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Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

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Articles 391 - 420 of 429

Full-Text Articles in Clinical Psychology

How Managed Behavioral Health Care Impacts Psychotherapeutic Practices, Beth S. Abramson Jan 2012

How Managed Behavioral Health Care Impacts Psychotherapeutic Practices, Beth S. Abramson

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The cost of health and mental health care is a growing problem for the United States. Managed care evolved as a way to continue providing quality services in a cost-effective fashion. In the mental health field, some individuals believe managed care reduces the quality of treatment. This exploratory study investigates current sentiments among mental health clinicians regarding managed care’s impact on mental health treatment and looks at how clinicians practice in light of managed care’s guidelines for treating patients. This study explores the current impact of managed care compared with managed care’s first detectable impact in the 1980s.


Exploring Ethical And Boundary Challenges In Outreach Psychotherapy: A Training Model, Susan M. Rogers Jan 2012

Exploring Ethical And Boundary Challenges In Outreach Psychotherapy: A Training Model, Susan M. Rogers

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The need for outreach psychotherapists has increased considerably over the past few decades. Research suggests graduate training has not kept up with this phenomenon. Graduate students continue to be trained for in-clinic work, and are not prepared for the challenges of going into clients’ homes and into the community. The literature supports the necessity for therapists who will be doing outreach psychotherapy to be trained in working in these atypical settings, as many innate challenges exist in this work. Challenging mental health issues, distracting environmental issues, safety concerns, lack of collegial support and supervision in the field, feelings of isolation, …


Comparing Static-99 Scores Of Incarcerated White, Black, And Latino Sex Offenders, Michele O. Waldron Jan 2012

Comparing Static-99 Scores Of Incarcerated White, Black, And Latino Sex Offenders, Michele O. Waldron

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Risk assessments contribute to sentencing and parole decisions, and thus are among the highest stakes assessments in the mental health field. The Static-99 has become a standard element of risk assessments for sex offenders, yet its norms and predictive accuracy have been established primarily with Caucasian samples, while the incarcerated population is disproportionately minority. Scoring of the Static-99 depends heavily on history of criminal offenses; if patterns of offenses differ along ethnic lines, the possibility that offense history should be understood to have ethnically-specific predictive validity (that is, the predictive significance of a given factor differs by ethnicity) becomes more …


Perceived Stress And The Buffering Hypothesis Of Perceived Social Support On Facebook, John G. Lynch Jan 2012

Perceived Stress And The Buffering Hypothesis Of Perceived Social Support On Facebook, John G. Lynch

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Online social networking sites have experienced a surge in popularity since their inception. Serving as a hub for communities of all ages, Web sites such as MySpace, Friendster and Facebook bridge geographic and time limitations and offer their members the opportunity to connect with anyone on the Internet at any time. The growing accessibility of technology for computer-mediated communication, outside of such Web sites offers similar opportunities. Although critics share concern over potential for the loss of intimacy, the possibility for increased levels of perceived social support through limitless networking options should not be overlooked. When we consider the strong …


The Other Child: Health Narratives Of Adults Raised With A Chronically Ill Sibling, Danielle Anna Hughes Jan 2012

The Other Child: Health Narratives Of Adults Raised With A Chronically Ill Sibling, Danielle Anna Hughes

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The sibling relationship brings with it a powerful experience and unique effects on individual development. Within this paper the personal health narratives of adult siblings who grew up with a chronically ill brother or sister are explored in depth. Using a naturalistic, qualitative paradigm and approach to the research a small sample of participants (N=7) provided in depth, semi-structured interviews geared to explore their experiences growing up with their siblings, and later effects on the development of personal health narratives. Using thematic analysis, a number of themes were identified including: (a) at home: finding out, the early relationship, early environment, …


Hoof Prints For Healing: An Equine-Assisted Therapy Program For A Unique School, Alison M. Roy Jan 2012

Hoof Prints For Healing: An Equine-Assisted Therapy Program For A Unique School, Alison M. Roy

