<p> This thesis examines the topic of the psychological function of loneliness. An alchemical hermeneutic research methodology is utilized to compare established theories on the topic to the researcher&rsquo;s experience. From a contemporary cognitive behavioral perspective, the distress of loneliness has no psychological function. Insecure attachment patterns, schizoid personality structures, introverted personality typologies, subjectivity, and projection appear to influence susceptibility to intense or prolonged loneliness. Analytical psychology describes isolation as a necessary condition of the individuation process, and archetypal psychology identifies loneliness as an immanent psychological phenomenon. This thesis explores the depth psychological observation that the modern, rational psyche&rsquo;s alienation from its irrational, autonomous animating images contributes to experiences of loneliness. Loneliness as a functional symptom of the ego&rsquo;s unconscious need to form symbolic relationships to collective and archetypal psychological dynamics is considered. The standard clinical treatment for loneliness of socialization is critically examined.</p>

<p> This thesis uses hermeneutic and heuristic methodologies to draw together the myth of Chiron and the phenomenon of spiritual bypassing. Spiritual bypassing is the tendency to use spiritual beliefs, teachings, and practices to avoid dealing with one&rsquo;s psychology, painful feelings, unresolved wounds, and developmental issues. Chiron is a mythological figure who mentored a number of Greek heroes and Asclepius, the god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Chiron, like his mentee Asclepius, embodies the Wounded Healer archetype. Chiron&rsquo;s wounding and healing journey can serve as a roadmap for spiritual practitioners on how to navigate out of bypass and deepen their path toward self-realization and individuation. Developing an archetypal awareness of one&rsquo;s wounds appears to reveal the aspects of one&rsquo;s psychology defended against in spiritual bypass. This emerging roadmap and lessons from Chiron&rsquo;s journey may help therapists, healers, and spiritual teachers accelerate their own path and assist clients. </p>

<p> This mixed method study examined the effectiveness of a school-based program that has been integrating trauma-informed education and art therapy for three decades to treat adolescents who have experienced complex trauma, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and toxic stress. To date, no clinical-effectiveness outcomes research or systematic program evaluation had been conducted at Northern California School (pseudonym). This research included 15 former student participants who attended the program over the past 15 years, as well as 28 current and former staff employed over the past 30 years. Research methods include tenets of effectiveness studies, program evaluation, and narrative analysis. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 195 archival clinical files, questionnaires distributed to former students and staff, and in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The results provide demographic characteristics of each sample; for former student participants, this includes ACE scores describing the prevalence of the 10 major types of childhood trauma, and GSE scores describing present-day level of functioning. Results also provide characteristics of treatment, significant correlates of graduating from the program with a high school diploma, and ratings of process and outcome variables as well as various treatment modalities by former students and staff participants. Dialogical narrative analysis was utilized to analyze qualitative data gathered during the in-depth, semi-structured interviews, and the stories of three former students, four art therapists, and the voice of the researcher are presented in the form of short stories to provide an overview of the experience of art therapy in the voices of former students and staff. This research contributes evidence that art therapy is an impactful and effective component of treatment for adolescents with complex trauma and higher ACE scores, and may create lifelong patterns for these individuals of seeking therapeutic support in times of distress.</p>

<p> Structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the factors that relate to school counselors&rsquo; knowledge and skills of multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS). A sample of 4,066 practicing school counselors who are members of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) participated in an online survey and were included in the final analysis. Results of the structural model indicated that time spent on ASCA aligned activities was directly related to school counselors knowledge and skills of MTSS. In addition, time spent on ASCA aligned activities mediated the relationship between school setting, school level, MTSS training, challenges to obtaining knowledge and skills of MTSS, and knowledge and skills of MTSS. Rural school setting, secondary school level, MTSS training, and challenges related to training, administrative support, time, and staff buy-in were directly related to time spent on ASCA aligned activities and indirectly related to school counselors knowledge and skills of MTSS. Implications for school counselor training programs, counselor educators, school counselor leaders and practicing school counselors are also provided.</p>

This study examines the problem of female obesity in the United States. A woman who has a Body Mass Index of 30 or above is considered to be obese and this applies to over 50 percent of American women. Both physical and psychological consequences of obesity were considered. The study also examines current treatments available for the treatment of obesity and looks at the possibility that hypnosis may be an effective adjunct treatment. The study was based on the premise that hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness in which certain normal human capabilities are heightened while others fell into the background. It is a state of relaxation during which subjects are able to experience an elevated ability to focus and concentrate. Cognitive and behavioral weight loss ideas may be suggested to the subject while in a state of hypnosis and this may facilitate the ability to follow the suggestions. Subjects were divided into two groups. One group heard only weight loss suggestions, the other group heard the suggestions while hypnotized. The amount or weight lost by each group was computed and the mean number of pounds lost was derived. A t test was used to analyze the data. The researcher found that the hypnotized group lost significantly more weight than the control group. The conclusion drawn from the findings suggest that hypnosis may be an effective adjunct in the treatment of female obesity.

