Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons^™

The Menstrual Cycle In Psychotherapy: Interventions, Therapist Engagement, And Blind Spots, Rozita Alaluf

Dissertations and Theses

There is a dearth of literature on psychotherapy and menstruation, except for the treatment and diagnosis of issues associated with premenstrual distress. This study aimed to bridge this gap by investigating the frequency and context of discussions about the menstrual cycle, the factors influencing therapists’ engagement with this topic, and the therapeutic approaches utilized to address the menstrual cycle within psychotherapy.

In phase 1, 118 psychotherapists from various theoretical backgrounds completed a survey on menstruation in clinical practice. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. In phase 2, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 7 psychotherapists, primarily identifying their theoretical orientation …

Productivity In Private Practice: Experiences And Best Practices Of Mental Health Counselors, Mark C. Pilger

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study is to understand how mental health counselors in private practice conceptualize, approach, and manage productivity, including key strategies and best practices employed through a qualitative study of lived experience. Inclusion criteria for participant eligibility included being a licensed counselor with a degree from a CACREP-accredited counseling program, working primarily in a private practice setting, and with primarily adult clients. Nineteen participants (N = 19) met these criteria and were included in the study. A thematic analysis was utilized by a team of researchers, which resulted in seven primary themes. The primary themes relate to the …

Impact Of Sleep Deprivation On Stress And Performance In Students: Best Interventions, Brianna Crowley

Capstone Showcase

Sleep is an essential part of physical and mental well-being, yet, many individuals underestimate its importance.^1,2,4 Sleep deprivation can lead to a variety of detriments including memory loss, disorganized thinking, and mood changes.^3,6,7 Because of this, academic performance can be directly impaired as well, which further perpetuates a vicious cycle of sleep deprivation and increasing stress.⁸ Interventions to help improve sleep include adequate sleep hygiene, appropriate physical exercise, lifestyle changes, practicing mindfulness, and using pharmaceutical aids. Providers must continue to address this common issue among patients as it truly impacts various aspects of life and follow good …

Psychotropic Polypharmacy On Heart Rate Of Daphnia Magna, Gwendolynne Miller, Brian Bagatto

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The prevalence of patients being prescribed multiple medications concurrently is significantly rising, and so is the importance of investigating any interactions between medications. One common example—sertraline and clomipramine have been used together to treat obsessive compulsive disorder. Clomipramine, however, is known to cause tachyarrhythmias in some patients. The present study set out to investigate the role of this drug combination on the heart rate of a simple animal model, Daphnia magna, or the water flea. The water flea was exposed to saline, sertraline, clomipramine, or sertraline plus clomipramine, and heart rate was measured subsequently. It was found that the …

Earlier Use Of Long-Acting Injectable Paliperidone Palmitate Once-Monthly Versus Oral Antipsychotics In Patients With Schizophrenia: An Integrated Patient-Level Meta Analysis Of The Prosipal And Pride Studies, Martha Sajatovic

Faculty Scholarship

Purpose: A previous integrated patient-level analysis demonstrated a significant benefit of implementing once-monthly injectable paliperidone palmitate (PP1M) earlier in the treatment course for schizophrenia. Earlier therapeutic interventions during the first 3–5 years after disease onset can positively impact long-term outcomes in schizophrenia. This present analysis evaluated the risk of relapse both overall and by different durations of illness (0–3 years, >3–5 years, and >5 years from diagnosis) in adult patients with schizophrenia who received PP1M or oral antipsychotics (OAPs). Patients and Methods: This analysis included integrated patient-level data from the Paliperidone Palmitate Research in Demonstrating Effectiveness (PRIDE) and Prevention of …

Sensory Modulation Training To Reduce Restrictive Interventions On An Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Unit At A Secure Psychiatric State Hospital: A Clinical Nurse Leader Quality Improvement Project, Fionna Norman

Master's Theses and Capstones

Abstract

Background: Symptoms of severe mental illnesses can result in Personal Safety Emergencies (PSE’s) in the acute in-patient psychiatric setting. As part of treatment of PSE’s, restrictive interventions such as seclusion are utilized in current practice to maintain the safety of the patient, peers, staff, and the environment. Evidence-based research has shown restrictive interventions can cause physical and psychological harm to both patients and staff. Reducing restrictive interventions continues to be a priority to create the most therapeutic environment possible. Evidence-based research has shown that sensory modulation is a non-restrictive intervention that can reduce the use of restrictive interventions, decrease …

Exploring The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Adolescent Mental Health: An Integrative Systematic Review, Ruth Maouda

Theses and Dissertations

An integrative systematic review was conducted to understand the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent mental health and to identify what contributing risk and protective factors increased or decreased the likelihood that these mental health outcomes were experienced among adolescents, including those from diverse and vulnerable communities. Furthermore, this review examined interventions and coping strategies identified within the literature that were beneficial in mitigating these harmful pandemic-related effects. Methods. Data was collected from five electronic databases and included peer-reviewed, English-language articles published between 2020-present in the United States, comprised of adolescent participants aged 11-19. All studies were required …