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The unique and meaningful relationship that can develop between humans and horses has been well documented for centuries. More recently a hypothesis has emerged that humans can improve self-concept and social competence from having a horse in their lives. To date, few studies have empirically explored this hypothesis. The hypothesized social and emotional benefits of interacting with horses have inspired Equine-Assisted Therapy (EAT) programs which utilize horses in goal-directed treatment. EAT programs have been shown to be especially effective for socially and emotionally disadvantaged children and youth. In the current project, the author created an EAT program for the socially …


Raising Children On The Autism Spectrum: Parental Needs, Kathleen A. Ryan Jan 2012

Raising Children On The Autism Spectrum: Parental Needs, Kathleen A. Ryan

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The rates of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnoses have increased rapidly in the past few years. This increase is affecting many American families but the current research literature fails to evaluate the needs of parents who are raising children on the spectrum. Parents of children with Autism experience grief, denial, anger, guilt, depression, isolation, stress, financial difficulties, and marital struggles. The author proposed a mixed methods study to determine services received and satisfaction with those services; level of parental interest in specialized services; how well parents’ needs had been met with existing services; and what services parents of autistic children …


Bracing For Idiopathic Scoliosis: Improving Adherence Through Psychological Intervention, Shoshana J. Fagen Jan 2012

Bracing For Idiopathic Scoliosis: Improving Adherence Through Psychological Intervention, Shoshana J. Fagen

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Poor treatment adherence is increasingly being recognized as a significant problem in pediatric medicine. For the condition Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis, poor adherence rates to the most non-surgical intervention, orthotic bracing, have become a well-established fact. This treatment modality has been correlated with multiple psychosocial areas of difficulty, including low self image, suicidal ideation, feelings of isolation, social discomfort, depression, an external locus of control, increasing risk taking behavior, high levels of stress, anger, fear, shame, and eating disorders. Since the orthotic bracing has been linked to both poor adherence and to psychosocial problems, an intervention is created to increase adherence …


Disappearance And Return: Psychoanalytic Perspectives On The Past, Nathaniel C. Thorn Jan 2012

Disappearance And Return: Psychoanalytic Perspectives On The Past, Nathaniel C. Thorn

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This is a theoretical dissertation about the psychology of returning to the past. The purpose of this work is to examine the growth potential of psychological returns and to clarify and contribute to psychoanalytic theory. Special attention is given to involuntary memories, or integrative returns, which are illustrated by four vignettes taken from a mixture of sources. These experiences provide a contrast to familiar pathological returns, such as the return of the repressed and the repetition compulsion. Accordingly, generative returns are differentiated from non-generative returns. With this distinction in mind, psychoanalytic theories are reappraised. A variety of psychoanalytic concepts and …


Voices Of Adoptees: Stories And Experiences Within Schools, Elizabeth S. Donalds Jan 2012

Voices Of Adoptees: Stories And Experiences Within Schools, Elizabeth S. Donalds

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Adoption is an emotional topic for many families. Today there are between 5-7 million adoptees in the United States alone, and 40% of U.S. adults report considering adoption as a way to form families. With so many children being adopted, therapists who work with children in the public schools need to be educated about the ways in which adoption can affect those involved in the family of adoption. Unfortunately, there is little information about adoption available to professionals working in schools. The following research helps us understand the experiences of the adopted child in schools, as told by adult adoptees. …


The Collaborative Role Of Psychologists In Rural Pediatric Primary Care Settings, Kimberly M. Russo Jan 2012

The Collaborative Role Of Psychologists In Rural Pediatric Primary Care Settings, Kimberly M. Russo

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In this dissertation I discuss research conducted to gain a greater understanding of the unique collaborative needs and desires of medical professionals working with pediatric patients in rural communities. Specifically, I researched the following question: Do medical professionals working in rural areas desire more in-depth collaborative relationships with mental health professionals than they currently have? I acquired information on this subject by mailing surveys to primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and family practice doctors to learn more about their opinions regarding collaboration with mental health professionals. I collected data over a one-month period, resulting in 11 completed surveys being returned. …


Fatherhood And A Partner's Postpartum Depression: Coping, Relationship Satisfaction, Gender Roles, And Empathy, Martha G. Ruiz Jan 2012

