<p> This hermeneutic and alchemical hermeneutic dissertation reviews Jungian literature related to body-based methods of practicing depth psychotherapy to address the problem of extremely limited body-based Jungian psychotherapeutic modalities. It goes on to offer explanations of the various psychological aspects of four of the five Elements within Chinese medicine. It then offers four sequences of Five Element Archetypal Qigong (FEAQ) related to the four Elements previously addressed: Wood, Fire, Metal and Water. It concludes with a discussion of findings and recommendations for future research and practice. Essentially, this dissertation uses the psychological concepts and insights contained in Chinese medicine to show how they can be applied to Jungian psychotherapy through the moving meditation of FEAQ. Body-based psychotherapies constitute a minuscule fraction of the literature and practice modalities within Jungian psychotherapy. This dissertation begins the process of increasing the validity and prevalence of body-based Jungian psychotherapy. It also implies the need for further research on the applicability of Chinese medical concepts to contemporary Western body oriented psychotherapies. </p>

<p> When a child has a terminal diagnosis, the intervention of legacy building is offered as a standard of care in all of the 77 teaching children&rsquo;s hospitals in the United States. Legacy building is a group of activities designed to create tangible items, such as hand and foot prints, locks of hair, or scrapbooks, to promote meaning making for dying individuals, while also providing support to family and friends. Nevertheless, research has yet to identify the benefits of such interventions for the surviving immediate family. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of legacy building interventions on bereaved parents and siblings. Specifically, how do legacy building interventions facilitated by healthcare professionals impact bereavement for the immediate family? A qualitative thematic analysis approach was taken to address the research question. </p><p> A total of 16 participants representing 8 families, consisting of 11 parents and 5 siblings participated in semistructured interviews. Thematic analysis was utilized and developed into 4 major parent themes emerged: (a) Introduction of legacy building, (b) Experience of legacy building items, (c) Psycho-social care, and (d) Maintaining connection. Additionally, 4 major sibling themes emerged which are (a) Experiences with legacy building items, (b) Sibling grief, (c) Psycho-social care, and (d) Maintaining connection. Implications for clinical practice will be discussed as well as future research.</p>

<p> The purpose of this research study was to determine the effects of Fostering Resilience&trade; (FR), a new integrative relapse prevention group protocol for improving relapse risk, internalized shame, and psychological well-being in adults with substance use disorders (SUD). This study also sought to identify any relationship among relapse risk, internalized shame, and psychological well-being. It is the first study to investigate the new FR manualized program model compared to treatment as usual (TAU). The FR model was created based upon direct client experience, the supposition of the intrinsic role shame plays in SUD, and the corresponding belief in the essential value of implementing shame reduction techniques for improving treatment outcomes. Participants were 43 adults with SUD (19 FR and 24 TAU) seeking outpatient treatment. All participants received the 8-week intensive outpatient (IOP) treatment, with the FR group receiving 16 sessions of the manualized FR relapse prevention group protocol in lieu of other TAU group options. Assessments were administered pre and post-intervention. </p><p> Results indicated that the FR treatment group produced a significant reduction in relapse risk (<i>p</i> = .002, <i>ES</i> = .825), shame (<i>p</i> = .004, <i>ES</i> = .763), and psychological well-being (<i>p</i> = .008, <i>ES</i> = .679) from baseline to post-intervention, while the TAU comparison group produced a non-significant improvement in relapse risk (<i>p</i> = .209, <i> ES</i> = .264), shame (<i>p</i> = 055, <i>ES</i> = .409) and psychological well-being (<i>p</i> = .088, <i> ES</i> = .456). Correlation results indicated highly significant correlations between all the dependent variables. All correlations dropped post-intervention, although remained significant. The strongest relationship was found between shame and relapse risk at baseline: ALL (<i>n</i> = 43, <i> r</i> = .880), FR <i>n</i> = 19, <i>r</i> = .869), TAU <i>n</i> = 24, <i>r</i> = .908). This preliminary study establishes support for the new FR model as a beneficial treatment for significantly improving relapse risk, internalized shame, and psychological well-being in adults with SUD. It also provides important knowledge and insight regarding the critical nature of shame and its role relative to relapse risk and psychological well-being in those with SUD.</p><p>

