Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons^™

Author Reply, Cyprian Mostert

Population Health, East Africa

No abstract provided.

Implementation Of A Zen Room And Mindfulness Techniques To Decrease Perceived Burnout, Danika Scott

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Project Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to implement a Zen room and mindfulness techniques, aiming to improve job satisfaction by 65% and reduce perceived burnout by 10% among behavioral health staff. The project was conducted at a substance abuse center in Deer Park, TX.

Background: Behavioral health staff face high levels of emotional exhaustion and job-related stress, leading to increased burnout.

Methodology: The Plan-Do-Study-Act model guided the QI methodology using a sample of 23 behavioral health staff. Interventions included an equipped Zen space and wellness resources. Data collection utilized the Maslach Burnout Inventory and a …

Little Changes, Jessica Wolfe

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

This collage is made of hundreds of small pieces of paper cut from old magazines and junk mail. As I worked on it, I thought about how each tiny piece of paper alters the canvas in a nearly imperceptible way, but the shapes and colors could shift completely in the course of an hour. This concept of making small changes is something I think a lot about in my work as a psychiatric nurse as well. Even though it doesn’t always feel like it, we become wiser each day. By looking for these small opportunities to evolve, we can build …

Unraveling The Threads: A Case Report On Confusional Migraine And The Intricate Dance Between Psychiatry And Neurology, Mabit C. Gonzalez, Manjula Kottapalli

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Background

Migraine affects about 1 billion people worldwide and is associated with a significant negative impact on personal and occupational functioning. Migraine accompanied by aura is seen in about 15% of migraineurs. Visual aura is the most common type of aura. Much less common though are auras that involve higher mental function, such as confusional state. The confusional state may manifest with a wide variety of cortical dysfunction, such as speech impairment, increased alertness, agitation, and amnesia, often lasting longer than a typical migraine aura.

Case Presentation

The authors present the unique case of a 29-year-old patient with episodic and …

Transforming Primary Care: Innovative Post Graduate Pa Training For Real-World Solutions, Kenneth Botelho, James Ali

Lynchburg Journal of Medical Science

The ongoing crisis in primary care demands innovative and scalable strategies to prepare and retain advanced practice providers. This article introduces the Primary Care Practitioner (PCP) Program, a conceptual postgraduate training model designed for certified physician associates/assistants (PAs) who aim to serve in underserved and rural communities. The program integrates advanced clinical training, leadership development, telehealth competencies, VR-enhanced simulation, and evidence-based strategies to promote provider resilience. Rooted in systems-based thinking and real-world applicability, the PCP Program culminates in capstone projects that encourage innovation in care delivery and population health.

Aligned with national frameworks such as the HRSA Primary Care Training …

Binge Eating Disorder: A Clinical Review, Michell Mcdiffett Mshs, Pa-C

Lynchburg Journal of Medical Science

Binge eating disorder (BED) is the most common eating disorder (ED) in the United States (U.S.) and is characterized by recurrent episodes of eating a larger than normal amount of food in a discrete period of time and includes a sense of loss of control over food intake. BED is often comorbid with serious somatic and psychiatric disorders and is associated with reduced quality of life and excess mortality. Some consider BED a public health concern due to frequent co-occurrence with obesity and worse outcomes in those populations. The diagnosis is often delayed due to shame and underreporting of symptoms …

Adapting And Evaluating A Positive Psychology Intervention For Children With Cancer And Their Families, Camryn Legra

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized a mixed methods approach in two phases. The first phase entailed adapting an evidence-based positive psychology intervention—the Well-Being Promotion Program (WBPP; Suldo, 2016)— for children with pediatric cancer. The WBPP has mostly been provided to students at public schools, and to the researcher’s knowledge, has never been used for children with pediatric cancer. To make it culturally appropriate for this group of students, adaptations were made by collecting input and recommendations from a sample of two caregivers of children with pediatric cancer who participated in a focus group. A micro-interlocutor analysis (Onwuegbuzie et al., 2009) was completed …

Increasing Behavior-Specific Praise Use And Variability With Secondary Education Teachers Using Behavioral Skills Training, Tactile Prompts, And Multiple Exemplars, Cecilia Pannone

