Psychiatry and Psychology Commons^™

Do Not Miss Your Shot: Improving Follow-Up In Patients Receiving Long-Acting Injectable Medications, Mary O'Hara

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Background: Serious mental illness including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder affects 1 in 24 adults in California. These chronic disorders are difficult to treat and often sabotaged by medication nonadherence. Long-acting injectable (LAI) medications are one strategy to combat medication nonadherence. Effectively providing treatment with LAI medications can be challenging at the clinic level.

Objectives: Reduce the number of days without medication by reducing the number of days between injection due date and injection administration for patients receiving LAI medications.

Design: Establish appointments for all injection visits. Standardize visit protocol for injection encounters to optimize provider time. Arrange immediate follow-up and …

Analysis Of A Universal Depression Screening Workflow At An Integrated Healthcare Center, Arthur Roehr

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Purpose: Evaluation of an evidence-based protocol that measures the effectiveness of universal depression screening at an integrated healthcare center. At risk patients are those who complete a patient health questionnaire (phq-9) and score ≥ 10 when presenting for a primary care visit. A score of ≥ 10 prompts further evaluation by the primary care provider (PCP) prior to behavioral health care management (BHCM) referral.

Background: In 2016, 16.2 million adults aged 18 or older in the U.S. experienced a major depressive episode (MDE). 65.3% of those received some form of treatment from a healthcare professional (therapy and/or medication). Early identification …

Promoting Resilience In Economically Disadvantaged Adolescents Through School-Based Expressive Arts Groups, Bailey Knox

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Since 2013, the majority of students served by the public school system in the United States have been considered “low-income” by the federal government. The stressors associated with low socioeconomic status significantly increase risk for social, emotional and behavioral challenges at all age levels, but can be particularly damaging to adolescents coping with heightened stress levels related to the intense multi-dimensional changes that define this developmental period. As the correlation between economic disadvantage and negative socio-emotional and academic outcomes is increasingly evidenced, schools have begun to recognize their responsibility for providing preventative mental health care to high-risk students. Over the …

A Literature Review Of Nature-Based Expressive Arts Therapy For Bereaved Children, Wendy Dalton

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

There is a need for increased visibility of child bereavement to expand research in and accessibility of developmentally appropriate supports, which views the child holistically and within their biopsychosocial context. Worden’s (1996) formative work with child bereavement resulting in the "tasks" of child bereavement was the first and most recent study of its scale and kind. This marked an affirming of grief as normative response to death and occurring throughout the developmental lifespan. This work also highlights the need for additional inquiry to expand and deepen understanding of child bereavement. A growing body of research suggests that ecotherapy and expressive …

Dance/Movement Therapy As A Tool To Improve Social Skills In Children And Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Literature Review, Holly Berlandy

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder diagnosed by the presence of social communication and interaction deficits present in their day to day. The deficits present in this disorder appear within the first three years of life and lead to problems with connecting and interacting with other individuals including their own family members. As a result, children and adolescents with Autism spectrum disorder often experience negative self-image and lack the proper skills to interact with others. Autism spectrum disorder is becoming more commonly diagnosed and yet there remains a gap in interventions and treatment due to the individualized appearance …

Moving Blind Spots: Cultural Bias In The Movement Repertoire Of Dance/Movement Therapists, Ebony Nichols

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis explores the need for cultural diversity in the field of dance/movement therapy and the impact of unconscious bias as it relates to cultural rhythmic patterns, movement styles, and music choices in therapeutic practice. This literature review examines the historical context that has contributed to the field of dance/movement therapy while outlining cultural competency and ethical considerations in practice as it relates to cultural and/or race identity. Common themes are summarized notating the effects of oppression, bias, and trauma on populations of statistically marginalized communities with specific emphases on African American cultural identity. With consideration toward action steps, culturally …

Breathing Life Into Life: A Literature Review Supporting Body-Based Interventions In The Treatment Of Trauma, Andrea Werbalowksy

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In the recent turn toward a more trauma-informed practice of mental health counseling, a glaring gap remains between the research validating that trauma is a somatic experience and the continued privileging of cognitive and behaviorist interventions commonly used to treat trauma. In an effort to explore this gap, this paper presents a literature review inquiry into the neurophysiological and overall life effects trauma can have on the people who experience it. The review further explores how Stephen Porges’s Polyvagal Theory elucidates the benefits of using body-based therapeutic interventions in the treatment of trauma. The inquiry investigates the wide gap between …

