Mental Disorders Commons^™

Trauma In The Middle Ages: The Viking Experience Of Trauma Through Saga, Kagan L. Vogt

University Honors Theses

Trauma is a fundamental part of human experience and the ways in which human beings experience trauma differs drastically depending on the time and culture represented. Research on trauma in the Middle Ages does exist, however, often offers windows into very narrow intersections within the study of historical trauma. Other cultures and particularly oral traditions lack the same attention from scholars in trauma. The specific experience of Vikings as referenced in the oral tradition of sagas offers a unique window into the traumatic experience of Vikings as well as how they responded to trauma. This unique response to trauma is …

Revising And Consolidating The Dsm-5 And Icd-11 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders Into A Dimensional Spectrum-Based Disorder: A Literature Review, Samuel Milton Shatsky

University Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the clinical, cultural, and theoretical implications of replacing the current DSM-5 and ICD-11 categorical diagnoses of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) with a unified dimensional framework: trauma spectrum disorder (TSD). The proposed TSD model addresses ongoing concerns around diagnostic inflation, treatment misalignment, and clinical confusion stemming from binary trauma categorizations. This thesis explores whether adopting a dimensional diagnostic model to replace DSM-5 and ICD-11's current PTSD and CPTSD designations could lead to improved treatment outcomes and diagnostic clarity.

Methodology consisted of an extensive literature review of the field's current research. Using the …

What Are The Psychosocial Effects Of Service Dogs On Handlers With Disabilities, Kylie Kline

University Honors Theses

This study looks to explore the psychosocial effects that service dogs have on handlers with disabilities. A cross-sectional survey designed to gather information about this directly from service dog handlers was administered to a sample of 20 participants. Then, a qualitative analysis was conducted on data from the survey using an inductive coding scheme that identified themes in the data as key terms and ideas emerged.

Results revealed many nuances surrounding service dogs' effects on handlers' psychosocial health. Notable results include: 20 of 20 participants (100%) reporting their service dogs have had positive impacts on their quality of life; 19 …

Neural Correlates Of Comorbidity Of Anxiety Disorders And Eating Disorders, Karsen Coelho

University Honors Theses

The presence of eating disorder and anxiety disorder comorbidity has raised the question of whether or not there is a causal relationship between them. Previous studies have found that this comorbidity has been present in various patients with anxiety disorders and eating disorders, going further to try and determine which diagnosis came first. By conducting a literature review, studies were examined to determine neurobiological regions impacted by both disorders. Prefrontal cortex abnormalities are consistent among both disorders, contributing to differences in behavior and reward systems. With the irregular structure and activation of the amygdala, emotion and fear regulation are disrupted …

Classifying Severe And Enduring Anorexia Nervosa: A Literature Review, Phoenix Black

University Honors Theses

Little focus is placed on the subsection of the eating disorder patient population who struggle chronically with their illness. This review synthesizes research on the topic to identify gaps in knowledge and reflect on implications for diagnosis and classification of severe and enduring anorexia nervosa. There was some variability between both clinicians and researchers who focused on this patient population, which is discussed based on different classifying criteria used to include or exclude an individual into the study. This review considers traditional methods used for classifying psychiatric diagnoses in relation to this disorder.

Sex Differences In Prevalence And Psychophysiological Profiles Of Adhd, Mckenzie Figuracion

University Honors Theses

Background: Considerable research has been dedicated to understanding the etiology of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), but the focus has been on a homogeneous subset of the population, and multiple groups go underserved when it comes to support. Previous findings suggest differences in ADHD diagnosis and referral rates based on sex, but it is less clear whether neurophysiological sex differences exist. The current study examines the effect of expert consensus diagnostic practices on rates of diagnosis in males and females, and evaluates sex differences in potential neurophysiological markers of ADHD.

Methods: 860 children and adolescents (Males=519; ADHD=516) were recruited for a longitudinal …

Help-Seeking On Facebook Versus More Traditional Sources Of Help: Cross-Sectional Survey Of Military Veterans, Alan R. Teo, Heather E. Marsh, Samuel B.L. Liebow, Jason I. Chen, Christopher W. Forsberg, Christina Nicolaidis, Somnath Saha, Steven K. Dobscha

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: The media has devoted significant attention to anecdotes of individuals who post messages on Facebook prior to suicide. However, it is unclear to what extent social media is perceived as a source of help or how it compares to other sources of potential support for mental health problems.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the degree to which military veterans with depression use social media for help-seeking in comparison to other more traditional sources of help.

