Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

How Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing (Emdr) Trained Therapists Stabilize Clients Prior To Reprocessing With Emdr Therapy, Edward H. Brendler

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Helping clients develop resources and stability required to tolerate reprocessing memories can be a considerable part of psychotherapy, particularly with clients who are suffering symptoms related to complex developmental trauma or cumulative multiple-event trauma. There is a paucity of research regarding how experienced EMDR Therapy practitioners experience helping their clients to develop resources required to tolerate reprocessing of trauma memories. This dissertation is an in-depth study of five participants, each a licensed mental health practitioner in the State of Washington, who are trained in EMDR and experienced working with clients who are suffering symptoms of trauma. Each participant was interviewed …

Psychology's Struggle To Locate A Moral Vision In A Value-Neutral Framework: A Hermeneutic Perspective On Standard 3.05 Of The Apa Ethics Code, Tammera M. Cooke

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This research followed hermeneutic tradition by examining what is often unquestioned in clinical practice as it pertains to the moral, political, and philosophical foundations that underlie the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (2002, 2010) and Standard 3.05, Multiple Relationships—it’s meanings and controversies. It did so in order to better understand the cultural influences reflected in and the political consequences that emanate from the Ethics Code. Data for this study were collected via semi-structured qualitative interviews with two American psychologists who lived in Washington State, experienced living and working in rural communities, and had …

Service Members’ Perspectives On Treatment: Bridging The Military-Civilian Divide, Kevin R. O'Leary

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The difficulties some service members have reintegrating into and reconnecting with civilian society are well established across the literature. Despite the veteran’s voices describing these struggles to connect with civilians and the current zeitgeist in psychotherapy on the therapeutic relationship and multicultural competence, little attention has been given to the implications of the civilian military divide in therapy. This study used a mixed method approach to conduct an exploratory study of 70 service members’ perceptions of working with a civilian and active duty or veteran therapist and what factors contribute to therapeutic alliance. Of interest are service members’ beliefs about …

Effects Of A Mindfulness-Based Mobile Application On Empathy And Mindfulness With Psychotherapists, Sarah M. Kopencey

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study explores the feasibility of using a mindfulness-based mobile application (MBMA) with psychotherapists, and investigates whether the use of the MBMA has an impact on psychotherapists’ levels of empathy and mindfulness. The study employs a within-subjects, pretest-posttest design in which participants (n=16) completed questionnaires 30 days apart. Between these questionnaires, the participants utilized the smartphone application Insight Timer (Insight Network, Inc., 2016) on a daily basis. Professionally qualified therapists and doctoral psychology trainees currently practicing psychotherapy who have no or minimal experience with mindfulness practice were considered for inclusion in this study. The study generated paired samples t-tests using …

Design-Based Research Mobile Gaming For Learning Jewish History, Tikkun Olam, And Civics, Owen Gottlieb

Articles

How can Design-Based Research (DBR) be used in the study of video games, religious literacy, and learning? DBR uses a variety of pragmatically selected mixed methods approaches to design learning interventions. Researchers, working with educators and learners, design and co-design learning artifacts and environments. They analyze those artifacts and environments as they are used by educators and learners, and then iterate based on mixed methods data analysis. DBR is suited for any "rich contextualized setting in which people have agency." (Hoadley 2013) such as formal or informal learning environments.

The case covered in this chapter is a mobile Augmented Reality …

Hysterectomy, Metaphor, And Voice: An Exploratory Study Of Surgery Experiences, Katherine M. Russell

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The experience of surgery may lead patients to form narratives that are dominated by medical terminology (Lapum, Angus, Peter, & Watt-Watson, 2010) rather than their own voice, or “capacity to speak on one’s own behalf, in terms that are not given by others” (Monk, Winslade, Crocket, & Epston, 1997, p. 306). In turn, patients may struggle to feel personally in control of their healing process. The subjective quality of metaphors can allow patients to articulate their surgery experience in a voice unique to them; facilitating patients’ sense of agency in the process of healing. In particular, women who have undergone …

First Mothers/Birth Mothers: Social Support And Long-Term Psychological Stress And Growth, Megan L. Lyons

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Adoption has become a growing area of research. While much of the existing research focuses on the adoptees and their adoptive parents, this study aimed to focus on the first mothers/birth mothers and their life experiences related to placing an infant, or infants, for adoption. The aim of this study was to determine areas for future clinical focus and support program development throughout the adoption process. The study worked toward this goal by considering the availability and impact of perceptions of social support on the psychological stress and growth of first mothers/birth mothers post-adoption and sought to: (a) determine the …

