Psychology Commons^™

The Experiences Of School Psychologists Serving Students With Traumatic Brain Injuries: A Phenomenology, E. Grace Ritchie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a complex experience associated with a diverse constellation of symptoms and challenges. TBI scholars have extensively explored the varying needs of youth in the aftermath of a head injury. Likewise, recent literature details recommendations for school psychological services in support of these students. Such recommendations largely reflect insights drawn from broader TBI and disability research, integrated with the established scope of school psychologists’ practice (e.g., the National Association of School Psychologists Practice Model). Nevertheless, school psychologists’ perceptions of these students’ challenges have been inadequately examined. Such perspectives are likely valuable, given school psychologists’ unique training …

Trainee Countertransference And Competency In Bereavement Therapy: Strengths And Limitations Of The Wounded Healers, Meghan Paynter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Countertransference is a common experience in therapy, happening among clinicians of all stages of their career and the outcomes of this experience hinge largely on how countertransference is managed. Challenging topics, such as grief, only make countertransference harder to manage effectively and the management of this experience improves with practice and time—something trainees have not yet ascertained. Given the pervasiveness of grief as a human experience, also indiscriminate in nature, the experiences of trainees experiencing countertransference are important to understand, including what is experienced, how they experience it, and how it impacts their process and self-perception of confidence and competence …

A Guidance Practice Model: Reframing Prevention, Identification, And Treatment Of Trauma-Impacted Students With Intellectual Disabilities, Mark H. Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The experience and exposure of trauma among youth, especially continuous traumatic experiences, poses considerable risks of long-term effects. Moreover, untreated trauma and subsequently negative mental health outcomes, like anxiety and depressive disorders, can negatively impact the psychosocial and academic functioning of students. One population that is generally overlooked regarding mental health in schools are students with intellectual disabilities (ID). This is problematic as this population is at an increased risk of traumatic experiences, such as maltreatment and social exclusion.

Moreover, the comorbidity of trauma and internalizing disorders among students with ID can exacerbate already existing challenges and deficits with social …

Better Serving Those Who Serve: Supporting Psychological Wellness Of Lgb Military Personnel In The Post “Don’T Ask Don’T Tell” Era, Anne Neuweiler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Few studies have been able to explore lesbian, gay, and bisexual military personnel’s experiences in military mental healthcare settings. This study examined the experience of LGB servicemembers in military counseling environments, as well as how to support these servicemembers in military mental health and military communities. Six participants volunteered for the study and six semi-structured interviews were completed with LGB servicemembers who had contact with mental health. Three research questions guided the present study and a transcendental phenomenological frame was used to analyze the data and themes emerged. Research question one yielded three themes: 1) “I'm Definitely not Gay”: The …

The Multicultural Orientation Framework In Couple Therapy, Jasmine R. Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Couples’ cultural values and beliefs are important to their relational connection. Cultural values and beliefs can be sources of strength in relationships, but they can also lead to impasses. As such, clinicians and researchers could benefit from a cultural framework to inform conceptualization and treatment when working with couples. The Multicultural Orientation (MCO) framework has three pillars: cultural humility, cultural comfort, and cultural opportunities. The MCO framework is empirically supported for use in individual and group psychotherapy but has not been applied to couple therapy. This dissertation includes two parts. First, we outline a conceptual framework for the application of …

Examining Barriers To Crisis Service Use Among Black Young Adults, Emily K. Burns

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Black communities face an increased burden of mental illness (Gordon, 2020). This can be linked to factors such as experiences of racism, higher rates of unemployment, financial and food insecurity, and disparities in health care (Gordon, 2020). Despite this, Black communities have historically experienced relatively low rates of suicide (Gordon, 2020). This has been anecdotally attributed to protective cultural values and beliefs about suicide. However, there has been a recent shift in this trend, particularly for Black youth and young adults.