Methods: Cross-sectional self-report survey of 270 adult military veterans with probable major depression. Help-seeking intentions were measured with a modified General Help-Seeking Questionnaire. …

Building Competencies And Skills Among Service Providers Working With Young People Who Experience Serious Mental Health Conditions: State Of The Science, Janet S. Walker, Pauline Jivanjee, Eileen M. Brennan, Leigh Grover

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper explores what is currently known about the most promising strategies for increasing providers’ capacity to deliver effective behavioral health services and supports. The paper also describes how this information has been—or could be—applied to the design of cutting-edge approaches for building skills and competencies among providers that work with young people who experience serious mental health conditions.

Aligning Counselor Training Clinics With The Dsm-5: Tips, Tools, And Challenges, Joel A. Lane, Lisa Aasheim

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This presentation is intended to help counselor educators better understand the conceptual changes made in the DSM-5, as well as the implications of these changes for counseling training clinics.

Asian American Mental Health Clients: Effects Of Ethnic Match And Age On Global Assessment And Visitation, Richard H. Dana, Glenn Gamst, Aghop Der-Karabetian, Terry Kramer

Regional Research Institute for Human Services

Effects of client-counselor ethnic match (i.e., match, no match) and client age group (child, adult) on counselor-evaluated Global Assessment of Function (GAF) and visitation were investigated. The sample consisted of 253 Asian-American outpatient clients (24.9% children 75.1% adults) of a community mental health center. Unadjusted results indicated that ethnically matched clients had more positive GAF evaluations and more clinic visits than nonmatched clients. When adjusted for eight covariates, results showed ethnically matched clients continued to show higher levels of visitation. Analysis of separate diagnostic categories showed that ethnically matched mood-disorder clients had higher levels of visitation. Conversely, nonethnically matched anxiety …

Development And Use Of A Phonological Recoding Strategy For A Short-Term Memory Task By Normal And Mentally Retarded Subjects, Mary Jo Bartels

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the presence or absence of a phonological recoding strategy in the mentally retarded population by using a memory matching exercise with visual stimuli. Pictures of common objects were divided into eight pictures with names that sound alike (homophonous) and eight with names that do not sound alike (non-homophonous). The null hypothesis tested was:

No statistically significant difference will be found between mentally retarded and normal subjects in the development and use of a phonological recoding strategy for a short-term memory task, when the subjects are matched for receptive vocabulary age.

The Use Of Discrediting Labels In The Maintenance Of Socially Constructed Reality, Nathan Church

Dissertations and Theses

Over the past two decades an increasing number of theorists and practitioners have called for a thorough rethinking of the underlying assumptions of the concept of rrental illness and the traditional psychiatric nodes of responding to mental disorders. The work of this group of writers has come to be referred to as the "antipsychiatry" literature. The insights of this perspective center largely about a rejection of those theories and methods of treatment that are based upon the medical model. Many writers point to the use of traditional psychiatric practice as an oppressive instrument of social control. While much of this …

Exploring Collaboration: A Program Evaluation Of A Mental Health Intervention In A Public Elementary School, Joy Rhodes

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this evaluative study was to develop and implement a program evaluation design for a model of early mental health intervention to primary grade level classrooms in a public elementary school. The design reflects a formative evaluation study, providing information for current and future programming and is manageable to implement, thus facilitating longitudinal data collection.

This therapeutic model of classroom intervention stresses the integration of children’s social, emotional and intellectual development and proposes a collaborative approach between therapist and educator. Levels of intervention for collaborators include (1) children identified as requiring therapeutic approaches to social-emotional difficulties experienced in …

A Study Of A Token Economy Program Initiated At Oregon State Hospital, Helenjane R. Kudelko

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a token economy program at Oregon State Hospital in terms of patients’ behavioral improvement during the first seventy days of the program. As the study progressed, it became apparent that a study of the problems involved in initiating this program would be significant. Thus an attempt has been made to evaluate both the patients’ behavioral improvement and the problems involved in setting up an effective token economy program.

Prior to the June 1, 1972 reorganization of the hospital, the county geographical unit system had been in effect for approximately eleven years. On …