Mental Disorders Commons^™

Cognitive And Mental Health Challenges: Addressing The Impact Of Traumatic Brain Injuries In Adults, Hannah E. Smith, Lesley Khan-Farooqi, Phd, Otd, Otr, Anne Mcdonnell, Mpa, Otr/L, Cbist

Student Capstone Papers

This capstone examined the challenges adults face following traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and explored interventions aimed at enhancing cognitive functioning and mental health. This capstone also aimed to reduce caregiver stress and burnout by expanding knowledge and resources focused on cognitive and mental health within the population. TBIs can result from a variety of causes, affecting cognitive abilities, mental health, and functional outcomes. This capstone shows evidence-based interventions designed to improve cognitive functioning, facilitate engagement in meaningful activities to improve mental health, and enhance overall quality of life for adults recovering from TBI. This also will demonstrate potential for occupational …

Exploring Adolescent Hearing Aid Usage And Appearance Of Psychiatric Symptoms In Adolescents Using Hearql-28 Surveys, Courtney J. Austin, Dylan Chan

MEDI 9331 Scholarly Activities Clinical Years

Approximately 2% of DHH people in need of mental health services actually receive these services. Among pediatric hearing loss populations, co-occurring cognitive and physical impairments are risk factors for poor mental health status. Due to language barriers and isolation, more children with hearing loss do not have access to mental health services. Cochlear implants have been shown to improve mental health status among the DHH population. Current literature focuses on the mental health status of children with cochlear implants, with little focus on hearing aid users. Using HEAR28 data and surveys, we can quantify the incidence of psychiatric symptoms among …

Exploring Associations Between Mental Disorder And Creativity, David A. Romero Mora

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Mental disorder has been misunderstood and misrepresented throughout history, leading mental health research to be severely behind where it needs to be. Years of misinformation, over-medicalization, negative rhetoric, and stigmatization at the hands of the very same institutions that were believed to care for mental disorder have kept this misunderstanding alive. Further, studies throughout history have failed to look at the nuances of mental health, prioritizing generalizability. This thesis explores the relationship between mental disorder and creative expression, how other factors like cultural discourse and cognitive processes inform this relationship, as well as how analyzing this relationship can provide a …

Implementing Lean Methodology To Decrease Wait Times In A Psychiatric Emergency Department, Kristina S. Baxter

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

Purpose

This quality improvement project aimed to implement Lean strategies to optimize the intake process in a psychiatric emergency department, thereby reducing patient wait times, minimizing left-without-being-seen (LWBS) occurrences, and improving access to timely psychiatric care.

Background

The project was conducted in a hospital-based psychiatric emergency department in Southeast Texas, serving adults and children six years and older.

Methodology

Lean methodology and PDSA cycles were employed to refine the intake process and eliminate inefficiencies. Key interventions included patient transport by technicians to minimize delays, using tele-clinicians for assessments to reduce staff burden, and restructuring nursing assessments to prioritize telehealth consultations …

Healthy Dietary Patterns’ Impact On Depressive Symptoms: A Meta-Analysis Of Randomized Controlled Trials, Angela Encardone

All Theses

As the search for innovative mental health treatments expands, dietary interventions have emerged as a promising approach for alleviating depressive symptoms. This thesis presents a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the efficacy of whole-of-diet nutritional interventions in reducing depression symptoms among adults. Grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model and Engel’s Biopsychosocial Model, this study explores the intersection of biological, psychological, and social factors that influence mental health outcomes. A systematic review identified six eligible RCTs assessing the impact of healthy dietary patterns, including the Mediterranean diet and other plant-based interventions, on depression symptoms. A random-effects meta-analysis revealed a significant …

Familiarity Of Psychiatric Terms Among College Students, Julia Pekala

CAFE Symposium 2025

Recently, there has been an increase in the usage of psychiatric terminology used among internet users. Terms such as autism, obsessive compulsive disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are thrown around without an understanding of these words and their true meaning. These words are picked up and used in a similar context as any other internet lingo, in an ironic, joking manner, without proper consideration of their origins and meaning. Due to most content on the internet being unmoderated and seemingly endless, users are often faced with misleading information about real clinical disorders. The use of these words follows the …

Exploring The Role Of Yoga In Improving The Quality Of Life Among Patients Diagnosed With Schizophrenia And Intellectual Disability, Laura Tolbaños-Roche

Journal of Applied Yoga Studies

Background and objectives

There is large evidence of the positive effect of yoga in mental health disorders, mainly anxiety and depression. However, the studies on the role of yoga in schizophrenia and intellectual disability are sparse and inconclusive. The objective of this study is exploring the role of a specific yoga intervention, based on the Gitananda Rishiculture Asthanga Yoga Tradition, in improving the quality of life (QoL) of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and intellectual disability in a mental health institution of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain).