A Phenomenological Study Of Caregivers For Sexual Minority Hospice Patients, Catherine H. Bianchi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals face disproportionate barriers in healthcare across the lifespan that persist and often intensify at the end of life. Despite hospice’s mission to provide comfort, dignity, and patient-centered support, it remains unclear whether these services equitably meet the needs of sexual minority patients. Seeking hospice care presents a unique conundrum for many LGB individuals: it necessitates inviting representatives of a historically exclusionary healthcare system into the privacy of their homes - spaces that often serve as sanctuaries of identity, safety, and autonomy. The already vulnerable experience of seeking care in one’s final days can be …

Chronic Pain: An Exploration Of The Experience Of Chronic Pain, Andrea Alzalde

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Chronic pain is a pervasive public health issue within Western society today and amongst humans worldwide. Although chronic pain is something that many people have or will experience sometime in their life, it is a complex experience that does not have a simple universal solution or immediate cure. The causes of pain can be a multitude of things and the treatments that work for some may not work for others. The current research seeks to explore the experience of chronic pain to help fill gaps in the wider research of pain. This study pursues answers to two research questions including; …

Supervisee Barriers To Disclosure And The Supervisory Working Alliance, Rachel G. Hughitt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated barriers influencing supervisees’ willingness to disclose clinical errors in mental health training contexts, with a focus on the supervisory working alliance (SWA) as a potential moderating factor. Participants read two vignettes – one describing a clinical error and the other a client concern – and were asked to indicate which case they would discuss with their supervisor. They also completed the Brief Supervisory Working Alliance Inventory–Trainee Form (BSWAI-T) and the Supervisee Disclosure in Supervision Scale (SDSS), which assessed the quality of the supervisory alliance and perceived barriers to disclosure, including fear of negative evaluation, lack of confidence, …

Transgender Individuals’ Experiences Of Ruptures And Repairs In Group Psychotherapy, Gabrielle W. Kaufman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the political climate across the United States worsens for transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals (Harmon, 2025), it has become increasingly important to attend to the mental health needs of this population (James et al., 2016). Group therapy is a widely used treatment modality that is often more accessible than individual therapy (Burlingame & Strauss, 2021) and provides unique interpersonal opportunities (Burlingame et al., 2016). While it is expected that TGD individuals face unique challenges in group therapy due to their gender identities (Chen et al., 2020), very little is actually known about the experiences of TGD individuals participating …

Why Jerk Bosses Stress Us: Burnout As An Evolved Appeasement Strategy, Hector A. Garcia, Jarad Reiss, Ray Garza

All Faculty Scholarship (Archived)

Burnout is a pandemic and costly public health problem. Studies link leadership and peer behavior to burnout, but explanations are constrained to proximate mechanisms. Evolutionary models describe depression as an ancient appeasement response to avert dangerous physical conflict with higher-ranking group members and coalitions. In turn, psychometric research consistently finds high construct overlap between burnout and depression. This shared phenomenology suggests that burnout in response to workplace social stressors reflects appeasement. The purpose of the current study is to test the relationship between rank and competition related variables and burnout.

Assessing The Role Of Employees' Esg Perception On Turnover Intention: A Moderation Analysis, Michelle Leong

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the relationship between employees’ perceptions of their organization’s ESG performance and turnover intentions by drawing upon Social Identity Theory (SIT). SIT suggests that individuals internalize organizational values and beliefs through organizational socialization, which strengthens their identification with the organizations, leading to support for organizations that embody those values. This study also investigated whether ESG awareness is a better predictor than ESG perception. The research employed a cross-sectional survey design to examine whether age and political affiliation moderate the relationship between ESG perception and turnover intention. The findings suggest that employees’ perceptions of their organization’s ESG performance are …

A Clinical Pathway For Differential Diagnosis Of Adhd Vs Trauma: Early Childhood Recognition And Intervention, Maria Neiers