Fatherhood And A Partner's Postpartum Depression: Coping, Relationship Satisfaction, Gender Roles, And Empathy, Martha G. Ruiz

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The present study focused on assessing differences in new father’s coping styles when living with a partner suffering from symptoms of postpartum depression. It further investigated whether a relationship existed between father’s coping style and their level of relationship satisfaction, empathy, and views on gender. Five fathers, between the ages of 27 and 46 volunteered their participation in this study. Fathers were recruited through their partners from medical and mental health clinics and agencies offering services to new mothers or mothers suffering from symptoms of postpartum depression. The Coping Responses Inventory (CRI) was utilized to determine if differences existed in …


Wholeistic EducationTm, Cerissa Leigh Desrosiers Jan 2012

Wholeistic EducationTm, Cerissa Leigh Desrosiers

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation introduces Wholeistic EducationTM (WEDTM), an innovative, values-based, interdisciplinary pro-social theory that is the culmination of centuries of scientific and philosophical learning and exploration about optimal mental health and human development. WED is based on basic human nature and universal human rights, and so it applies to all variations of human society- racial, ethnic, religious, or otherwise. WED is a foundation theory to which any targeted implementation strategy can be applied. It is both a proactive strategy for seeking and maintaining health before a crisis arises in families, schools, and organizations as well as a treatment …


The Origin Of A Sense Of Self In Women, Kimberly Dewing Robbins Jan 2012

The Origin Of A Sense Of Self In Women, Kimberly Dewing Robbins

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This phenomenological study focuses on how a strong sense of self in women changes social precepts and gender stereotypes empowering women to define themselves instead of being defined by society. A sense of self may be defined as the ability to distinguish one’s own values from those of any outside persuasions, and to do so well enough to be able to protect those ideals from unwanted external influence. Is a sense of self, realized at a young age, an innate feeling or developed over time through adversity and the maturation process? This study will specifically look at what influences can …


The Phenomenology Of Court-Ordered Treatment: From The Perspective Of Methamphetamine Dependent Adults, Justin Steffener Jan 2012

The Phenomenology Of Court-Ordered Treatment: From The Perspective Of Methamphetamine Dependent Adults, Justin Steffener

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This phenomenological study was designed to explore with a sample of methamphetamine dependent adults their perceptions of the process involved in their experiences of court-ordered treatment. The motivation for this study derives from the researcher's wish to unearth ways to better understand and support the needs of adults suffering from addiction. A significant amount of research has already been conducted in regards to the treatment of methamphetamine addiction from the standpoint of quantitative measurements of treatment outcomes, but limited information is presently available from the perspective of the suffers. The stringent selection of the sample was composed of six individuals …


Stresses Of Mothers Caring For An Older Adolescent Diagnosed With Autism: A Phenomenological Exploration, Linda Mason Jan 2012

Stresses Of Mothers Caring For An Older Adolescent Diagnosed With Autism: A Phenomenological Exploration, Linda Mason

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

A review of the literature provides ample research about caregiver stress in relationship to healthcare needs, aging, and mental illness. However, there is limited research about caregiver stress in regard to families that care for a child with disability. Further limited in scope is research about mothers who care for an older adolescent with diagnosed autism. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experience of six mothers caring for an older adolescent diagnosed with autism. The question about what causes stress resulted in findings: isolation, coping with their child's challenging behaviors, and frustration with the establishment. The question about what …


The Wounded Healer: Finding Meaning In Suffering, Garret B. Wyner Jan 2012

The Wounded Healer: Finding Meaning In Suffering, Garret B. Wyner

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In modern history, no event has more profoundly symbolized suffering than the Holocaust. This novel “Husserlian-realist” phenomenological dissertation elucidates the meaning of existential trauma through an interdisciplinary and psychologically integrative vantage point. I use the testimony of a select group of Holocaust witnesses who committed suicide decades after that event as a lens to examine what their despair may reveal about an unprecedented existential, moral, and spiritual crisis of humanity that threatens to undermine our faith in human history and reality itself. By distinguishing what they actually saw about our condition from what they merely believed about reality, I show …


