Social Justice Commons^™

A Critical-Constructivist Grounded Theory Exploration Of The Mental Health Experiences Of Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities In Post-Secondary Settings, Alyssa L. Decker

Dissertations, 2020-current

Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) now have access to higher education, often through inclusive post-secondary education programs (IPSE), to increase employability and quality of life. IPSE programs, historically, have provided academic and life skill support and not mental health support within programs’ curricula. A recent review of IPSE programs reveals that if mental health services are included, they are often accessed through university health services. Transitioning from high school to college induces high levels of stress, which can exacerbate underlying mental health conditions. Mental health care is defaulted to an already overburdened college counseling center without the knowledge and skills …

The Growing Needs For Young Adults’ Behavioral Health Services In Oregon And Pathways For Sustainable Service Deliveries, Anis Zaman

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

Recent OHA data indicate a significant surge in behavioral health cases among young adults ages 17-26 across Oregon. Every year in Oregon, the total number of young adults receiving medical treatment includes a significant number of them who have behavioral health challenges. This large group of young adults with mental health conditions is vulnerable to suicidal ideation and substance overdose. Despite sincere efforts by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), the young adult mental health state of Oregon remains a concern. Therefore, there is a need for a comprehensive action plan for the sustainable delivery of mental health services to young …

Barriers And Bridges: Exploring Factors That Shape Mental Health Service Utilization In Rural America, Margaret Wiwuga

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

Despite disproportionately higher suicide mortality rates and comparable prevalence of mental illness across urban and rural communities in the United States, rural populations across the nation experience significantly lower access to and utilization of mental health services, naturally leading to worse comprehensive outcomes. This literature review examines multifaceted factors shaping mental health service use in rural America, taking note of both barrier and enabling factors that impede or enable these unique populations’ willingness and ability to access and use mental health services. Ten articles published prior to September 9, 2025, were selected from the James Madison University Libraries’ Psychology and …

Building Resilience: How Protective Factors Mitigate Acculturative Stress In The Latinx Immigrant Community, Andres I. Delgado, Jamie Tierrablanca

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This literature underscores the vital role of protective factors in reducing

acculturative stress among Latinx immigrants. Key factors such as social

support, religious affiliation, familism, and physical activity help contribute to

mitigating the negative effects of acculturation. The Latinx community can

significantly benefit from integrative, culturally responsive interventions informed

by social work frameworks such as ecosystems theory and critical race theory

(CRT) as they are essential in addressing the mental health needs of this

population. Despite existing research, gaps remain in understanding the full

scope of the Latinx immigrant experience, suggesting a need for further

exploration. The expected findings will …

Educating Medical Trainees On Mental Healthcare And Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Andrea Palmieri, Joan B. Beasley, Micah Peace Urquilla, Jennifer Mclaren

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Many children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience mental health conditions and commonly receive treatment with psychotropic medications. Prescribers often overuse these medications in children with IDD, who are frequently treated with polypharmacy and antipsychotics, a trend that continues into adulthood. Medical trainees receive little training regarding the IDD patient population. This paper describes the development and evaluation of an evidence-informed, easy-to-use training curriculum. The 6-hour training establishes a foundation for medical trainees regarding the treatment of mental health conditions in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD-MH) as part of an integrated health, interdisciplinary treatment approach. …

Counseling And The Neurodiversity Paradigm: A Call To Action, Emily Goodman-Scott, Rawn Boulden, Aaron Albright, Jenna Alvarez, Betsy M. Perez

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

The counseling profession is rooted in prevention, wellness, mental health, and a critical social justice approach to serving historically marginalized communities, including people with disabilities. The overarching construct of disability comprises subtypes, such as neurodivergence. Given the prevalence of neurodivergent individuals worldwide (approximately 15%-20%), the counseling profession must be prepared to support this community. At the same time, there is a dearth of peer-reviewed literature on neurodiversity specifically for the counseling profession. In this article, we address a timely topic in the profession. We discuss utilizing a critical counseling lens and centering marginalized identities, such as people with disabilities; prominent …