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Distinguishing Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) from Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) presents significant diagnostic challenges due to overlapping symptom presentations, shared neurobiological impacts, and frequent comorbidities. This paper explores the nuanced clinical differentiation between ADHD and C-PTSD, and other trauma disorders, in pediatric populations, emphasizing the importance of trauma-informed assessment, early identification, and integrative clinical reasoning. The discussion highlights how structured diagnostic reasoning can reduce uncertainty, enhance diagnostic clarity, and support effective treatment planning. As a central contribution, this paper introduces an original clinical reasoning flowchart and a case conceptualization to illustrate its practical application in real-world diagnostic dilemmas. The need …

There Is No Finish Line: The Ramps Framework – An Evolving Model For Working With Racial Identities In Sport And Performance Psychology, Dylan Vas

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

The field of sport psychology has persisted in its calls for action on increasing cultural competence, being more inclusive of underrepresented identities, and progressing towards social justice (AASP, 2024b; Bejar et al., 2022; Fisher et al., 2003; Martens et al., 2000; Quartiroli, et al., 2023; Ryba et al, 2013; Ryba et al., 2024). This work attempts to contribute to these calls by providing attention on racial identity – including the proposal of an actionable and novel model, The Racial Identity Model of Psychology in Sport (RAMPS) Framework. The proposed model incorporates publications from sport psychology, clinical psychology, and social justice …

Essays On Economic Behaviour, Yiting Guo

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

My PhD thesis comprises three studies. The first study examines prosocial behavior; the second analyzes vaccination behavior; and the third investigates communicative behavior in the context of trade. Specifically, the first study investigates the impact of donation visibility on individual prosocial behavior. It develops a sequential-move model based on the prosocial behavior framework proposed by Benabou and Tirole (2006). In Stage 1, individuals decide whether to attend a charity event, and if so, in Stage 2, decide on the amount to donate. In this model, an individual’s decision to engage in prosocial behavior is influenced by three main factors: intrinsic …

Playing Catch Up: A Brief Look Into Modern Internet Culture And Its Impact On Adolescent Male Development, Xavier Bird

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

This doctoral paper argues that the internet, particularly the "manosphere," poses three significant threats to the development of adolescent males in the U.S.: the influence of misogynistic online personalities, the normalization of risky online behavior, and the spread of right-wing misinformation. The paper highlights the role of the COVID-19 pandemic in exacerbating these issues due to increased internet usage. Furthermore, it proposes a research study to investigate the link between exposure to online misogynistic content and aggressive behavior in schools, emphasizing the unique challenges of studying adolescents and their online culture. Finally, the paper stresses the urgent need for updated …

Applying Contextual Behavioral Science To Address Addictions In Monsters, Chase Hollander

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

The dominant essentialist paradigm in addiction treatment often conceptualizes addiction as a curse or plague which seizes the individual afflicted by it. Such views are reinforced by neurobiological interventions like Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT). While MAT can reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms, its long-term efficacy is mixed, and its emphasis on abstinence as a primary outcome limits its scope. Addiction is a multifaceted phenomenon shaped by physiological, psychological, social, and systemic factors—including stigma, moral judgment, and structural oppression. Essentialist approaches frequently pathologize individuals and obscure these broader influences. In contrast, contextual behavioral sciences and therapies aligned with functional contextualism such as …

Supporting Healthy Siblings In Pediatric Cancer: Advancing Relational Interventions To Heal Invisible Wounds, Kristen K. Wederski

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Healthy siblings of children diagnosed with cancer occupy a uniquely vulnerable position within the pediatric oncology landscape. Individuals within this population often demonstrate significant emotional distress and can experience long-term psychological challenges. Despite their risk, healthy siblings remain under-researched and under-supported compared to pediatric patients and caregivers. Existing interventions tend to prioritize individual coping skills and psychoeducation and often overlook the critical relational dynamics that shape healthy siblings' psychological adjustment. Grounded in systematic and relational theories, this paper proposes a paradigm shift toward relationally focused interventions that strengthen the caregiver-sibling bond as a core mechanism of change to foster resilience …

The Journey Of Psychotherapy: Understanding Therapeutic Technique Through Ultralight Thru Hiking, Emma Bossier