Methods

Patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (n=5) and patients diagnosed with intellectual disability (n=4) …

Effect Of Pilot Mental Health On Passenger Willingness To Fly, Isabella L. Deloach, Sara E. Bergamini, Dowon Choi, Brooke Wheeler, Vivek Sharma

Aeronautics Student Publications

This study explored how passengers' willingness to fly is affected by the mental health condition of pilots, providing insight into public perception of the mental health condition of pilots. Results showed significant differences between all scenarios except the medication scenario vs. therapy scenario.

Bad Therapy: Conceptualizing The Teaching Of “Thinking Like A Lawyer” As Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Chelsea Baldwin

St. Mary's Law Journal

Law students and lawyers experience mental illness and substance abuse at higher rates than the general population and other learned professions. This is bad for an individual’s wellbeing as well as their clients and society because mental illness and substance abuse increases stress which in turn decreases effective decision-making and judgment, and in worst case scenarios leads to attrition as individuals choose death by suicide which has cascading social and economic impacts. This Article identifies practices in legal education that likely combine in a causal mechanism, although not a sole cause, to the higher rates of mental illness and substance …

The Revolutionary St. Louis Insane Asylum, Julia Talbert

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Even with its grand structure on Arsenal Street towering over the city below, few residents of St. Louis and surrounding areas are aware of the grand history or even existence of the St. Louis Insane Asylum. The building is over 150 years old and was a place of hope, failure, strife, and empathy. The asylum had a large impact on St. Louis and provided revolutionary outlooks, unique perspectives, and curious therapies.

The Image Of Schizophrenia In Spain's Healthcare System, Meghan Webb

CISLA Senior Integrative Projects

Schizophrenia affects thousands of people in Spain and is one of the most serious mental health disorders in existence. Despite its this characteristic, schizophrenia did not always get the proper attention it deserved within the country’s healthcare system. This was largely due to the influence that the Spanish government had, and continues to have, over the healthcare system, giving it the power to choose how the disorder was represented. Therefore, what does that mean for schizophrenia in Spain’s healthcare system today? This essay will explore the ways in which schizophrenia was represented in Spain’s healthcare system through an examination of …

Understanding The Importance Of Administrative Mental Health Support For Frontline Nurses Post Covid-19, Sarah Mah

Nursing | Senior Theses

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, intensive care units and critical care units were overwhelmed with the number of patients that were on the floors. It was during this time that nurses were experiencing the most mental health decline.

Several factors can be associated with the rapid decline of nurses’ mental health. However, these issues could ultimately stem from the lack of action taken by healthcare administration. This includes increased workload and the lack of PPE, resources institutional support. Because these units played such a vital role during the pandemic, it is imperative that healthcare administrators do what they …

Effects Of Daylight On College Students’ Physical And Mental Well-Being, Sathya Thenappan

Quantitative Social Science Undergraduate Senior Theses

While existing literature predominantly deals with the impact of daylight on adults in general and more specifically at the workplace, less is known about its impact on the college student demographic and daylight exposure levels at college residences. Given its considerable impact on both the physical and mental well-being of individuals, daylight has been used in the treatment of an assortment of diseases from seasonal affective disorder to depression. With college students constituting the majority of today’s people who suffer from mental health issues in society, uncovering the link between daylight exposure and its impact on the physical and mental …

Correlation Between Gut Biomarkers And Depression, Jianle Gao

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The correlation between the gut-microbiota- brain axis and mental state in the context of mental disorders such as Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Schizophrenia, etc. has been well studied. Production of inflammatory and non-inflammatory metabolites by the gut- microbiota directly and indirectly affects the brain and mood. Therefore, colonization by maladaptive, pro-inflammatory bacteria may cause mood dysregulation and depressive features. Metabolites from these bacteria can be quantitatively analyzed for use as biomarkers of Major Depressive Disorder. Biomarkers studied include: serotonin, dopamine, butyrate, acetate, and propionate.

