Clinical Psychology Commons^™

The Association Between Experiences Of Relational Injustice And Psychological Distress In People With Marginalized Sexual Orientation And Gender Identities, Khoi Nguyen Anh Le

Theses - ALL

The current study explored correlations between experiences of relational injustice with psychological distress in people with marginalized sexual orientation and gender identity (MSOGI). Based on the Contextual Therapy theory, it was hypothesized that experiences of relational injustice are associated with psychological distress of people with MSOGI. Also, people with both marginalized identities were assumed to have greater distress than people with only one marginalized identity. Data were collected from clients self-identifying as MSOGI at the Syracuse University Couple and Family Therapy Center. Both self-reported and standardized instruments, including the Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS) and Brief Symptoms Inventory (BSI-18), were used …

Influencing Motivation For Alcohol Through Social Bonding, Bryan Benitez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Human survival depends upon the ability to cooperate by forming affiliative social bonds. Social bonding should therefore be a powerful motivating force in practically all human decision making. Past research demonstrates that social bonding and motivation for alcohol consumption share similar psychological and neurobiological pathways. In this study, we attempted to reduce alcohol motivation by enhancing perceptions of social bonding prior to and during the hours and days when alcohol consumption was most likely. In a predominantly female college student sample, we found mixed support for our hypotheses that a novel social bonding manipulation delivered through mobile technology would satiate …

Solitary Alcohol And Cannabis Use Among College Students During The Covid-19 Epidemic: Concurrent Social And Affective Correlates And Substance-Related Consequences, Amelia Victoria Wedel

Theses - ALL

Alcohol and cannabis use are remarkably prevalent among college students, with 60% reporting past-month alcohol use and 25% reporting past-month cannabis use. Emerging evidence suggests that a considerable portion of college students use alcohol or cannabis alone, and that rates of solitary use may be higher for cannabis than for alcohol. However, despite substantial evidence connecting solitary alcohol use with a number of affective and substance-related correlates, research on similar associations for solitary cannabis use remains lacking. Furthermore, no college studies to date have assessed solitary use of both alcohol and cannabis and consequently little is known about differences between …

The Effectiveness Of Art Therapy As A Treatment Modality In Improving Quality Of Life For Adults With Chronic Pain, Kayley Nelson

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The efficacy of art therapy is explored in the context of improving the quality of life and mental health of individuals experiencing chronic pain. The exploration and examination of previous research on chronic pain and art therapy have led to various interconnected themes that tie together the needs of this population with the healing aspects of this treatment method. Through gathering data on both the negative impact of chronic pain and the healing aspects of art therapy and exploring research on chronic pain art therapy groups already in action, it can be deduced that future research may further illuminate the …

Language As The Medium: A Literature Review. Harnessing The Prolific Power Of Dramatic Language As A Therapeutic Tool In Drama Therapy, Edward Freeman

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Language in and of the theatre, with its palate of variegated writing styles and playwrights from throughout time, has the potential to be harnessed, focused, and systematized for use as a therapeutic tool within drama therapy – the field’s artistic medium. Drama therapy could benefit from having a specific medium germane to its artform which has the potential to provide practitioners with a common resource and means of communication, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning, as well as align the field with other creative arts therapies. Language encompasses all forms of human communication – speaking, writing, signing, gesturing, expressing facially – …

Bringing The Body Into Art Therapy: The Use Of Touch And Body Awareness In Creative Healing, Janna Corsetti

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The focus on the use of healing touch and body awareness in art therapy is critically lacking. Despite the research supporting the use of body-oriented techniques in clinical therapy, there is little research related to this use specifically in art therapy. Research reveals that healing touch and body awareness can be instrumental in healing trauma, if done with the proper training and boundaries in place. The first form of attachment and comfort for children is that of touch. Therefore, it is imperative to acknowledge the power of touch and body awareness when healing from traumatic experiences. The purpose of this …

Studio Expressive Arts Therapy: Towards A Classroom Method That Incorporates Art And Music, Michael Greenberg

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis explored the ways in which expressive arts therapy (ExAT) could be incorporated into a small therapeutic high school’s visual arts program. Through the development and implementation of a method, intermodal exchange between visual art and music was integrated into both the school’s art program and its group counseling offerings. Informed by a literature review of studio art therapy (SAT) as related to ExAT, three different interventions were used to fit within the frameworks of the high school’s offerings. The first intervention focused on making music with a few students within art classes while the rest of the class …

