a therapeutic process that reflects upon the dynamics and interactions of couples who are in the process of couple's therapy. The research also aimed to gain insight on the ways in which the experience of partner dancing can support these couples' therapeutic processes. Partner dancing is a dance-form that is based on the interaction between two individuals. Such interaction requires the dancing couples to communicate on many levels that may uncover layers of their relational dynamics. In this research, five couples who were undergoing couple's therapy were asked to participate …

Unveiling The Mask:Sexual Trauma's Impact On Academic Achievement, Behavior, And Self-Identity, Teshaunda Hannor-Walker, Sarah Kitchens, Lacey Ricks

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Sexual trauma is an unfortunate but a common and often masked experience for many students in America. While sexual trauma in itself is not a mental health disorder, it can become a risk factor for many academic and mental health problems. Trauma-informed schools can play an important role in helping students deal with the aftercare of a traumatic experience.

Betrayed Partners And Men With Poisoned Souls: Interview With A Former Sex Buyer In Germany, Ingeborg Kraus

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

When Self-Care Is Not Enough: Reflections On How To Make Trauma-Intensive Clinical Work More Sustainable, Brianna C. Delker

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

As a psychology resident on the psychiatry consultation-liaison service at a trauma center, I was asked by another trainee how I cope with the devastating cases of traumatic injury and abuse that we witnessed regularly on the service. This trainee’s courageous question about how we as providers cope sustainably with bearing witness to trauma coincided with my own reflection on the limits of “self-care” as it is often discussed and practiced in human service professions. In this article, I argue that an activity-based approach to self-care is not enough for providers in trauma-intensive service settings and must be complemented with …

Adgrl3 (Lphn3) Variants Predict Substance Use Disorder, Mauricio Arcos-Burgos, Jorge I. Vélez, Ariel F. Martinez, Marta Ribasés, Josep A. Ramos-Quiroga, Cristina Sánchez-Mora, Vanesa Richarte, Carlos Roncero, Bru Cormand, Noelia Fernández-Castillo, Miguel Casas, Francisco Lopera, David A. Pineda, Juan D. Palacio, Johan E. Acosta-López, Martha L. Cervantes-Henriquez, Manuel G. Sánchez-Rojas, Pedro J. Puentes-Rozo, Brooke S. G. Molina, Mta Cooperative Group, Margaret T. Boden, Deeann Wallis, Brett Lidbury, Saul Newman, Simon Easteal, James Swanson, Hardip Patel, Nora Volkow, Maria T. Acosta, Francisco X. Castellanos, Jose De Leon

Psychiatry Faculty Publications

Genetic factors are strongly implicated in the susceptibility to develop externalizing syndromes such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, and substance use disorder (SUD). Variants in the ADGRL3 (LPHN3) gene predispose to ADHD and predict ADHD severity, disruptive behaviors comorbidity, long-term outcome, and response to treatment. In this study, we investigated whether variants within ADGRL3 are associated with SUD, a disorder that is frequently co-morbid with ADHD. Using family-based, case-control, and longitudinal samples from disparate regions of the world (n = 2698), recruited either for clinical, genetic epidemiological or pharmacogenomic studies of ADHD, we …

An Exploratory Study Of Police Officers: Low Compassion Satisfaction And Compassion Fatigue, Heath Blair Grant, Cathryn F. Lavery, John Decarlo

Publications and Research

Background: Compassion fatigue, or the physical, mental, and emotional state experienced by professionals that assist others in distress, has been well documented in several caring professions such as nurses, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians. Until the current study, it has only rarely been examined in police samples despite their high rates of stress and suicide which is a likely result of a depletion of compassion satisfaction, or the pleasure an officer gets from relating to and helping others.

Aim: This study documents findings from an ongoing study of compassion fatigue amongst a sample of US urban police officers which suggests …

First Impressions Online: The Inclusion Of Transgender And Gender Nonconforming Identities And Services In Mental Healthcare Providers’ Online Materials In The Usa, Natalie Holt, Debra A. Hope, Richard Mocarski, Nathan Woodruff

Trans Collaborations Academic Papers

Background: When accessing mental healthcare services, transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) individuals face systemic barriers to gender-affirmative care. Initial points of contact, like intake forms, may show limited consideration for the heterogeneity of TGNC identities and can lead to negative consequences prior to face-to-face interaction with providers.