Alternative Pharmacology: Exploring Ketamine Use For Treatment Resistant Mental Health Disorders, Kiersten L. Ash

Soaring: A Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

The Need For Depression And Anxiety Screenings At A Student-Run Clinic, Shayna Peterzell, Sahil Parikh, Alicia Podwojniak, Vibha Chauhan, Riya Tandra, Emily Forester, Saumil Parikh, Jessica-Sophie Horoschak, Patrick Pearce, Roma Padalkar, Sobiah Khan, Tara Pellegrino

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

General anxiety and major depressive disorder are common and treatable mental health disorders. The US Preventive Services Task Force provides strong evidence that early screening helps identify depression in primary care settings, promotes intervention and facilitates treatment. Many medical offices use validated screening tools, GAD-7 and PHQ-9, to measure symptom severities and further help guide treatment modalities for patients with anxiety and depression, respectively. The Rowan Community Health Clinic (RCHC) in Lindenwold, NJ is a student-run free clinic that serves patients regardless of patient gender, race, income, or insurance status. This study aims to determine if there is a need …

The Effects Of The Transition From Pre-Nursing To Nursing On Mental Health, Andrew J. Davis, Paige R. Mullins, Kimberly A. Sell

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Mental health is an ever-growing crisis among adolescents and young adults, with suicide as second leading cause of death and the number of those negatively affected continually on the rise. Transitions are one of the major stressors prevalent among these age groups, placing individuals at risk for mental health deficits. This quantitative voluntary response comparative study assesses the transitional mental health of pre-nursing students and students in the nursing program at East Tennessee State University. Emailed to all with a declared major of pre-nursing or nursing, this study measured mental health using evidenced based assessment tools. The PHQ-9 for depression …

Global Analysis Of High Cited Papers On “Impact Of Covid-19 On Mental Health” During 2020-21, Ghouse Modin Nabeesab Mamdapur Mr., Brij Mohan Gupta Dr., Sandeep Grover Dr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

A bibliometric analysis based on 160 highly cited papers extracted from the Scopus international database was carried out to provide insights into literature characteristics and publication performances of various participating actors on “Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health”. Quantitative and qualitative Indicators were applied to measure the productivity and citation impact of most productive participating countries, organizations, authors, journals and significant keywords and to visualise and measure collaborative interaction among them using VOSviewer software. Results obtained from this study can provide valuable information for researchers and policy-makers to identify present and future hotspots in research on “Impact of COVID-19 on …

Mental Health Issues In First Responders: Their Causes And How To Help Treat Them, Anna M. Hoffnagle

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

In recent years mental health issues and how to deal with them has become a widely discussed topic in society. Causes and treatments tend to be major factors in the discussion, but they also tend to be far too general. The broadness of the targeted audience for these discussions often creates more issues than it solves due to treatments not being effective for every population. This paper highlights the causes of mental health issues in first responders while also discussing treatment methods designed specifically for this population that have had promising outcomes. Causes and treatments discussed are given solidity through …

Mental Health Affects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Mia Kepler

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

Over the past year worldwide everyone has experienced the Covid-19 pandemic in one way or another. As time evolves during the pandemic mental health is getting worse every day. People are experiencing feelings of loneliness and uneasiness. Mental health professionals are trying to find solutions to this major issue in today's society. Change is needed to prevent people's mental health from worsening during these unprecedented times and to help the people who are already suffering.

History Of The South Dakota Human Services Center 1879-2019: Trials, Trends, And Tragedies To Transformation, Kate L. Katterhagen

Honors Thesis

The history of the South Dakota Human Services Center (HSC), located in Yankton, SD, spans 140 years, from the Dakota Territory days beginning in 1879 to the present. The trials, trends, and tragedies promoting transformation of the state psychiatric hospital are the focus of this thesis, with an emphasis on significant events that shaped the facility. This research examines the challenges and changes in public administration, treatment methods, and psychiatric medical practices. My research was accomplished through identification, retrieval, and review of archived materials, reports, published newspaper articles, and personal accounts. Societal, political, legal, medical, and historical perspectives frame my …

Evaluating Interpersonal Problems In Anorexia Nervosa Through The Lens Of Polyvagal Theory, Marika Morelan

CMC Senior Theses

Eating disorders are an increasingly prevalent issue, especially among young women. While they aren’t a new phenomenon, they are historically under-researched, and remain widely misunderstood. Without understanding the causes underlying these disorders or the mechanisms working to maintain them, treating them successfully has proved to be incredibly difficult. This is especially the case with Anorexia Nervosa. Out of the six eating disorders in the DSM-5, it has the lowest treatment success rate and an alarmingly high relapse rate. Treating the disorder through weight restoration and the extinction of compensatory behaviors alone does not fully resolve the disordered pathology; interpersonal problems …

Mental Health Profiles Of Adolescents With Co-Occurring Gambling Behaviours And Benzodiazepine Misuse, Emilie Fletcher, Jeremie Richard, Jeffrey Derevensky Dr, William Ivoska Dr, Caroline Temcheff Dr

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

No abstract provided.