<p> This thesis explores the evolution of consciousness through the lens of the relationship between masculine and feminine from the Neolithic era to the present and the impact on pregnancy and birth within the current patriarchy. Using heuristic and hermeneutic methodologies, the author"s experience through her pregnancy is explored as an example of the often dysfunctional and disempowering interplay between masculine and feminine in the modern era. The author specifies possible avenues of healing, integration, and awakening into a new state of consciousness. In an overarching traumatized collective culture that is characterized by the patriarchal system, how does the current medical model of childbirth, governed by the same rules of the patriarchal system in which it was born, distort the feminine experience? What is the impact of being pregnant and having a baby within this cultural paradigm on humanity at large as well as on individuals including mothers and babies? </p><p>

<p> This phenomenological study examined first-generation Latina women who developed a bicultural strategy when choosing professional careers. A qualitative research methodology sought to analyze the participants&rsquo; academic and career planning journey, the challenges they encountered, the support they received from their families, and how utilizing a bicultural strategy aided them in attaining their career goals. Five Latina women were interviewed with ages ranging from 30 to 50. Several key findings were found to be congruent with research literature such as acculturation influence on ethnic identity, ethnic identity as protective factors from discrimination, and the influence of traditional cultural values in pursuing college careers. Data was analyzed through the lens of developmental and acculturation theories. The findings revealed the participants&rsquo; demonstrated bicultural competence in how they negotiated with their families for support, and how they separated from their families influence to support their own professional goals. Family support was a significant factor for the participants&rsquo; successful navigation of career goals. Minimal family support revealed participants compensating by achieving higher standards for themselves. Based on the results of this study it is recommended that academic counselors and psychotherapists recognize the difficulty of Latina women living between two worlds and make efforts to increase their sensitivity of cultural gender role pressures that influence their career decisions. </p><p>

<p> Two of the hallmark symptoms for psychosis are hallucinations and delusions, indicating to mental health practitioners that the person is experiencing a form of nonconsensual reality. These patients are not given the same opportunities to collaborate in planning for their treatment as those who are being treated for other conditions. Psychosis is a condition with myriad and controversial theories of etiology and treatment, leading to great variation in treatment outcomes. This research offers a perspective on the subjective experience of people being treated for psychosis in the modern mental health system in the United States by documenting how they think and feel about the treatment they are receiving. The method of inquiry was an interpretative phenomenological analysis with six people responding to 15 questions in a semi-structured interview that included questions about what has been beneficial and not beneficial in accessing therapeutic support for their distressing experiences and what advice they would give to mental health workers.</p><p> All participants reported having a positive experience in the study, which indicates the value of asking people about their mental health treatment. Several of the participants explicitly stated that they had never shared, much less had been asked to share, their experiences of treatment throughout sometimes decades of having received treatment for a mental health diagnosis. Advice participants wished to give to mental health workers included being more compassionate and expressing authentic caring, encouraging recovery as opposed to dependency, and instilling hope. Some benefits of current treatments noted by participants included frequent contact with mental health workers in a range of capacities including the development of relaxation skills and activities of daily living (ADLs), family therapy, and individual psychotherapy. This research indicates the following areas for improvement in the treatment of psychosis: focusing on the development of the therapeutic relationship, including active listening and authentic concern; including the patient in the development of goal setting and treatment planning; and focusing on recovery with an attitude of hope.</p>

<p> James Hillman (1972) declared, &ldquo;What the psyche has experienced during the past seventy years in analytical therapy should also be possible for it wherever it goes&rdquo; (p. 5). As a life coach&mdash;someone who starts from a place of curiosity&mdash;I became curious. Did this mean that the imaginal practices of depth psychology could be used within a life coaching container? Could imaginal practices such as Jung&rsquo;s active imagination and Hillman&rsquo;s personifying work in a life coaching partnership? What benefits might life coaching clients gain through creating a connection with psychic figures? What would a life coach&mdash;or a depth psychologist&mdash;need to merge these two ways of engaging with individuals, both in terms of training and resources? And, finally, what does each profession&mdash;life coaching and depth psychology&mdash;obtain from such a merger? Using the methodology of hermeneutic phenomenology, I entered into a six-session soul-centered coaching partnership with three participants. Each took part in six sessions designed to develop their psychological creativity while experiencing a coaching relationship. Factoring in my own observations, as well as the personal accounts of the participants, I found that imaginal practices positively impacted participants&rsquo; abilities to connect with and move through their life transitions. This merging of the two professions would require life coaches to undergo extensive learning in depth psychology, and depth psychologists to acquire professional coaching skills, but this study holds forth promise for a blending of the two fields. </p><p>