My Secret Struggle: Starving, Purging, And Numbing My Emotions. An Autoethnographic Analysis Of My Lifelong Battle With Anxiety, Depression, And Eating Disorders, Hasmek G. Siwajian

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescent females and young adult women between the ages of 12 and 25 are at a higher risk of engaging in self-destructive and life-threatening behaviors linked to anxiety, depression, and eating disorders when they do not have access to suitable treatment options or coping mechanisms (Garcia et al., 2020). This study highlights the heightened vulnerability of adolescent females and young adult women aged 12 to 25 who engage in self-destructive behaviors associated with anxiety, depression, and eating disorders when adequate treatment options or coping mechanisms are lacking. Through an autoethnographic approach, the researcher delves into her daily struggles and breakthroughs …

The Impact Of Mental Health On Recidivism: A Logistic Regression Analysis Examining Federal Probation Outcomes, Stephanie Kowal

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This research paper investigates the impact of mental health issues on probation success, utilizing secondary data from the Criminology Research Group at the University of Montana. Employing binary logistic regression analysis, the study examines various factors affecting probation outcomes, with a focus on mental health treatment as a primary independent variable. Findings reveal that individuals receiving outpatient mental health care are significantly more likely to recidivate, supporting the hypothesis that ongoing mental health struggles pose substantial barriers to probation success. Moreover, employment status, age at the start of supervision, adult criminal offenses, and days under supervision emerged as significant predictors …

The Effect Of A Community Resiliency Model Education On Resilience, Psychological Empowerment, And Well-Being In Behavioral Health Nurses, Lorrie Smith-Esterle

DNP Projects

Background: Resilience, well-being, and psychological empowerment are associated with improvement in job satisfaction and nurse retention rates. The Community Resiliency Model (CRM) can promote emotional regulation, well-being, and create an internal state of balance in response to work-related stressors. Educating nurses on how to use CRM enables the recognition of changes in thoughts, emotions, sensations, and internal or external stimuli, which can promote resilience, well-being, and psychological empowerment.

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to evaluate evaluate the effect of a resiliency education using the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) on resilience, psychological empowerment, and well-being of behavioral health nurses. …

The Impact Of Human Attachment To A Pet Bird On Psychological Well-Being, Kathryn Marie Trautmann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Few studies have addressed human attachment to a pet bird and psychological well-being, and the research that has been conducted is largely anecdotal and anthropomorphic perspectives on human relationships with birds. In this quantitative study, the relationships between humans and their birds were explored using Bowlby's attachment theory and Fredrickson and Losada's broaden and build theory. The study consisted of a randomized experiment, in which individuals were randomly assigned to either an attachment (n = 81) or detachment (n = 88) group. The security priming manipulation was used to prime the groups. The attachment group was asked to list things …

Work Characteristics, Workplace Support, And Mental Ill-Health In A Canadian Cohort Of Healthcare Workers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nicola Cherry, Anil Adisesh, Igor Burstyn, Quentin Durand-Moreau, Jean-Michel Galarneau, France Labrèche, Shannon Ruzycki, Tanis Zadunayski

Études primaires

Objective The aim of the study was to identify determinants of mental health in healthcare workers (HCW) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A cohort of Canadian HCW completed four questionnaires giving details of work with patients, ratings of workplace supports, a mental health questionnaire, and substance use. Principal components were extracted from 23 rating scales. Risk factors were examined by Poisson regression. Results A total of 4854 (97.8%) of 4964 participants completed ratings and mental health questionnaires. Healthcare workers working with patients with COVID-19 had high anxiety and depression scores. One of three extracted components, 'poor support,' was related to …

Excess Risk Of Covid-19 Infection And Mental Distress In Healthcare Workers During Successive Pandemic Waves: Analysis Of Matched Cohorts Of Healthcare Workers And Community Referents In Alberta, Canada, Jean-Michel Galarneau, France Labrèche, Quentin Durand-Moreau, Shannon Ruzycki, Anil Adisesh, Igor Burstyn, Tanis Zadunayski, Nicola Cherry

Études primaires

Objectives: To investigate changes in risk of infection and mental distress in healthcare workers (HCWs) relative to the community as the COVID-19 pandemic progressed. Methods: HCWs in Alberta, Canada, recruited to an interprovincial cohort, were asked consent to link to Alberta’s administrative health database (AHDB) and to information on COVID-19 immunization and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. Those consenting were matched to records of up to five community referents (CRs). Physician diagnoses of COVID-19 were identified in the AHDB from the start of the pandemic to 31 March 2022. Physician consultations for mental health (MH) conditions (anxiety, stress/adjustment reaction, depressive) …

Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation And Functional Connectivity In People Living With Hiv/Aids Who Smoke Tobacco Cigarettes: A Preliminary Pilot Study, Gopalkumar Rakesh, Thomas G Adams, Rajendra A Morey, Joseph L Alcorn, Rebika Khanal, Amanda E Su, Seth S Himelhoch, Craig R Rush

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: People living with HIV (PLWHA) smoke at three times the rate of the general population and respond poorly to cessation strategies. Previous studies examined repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L. dlPFC) to reduce craving, but no studies have explored rTMS among PLWHA who smoke. The current pilot study compared the effects of active and sham intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) on resting state functional connectivity (rsFC), cigarette cue attentional bias, and cigarette craving in PLWHA who smoke.