“There Was Something Magical About This Group”: Building Cohesion In A Psychiatric Hospital, Mariah L. Logan

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This capstone details the development and implementation of Hope Notes, an expressive arts therapy intervention used in a private psychiatric hospital setting. Hope Notes was carried out in the group setting with adolescent and adult clients in a partial-hospitalization or inpatient hospitalization with a range of diagnoses and symptoms including, but not limited to, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, trauma disorders including post-traumatic stress, and obsessive-compulsive disorder with symptoms of delusions, hallucinations, suicidality and homicidally. Using expressive arts therapy the clients worked together to collaboratively discuss, create, design, and build an art piece intended to increase group cohesion and connection …

Expressive Mindfulness: A Trauma-Sensitive Expressive Arts Therapy Group Method, Meghan Daly

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Mindfulness and expressive arts therapy are both supportive of directing attention in a manner that promotes integration and function of a person. In this paper, a trauma-sensitive method was created for use in a day treatment setting for adults with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI). This method utilized expressive movement, visual art making with three different materials, and creative writing to encourage mindful, non-judgmental acceptance of the present moment; a sense of relaxation; and an overall increase in quality of life. During development of the method arts-based research informed the choice of materials, music, and structure of the group. …

School-Based Mental Health Screening: Improving Outcomes Through Interprofessional Communication And Collaboration, Tiffany Gishizky

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

For the adolescent population, the immediate impact a mental health disorder has on academics,relationships, and even suicide risk cannot be understated. Access to mental health care in low socioeconomic communities for adolescents is fraught with barriers. These include lack of transportation, lack of insurance coverage, fear of stigma, and a fundamental lack of knowledge regarding available resources. It is therefore a two-fold problem that exists for those in the care and observation of these adolescents; underutilization of appropriate routine screening and navigation to access care. This project aimed to remediate both of these issues at a high school located in …

Watering Black Roots: Exploring Black Ecological Identity Development Within Nature-Based Expressive Arts Therapy, Stormy Saint-Val

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Nature-based expressive arts therapy promotes the holistic healing and recovery of individuals by interweaving the practices of ecopsychology, ecotherapy, and expressive arts therapy. These interventions have been proven to mediate ranges of symptomologies, such as anxiety disorders and PTSD. Research conducted by the U.S. National Park Services indicates that African- Americans are less likely to have a positive relationship to nature than all other racial groups. The amplification of this report without introspection of its context perpetuates racialized generalizations. This can limit a black individual’s ability to embrace their ecological identity and be receptive of nature-based expressive arts therapy interventions. …

Orthorexia Nervosa Among Collegiate Female Student-Athletes, Maryse Bard-Martel

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is a specific style of disordered eating defined as an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy food, or going to extremes in the pursuit of a diet that is supposed to be good for you. The purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence of orthorexia nervosa tendencies in college female soccer players in the NCAA Division 1. Purposive sampling was used, and participants were current student-athletes from the Missouri State women’s soccer team (n=18). Survey research was utilized to assess athletes’ attitudes and behaviors related to various aspects of diet and training, and the control it …

Black Women Surviving Sexual Trauma: The Cultural Components Used To Aid Recovery, Charrin Kimble

Doctoral Dissertations

The physical and psychological impacts women face as a result of sexual trauma has been researched extensively. While sexual trauma affects all women, far less attention has been given to cultural impacts on Black female survivors. Black women have unique experiences with sexual trauma due to the intersection of racism and sexism. Given the sociohistorical context of Black women and sexual trauma, research is needed to understand how cultural factors may aid the recovery process of Black women. This qualitative study examined the lived experiences of Black women who survived sexual trauma to understand the role cultural factors may have …

The Role Of Stigma On Mental Health Service-Seeking Among Armenian-American Men, Anthony Saroyan

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the role of stigma on mental health service-seeking among Armenian-American men who self-identified as having lived through or currently are living with a mental health issue. This qualitative study utilized interpretive phenomenological analysis to ensure that the lived experiences of Armenian-American men are represented through their perspective. A total of six participants engaged in this study. All participants self-identified as male and as having experienced a mental health issue, have utilized mental health services at least once in their lifetime, resided in the San Francisco Bay Area, and as being of Armenian descent. Through exploring the lived …