<p> Mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) are receiving increasing attention in the treatment of mental illness, and there is good support for their effectiveness as a stand-alone treatment across a range of disorders. It is possible that MBI would also be useful as an addition to standard treatment protocols. To assess this possibility, the present investigation involved a meta-analytical review of studies in which mindfulness techniques were added to treatment as usual to assess the incremental effect of mindfulness. A systematic review was conducted of relevant databases. Studies were included in the meta-analysis if they met the following criteria: (a) mindfulness techniques or mindfulness-based interventions were employed in conjunction with treatment as usual and compared to treatment as usual alone; (b) patients in the sample were assigned a DSM-IV diagnosis or exhibited a specific symptom; and (c) the sample included individuals 18 years of age or older. Only studies using an experimental randomized controlled design were included. Fourteen eligible studies were found with an effective sample size of 695 participants. Effect sizes were calculated overall, and for subgroups (diagnosis subgroups, mean age, type of MBI) separately. Meta-analysis of between-group effects yielded an overall Cohen&rsquo;s <i>d</i> effect size of 0.61. Adding MBIs to treatment as usual appears to yield substantial incremental improvement when used with a variety of symptoms and disorders. </p>

<p> Over the last several decades lawmaking in the United States has mostly been punitive in nature with respect to crime that is linked to addiction. As a result of the enormous cost to society in punishing individuals with an addiction, the criminal justice system has increasingly collaborated with the mental health establishment to treat the individual&rsquo;s core addiction associated with crime. The programs of probation and parole having increasingly been used help people with addiction the opportunity to succeed within their community. The role of internal motivation for substance abuse treatment has predicted treatment retention, decreased relapse rates, and more positive outcomes. However, the literature is minimal in regards to the relationship between external motivation and internal motivation in these highly coerced environments. This study examined how external motivation may influence internal motivation within the parole and probation populations. </p>

<p> Home and community based counseling services have become instrumental to the treatment of children and adolescents struggling with mental illness. Counselors working in these systems of care face significant challenges in this unique setting. Most home and community based counselors (HCBCs) face these challenges as recent graduates, not having adequate preparation for the home setting, while receiving little supervision. HCBCs have reported feeling isolated and unsupported and question their effectiveness as counselors. Macchi, Johnson, and Durtschi&rsquo;s (2014) results point to the importance of self-care to HCBC wellness, especially when the HCBC is lacking supervision. Yet, we are unable to glean from prior research which self-care strategies may benefit the HCBC. It is also unclear how systemic factors may affect HCBC wellness. A broad review of the literature revealed that studies examining the individual and organizational factors that may influence counselor wellness have yielded inconclusive results. Individual interviews were conducted with eight HCBCs and four supervisors working for three different home and community counseling agencies and data were analyzed using constructivist grounded theory. Out of the grounded analysis, this researcher identified seven concepts: helping others, confronting the realities of the work, taking care of yourself, finding support, striving for work-life balance, and moving forward. The experiences shared by the HCBCs and supervisors make it clear that it is not just the individual practices that matter, organizational and supervision practices impact wellness as well. Recommendations for supervisors, HCBCs, and agencies are provided.</p><p>

<p> This qualitative study was an exploration of therapists&rsquo; countertransference (CT) in therapy sessions addressing client sexual issues. The purpose of the study was to better understand how therapists experience and manage CT in or between sessions and how they appraise their work when sessions addressing client sexual concerns trigger their vulnerabilities. The study included interviews with 10 licensed, experienced therapists who described their experience and management of CT in and between therapy sessions that focused on client sexual issues. The researcher employed a qualitative methodology to understand the many layers of influence and facets of therapists&rsquo; CT. </p><p> Six conclusions emerged from this study. First, the findings support the claim that CT is a dynamic and co-created process. Second, evidence from this study suggests that cultural CT operates both overtly and subtly. Third, the findings suggest that client sexual issues are not consistent, primary triggers of CT. Therapists in this sample experienced CT related to client sexual issues, but only when an additional client behavior or trait also affected the therapist&rsquo;s vulnerability. Fourth, the data suggest that CT commonly manifests by narrowing therapists&rsquo; perceptual fields and empathetic strain. Fifth, flexibility in the therapeutic process and resolute boundaries that the therapist sets support effective management of CT. Finally, CT events may result in a rupture of the therapeutic relationship or may facilitate therapeutic gains. This study adds to existing research that depicts CT as a dynamic, multifaceted, and layered process that occurs between a therapist and a client.</p><p>

<p> This thesis is a heuristic, hermeneutic investigation into regression using the author's experience as a case study. Regressive play and the desire for deeper regression within the analytic container are explored, guided by the question: What is the experience of following one's impulse to regress to more and more primordial states, and what kind of psychological container is needed to facilitate that deepening both inter- and intrapersonally? The author details a history of regression beginning with Sigmund Freud and continuing to psychoanalyst Michael Balint's <i>basic fault,</i> object relations therapist Donald Winnicott's <i>regression to dependence, </i> and Jungian analyst Brian Feldman's <i>psychic skin.</i> The therapeutic role of play is explored. The analyst's response to regression and how it facilitates or hinders the client's ability to regress are presented. This thesis challenges the notion that regression should be discouraged within a psychoanalytic frame, instead suggesting ways the analyst may hold the regression elementally.</p><p>