The Predictors Of Juvenile Recidivism: Testimonies Of Adult Students 18 Years And Older Exiting From Alternative Education, La Toshia Palmer

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to identify and describe the importance of the predictors of juvenile recidivism and the effectiveness of efforts to prevent/avoid juvenile recidivism as perceived by previously detained, arrested, convicted, and/or incarcerated adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education in Northern California. A second purpose was to explore the types of support provided by alternative schools and the perceived importance of the support to avoid recidivism according to adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education.

Methodology: This qualitative, descriptive research design identified …

Development Of The Clark And Becker Scale Of Symptomatology (Cbs): Symptom-Level Item Performance, Michael Clark

All Master's Theses

Depression and anxiety are common, often comorbid, mental disorders. Many researchers have developed efficient self- and clinician-report measures of depression and anxiety. Most of these existing measures of depression and anxiety measures yield overall or specific subscale scores. The Clark and Becker Scale of Symptomatology (CBS) was designed to measure individual symptoms of depression and anxiety. It utilizes a different type of bipolar scaling to aid in accurate symptom endorsement. Unlike other pre-existing measures, the CBS is designed to be interpreted at the symptom level. The CBS was administered to a nationally representative sample (n = 530). Concurrent validity …

Beyond The End Line - Putting The Mental Health Of Female Athletes First, Katherine Scholten

Honors Projects

Currently one in five adults are affected by mental illness. Student-athletes are a population that is under diagnosed for mental illness. In the world of college athletics, mental pain is as regular as physical pain. Coaches often push their athletes to suffer in silence for the betterment of the team. The NCAA has recognized the importance of mental health in college athletics, yet there is still much work to be done among universities across the country. This document is to serve as a resource and a guide on the effects of mental health among female student athletes and the best …

Mental Health 101: Teaching Students And Campus Leaders How To Help Those In Crisis, Megan B. Kuhnly

Senior Honors Projects

One in four Americans ages 18 and older live with a diagnosable mental health disorder. Due to this high prevalence it is very likely that everyone will encounter someone dealing with a mental health crisis in his or her lifetime. Many college students will experience a crisis during their four years of study due to the high levels of stress and psychological triggers. However, we are often not taught how to help these individuals and the resources available are not well advertised. This lack of education and awareness leads to many students being forced to suffer alone and their mental …

Understanding Increasing College Anxiety: The Need For Anxiety Awareness Campaigns, Taylor Mosher

Journalism

The following study investigates national trends toward increasing anxiety among the college student demographic with particular attention paid to the ways in which public awareness campaigns may be implemented as a method for reducing stigma, increasing awareness of anxiety conditions, and connecting students to critical resources.

In order to improve understanding surrounding student anxiety, the following research was conducted in two parts. First, secondary national research was conducted analyzing relevant literature surrounding anxiety trends among college students, the response of universities across the nation, and potential methods by which to relieve student anxiety. Following the conclusion of this research, primary …

Anxiety Disorders And School-Based Treatments: Assessing School Pyschologists' Knowledge And Perceptions, Kelly A. Myhasuk

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Anxiety disorders are common in children and youth. Despite high prevalence rates, most children with anxiety disorders do not receive treatment. In fact, for the few children who are receiving treatment, schools are the primary source of mental health care. When left untreated, children experience significant disruptions in their academic, social, emotional, and behavioral functioning. Therefore, it is important for those working in schools to recognize and treat children with anxiety disorders. The present study surveyed school psychologists (n = 178) to assess their knowledge about anxiety disorders and about empirically supported school-based treatments. Also, this study sought to investigate …

Culture Ontogeny: Lifespan Development Of Religion And The Ethics Of Spiritual Counselling, Glen Milstein, Amy Manierre

Publications and Research

The counsellor has an ethical obligation to treat the whole person. Humans are cultural beings and the foundation of most cultures is religion. Religion and culture are received from our early relation~ ships and modified through later relationships across the lifespan. The paper introduces the term "culture ontogeny" to emphasize that this is a biological process wherein abstract ideas of culture and religion become material in the developing neurophysiology of each brain. A framework and methods are offered to examine the changing roles of religion in clients' emotional self~ structure, inclusive of those who describe themselves as spiritual, not religious. …