Who Should Be Responding To Mental Health Crises: A Public Perception Study, Bryan E. Phillips

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project includes a survey which will be evaluating, out of Police Officers, Paramedics, and Mental Health Clinicians, who Intro to Psychology students believe are best fit to respond to Mental Health Crises as well as what factors may influence said belief. To do this they will be provided with a survey that collects demographic information, personal experiences with each profession, and detailed scenario-based questions with differing variables allowing the participants to decide which profession they believe is best equipped to deal with each scenario. This data will then be put into a research manuscript to be presented via posterboard …

Navigating Mental Wellness: A Peer-Led Journey Into Adult Services, Kristin G. Haberek

DSW Capstone Projects

Students with severe emotional disturbances (SED) occupy one of the most underserved intersections in American education and mental health care. As they age out of children’s services, they face abrupt service discontinuation, disrupted therapeutic relationships, and adult systems ill-equipped to meet their needs. These vulnerabilities, including heightened risks of crisis, hospitalization, homelessness, and justice involvement, constitute a central practice problem. This capstone addresses these transitions across three scholarly products: a systematic literature review, a theoretical concept paper, and a practical application paper, tracing a unified arc from diagnosing structural failures to proposing an evidence-informed, equity-oriented clinical response. Synthesizing key findings …

A Descriptive Study Of Black College Students’ Perceptions Of Law Enforcement After Police Brutality, Alisia L. Collins

PANDION: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas

Police brutality is a social issue that has tormented the mental health of the Black community for decades. Seeing brethren battered and bruised countless times has taken an emotional toll on the relationship of the Black community with the American justice system and the officers meant to uphold it. Previous research has shown that the Black community primarily has a negative perception of law enforcement because of factors like police brutality, unjustified shootings, and legal policies within the justice system. Compounding experiences can occur for people with disabilities within the Black community. Specifically, autistic people have a higher risk of …

Receptions Of Mental Health Emergency Services In New York City, Daniel R. Samost

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Mental health emergency response has become a highly scrutinized topic following the Black Lives Matter movement and several notable incidents of mental health emergency service users being killed by police responders. Qualitative interviews were conducted with mental health emergency service users to better understand the experience of using mental health emergency services, garner critical feedback of the service, and explore recommendations to improve future response. A total of 23 participants conducted interviews and detailed 40 incidents of mental health emergency service utilization. These interviews were then coded and analyzed. There were a few major findings from the data. Just over …

An Examination Of How The Ethno-Racial Socialization Process Influences Women Of Color’S Engagement With Mental Health Treatment, Kairys M. Grasty

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Women of Color (WOC) are uniquely deterred from engaging with traditional mental healthcare services due to the generational harm that has been wrought to Communities of Color when accessing support in generations’ past and present (Godoy-Ruiz et al., 2015). Thus, to protect WOC from further marginalization, parents and caregivers disseminate messages to WOC about their gender and racial identity during the ethno-racial socialization (ERS) process. While this process is intended to be protective, an unintended consequence is that it can socialize WOC to be distrustful of others and reluctant to engage with mental health services to support their mental health. …

Addressing Psychosocial Barriers To Participation In People Experiencing Homelessness: An Occupational Therapy Workshop, Preston Bender, Steven M. Gerardi, Lacey Spark

Summer 2025 OTD Capstone Symposium

Despite the occupational therapy (OT) profession's emphasis on holistic, person-centered care, many OT practitioners and students report feeling a lack of self-efficacy and preparedness to navigate the complex psychological, social, and systemic barriers that hinder occupational participation in people experiencing homelessness (PEH). This capstone project aimed to address the perceived unpreparedness among clinicians through the creation of an 8-hour interactive educational workshop aligned with Experiential Learning Theory. The content is grounded in the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) and informed by the Bridging the Transition from Homelessness: A Social Justice Framework (BTTF), trauma-informed care (TIC), harm reduction, and diversity, equity, …

Daily Creative Practice: A Path To Well-Being For Self + Society, Ellie Cashman

Masters Theses

Daily creative practice is a proven way to promote health and happiness, and to counteract what many are currently calling a global crisis in mental health.