Exploring Tactile Art-Making With Deafblind Students And Their Families: An Opportunity For Creative Play, Alice Rodgers

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The impact of a deafblind diagnosis on an individual’s mental health and the well-being of the family involved can be profound. However, current research and available literature for the mental health treatment and therapy practices of deafblind persons and their families is limited (Kyzar et al., 2016; “WFDB Global Report 2018,” n.d.). This thesis used the Leeds Family Psychology and Therapy Service principles (Leeds FPTS) and the Expressive Therapies Continuum with established deafblind teaching strategies to facilitate an original arts-based community project entitled: “Things We Like.” This project provided an opportunity for deafblind students (ages three to 22) and their …

Fostering Attachment In Romantic Relationships Through Creative Art Therapies, Mary Hachey

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Attachment theory examines the infant/caregiver’s relationship by the attachment style they develop in the first years of life. Over time, these same attachment styles affect adult romantic relationships. Bowlby defines four infant/children attachment styles as securely attached, anxious-ambivalent-insecurely attached, avoidant-insecurely attached, and disorganized-disoriented-insecurely attached. These four styles transferred into three main types for adults: secure, anxious-ambivalent, and avoidant. A couple’s relationship can become affected by personal values, behaviors, environmental situations, attachment styles, and beyond. This literature review discusses how couples behave, relate, and interact with one another based on their attachment styles and it also gives critical details on how …

How The Expressive Therapies Continuum Informs Intermodal Transfers, Erin M.L. Little

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Expressive arts therapy (ExAT) is a therapeutic approach that incorporates visual art, music, drama, and dance/movement into the counseling environment. An essential element in ExAT practice is the intermodal transfer, an intentional shift between arts modalities to enhance clients’ understanding and realization. Currently, no theoretical guidelines for intermodal transfers exist in the field of ExAT. In search of a theoretical structure, the author of this Capstone Thesis proposed that the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) informed intermodal transfers. Predominantly presented as an art therapy approach, the ETC originally intended to include all expressive therapies. Yet, there is minimal recent literature that …

The Association Between Experiences Of Relational Injustice And Psychological Distress In People With Marginalized Sexual Orientation And Gender Identities, Khoi Nguyen Anh Le

Theses - ALL

The current study explored correlations between experiences of relational injustice with psychological distress in people with marginalized sexual orientation and gender identity (MSOGI). Based on the Contextual Therapy theory, it was hypothesized that experiences of relational injustice are associated with psychological distress of people with MSOGI. Also, people with both marginalized identities were assumed to have greater distress than people with only one marginalized identity. Data were collected from clients self-identifying as MSOGI at the Syracuse University Couple and Family Therapy Center. Both self-reported and standardized instruments, including the Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS) and Brief Symptoms Inventory (BSI-18), were used …

Knowing What We Know: Leveraging Community Knowledge Through Automated Text-Mining, Justin Gardner, Jonathan Tory Toole, Hemant Kalia, Garry Spink Jr., Gordon Broderick

Advances in Clinical Medical Research and Healthcare Delivery

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Healthcare Experiences Of Lgbtq+ People: An Adaptation Of The Daily Heterosexist Experiences Questionnaire, Conor Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

LGBTQ+ people's experiences of heterosexism, which are common in the healthcare system, are linked to poor health outcomes. There are no measures of LGBTQ+ people’s experiences in healthcare settings which could be used by healthcare systems and providers to improve the quality of their care for this vulnerable population. The Daily Heterosexist Experiences Questionnaire (DHEQ), developed using the minority stress model, measures the general stressful life experiences of LGBTQ+ people. This project aimed to adapt the DHEQ for use in healthcare settings.