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

This paper explores several principles of ultralight backpacking as metaphors for developing one’s therapeutic technique. The tenets of ultralight thru hiking, when interpreted through a clinical lens, offer early clinicians insight into the importance of moving through fear and leaning into exploration, discomfort, and authenticity while on the journey of becoming a therapist. The experiences of numerous thru hikers are synthesized into five principles: Don’t Pack Your Fears, Be Present for the Journey, Slow Simplicity, Embrace the Suck (and The Stink), and Trail Legs. These principles do not define ultralight as carefreeness but rather offer a metaphor for the careful …

The Developmental Cohort Model Of Interpersonal Process Groups: A Clinician's Guide For University Counseling Centers, Lauren Caldas

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

The purpose of this paper is to outline a clinician's manual that guides providers in the development, facilitation, and maintenance of long-term interpersonal process groups (IPGs) within university counseling centers (UCCs). This manual also presents a new model: The Developmental Cohort Model (DCM), which utilizes a stepped model throughout a traditional student's college timeline. I will present this manual in the context of the Developmental Cohort Model (DCM), but it can certainly remain useful for any type of IPG. Research suggests that group therapy is an effective way to increase access to mental health care (Burlingame & Strauss, 2021) and …

Proposed Theoretical Model Of Pediatric Onset Multiple Sclerosis And Restrictive Eating Behaviors, Anna L. Smith

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a chronic, demyelinating, autoimmune disease that causes an array of physical and cognitive symptomatology, is commonly diagnosed in adulthood. Pediatric Onset Multiple Sclerosis (POMS) is characterized by diagnosis of the disease before age 18 and accounts for about 5% of MS cases. While there is a growing body of literature examining the impact of adult-onset multiple sclerosis on psychosocial functioning, research specifically addressing POMS remains limited. Moreover, there is a notable gap in the literature regarding the risk of eating disorders among individuals with POMS. This paper will explore a constellation of potential risk factors that may …

Roles Of Sex And Education Level With Alcohol Use Milestone Attainment And Progression, Elisabeth P. Cabot

Theses - ALL

Emerging adults report the highest rates of alcohol use, with drinking patterns varying by sex and education level. Few studies have explored how these factors relate to the attainment and progression of alcohol use milestones. The current study addresses this gap by examining the associations between sex, education level and alcohol use milestone progression and attainment in emerging adults. Secondary data analyses were conducted using National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC-III) data (N = 36,309, Mage = 45.63 [SD = 17.53], female = 56%, 53% White, 21% Black, 19% Hispanic and 2% Multiracial). Ordinal regressions indicated males …

Perceptions Of Pain And Benzodiazepine Use Interrelations: A Qualitative Study, Emma Carnes Lape

Dissertations - ALL

Growing concern and research attention have focused on potential harms associated with widespread use of benzodiazepine (BZD) medications. Individuals with chronic pain bear a disproportionate burden, characterized by higher rates of BZD prescriptions, longer-term use, and increased dependence compared to the general population. Although theory and emerging evidence suggest that pain may play a role in the maintenance of BZD use, there is no extant data describing how individuals perceive interrelations between their pain and BZD use. The aims of the present study were to conduct a thematic analysis of interview data regarding perceptions of interrelationships between pain and BZD …

Asian/Asian American College Students’ Help-Seeking Attitudes For Adhd, Nandini Jhawar

Dissertations - ALL

Background: Asian/Asian American (AA) college students are least likely to engage with ADHD treatment compared to other racially minoritized groups, which may increase their risk for negative outcomes from untreated ADHD symptoms. Public stigma of ADHD contributes to these negative help-seeking attitudes. This study used the minority stress theory to examine if the distal and proximal stress of internalization of the model minority myth, a racial stereotype, influences the relationship between public stigma and help-seeking attitudes. Methods: Participants were undergraduate students recruited from nine geographically diverse universities in the United States. Data was collected over two academic years and included …

An Examination Of Student Adherence And Intervention Complexity Within A Class-Wide Cover-Copy-Compare Intervention, Kaytlin Ann Nelson