METHODS: Eight PLWHA were recruited (single-blind, within-subject design) to receive one session of iTBS (n=8) over the L. …

Self-Perception Of Mental Health, Covid-19 And Associated Sociodemographic-Contextual Factors In Latin America, Pablo Roa, Guillermo Rosas, Gloria Isabel Niño-Cruz, Sergio Mauricio Moreno-López, Juliana Mejía-Grueso, Haney Aguirre-Loaiza, Javiera Alarcón-Aguilar, Rodrigo Reis, Adriano Akira Ferreira Hino, Fernando López, Deborah Salvo, Andrea Ramírez-Varela

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of alterations in self-perceived mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and their associated factors in four Latin American countries. This is a cross-sectional study based on data collected from adults in 2021 through the Collaborative Response COVID-19 Survey by the MacDonnell Academy at Washington University in St. Louis (United States). The sample was composed of 8,125 individuals from Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Chile. A generalized linear model for a binary outcome variable with a logistic link and fixed country effects was used. There were 2,336 (28.75%) individuals who considered having suffered alterations in …

An Exploration Of The Sense Of Belonging For African American Women Licensed Clinicians In A Voluntary Professional Counseling Organization, Raushanah Jackson

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Due to historical oppression in academe, the voices of African American women have been excluded, or unjustifiably limited, in academic research and from mainstream psychological thought. This study was one aim at understanding the experiences of belonging of women of African American ancestry who were clinically licensed professional members in a volunteer member counseling organization. Centering African American women’s voices was used through a lens of critical race theory and Black Feminist Thought to illuminate the structural, representational, and sociopolitical barriers that African American women face. An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis approach was used to center the voices of five licensed …

Improving Awareness And Identifying Risks For Emergence Delirium In Military Veterans, Hannah E. Pino

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: Emergence delirium (ED) is an acute state of confusion during the recovery phase from anesthesia that may be life-threatening, especially in the veteran population. Military veteran status may be explored by the Have You Ever Served questionnaire that was developed by the American Academy of Nursing to identify veterans upon admission to the hospital and thus be able to better care for them during their stay. This campaign has been in effect at the hospital site of this project for nearly 10 years. The questionnaire identifies military history risk factors such as combat history or a diagnosis of post-traumatic …

Hack24f: Ai And Mental Health: Addressing The Therapy Gap, Samatrai Piam, Digvijay Mahawar, Meric Kinali, Luxman Surentha, Jackson Comeau, Gail Rauch, Cody Turner

Paul English Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute Publications

Real-World Problem: There is a global shortage of mental health professionals, especially in underserved areas. AI-based chatbots could help fill this gap, but there are serious ethical concerns about the quality of care and efficacy of such chatbots.

Solution: This is a non-technical project that involved conversing with existing chatbots in an effort to develop a normative framework that could be used by future AI therapy bot developers. This framework seeks to build on, and operationalize, some of the insights from the recently published whitepaper on the ethics of chatbot therapy by the UMass Boston Applied Ethics Center. This presentation …

Associations Between Positive Affect And Physical Activity From Young Adulthood To Midlife: A 25-Year Prospective Study, Farah Qureshi, Laura D. Kubzansky, Ying Chen, Jackie Soo, Eric S. Kim, Donald Lloyd-Jones, Julia K. Boehm

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective: Positive affect may influence health by promoting physical activity, but evidence evaluating this association is mostly cross-sectional and cannot discern directionality. This study used a counterfactual-based framework to estimate the causal effect of positive affect on physical activity patterns over 25 years, accounting for potential reverse associations. Method: Data were from 3,352 participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study. Repeated assessments of positive affect and physical activity were collected from 1990 to 2016. Longitudinal associations were evaluated in two ways: (a) using baseline positive affect in traditional linear mixed models that accounted for reverse causal …

Identifying Contributing Factors For Legal Placement Status In Involuntary Commitment And Voluntary Commitment In Child And Adolescent Psychiatry, Brianna R. Perry

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Background: Psychiatric hospitalization of children and adolescents can be carried out either voluntarily or involuntarily. The aim of this form of inpatient hospitalization is to provide treatment for those who cannot manage the symptoms of their mental illnesses on their own. However, psychiatric hospitalizations of children and adolescents are costly and could lead to outcomes such as worsened mental state in former patients and distrust of the system in caregivers. It is crucial to have a solid understanding of specific components that lead to the hospitalization.

Purpose: To identify potential trends in patient admission data through the analysis …