Efficacy Of Integrated Mental Health Care With Dual Diagnosis Patients And Their Utilization Of Psychiatric Emergency Services, Denton Scott

Doctoral Dissertations

Historically, patients with dual diagnosis have been subjected to ineffective treatment and negative attitudes from healthcare providers. Further, these patients are plagued with myriad afflictions that exist beyond substance abuse and mental illness. The treatments and collateral damage associated with the diagnosis impose excessive healthcare costs and can be of significant detriment to society. Largely, patients suffering from dual diagnosis do not receive adequate treatment. As such, psychiatric emergency services are frequently utilized as an alternate treatment, wherein the main focus of care is on the substance abuse alone. This study argues that solely treating the substance abuse is not …

Assessment Of Motor Function, Motor Learning, & Olivary Climbing Fiber Distribution Within Developmental Hyperserotonemia Rat Model For Autism Spectrum Disorder, Elizabeth Diane Holland

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

While Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is defined by deficits in social communication, compromised motor function and motor learning have been increasingly reported. Motor deficits could compound social impairment through delayed language acquisition, reduced opportunity for social interaction, and affected nonverbal communication. One area of interest in the investigation of motor dysfunction is the cerebellum, where altered cerebellar structure and connectivity have been reported in those diagnosed with ASD. Morphological and functional changes in cerebellar circuitry could disrupt motor skill development and may be associated with developmental alterations of the serotonergic system. Elevated blood serotonin in perinatal development, developmental hyperserotonemia (DHS), …

College Students’ Mental Health: Exploring The Relationship With Resilience And Academic Performance, Bailey Hart

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Negative mental health outcomes are becoming increasingly prevalent in college students. Depression, anxiety, and stress have been previously shown to negatively impact academic motivation and performance. Resilience and social support can serve as preventative factors to protect students from this adversity. Resilience is a dynamic process that changes based on environmental factors. An individual’s perceptions of social support can be influenced by friends, family, and significant others. Another possible influence in the perception of social support and resilience is race/ethnicity. Social support especially has been viewed differently based on culture. The purpose of this study was to examine the links …

Dataset: Assessment Of Vigilance Performance And/Or Reliance On Automated Decision Aids: An X-Ray Screening Task, Stephanie Merritt, Lei Shirase, Garett Foster

Psychology Faculty Works

A great deal of interest concerns the study of vigilance performance and trust in automation due to their implications for public safety. The present work contributes to this literature by providing an experimental resource for scholars in need of a vigilance style task. We created a set of 150 stimuli that may be downloaded and used by researchers in future data collections. These stimuli are X-ray images of luggage, and participants indicate whether or not they believe each image contains a dangerous item (simulating airport security screening). Using a sample of 990 adults recruited via MTurk, we normed these items …

Modeling Visual Enumeration Using Cumulative Link Regression., Anthony D. Cate Ph.D.

MODVIS Workshop

Based on three core assumptions about mental representations of number, this model of visual enumeration specifies analysis methods that can identify when observers rely on different processes to estimate the numerosity of a visual display. Specifically, the model provides a clear criterion for identifying domains of numerosity that correspond to different perceptual or cognitive processes that have been described in numeracy literature, e.g. subitizing. The model predicts how the requirement to give integer responses in enumeration tasks can produce spurious discontinuities in accuracy measures that can be misidentified as evidence for a subitizing process. It is proposed that cumulative link …

Trajectories Of Self-Reported Sleep Disturbance Across Inpatient Psychiatric Treatment Predict Clinical Outcome In Comorbid Major Depressive Disorder And Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Elizabeth M Hartwig, Katrina A Rufino, Cara A Palmer, Christopher Shepard, Candice A Alfano, Bella Schanzer, Sanjay J Mathew, Michelle A Patriquin

Staff and Researcher Publications

Background: As there has been a demonstrated link between sleep disturbance and suicide, the present study investigated the relationship between self-reported sleep disturbance during inpatient psychiatric treatment and clinical outcomes at discharge and six months post-discharge.

Methods: Participants were 2,970 adults receiving care in a long-term inpatient psychiatric hospital. Greater than 90% of inpatients reported at least mild sleep disturbance throughout treatment. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to determine patterns of sleep disturbance changes over time.

Results: Participants fit into distinct categories based on their trajectories of sleep problems across treatment: No Sleep Problems (10.3% of participants, no sleep problems …