There has perhaps never been a better time to be creative. Our collective healing and future human flourishing depend on it.

The author’s life and teaching experiences are explored, in the context of human history, (social) psychology and the challenges of contemporary culture.

Finally, the author offers a preview of a curriculum for Daily Creative Practice that will be further developed and implemented in Fall 2025, thanks to a grant from RISD’s Graduate Commons. …

Household Wealth And Mental Health In Older Adults Across Racial Groups: Moderating Role Of Social Support, Sunkanmi Folorunsho

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis examines the relationship between household wealth and mental health outcomes among older adults, with particular attention to racial and ethnic differences and the potential moderating role of social support. Although financial resources are widely recognized as important determinants of psychological well-being, less is known about how social support interacts with economic conditions to shape mental health in later life. The study also addresses how these patterns may vary among different racial and ethnic groups, given persistent inequalities in wealth and disparities in access to social resources.

Drawing on data from the 2020 wave of the Health and Retirement …

Assessing Healthcare Insurance Policies In Mississippi: An Evaluation Of Public And Private Options, Latarsha H. Michael, Brieah D. Hudson

The Journal of the Research Association of Minority Professors

Medicaid is the main payer for maternity care in the U.S., covering nearly half of all births. Federal law provides postpartum coverage for 60 days, but gaps exist, especially in non-expansion states. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 allows states to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage to 12 months. Mississippi, where Medicaid covers 65% of births, faces severe maternal and infant health challenges. Despite its surplus, extending postpartum care to 12 months could cost $7 million annually. This study examines private and public health insurance coverage for perinatal care in Mississippi. This involves analyzing how different insurance policies address the …

Centering Black Resource-Poor Adolescent Voices: A Critical Phenomenological Study Of Lived Mental Health Struggles While Enduring The Covid-19 Pandemic, Paulette Dispagna

Counseling and Psychology Dissertations

There is a dearth of research in general and qualitative research specifically about the mental health experience of resource-poor Black adolescents living in Boston. This has implications for the field in terms of how adolescents experiencing mental health issues can be supported and how professionals can create more useful mental health treatment. Drawing from the theoretical lens of critical race theory and more specifically, intersectionality, this hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry examined the ways in which experiencing multiple levels of inequality, especially from racism and poverty, affected a Black adolescent’s mental health. Eleven adolescents were interviewed via Zoom. Six major findings included: …

Childhood Sexual Abuse Among Asian American Adults: Prevalence, Cultural Barriers, And Mental Health Implications, Kruti S. Chaliawala, Liliana Rojas-Guyler

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Childhood sexual abuse represents a significant public health concern, particularly within minority populations, where adversities and complications are prevalent but understudied. This study aims to investigate the mental health of Asian American childhood sexual abuse survivors and explore the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse among Asian adults. A secondary analysis of the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data was conducted, including a final sample of 1,894 Asian adults (0.16% of the total sample size of N = 401,958). Among these participants, 16.8% (n = 1,894) reported experiencing CSA. The most common forms of abuse were inappropriate touching …

Exploring Identity And Belonging Through Housing Pathways: Resettlement Experiences Of Female Ukrainian Refugees, Stephanie M. Duncan

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Background: This dissertation examines the resettlement experiences of female Ukrainian refugees in Germany following the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, which displaced over 8.5 million Ukrainians, including 1.2 million to Germany by April 2024. Focusing on Munich, the study explores the interplay of housing pathways, identity, and belonging, emphasizing gendered challenges faced by women, particularly single mothers and caregivers, navigating trauma, systemic barriers, and cultural adaptation. Organized into three articles, this work employs a social justice lens to address structural barriers, such as discriminatory housing markets, economic exclusion, and limited access to resources, which disproportionately impact marginalized women, …