A mixed-methods study was conducted to create the Daily Heterosexist Experiences Questionnaire-Healthcare (DHEQ-H). Semi-structured interviews focused on the …

Reiki For Recovery: Incorporating Japanese Health Practices To Increase Contemporary Resiliency In American Health, Leif Peterson

Master's Projects and Capstones

The Japanese health practice of Reiki attempts to maximize the latent ability of the human system to heal itself. The Reiki system, established over a century ago, combines multiple Asian health traditions, experimenting with practices that maximize the natural processes of the body to perform its own repairs. Reiki encourages healthy behaviors that balance the mind and body, return the human system to a lowered stress level, and allow for an optimal recovery state for the patient. This paper illustrates how this Japanese health-affirming method can be integrated and utilized within existing health and medical practices. An area that is …

The Relation Of Therapist Behaviors To Treatment Engagement And Outcomes In Pcit, Kristine Gese Ba

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) has proven to be a very effective treatment for child behavioral problems, however, PCIT does not benefit all families equally, presumably at least partly because therapists may not be equally effective in coaching their clients. Although researchers have proposed several dimensions of therapist coaching behaviors that are considered desirable, few of these have been empirically examined in relation to family engagement or child outcomes. Data from two clinical trials examining the effectiveness of culturally modified versions of PCIT (GANA and PersIn), were used to investigate which of several therapist coaching behaviors (brevity, positivity, consistency, accuracy, …

The Relationship Between Type Of Parental First Concerns And Severity Of Developmental Delays In Toddlers With Autism Or Developmental Delay, Joshua J. Montrenes

LSU Master's Theses

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social communication and the presence of restricted, repetitive behaviors. The impairments which are commonly associated with ASD manifest during early development as delayed speech or impaired social skills, for example. These early indicators are often noticed by parents who convey concern to medical professionals. Research has found associations between these early parental concerns and a later diagnosis of autism, noting their predictive validity. Research has yet to address the relationship between types of parental concerns and developmental functioning. This study examined whether certain parent reported concerns are more predictive of impaired …

Predicting First Responder Resilience: Investigating The Indirect Effect Of Posttraumatic Cognitions Through Coping Processes, Michael Dolezal

Clinical Psychology Dissertations

Psychological resilience, or one’s ability to return to their baseline biopsychosocialspiritual homeostasis following a stressor or potentially traumatic event (PTE), is protective against psychological distress and symptom presentations such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet little is known about what psychosocial factors influence resilience. Building upon theories of resilience, coping, and posttraumatic cognitions, this study investigated the indirect pathway from posttraumatic cognitions to resilience through coping processes among a sample of N = 117 first responders. Path analysis was used to test the parallel indirect effect model. Results from the path analysis suggested that only the hypothesized indirect effect from …

Factors Associated With Suicide Screenings For An Autism Spectrum Disorder Population In A Pediatric Medical Setting, Cheng Qian, Dawn Greathouse

Research Days

Background: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at least 3 times more likely to attempt suicide than those without ASD (Kolves et al., 2021; Richa et al., 2014). Core features of ASD (e.g., deficits in communicating emotions, difficulty with change) are associated with known suicide attempt antecedent events, and rates of co-occurring mental health concerns (e.g., depression) that increase suicide risk are higher than in the general population (Richa et al., 2014). However, mental health clinicians perceive patients with ASD to be at lower risk for suicide, and report lower self-efficacy in screening in this population (Jager-Hyman et al., …

Bmi And Associated Variables In A Pediatric Gender Clinic Sample, Mirae J. Fornander

Research Days

Background: Studies of transgender/gender diverse (TGD) youth indicate a high prevalence of overweight/obesity and concern for unhealthy weight control behavior.

Objectives/Goal: Describe BMI and the association of medication use, well-being, and recreational activities in treatmentnaïve pediatric TGD patients.

Methods/Design: Chart review of 302 patients (age 3-19, 73.5% sex assigned at birth (SAB) female; 85.8% white) from 2017-20. BMI was calculated by age and SAB using CDC growth charts. Parents reported medication use. Parent and self-reported Pediatric Quality of Life (PEDS-QL) Well-Being and activities were surveyed electronically.

Results: By BMI category, 3.3% were underweight (BMI85% and 29.5% fell >95%. Overweight and …

Understanding Illness Encouragement And Pain Acceptance In Pediatric Patients With Abdominal Pain, Scott Wagoner

Research Days

Background: Parents can respond to their child’s abdominal pain in a variety of ways, and parental illness encouragement (e.g., spoiling, letting child stay home from school) is known to relate to longer periods of illness. Modeling and reinforcement of the “sick role” has been used to explain these processes. Many pediatric patients with abdominal pain will continue to experience symptoms in adulthood, so having a full understanding of what pain management techniques patients adopt is crucial. This study explored the impact of parental illness encouragement on how patients engage in valued activities (i.e., activity engagement) and prioritize controlling their pain …