<p> Adolescents who sexually offend are highly diverse both in risk factors as well as inner resources. Utilizing the BERS-2-YRS, the AAQ, and the J-SOAP-II, 38 adjudicated adolescents convicted of a sexual offense in secure care were assessed to determine which protective factors are correlated with reduced sexual re-offense risk. This study also explored how adolescents who have only committed a sexual offense (sex-only) differ from adolescents who have committed a sexual offense in addition to other delinquent behavior (sex-plus). Results indicated that sex-only adolescents demonstrate a significantly lower sexual recidivism risk and have greater affective strength compared to sex-plus adolescents. The sex-only sub-group also demonstrated large correlations for reduced sexual recidivism risk along five protective factors found on the BERS-2-YRS.</p><p>

<p> The social networking site Facebook is a popular domain where people can share pictures, status updates, and communicate with one another over the internet. While there are benefits to the ability to connect electronically with friends who are geographically distant, recent research illustrates a potentially damaging effect on well-being. In particular, envy plays a mediating role in the relationship between Facebook use and more negative affect and increased depressive symptoms. Although envy can produce positive emotions, as well as motivation to improve oneself, past research primarily identifies only deleterious effects of envy. Through the theoretical framework of the self-evaluation maintenance model, evidence for the phenomena of benign and malicious envy was explored to provide a more complete look at the impact of envy on Facebook.</p><p>

<p> Self-forgiveness is an emotion focused coping mechanism that increases positive emotions and behaviors. Self-forgiveness has been found to be moderated by guilt and shame in support of Hall and Finchman&rsquo;s theory on the emotional components of self-forgiveness. Men and women recovering from alcohol addiction have been found to struggle with shame and guilt, however, little is understood about this association. This quantitative correlational non-experimental research study investigated the relationship between self-forgiveness and risk of relapse in adults who were recovering from alcohol abuse, how shame and guilt moderated this relationship and how this relationship differed by gender. Anonymous surveys were conducted in two treatment centres and two Alcoholic Anonymous recovery meetings in the city of Calgary. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, The Heartland Forgiveness Scale, Alcohol Risk of Relapse Scale, and the Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale. Multiple regression and moderation analyses were conducted to test the study hypotheses. Self-forgiveness was found to have a non-significant relationship with risk of relapse (&beta; = .040, <i>p</i> &lt; .720) and the scores did not differ by gender [Male (&beta; = &ndash;.061, <i>p</i> &lt; .641), and Female (&beta; = &ndash;.0.17, <i>p</i> &lt; .937)]. Shame (<i>F</i> (3, 79) = .614, <i>p</i> = .608), and guilt (<i>F</i> (3, 79) = 7.244, <i>p</i> = .000) did not have a moderating effect on the relationship between self-forgiveness and the risk of relapse. When shame and guilt interacted with self-forgiveness in predicting risk of relapse, the results did not differ by gender [Male (<i>F</i> (4, 55) = 5.770, <i> p</i> = .001), and female (<i>F</i> (4, 18) = .580, <i> p</i> = .681)]. However, a result not hypothesized in the study was found among male participants that guilt was predictive of risk of relapse (<i> F</i> (3, 56) = 7.595, <i>p</i> = .000). This study highlights the impact of maladaptive guilt that maintains the cycle of addiction. Clinicians can utilize this knowledge to employ strategies of eliminating maladaptive guilt in psychotherapy. Further research is needed to determine if these results could be replicated with other demographic groups to identify other plausible mechanisms between self-forgiveness at risk of relapse.</p><p>