Aims: The first aim was to mimic a likely pathway a TGNC individual may follow to seek mental healthcare services in the USA and to describe the extent to which they may encounter enacted stigma or affirmative messages that may impede or facilitate access to care. The second aim was to determine if …

Unmet Expectations In Healthcare Settings: Experiences Of Transgender And Gender Diverse Adults In The Central Great Plains, Heather Meyer

Trans Collaborations Academic Papers

Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals face a long-term, multi-faceted process if they choose to begin a gender affirmation journey. Decisions to go on hormone therapy and/or have a surgical procedure necessitate the TGD individual to set up an appointment with a healthcare provider. However, when TGD patients interact with healthcare practitioners, problems can arise. This article documents and categorizes the types of unmet expectations that are common in the TGD patient-healthcare provider social dynamic in the Central Great Plains of the United States. Utilizing a community-based participatory research model, qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 27 TGD individuals about …

Examination Of The Relations Among Demographics, Pre-College Interpersonal Trauma, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Disordered Eating, Arin L. Larsen, Kaitlin Bountress Phd, Ananda B. Amstadter Phd

IRBEH/Spit for Science Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

An Analysis And Critique Of Mental Health Treatment In American State Prisons And Proposal For Improved Care, Shelby Hayne

Scripps Senior Theses

Mental health treatment in state prisons is revealed to be highly variable, under-funded, and systematically inadequate. Existing literature exposes this injustice but fails to provide a comprehensive proposal for reform. This paper attempts to fill that gap, outlining a cost-effective, evidence-based treatment proposal, directly addressing the deficits in care revealed through analysis of our current system. In addition, this paper provides historical overviews of the prison system and mental health treatment, utilizing theoretical perspectives to contextualize this proposal in the present state of affairs. Lastly, the evidence is provided to emphasize the potential economic and social benefits of improving mental …

Anxiety-Like Behavior In Adolescent Rats Following Maternal Separation And Chronic Cocaine Exposure, Jonathan Handy

Behavioral Neuroscience Honors Papers

Cocaine is one of the most widely used illicit substances in the world and has an addiction rate comparable to opioids. Early Life Stress (ELS) has been shown to have a profound influence on the development of an individual, showing strong correlations to the development of psychiatric disorders and psychostimulant abuse. Adolescents in particular are at a high risk for the abuse of psychostimulants such as cocaine. Previous studies have individually described the correlation between cocaine addiction and anxiety, and the correlation between ELS and cocaine addiction. Rats who have experienced some form of ELS have shown a higher levels …

An Autoethnography Of A Bilingual Therapist Working With Haitian Clients: Reconnecting To Home, Marie Philomise Joseph

Department of Family Therapy Dissertations and Applied Clinical Projects

This evocative autoethnographic study is a very personalized account of my life as a Haitian American and a bilingual family therapist working with Haitian refugee earthquake survivors. The study focused on the lived experiences and challenges encountered as a family therapist trained in systemic techniques, linguistic terminology, and the Westernized psychotherapy approach to engaging Creole-speaking clients in therapy. Other challenges that existed were uncovered during the integration of the use of Haitian Creole language and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) tenets as the preferred model. It explored this therapist’s narrative in the process of providing psychotherapy to these clients, emerged a …

Searching For A Sense Of Place: The Process Of How Adolescent Girls Overcome Suicidality, Tamara Keefner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Suicide and self-harming behaviors are significant public health problems among children and adolescents globally and in the United States. Despite significant advances in recent decades to understand, prevent, and treat childhood and adolescent self-harming and suicide, suicide rates remain high. Since the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention set a goal to reduce suicide deaths and attempts by 40% by 2020, there has been a paradigm shift in the study of suicide yielding significant advances in the understanding of suicide and other forms of self-inflicted injury. This dissertation highlights some of the new developments in the study of suicide. First, …