An Exploration Into The Lived Experience Of The Jazz Funeral, Caryn R. Whitacre

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative phenomenological study set out to explore and understand the subjective lived experience of the Jazz Funeral ritual of New Orleans, Louisiana. This dissertation was guided by two principal research questions: 1) What is the lived experience of participation in the Jazz Funeral ritual? and 2) What elements of the Jazz Funeral are beneficial to bereavement as reported by the subjects? Research data were collected and arranged through the utilization of phenomenological research protocol. By recognizing that people are the experts of their own lived experience and listening to participants describe their lived experiences of this ritual, this researcher …

Disclosure Of Gender And Sexual Minority Identities In Military Cultures Post-Dadt, Katherine E. Evarts

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) banned legally-supported discrimination against United States (US) military personnel who identify with sexual minority identities, but has the repeal also had an impact on gender and sexual minority veteran and military personnel comfort with disclosing such identities to Veterans Affairs (VA) mental health providers? The current research illuminates veteran and military personnel perspectives about this possible shift in VA mental health care culture, as well as about ways that such disclosure could be further facilitated in order to improve the care provided. US veterans who identify with sexual minority identities have multiple, …

Trans Gender Identities And Language: Interviews With Recent College Graduates, Kelsey Moran

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

There has been an increasingly pervasive need to gain a deeper and more individualized psychological understanding of how people experience their gender identities, as well as how they navigate the complicated and nuanced language of gender. Words carry meaning and it is vital to gain an insightful understanding of the impact of words, whether supportive or discriminatory, on trans people. The present qualitative study utilized phenomenological methods to hold interviews with three trans individuals, who had recently graduated from college, about their unique experiences with gender. Thematic analysis was used to examine common themes that arose throughout the interviews. Seven …

Russell Lord And The Permanent Agriculture Movement: An Environmental Biography, Margaret L. Eppig

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This work is an environmental biography of agricultural journalist Russell Lord and a history of the agricultural conservation organization he co-founded. Today the work of the Society for the Friends of the Land (1940 – 1960) is little known to contemporary agricultural and environmental history, yet its influence continues through the fields of sustainable agriculture and landscape restoration. This work chronicles how modern revolutions in scientific and ecological thought transformed the future of American agriculture. It formed the cornerstone of an emerging environmental movement. I argue that this movement, with Lord as its literary vanguard, was the lynchpin that bound …

The Experience Of Foster Parents: What Keeps Foster Parents Motivated To Foster Long Term?, Rodrigo Diaz

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The number of children entering foster care has increased significantly in recent years, leading some to categorize the foster system as being in a state of crisis. More foster parents are needed, as are better retention methods. It is pertinent to understand the experiences that foster parents have that affect their decision to continue or cease fostering. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to understand the needs of foster parents based on their experiences and perceptions. The overarching research question sought to determine the lived experiences of foster parents who were navigating through, or taking part in, the …

Behavioral Interventions That Treat Aggression: Employees Implementation Experiences Within Adult Psychiatric Settings, Alyse Catherine Donovan

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

When adults hospitalized within inpatient psychiatric settings engage in aggressive behavior, it can have detrimental psychological and physical effects on not only other patients, but on hospital employees. Several adult psychiatric inpatient facilities have successfully reduced rates of patient aggression through the implementation of behavioral interventions. While there is much research on factors that lead to successful implementation of evidence based interventions, the literature had not yet explored the subjective experience of employees who are asked to implement behavioral plans in adult psychiatric settings. This study utilized Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis to gain an understanding of employees’ perceptions of barriers and …

Transracial Adoptees’ Thoughts On Culturally Competent Parenting, Molly Conley

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Transracial adoption, the adoption of a child of a different race than those of the adoptive parents, occurs in approximately 40% of all adoptions. While transracial adoption alone is not sufficient to cause mental health concerns, it does pose a series of unique challenges that can impact self-esteem, racial identity, and sense of belonging in adoptees. Much of the research on adoption focuses on adoptive parents, collecting quantitative data from adoptees, and mental health professionals’ views of adoptees’ experiences. This study elicited feedback from adult transracial adoptees on Vonk’s 2001 model of culturally competent parenting. Data were interpreted using Interpretive …

Exploring The Experience Of Grandchildren In Custodial Grandparent Care, Maura Kathleen Cole

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Grandparent-headed families are a growing trend as social policy has moved increasingly toward kinship care for children in out-of-home placements. While much of the current research focuses on the characteristics and potential causal factors in the formation of such families, there has been little qualitative research focusing on the lived experiences of the involved children. This study explores the subjective, meaning-making experiences of six latency-aged grandchildren between the ages of 6 and 11 being raised by their grandparents. This study utilized Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis methodology, and semi-structured interviews, to attain the personal accounts and experiences of these children. The findings …

