<p> Middle Eastern individuals represent a heterogeneous group comprised of different nationalities, languages, and religious identifications. Yet, Middle Eastern Americans are widely underrepresented in the psychotherapy literature. Extant literature appears to focus on professional opinions about what psychotherapists should do when working with this population, including understanding cultural factors, such as incorporating family in treatment and acculturation status. Considering cultural communication patterns among this population, emotion is generally understood to be inhibited or suppressed, as disclosing personal problems and expressing emotion outside the family sphere can be viewed as disloyal and/or shaming. Thus, one of the many areas mental health clinicians should consider when working with Middle Eastern clients is how to recognize emotional communication patterns and identify and assist their clients with emotion regulation and/or dysregulation in a culturally sensitive manner. </p><p> To address the need for research on how emotions are expressed and regulated in psychotherapy with Middle Eastern clients, this study qualitatively analyzed three psychotherapy cases from a university&rsquo;s community counseling center&rsquo;s archival research database. More specifically, the researchers used an inductive content analysis approach with emotion, emotion regulation and InVivo codes to observe themes of emotional expression, regulation and dysregulation that emerged from the gathered data from a course of psychotherapy with these Middle Eastern American clients to further classify the observable phenomena (Elo &amp; Kyng&auml;s, 2008; Hsieh &amp; Shannon, 2005; Salda&ntilde;a, 2009; Weber, 1990). </p><p> Consistent with previous literature, results indicated that negative emotions were coded more frequently in psychotherapy sessions than positive emotions, as was the emotional regulation strategy of <i>Experiential Avoidance</i>. Surprisingly, data emerged revealing positive emotion regulation strategies (e.g., acceptance and emotional identification) that were not identified by literature describing this population. By obtaining a better understanding of how Middle Eastern American clients expressed and utilized their emotions in treatment, this study may be useful to the future work of clinicians and researchers targeting treatment of these individuals in a culturally sensitive manner and in an approach that emphasizes positive emotion regulation strategies.</p><p>

<p> This thesis explores different ways the media influences the psyche and society. Although research has found some positive effects, it points to primarily negative impacts, including manipulating emotions, instilling fear, promoting racism, influencing social control, and ultimately impacting peoples&rsquo; perceptions of reality and the world, which can extend into problematic effects on the electoral process and the shaping of popular culture. North Americans can be adversely impacted by media images and content to which they are exposed daily. Negative and fear-producing content can contribute to mental illness as well as societal degeneration. This thesis uses a hermeneutic methodology to identify ways in which the media may be negatively impacting the psyche. The research suggests connections between media and the contents of the cultural unconscious related to the American dream, female objectification, and fear of the other. It posits that fear-producing media can be seen as a form of psychological abuse.</p>

<p> Using a sample of 251 college students, it was found that 1) when differentiation (D) of work values was calculated using three indices,&nbsp;high-low D, Iachan D, and variance D,&nbsp;only Iachan D positively related to indecision but&nbsp;high-low D and variance D did not,&nbsp;2) none of the three indices of D&nbsp;related to career maturity, 3) work values profile elevation (PE) positively related to extraversion, openness, and negatively related to depressive symptoms and career indecision but was unrelated to career certainty and&nbsp;neuroticism and 4) work values PE moderated the relationship between Iachan D and career indecision. The findings from this study benefit both vocational counselors and clients by improving the utility of individuals&rsquo; work values results so that they can provide additional information to understand a person&rsquo;s work values profile.</p><p>

<p> Technology has been integrated into the modern era and continues to influence society, culture, and the individual. The digital influence has left a split in its wake that affects intergenerational relationships, value constructs, self-development, and the aesthetics of attachment. The paradigm that dominates the majority of psychological theory and practice is functioning from metanarrative models that are being rejected by younger generations. Using a hermeneutic method, this thesis explores the inception and continuing radical emergence of the technological self. Winnicott&rsquo;s theory of transitional objects and potential space, along with Kaufman&rsquo;s quantum physics theory of radical emergence, are utilized to reveal how the Internet and digital devices function to fulfill the needs of Millennials and Generation Zers. Psychoanalysis is facing the demand to attend to the shifts and gaps between traditional, dominant therapy models and the millennial self that has become technologically embodied.</p><p>

<p> The present study examined the impact of self-esteem, the desire for lighter skin, and gender on levels of depression, anxiety, and stress among university students in Thailand. The study included 761 students from two universities in a northeastern province of Thailand who participated voluntarily. Results indicated that although the desire for lighter skin is prevalent among Thai university students, this desire alone does not significantly impact levels of depression, anxiety, or stress. Self-esteem was a significant predictor of depression, anxiety, and stress. School year showed a significant positive correlation with depression, anxiety, and stress. Academic performance as measured by GPA showed a significant positive correlation with self-esteem and a significant negative correlation with depression. Mental health professionals are advised to explore ways to improve Thai university students&rsquo; self-esteem and to examine the influence of academic and graduation-related pressures in order to positively impact students&rsquo; overall mental health. Additional implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research are discussed. </p><p>