Resilience Factors Affecting The Readjustment Of National Guard Soldiers Returning From Deployment, D. Patricia Tackett Jan 2011

Resilience Factors Affecting The Readjustment Of National Guard Soldiers Returning From Deployment, D. Patricia Tackett

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Following the September 11, 2001 attack on the United States, there has been increased utilization of the Reserve Components (RC) by the military to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Service members in the National Guard and Reserve (NG/R) represent approximately 40% of the forces involved in these conflicts. Current research indicates that NG/R personnel and their families may be at greater risk to deployment stressors than their Active Component counterparts. Estimates for the development of mental health problems including PTSD among returning RC personnel, range as high as 42%. The focus of this study was to advance the …


A Conceptualization Of Treatment Stigma In Returning Veterans, Jason B. Flick Jan 2011

A Conceptualization Of Treatment Stigma In Returning Veterans, Jason B. Flick

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The dissertation project combines three theoretical models that inform conceptualizations of the origins, manifestations, and consequences of stigma: the Social Psychological model (SPM), the Sociological model (SM), and the Cognitive-behavioral model (CBM). These models merge into a single, integrative lens, through which stigma can be examined on both cultural and individual levels. This lens is then applied to the cultural and individual manifestations of the stigma of seeking psychological treatment experienced by veterans who have served in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Through this lens, an understanding of the inception, maintenance, and effects of this treatment …


First Elderly Client In Therapy: Factors That Influence Student Interest In Geropsychology, Cristina E. M. Filippelli Jan 2011

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 …


A Concept Mapping Needs Assessment Of Young Families With Parental Cancer, Richard P. Durant Jan 2011

A Concept Mapping Needs Assessment Of Young Families With Parental Cancer, Richard P. Durant

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this research is to investigate the support needs of young families living with and beyond a parental diagnosis of cancer. The sample includes 56 participants comprised of 31 professional stakeholders and 25 patient stakeholders affiliated with the Charles R. Wood Cancer Center. It was hypothesized there would be differences in how the groups of stakeholders rated needs in terms of importance, satisfaction, and utilization. Differences in ratings are thought to be barriers to effective program development. While not a formal research hypothesis, it was anticipated other program development barriers germane to naturalistic clinical settings would emerge from …


Descending Into And Out Of The Maelstrom: Soma And The Survival Struggle, Rachel M. Urbano Jan 2011

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 …


The Technology Of Grief: Social Networking Sites As A Modern Death Ritual, Jordan Ciel Fearon Jan 2011

The Technology Of Grief: Social Networking Sites As A Modern Death Ritual, Jordan Ciel Fearon

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Technology plays a significant role in the socialization and development of society. One popular technology includes Facebook, a Social Networking Site (SNS). As Facebook has become a common site for reaching out to others for a sense of support and connection, it has also become a site to express grief and bereavement through the creation of Memorial Groups. Through a qualitative survey design, descriptive information regarding the impetus to create a Memorial Group as well as the desired utility was examined through the perspective of the creator. An online questionnaire consisting of open and closed-ended questions was completed by 68 …


Work Interrupted: A Questionnaire Assessing The Relationship Between Work-Related Distress And Psychological Adjustment To Cancer, Betsy A. Bates Freed Jan 2011

Work Interrupted: A Questionnaire Assessing The Relationship Between Work-Related Distress And Psychological Adjustment To Cancer, Betsy A. Bates Freed

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Cancer is an increasingly survivable disease that significantly impacts the ability of individuals to negotiate successfully the developmental task most distinctly affiliated with middle adulthood: creating meaning through achievement, creativity, and service. For many adults, these goals are accomplished through employment. When cancer intrudes, patients may be deprived of the ability to participate fully in the “generativity” that developmental psychologist Erik Erikson deemed essential to a healthy adulthood. In qualitative studies, patients’ narratives speak of many work-related losses — of routine, normality, economic stability, social connection, purpose, and identity. While psychosocial issues and quality of life are viewed with increasing …


Preliminary Development Of A Q-Sort Measure Of The Adlerian Concept Of Personality Priorities: The Adlerian Personality Priorities Q-Sort (Appqs), Dennis C. Roberts Jan 2011

Preliminary Development Of A Q-Sort Measure Of The Adlerian Concept Of Personality Priorities: The Adlerian Personality Priorities Q-Sort (Appqs), Dennis C. Roberts

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

No abstract provided.