The Experience Of Qigong Among Women Cancer Survivors, Jennifer Sveund

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Research has shown that qigong can be beneficial for a variety of health related conditions; However, evidence suggests that in the United States, a lack of well designed clinical trials limits the efficacy of qigong in the context of cancer treatment. Research has indicated that careful consideration should be given to the design of randomized control trials using qigong due to the conflicting philosophical methodologies. In the United States, qigong has been under investigated, particularly lacking are qualitative inquiries into qigong use and cancer survivorship. This study is an interpretative phenomenological inquiry that sought to understand women’s experience of qigong …

"You're Doing Fine, Right?": Adolescent Siblings Of Substance Abusers, Cynthia E. Clarfield

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

There has been a rising interest in addiction medicine and addiction treatment in both the medical and behavioral health science fields. Research suggests having a family member with a substance abuse problem has negative impacts on both physical and mental health (Orford, Copello, Velleman, & Templeton, 2010a). Despite advances toward understanding the experiences of family members affected by a loved one's addiction, the siblings of substance abusers have been largely excluded from scientific research and literature. As a result, little is known about how siblings experience the impacts of a brother or sister's addiction; even less is known about the …

The Application Of Western Models Of Psychotherapy By Indian Psychotherapists In India: A Grounded Theory, Gurjeet Sidhu

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The following study explored the experience of Indian psychotherapists applying Western psychotherapy to Indians. Charmaz’ (2006) Grounded theory methodology was utilized. Seven Indian psychotherapists were interviewed. Interview data yielded the theory of Modification as Resistance. Modification as Resistance captured Indian psychotherapists' attempts to modify Western psychotherapy to resist the erosion of local ways of healing due to the dominance of Western science. Results add to existing critiques of Western psychotherapy applied to Eastern populations. Recommendations based on results are offered to facilitate evidence-based practice (American Psychological Association [APA], 2006) with diverse populations. This dissertation is available in open access at …

The Effects Of Session And Outcome Rating Scales Used In A Wraparound Setting, Alexandra Giatrelis

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study investigated the usefulness of session and outcome rating scales within a wraparound program in New England. The extensive needs of youth with serious emotional disturbance (SED) categorizations and their families require highly coordinated systems of care that not only deliver adequate services, but contend with the momentum of often contentious and unsuccessful relationships these families have typically experienced with social service systems. Outcome and session rating scales, along with measures of fidelity, hold the potential to provide rapid feedback on both outcome (outside of sessions) and working alliance (within sessions), as well as the consumers’ perspective on the …

Double Whammy: Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Of Older African Americans Experiencing Hiv & Age Related Comorbidities, James W. Chavers

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

HIV among older African Americans represents one of the fastest and largest growing populations of infected groups in America (CDC, 2008). With the availability of anti-retrovirals (ARV), or AIDS cocktail drugs, HIV has become a chronic illness. As African Americans are living longer with HIV, they are encountering the diseases that are consonant with aging. The effect of aging with HIV and an age-related comorbid condition can be physically and emotionally debilitating. Many of these older adults are also dealing with poverty, stigma, poor healthcare access, and limited social support. The purpose of this study was to explore how these …

The Effects Of Gender And Perception Of Community Safety On Happiness, Jennifer K. Daffon

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Income-based indicators of happiness have been shown to be limited in their ability to predict happiness. Alternative measures of happiness have been gaining prominence in happiness research, and two predictors of happiness were investigated in the current study. The extent to which happiness (measured by affect, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being) could be predicted by gender and perception of community safety was investigated with 19,644 participant responses to The Happiness Alliance Survey. Multiple linear regression models indicated that gender and community safety are significant predictors of affect, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being. The effect of the predictor variables was similar …

From Dawn To Dan: The Journey Of Karate Masters., Brandon W. Maynard

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The contributions martial arts training can make to mental health treatment have scarcely been explored by researchers in psychology. Practitioners of martial arts, such as karate, report that the training improves self-esteem, concentration, and emotional well-being. Several studies have provided empirical evidence in support of these anecdotal reports, but very few have utilized participants who have advanced training in martial arts to examine the emotional impact such training has across time. This study takes a phenomenological approach to studying the emotional effects training has had on master-level martial artists (fourth-degree black belt or higher) in the discipline of karate. Eight …

The Patient-Physician Relationship From The Perspective Of Economically Disadvantaged Patients, Myah Caruso