Bridging The Gap: Fostering Open Dialogue On Resource Access And Service Needs, Cameron Castillo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This project investigates whether there are additional resources desired by clients or are needed to better support said clients in their recovery at the Interim, Inc. organization. This agency is a nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is to build community connections through providing services to individuals facing mental health and substance use challenges. While there is a wide range of programs available, there may still be clients with unmet needs. The purpose of this project was to identify any service gaps by conducting separate surveys of clients and staff members. Through the use of open-ended questions, the expectation of receiving …

Considerations Of Medicare Telehealth Services With Older Adults, Sonah Kho, Amanda Dediego

Adultspan Journal

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic set in motion a rapid expansion of mental health services offered via telehealth. With this rapid expansion came the need to examine how policy and practice should be shaped in a future where telehealth is considered common in counseling practice. For counselors to understand how to support older adult clients in using telehealth services, they must understand telehealth policy. Following the eligibility of licensed counselors to participate in Medicare, counselors need to stay abreast of regulatory changes regarding restrictions and regulations on use of telehealth for mental and behavioral health services, including video and …

Rgb Root Matriz Color Dance, Danielle E. Gauthier

Theses and Dissertations

RGB Root Matriz Color Dance (Color Dance) is an immersive, interactive experience that combines poetic phrases and color filters to create a womb-like environment. Designed by Danielle Gauthier, this artistic piece uses a webcam to respond to users’ movements in real time, allowing them to confront and express their emotions through metaphor and dance. Color Dance creates a unique platform for self-discovery and empowerment by fostering a connection between the body and discomforting emotions.

What Are The Barriers To Seeking Psychotherapy Services Across Different Racial And Ethnic Groups?, Deysee Chavez, Elisa Rodarte

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study explored barriers to seeking psychotherapy services across racial and ethnic groups among adults of 18 years of age or older (2) any individual who has considered, sought, or received mental health services (3) residing in Southern California. The surveys consisted of questions from the Barriers to Mental Health Services Scale Revised (BMHSS-R) sub-scales; Help Seeking, Stigma, Knowledge and Fear of Psychotherapy, Belief about Inability to Find a Psychotherapist, and Belief that Depressive Symptoms are Normal. It was hypothesized that Latino individuals face greater barriers when seeking psychotherapy services as compared to other racial groups. This study consisted of …

The Five Foundational Factors To Building Resilience In Young People, Taylor Teichman

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

The Trauma Skilled Approach when working with young people begins with the mindset-shifting question, “what happened to you?” This workshop will explore step 2 of the Trauma Skilled model: Connection, Security (Belonging), Achievement, Autonomy and Fulfillment as the five foundational factors to building resilient youth. There will be opportunities to work in small groups reviewing Purposeful Practices that can be replicated by participants in their own practice.

Differentially Unwell: On Mimi Khúc's "Dear Elia", Seo-Young J. Chu

Publications and Research

[...] Inviting readers to reclaim the stigma of unwellness and collectively to "tend to our unwellness, together," Khúc approaches unwellness as a crucial resource for subverting the "wellness and unwellness" dichotomy entirely. After all, the opposite of "wellness" is not "unwellness"; the opposite of "wellness" does not exist. The opposition itself is an artificial framework, one that reductively harms more than it dialogically helps. We need to move away from these simplistic dualisms, Khúc suggests, and towards more generous, trauma-informed epistemologies. [...]