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Teachers often receive minimal training in classroom management strategies, leading to punitive-based teacher-student interactions. Negative interactions (e.g., reprimands) may decrease behaviors momentarily but do not yield lasting behavior change. Behavior-specific praise (BSP) is a low-response effort classroom management strategy that positively impacts students’ behaviors and academic performance. However, training does not guarantee that BSP will be used throughout the academic years or across student cohorts, leading teachers to revert to negative interactions to manage classroom behaviors. Limited research has investigated the components of praise that increase effectiveness and saliency. This study aimed to increase teachers’ use of BSP using tactile …

Overcoming Barriers To Connection Between People With Schizophrenia And Their Caregivers, Sarah G. Fernandez

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

The purpose of this doctoral project is to bring together existing literature on relational barriers between patients and caregivers, and strategies for overcoming them, for one reason: to help clinicians facilitate connection within families and households where one person has schizophrenia. It is therefore comprised of two parts: this paper containing a three-part literature review on barriers to connection including social skill deficits characteristic of the disease of schizophrenia, environmental factors, and caregiver burden and expressed emotion within families, as well as protective factors and strategies for overcoming them. The second component of this project is a psychoeducational module geared …

Revising And Consolidating The Dsm-5 And Icd-11 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders Into A Dimensional Spectrum-Based Disorder: A Literature Review, Samuel Milton Shatsky

University Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the clinical, cultural, and theoretical implications of replacing the current DSM-5 and ICD-11 categorical diagnoses of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) with a unified dimensional framework: trauma spectrum disorder (TSD). The proposed TSD model addresses ongoing concerns around diagnostic inflation, treatment misalignment, and clinical confusion stemming from binary trauma categorizations. This thesis explores whether adopting a dimensional diagnostic model to replace DSM-5 and ICD-11's current PTSD and CPTSD designations could lead to improved treatment outcomes and diagnostic clarity.

Methodology consisted of an extensive literature review of the field's current research. Using the …

Exploring The Connection Between Mental Health Stigma, Social-Emotional Risk, And Help-Seeking Behaviors Among High School Students, Dorie Ross

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the United States, the rate of adolescents experiencing mental health-related challenges continues to rise, impacting their social-emotional well-being. Despite increasing concerns, the majority of adolescents do not seek treatment for mental health problems. One barrier contributing to a lack of help-seeking behaviors is mental health stigma. Furthermore, for students who have sought help for such concerns, there is a lack of consensus on whom high school students turn to for support when seeking help. The current study utilized quantitative methodology in the form of Structural Equation Modeling to examine the complex relationship between social-emotional risk, perceptions of mental health …

Evaluating Depression In Adults Undergoing Substance Abuse Treatment: A Program Evaluation Of Intensive Outpatient Program, Chidochomoyo E. Zvirawa

Dissertations

Problem: Depression and substance use disorders (SUDs) frequently co-occur, complicating recovery outcomes. Despite screening recommendations, depression remains underdiagnosed in many SUD treatment settings.

Methods: This mixed-methods program evaluation examined depressive symptoms among adults in an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8). Depression screenings were conducted at intake, four weeks, and eight weeks. Eight participants meeting inclusion criteria were assessed. Data included demographics, treatment engagement, and PHQ-8 scores.

Results: PHQ-8 scores significantly declined from baseline (M = 11.75, SD = 6.52) to eight weeks (M = 5.13, SD = 5.05), t(7) = 2.76, p = .028, indicating …

Motionteller: Multi-Modal Integration Of Wearable Time-Series With Llms For Health And Behavioral Understanding, Aiwei Zhang, Arvind Pillai, Andrew Campbell, Nicholas C. Jacobson

Computer Science Senior Theses

As wearable sensing becomes increasingly pervasive, a key challenge remains: how can we generate natural language summaries from raw physiological signals such as actigraphy - minute-level movement data collected via accelerometers? In this work, we introduce MotionTeller, a generative framework that natively integrates minute-level wearable activity data with large language models (LLMs). MotionTeller combines a pretrained actigraphy encoder with a lightweight projection module that maps behavioral embeddings into the token space of a frozen decoder-only LLM, enabling free-text, autoregressive generation of daily behavioral summaries.