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative study utilized interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) to explore the patient-physician relational experience from the perspective of patients of lower socioeconomic status (SES). Research shows that physicians engage in collaborative care less frequently with patients of lower SES than with their more advantaged counterparts and that lower SES patients participate less during office visits. Information on the patient-physician relational mechanisms that inhibit collaborative care from the perspective of low SES patients is a key gap in this literature. Five adult patients from the lower socioeconomic strata, who were established patients of a primary care physician were recruited from a …

Childrearing Challenges In Parental Adhd: A Pilot Study And Proposed Research Design, David Porrino

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

An emerging body of research on the functional impairments of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adults notes that parents with ADHD are likely to experience challenges in several facets of childrearing (e.g., Chronis-Tuscano et al., 2008a; Murray & Johnston, 2006). Despite empirical evidence suggesting parents with ADHD have particular kinds of struggles, research evaluating the effects of adult ADHD treatment on parenting challenges is quite scarce. By contrast, a breadth of research indicates that adult ADHD interventions, particularly pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), are effective in ameliorating ADHD symptoms. Further, CBT has shown to be an efficacious adjunctive treatment for ADHD …

Neurodiversity In The Classroom: Pilot Of A Training Resource For Teachers Educating Autistic Inclusion Students In A General Education Setting, Ariel Danlys Detzer

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental differences in the United States, with estimates of prevalence as high as 1 in 68 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2016). Over recent decades, two trends have converged to bring autism to the fore as a challenge facing public education. First, changes in the conceptualization of autism have led to greater diagnostic capture of autistic individuals, and second, changes in special education practice regarding inclusion (emphasizing placement in Least Restrictive Environment) have increased the number of autistic students in mainstream classrooms. Meanwhile, autism research has largely been …

The Development Of Intrinsic Motivation In Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Carissa Jean Krapf

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has become a common diagnosis among children today. The numbers have grown exponentially in the last several decades and, despite extensive research and various treatment modalities, many children continue to struggle with its disruptive symptoms. Current research reports a poor prognosis for this population with difficulties continuing into adulthood. One of the difficulties noted is in their ability to develop intrinsic motivation when their behaviors have been managed by extrinsic rewards. Self Determination Theory (SDT) was used to conceptualize the difficulties around developing intrinsic motivation when an individual experiences symptoms of ADHD which impact several areas of …

Early Psychosis And Trauma-Related Disorders: Clinical Practice Guidelines And Future Directions, Casey A. Cragin

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Despite very high rates of trauma-related disorders among individuals with early psychosis, no clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of comorbid early psychosis and trauma-related disorders exist to date. Indeed, the routine exclusion of individuals with past and current psychosis from participation in trauma research and practice has limited the accumulation of research evidence that could inform such clinical practice guidelines. While preliminary research evidence suggests that traditional, empirically supported treatments for trauma-related disorders can be safely and effectively employed to reduce symptoms of posttraumatic stress and chronic psychosis, it remains unclear whether such treatments are appropriate for individuals in …

Parental Advocacy, Stress, And Efficacy: The Hidden Costs Of Diagnosing Learning Disabilities, Katherine A. Behar

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The allocation of educational resources has been a widely debated topic. While scholars and government officials have focused their attention on how resources are divided, significantly less attention has been paid to how parents are advocating for their children to obtain necessary resources themselves. Existing data agree that fighting for educational resources can cause stress to parents (Levine, 2006). This is especially true for parents of children with learning disabilities. These children often require more individualized academic and educational attention. Currently, little research exists which focuses on the relationship between parental stress and parental self efficacy (the belief that one …

Understanding Community Character As A Socio-Ecological Framework To Enhance Local-Scale Adaptation: An Interdisciplinary Case Study From Rural Northwest Connecticut, Joanna Wozniak-Brown

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Around the world, municipalities are facing new challenges, not the least of which is climate change. This is especially true for rural communities that, for a variety of reasons, will be disproportionately affected by the climatic changes and accompanying policies or programs.

This dissertation, written in manuscript-style, integrates climate change and social-ecological scholarship to address the unique character of rural communities, to communicate the complexity of rural identity through the term "rural character"; and to empower rural communities to incorporate adaptation strategies into their daily municipal operations and planning.

Specifically, this dissertation seeks to answer the following questions: What is …

Graduate Students And Geropsychology: Growing Need And Lacking Interest, Samantha Marie Hague

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

As the population of older adults continues to grow with time, the need for geropsychology clinicians also grows. Many barriers exist that contribute to why elderly individuals are not receiving adequate psychological treatment. This study explores why graduate psychology students are often disinterested in working with older adults and whether it is possible that student interest could increase with more geropsychology graduate coursework and practicum training opportunities. This study also explores the possible connection between quality of elderly relationships and interest in working with the elderly. The results of this study support that Clinical and Counseling Psychology graduate programs lack …