Dissertations - ALL

Cover-Copy-Compare is a self-management intervention strategy developed to improve students’ academic performance, particularly in spelling. In academic intervention research, it is often assumed that students are completing the intervention as intended, yet this is seldom examined during intervention implementation or subsequent data analysis. The purpose of the present study was to extend the empirical literature on students’ intervention adherence by examining Cover-Copy-Compare permanent products to assess whether the complexity of the intervention (i.e., targeting six versus nine spelling words) contributed to a student’s ability to adhere to core intervention components. For the purposes of the present study, data from one …

Black Mothers' Adhd Experiences, Attitudes, And Support-Seeking Decisions, Catherine L. Montgomery

Dissertations - ALL

Background: ADHD, particularly when left untreated, is associated with significant impairment in several domains. Black youth may still be under-diagnosed with ADHD, resulting in symptoms going untreated. Black mothers may determine non-professional delivered supports to be more appropriate and acceptable than medication for their children with ADHD. As they tend to be the primary healthcare decision makers, it is important to develop a greater understanding of Black mothers’ ADHD support-seeking decision making for their youth. Method: The present study used semi-structured interviews guided by Kleinman’s Explanatory Models of Illness to discuss Black mothers’ decision making for their youth with ADHD. …

Pain Intensity And Alcohol Use Behavior Among Veterans With Chronic Pain: The Moderating Role Of Chronic Pain Acceptance, Kyle White

Dissertations - ALL

The co-occurrence of chronic pain and unhealthy alcohol use is common among veterans and associated with worse treatment outcomes and greater functional impairment relative to either condition alone. Accordingly, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has underscored the importance of addressing co-occurring medical conditions in their clinical practice guidelines for substance-related disorders. Recent legislation has also oriented the VA towards complementary and integrative health therapies to minimize opioid prescriptions for chronic pain. Thus, identifying malleable psychological factors linking pain to alcohol use is a vital step in the development of tailored interventions for veterans. The goal of the current …

A Systematic Review Of Participant Adherence To Writing Self-Monitoring Interventions, Alec Ryan Goldstein

Dissertations - ALL

Writing is a highly versatile tool that can be used to achieve various goals and serves as an effective means for learning (Bangert-Drowns et al., 2004; Graham, 2007). One widely adopted intervention to enhance student writing is self-graphing, which enables students to compare their current performance with previous efforts, thereby potentially increasing their motivation to improve subsequent performances (Harris et al., 1994; Hirsch et al., 2013; Sheehey et al., 2016; Wells et al., 2017). Self-graphing interventions require students to engage in self-directed self-assessments, which presents opportunities for noncompliance or errors. This necessitates the examination of participant adherence, or the likelihood …

Capturing Processes Of Influence In Students' Social Interactions: Examining A Two-Part Strategy To Detect Patterns Of Reinforcement In Continuous Real-Time Observations In The Classroom, James Lamar Delaney Iii

Dissertations and Theses

Students' active engagement in learning activities is presumed to be influenced by their interactions with social partners in the classroom setting, like teachers and peers. For instance, statements of support or affirmation from teachers or peer group members are assumed to encourage positive behaviors for struggling students, while statements of disapproval are assumed to discourage and undermine active classroom behaviors. Extant research examining these processes typically tries to demonstrate significant interaction patterns or show influence over time by way of indirect behavioral measures, such as survey-based assessments. It is an open question whether these processes of influence can be directly …

Effects Of Fasd On An Individual’S Life Trajectory, Peyton M. Enders

Master of Arts in Human Services

The consumption of alcohol has been in society for thousands of years. However, the discovery of the impacts of alcohol consumption while pregnant is something that is continuously being learned about. Controversy on the effects of alcohol while pregnant and the level of consumption throughout the last century alone has caused individuals to misunderstand the level of danger that it has on a child. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is a multi-layer disorder that causes not only physical deformities but also a change in mental health and cognitive levels of an individual. Throughout any stage of pregnancy a consumption of alcohol …