Depressive Symptoms In Older Versus Younger People With Epilepsy: Findings From An Integrated Epilepsy Self-Management Clinical Research Dataset, Zaira Khalid, Hasina Momotaz, Farren Briggs, Kristin A. Cassidy, Betsy K. Wilson, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Aim: There are limited data on psychological outcomes in older people with epilepsy (PWE). This analysis, from a large pooled dataset of clinical studies from the Managing Epilepsy Well (MEW) Network, examined clinical variables including depressive symptom severity, quality of life and epilepsy self-management competency among older (age 55+) vs younger (

A Proof-Of-Mechanism Study To Test Effects Of The Nmda Receptor Antagonist Lanicemine On Behavioral Sensitization In Individuals With Symptoms Of Ptsd, Marijn Lijffijt, Charles E Green, Nicholas Balderston, Tabish Iqbal, Megan Atkinson, Brittany Vo-Le, Bylinda Vo-Le, Brittany O'Brien, Christian Grillon, Alan C Swann, Sanjay J Mathew

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Background: Individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have a heightened sensitivity to subsequent stressors, addictive drugs, and symptom recurrence, a form of behavioral sensitization. N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are involved in the establishment and activation of sensitized behavior.

Objective: We describe a protocol of a randomized placebo-controlled Phase 1b proof-of-mechanism trial to examine target engagement, safety, tolerability, and possible efficacy of the NMDAR antagonist lanicemine in individuals with symptoms of PTSD (Clinician Administered PTSD Scale [CAPS-5] score ≥ 25) and evidence of behavioral sensitization measured as enhanced anxiety-potentiated startle (APS; T-score ≥ 2.8).

Methods: Subjects (n = 24; age range 21–65) …

An Assessment Of Attitudes And Perceptions Of College Students Toward A Suicide Program On A College Campus: A Descriptive Study, Rachel Tolliver

DNP Research Projects

OBJECTIVE: A baseline assessment examines the status of attitudes and perceptions about the suicide prevention program of a small, private, southeastern, Christian university. Gaps in the literature include the lack of baseline evaluations at universities before evidenced-based practice (EBP) interventions.

PARTICIPANTS: A purposive sample of sixty-nine sophomores classified as first-year students for the 2016-2017 school year. The study sample lived on campus both semesters of the 2016-2017 school year.

METHODS: Participants completed the retired Suicide Prevention Exposure, Awareness and Knowledge Survey (SPEAKS) – SV (Student Version) by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for the Garrett …

The Effects Of Compassion Fatigue On Burnout Among Inpatient Psychiatric And Intensive Care Unit Nurses, Amita Madan Neidlinger

DNP Projects

PURPOSE: This DNP project is relevant to nurses of the psychiatric and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) setting, as high stress environments may produce higher rates of compassion fatigue and burnout. Investigation of these areas may help illuminate unnecessary healthcare costs that are associated with these phenomena. This DNP project is important to the University of Kentucky’s healthcare system, its patients, and nurses. Increased absenteeism and increased medication errors are positively associated with the prevalence of compassion fatigue and burnout in nurses. Outcomes from this project will allow identification of unnecessary healthcare costs and encourage administrators to focus on reducing nurse …

Measuring Glutamate And Oxygen In Brain Reward Circuits In Animal Models Of Cocaine Abuse And Decision-Making, Seth Richard Batten

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Drug-specific reward and associated effects on neural signaling are often studied between subjects, where one group self-administers drug and a separate group self-administers a natural reinforcer. However, exposure to drugs of abuse can cause long-term neural adaptations that can affect how an organism responds to drug reward, natural reward, and their reward-associated stimuli. Thus, to isolate drug-specific effects it is important to use models that expose the same organism to all of the aforementioned. Multiple schedules provide a means of dissociating the rewarding effects of a drug from the rewarding effects of food within a single animal. Further, drug users …

Translational Insights Into The Genetic Etiology Of Mental Health Disorders: Examining Risk Factor Models, Neuroimaging, And Current Dissemination Practices, Jessica L. Bourdon

Theses and Dissertations

Psychiatric genetics is a basic science field that has potential for practical application and effective translation. To date, translational frameworks utilized by this field have been linear (e.g., sequential) in nature, focusing on molecular genetic information. It is proposed that non-linear (e.g., socio-ecological) frameworks are a better way to immediately translate non-molecular genetic information. This dissertation explored the translation of psychiatric genetic information in two ways. First, a survey was sent to academic stakeholders to assess the state of the science regarding the translation of genetic information to the clinical care of mental health disorders. Findings from this indicate a …