A Self-Psychological Exploration Of Multiple Sclerosis In Its Biopsychosocial Context, Elisabeth Anne Parrott Jan 2011

A Self-Psychological Exploration Of Multiple Sclerosis In Its Biopsychosocial Context, Elisabeth Anne Parrott

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This theoretical dissertation constructs a new frame of reference for understanding relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) using self psychology to develop a biopsychosocial formulation of the illness in order to better inform the medical treatment of patients. After conducting a critical exploration of MS in its historical context and providing a brief overview of the etiology of MS, this paper examines the phenomenology of the illness using the concepts of self psychology to further develop the theory of Engel’s (1977) biopsychosocial model. The relationship among biological, intrapsychic, and social factors and coherent conceptualization and medical treatment of multiple sclerosis is addressed. …


Eating Disorder Metaphors: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis Of Women's Experiences, Rachael Brooke Goren-Watts Jan 2011

Eating Disorder Metaphors: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis Of Women's Experiences, Rachael Brooke Goren-Watts

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Eating disorders have reached epidemic levels in the United States and cause immense pain and suffering. Given the high fatality and relapse rates of eating disorders, as well as the numerous medical complications associated with them, it is useful to know more about how individuals view their eating disorder, and the meaning making during the recovery process in order to better understand the experience. Narrative theory, and specifically the metaphors women use to story their experience, enrich our understanding of eating disorders within a social constructionist lens. This qualitative meta-synthesis utilizes hermeneutics and identifies and describes the metaphors that women …


A Training Curriculum For Assessing And Treating Sex Offenders With Mental Illnesses, Shawna Elizabeth Walker Boles Jan 2011

A Training Curriculum For Assessing And Treating Sex Offenders With Mental Illnesses, Shawna Elizabeth Walker Boles

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this paper was to develop a continuing education program to teach sex offender-specific treatment providers (SOSTP) in the community how to appropriately assess, treat and manage adults with severe mental illness who are also sex offenders (SMISOs) in an outpatient setting. This paper begins with an overview of the most relevant literature associated with the treatment of sex offenders and a presentation of some of the current programs developed to treat sex offenders with severe and persistent mental illnesses. This review also outlines the paucity of resources and the need for SOSTPs to receive expanded training to …


An Examination Of American-Born Muslim College Students’ Attitudes Toward Mental Health, Benjamin A. Herzig Jan 2011

An Examination Of American-Born Muslim College Students’ Attitudes Toward Mental Health, Benjamin A. Herzig

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Despite American Muslims’ growing numbers in the United States, their frequent encounters with prejudice, and their increased self-reports of emotional stress, little research has been geared toward understanding American Muslims’ attitudes toward mental health, specifically those born and raised in the United States. On the basis of current demographic trends, it is reasonable to suggest that American-born Muslims represent the future of Islam in the United States. This study examined the mental health attitudes of American-born Muslim college students (N = 184). A primarily quantitative survey approach was employed to address several research hypotheses and questions on the topic of …


Dealing With Suffering: A Comparison Of Religious And Psychological Perspectives, Emily R. Pimpinella Jan 2011

Dealing With Suffering: A Comparison Of Religious And Psychological Perspectives, Emily R. Pimpinella

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

One of the main tasks of psychologists is to help clients deal with suffering. In order to assist the client, a therapist needs to have an understanding of the client’s beliefs about suffering. Due to the importance of religion for much of the general population, and considering how beliefs influence clients when dealing with suffering, it is essential that psychologists be mindful and respectful of religious beliefs in order to provide competent service. In order to do this, therapists need to have knowledge about the religious doctrine that their client observes. Therapists also need to be aware of their own …