Feasibility Of Influencing Clinician Perceived Knowledge And Competence Of Human Trafficking Via A Continuing Education Workshop, Rachel Wakefield

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Previous research has examined the complex mental and social health deficits of those who were trafficked that clinicians have to treat therapeutically (Litam, 2017; Pascual-Leone et al., 2017). Other research has explored how continuing education workshops often change the knowledge, competence, and attitudes of attendees to use more effective and evidenced techniques and skills (Neimeyer et al., 2009; Raghavan et al., 2008). However, there is a lack of understanding about how a complex topic, specifically treatment considerations of those who were trafficked, changes the knowledge and competence of continuing education workshop attendees. The purpose of the current study is to …

The Unequal Distribution Of Social Risk For Black Men Across The Life-Span. A Novel Framework., Waleed Y. Sami

Adultspan Journal

This conceptual overview offers a comprehensive overview of systemic pathways that negatively impact the mental health of Black Men throughout their lives. Our argument highlights the importance for counselors and mental health professionals to utilize a thorough social risk assessment that considers these pathways in order to effectively address the mental health needs of Black Men while fostering positive working relationships. This overview strongly advocates for the use of context and structural determinants when evaluating mental health symptoms. Without an appropriate understanding of social risk and determinants, counselors may inadvertently perpetuate disparities by decontextualizing symptomology, and reproducing racist discourse.

Student-Athlete Mental Health: University Of Montana Case Study, Abigail M. Sherwood

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Research suggests that Division I college-student athletes experience higher levels of stress and other behavioral health issues than their non-athlete counterparts, with up to 20% of them suffering from depression (Sudano et al., 2017). Two studies on student athletes’ well-being conducted in 2020, reported that athletes continue to report higher levels of mental health concerns (Johnson, 2022). Since the fall of 2020, rates of mental exhaustion, depression, and anxiety have improved minimally with rates remaining 1.5 to two times higher than reported before the COVID-19 pandemic (Johnson, 2022). Naomi Osaka withdrawing from the French Open in 2021 and Simone Biles …

An Exploration Of The Lived Experiences And Psychological States Of Migrants And Refugees, Zainab Akef, Senel Poyrazli, Isabel Quintero

The Qualitative Report

UNHCR reports that about 82.4 million individuals were forcibly displaced as they attempted to avoid persecution, conflict, or human rights violations in their home countries. In addition to traumatic experiences, refugees encounter stressors such as low income, reduced social support, and language barriers. This qualitative study aimed to explore the impact of pre-migration trauma and political detainment on mental health outcomes and living conditions. A total of eight interviewees participated in video conferencing interviews. A non-probability convenience sampling using the snowballing technique was utilized to identify participants. Data were analyzed using an inductive approach for thematic analysis. The software Dedoose …

“Putting On Our People Lens”: Lived Experience As Pedagogy, Tessa Zoe Milman, Sarah Bream, Celso Delgado, Erin Mcintyre, Tristan Scremin, Leslie Moreno, Maggie Yeo, Deborah Pitts

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

In the professional education of mental health practitioners, including occupational therapists, there has been a lack of meaningful inclusion of people labeled with mental illness into curricula, beyond guest speaker panels and presentations. This study explored the experiences of students, faculty, and ‘Experts by Experience’ within a mental health occupational therapy course that incorporated Experts with lived experience as co-facilitators of weekly fieldwork debriefs. The study utilized focus groups and interviews to understand the experiences of students, mental health faculty, and ‘Experts by Experience’. Key themes that emerged from the qualitative data analysis were organized under three broad categories: 1) …

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Well-Being Of People Incarcerated In United States Prisons, Kimberly Rivera

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the population as a whole. However, the incarcerated population (which also experiences a variety of health disparities) has been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Due to overcrowding, poor ventilation, and lack of resources, the incarcerated population already is at a heightened risk for negative health outcomes, made worse by the recent pandemic. To adapt to the rapidly changing conditions during the pandemic in 2020 and into 2022, new safety measures were implemented, but the unintended consequences associated with the implementation of these procedures have yet to be examined empirically. I conducted a qualitative content …