Structure-Activity Relationship Studies Of Synthetic Cathinones And Related Agents, Rachel A. Davies

Theses and Dissertations

Synthetic cathinones and related agents represent an international drug abuse problem, and at the same time an important class of clinically useful compounds. Structure-activity relationship studies are needed to elucidate molecular features underlying the pharmacology of these agents. Illicit methcathinone (i.e., MCAT), the prototype of the synthetic cathinone class, exists as a racemic mixture. Though the differences in potency and target selectivity between the positional and optical isomers of synthetic cathinones and related agents have been demonstrated to have important implications for abuse and therapeutic potential, the two MCAT isomers have never been directly compared at their molecular targets: the …

Sexual Mutilation Of Muslim Girls, Today In The United States, Robert Brannon

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Processing Youth Adventure Wellness Experiences: Poetic Representations Of Youth’S Peace Bus Experiences, Ty Th Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This narrative inquiry explored how youth are processing their Peace Bus program experiences two and a half years after program completion. The purpose was to gain an understanding of (1) what program components the participants reflect on, (2) how they conceptualize their program experiences, and (3) what factors contribute to their reflection processes. This research sought to address the gap in literature where little is understood about the ongoing experiences of program participants of adventure wellness programs and the processes that lead to positive changes. As the researcher, I conducted a qualitative study using narrative inquiry and poetic representation methods. …

Are Chronic Inflammatory Diseases Associated With Trauma Exposure And Gender? An Empirical Analysis Of Self-Reported Trauma And Health Histories Of Men And Women, Meghan Lacienski

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

A growing body of research indicates an association between trauma, inflammation, and chronic inflammatory disease; however, the mechanisms of this relationship are not fully understood, and the salience of potential risk factors, such as cumulative effects of trauma, trauma type, and gender, remain unclear. Trauma is associated with poor mental and physical health, such as PTSD, depression, and chronic inflammatory conditions, and this association may be stronger when certain risk factors are considered (Brody, Pratt, & Hughes, 2018; Groer, Kane, Williams, & Duffy, 2014; Husky, Mazure, & Kovess-Masfety, 2018; Kilpatrick et al., 2013). For example, sexual trauma and multiple traumatic …

Treatment Of Nightmares In Psychiatric Inpatients With Imagery Rehearsal Therapy: An Open Trial And Case Series, Thomas E Ellis, Katrina A Rufino, Michael R Nadorff

Staff and Researcher Publications

Objectives: This study sought to assess the utility of Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (IRT) for nightmares in an inpatient psychiatric setting. Although IRT enjoys a substantial evidence base for efficacy in various populations, data with psychiatric inpatients are lacking.

Participants: Participants were 20 adult psychiatric inpatients (11 male, 9 female; mean age=43.4), in an extended stay psychiatric inpatient facility. All participants were diagnosed with multiple, treatment resistant, comorbid conditions, including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and substance-related disorders. Patients with active psychosis or significant cognitive impairment were excluded.

Methods: This was an open trial utilizing a case series design. In …

Resting-State Functional Connectivity Of The Habenula In Mood Disorder Patients With And Without Suicide-Related Behaviors, Elisa Ambrosi, David B Arciniegas, Kaylah N Curtis, Michelle A Patriquin, Gianfranco Spalletta, Gabriele Sani, B Christopher Frueh, J Christopher Fowler, Alok Madan, Ramiro Salas

Staff and Researcher Publications

The habenula is a small midbrain structure that is important for brain signaling and learning from negative events. Thus, the habenula is strongly connected to both the reward system and motor regions. Increasing evidence suggests a role for the habenula in the etiology of psychiatric disorders, including mood and substance use disorders. However, no studies to date have investigated habenular resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in suicide-related behaviors (SB). The authors enrolled 123 individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) or bipolar disorder and a history of suicide-related behaviors (SB+), 74 individuals with MDD or bipolar disorder and a history of suicidal …