We construct a novel dataset of 54,383 ⟨actigraphy, text⟩ pairs derived from real-world NHANES recordings, and …

The Rose That Grew From Concrete: Exploring The Romantic Experiences Of Black Men With Histories Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Tatyana Nichelle Smith

Dissertations

Contemporary research typically characterizes Black heterosexual relationships by dismal marriage and divorce rates, largely ignoring the reality of how Black men develop attachments with their romantic partners and therefore continuing to perpetuate deficit perspectives of Black men (e.g., the cause of conflictual romantic relationships and “broken” Black families). What may be less understood about these relationships is the influence of childhood trauma, such as childhood sexual abuse, and Black men’s experiences of gender role conflict. Research shows that Black men’s experiences of childhood sexual abuse and socialization about masculinity have important implications for how they come to view themselves and …

The Impact Of Nicu Death On Bereaved Mothers, Jennie Terranova

University Honors Theses

Infant loss in the United States occurs 5.6 per 1,000 live births. This paper examines risk factors that contribute to neonatal death. Prematurity is a risk factor for NICU admission. A portion of premature babies receiving care in the NICU will die. The stressful nature of the NICU has been studied widely in journals. The impact of NICU death on hospital staff and bereaved parents has been studied less. Mortality studies suggest that bereaved mothers are at a high risk of dying within the first 5 years after their child has died. Despite the frequency of maternal death post-child loss, …

Fda Approves Lecanemab-Irmb Maintenance Dosing For Early Alzheimer’S Disease Treatment, Jordyn Linfield, Giang Nguyen, Ashley Jacob, Andrew Johnson, Maria Nguyen, Sara Ha, Joshua Honaker, Samantha Mccord, Kelly Kroustos

Pharmacy and Wellness Review

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder and is associated with progressive and irreversible cognitive decline that begins with memory lapses leading to physical and functional impairment. The conventional therapies that have been used for the treatment from Alzheimer's Disease include acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and memantine, but additional therapy options are being developed. Lecanemab, brand name Lequembi, is currently a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved humanized monoclonal antibody for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and indicated for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild dementia. While there is impactful aid for treatment, lecanemab has three significant adverse reactions, which …

The Portals: Jewelry As A Site Of Escape And Solace, Jung Ki Min

Masters Theses

This thesis investigates jewelry as a medium for emotional escape and psychological refuge, offering multisensory alternative forms of escapism. Rooted in personal experiences of continuous change and instability, the work explores how imagined spaces—constructed through AI-generated and digitally assisted visuals and layered material processes—can serve as intimate sanctuaries. Drawing from psychological theories, surrealism, and escapism, the study positions jewelry as a portable interface that enables temporary retreat without full detachment from reality. The series of work, which integrates transparent acrylic, visual layering, and subtle dimensionality, materializes these imagined spaces into wearable forms. These pieces invite reflective engagement, allowing wearers to …

Health Care In Women’S Carceral Spaces, Kate Gouveia Pereira

Culture, Society, and Praxis

Canada has had a long history of mistreating incarcerated women in their jails. The carceral system was built to fit around the needs of men, neglecting to consider the various health issues that only women face. For many years. federally imprisoned women were held in one deteriorated prison, the Prison for Women (P4W), and were held in abhorrent conditions and experienced many acts of violence. Despite the opening of five more prisons and funding for various programs for women, incarcerated women continue to experience violence and health crises, leaving imprisoned women extremely vulnerable to mental and physical distress. In particular, …

Optimizing Psychiatric Care Through Pharmacogenomics: An Evidence-Based Program To Increase Multi-Gene Pharmacogenomic Testing And Provider Competence In Mental Health Settings, Marc Boulanger

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Objective: This scholarly project aimed to enhance psychiatric providers' competency, confidence, and knowledge in the PHASER pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing program at the VA San Diego Healthcare System.

Background: PGx testing enhances psychiatric care by enabling precise medication management tailored to a patient’s genetic profile, improving treatment effectiveness and reducing adverse drug reactions. Despite demonstrated clinical utility, adoption of PGx remains limited due to provider knowledge gaps. This project addresses these gaps through targeted education.

Methods: Two educational modules, developed with input from the PHASER site-lead, aimed to enhance provider knowledge and confidence in PGx. Module one introduced the PHASER program …

Cultivating Workplace Wellness: An Evaluation Of Gratitude Card Interventions Among University Faculty, Jeffrey Druck, Patrick Ockerse, Jamal Jones

Journal of Wellness

Introduction: There has been a growing interest in understanding the role of gratitude in promoting well-being. Gratitude, defined as a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation in response to receiving a benefit from someone else, has been shown to improve mood, increase social support, and decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety. This research paper explores an innovative intervention using gratitude cards for faculty members and measures the emotional impact of this intervention.

Methods: The study involved 32 clinical physicians from the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Utah. Participants were invited to write a gratitude card to …