<p> Disabled students graduate from post-secondary education at a lower rate than non-disabled students. It is unknown if disabled and non-disabled students experience equal access to mental health services. This mixed methods study compared participants' reported psychological distress and willingness to utilize mental health services among disabled and non-disabled university students (N=96) and analyzed qualitative data regarding barriers and supports to utilizing mental health services. Disabled students reported more psychological distress and higher willingness to utilize mental health services than non-disabled students. These findings support the importance of promoting mental health care for disabled postsecondary students.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to assess how clinical supervisors' style of interaction, as described by SDT&rsquo;s concepts of perceived autonomy support versus perceived controlling style, predicts the counseling self-efficacy (CSE) of a mental health counseling intern placed in a field internship. An additional purpose of this study was to examine if this relationship between autonomy support and counseling self-efficacy was mediated by autonomous work motivation. Participants were approached during an internship class session to complete instruments related to their demographic characteristics, perceptions of supervisory interaction style &ndash; autonomy supportive versus controlled (<i>Perceived Autonomy Support Scale &ndash; Employee</i>), autonomous or controlled motivation (<i>Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale</i>) and counseling self-efficacy (<i>Counseling Self-Estimate Inventory</i>). In addition, a need for autonomy scale (<i>Autonomy and Homonomy Measure </i>) was also included in the questionnaire packet to perform an exploratory analysis on participants&rsquo; need for autonomy as it relates to perceived autonomy support. Participants consisted of master&rsquo;s level mental health counseling interns enrolled in their field internships. Regression analyses were conducted to assess the predictive relationship between perceived autonomy support from supervisor and participant&rsquo;s counseling self-efficacy. Path analyses were conducted to investigate if this relationship was mediated by autonomous work motivation.</p><p>

<p>ABSTRACT One of the basic tenets of mental health counseling is that assisting a client to change the way he thinks about aspects of the world results in a changed view of the world. When this is examined in therapy, typically the issue at hand is measured (a client may complete the Beck Depression Scale), an intervention with associated techniques is used for some amount of time (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy), and then outcome is measured using the original scale. Of course, if the concern is alleviation of signs and symptoms then a decrease in measured distress is an indicator of a successful intervention. However, despite this success, a number of cognitive questions remain. Due to the fact that it does not necessarily follow that an alleviation of signs and symptoms means that worldview has changed (i.e., a client may have learned additional coping mechanisms), the first question is whether there has there been a change in world view. A second question is what, if anything, about the intervention, resulted in a changed worldview. Kim and Ahn (1992, 1996) developed a methodology for their research which permitted an examination of the impact of manipulations of narratives through the lens of mental health disorders. I investigated how supporting or challenging primary or peripheral features of four mental health disorders impacted the conceptualization of those disorders. Results for the Conceptual Centrality task, a ratings task that focused on supporting or challenging the symptom of interest, revealed that participants used a theory-based approach (compared to a prototype-based approach) for this task. This indicated that people consider the nature of causal chains when rating the centrality or primary and peripheral symptoms. Results for the more complex Causal Centrality Task, in which participants constructed multiple iterations of mental health disorders by identifying symptoms from a list and indicating causal relationships, indicated that constructing individual models, focused on a specific manifestation of a mental health disorder, later influenced general models, focused on the same disorder in general. The addition of a discursive partner revealed that although both partners influenced the later model of the other, they did so differentially. In general, the partner who was more anxious constructed a later model that was smaller (i.e., used fewer unique symptoms) whereas their partner utilized more unique symptoms (in line with construction of a general model). The patterns observed in this research indicate that manipulating mental health narratives does influence conceptualizations of their respective disorders. This research has ramifications for research involving categorization as well as mental health issues.

<p> This thesis draws on Jungian psychology, neuroscience, ecopsychology, and cosmology to explore the role of the imagination in facilitating individuation at personal and planetary levels. Employing the methodology of organic inquiry, it is proposed that our imaginative faculties be revisioned as extensions of an exquisitely creative universe. The potential of engaging these streams of creative energy through active imagination is explored, particularly their capacity to heal trauma by integrating dissociated neural nets into the mainstream flow of the brain. It is suggested that this movement toward internal psychic wholeness may be mirrored in the external world as we step into right brain, imaginal, embodied modes of being. The thesis investigates whether such a holistic lens may allow us to see through the destructive Western myth of humanity&rsquo;s separation from nature, enabling us to reconnect at a profound level, to our one and only life support system, the Earth.</p>

<p> Limited research exists on effective treatment modalities for early onset trauma-based psychosis during the latency period of childhood. This thesis reviews research on the benefits of using Jungian play therapy to treat trauma-based psychosis. Depth psychologists have theorized that the conscious reality of individuals experiencing psychosis is flooded by unconscious complexes, resulting in symptoms of psychosis and intolerance to emotions experienced. Using hermeneutic and heuristic methodologies, this thesis focuses on how, using Jungian play therapy, therapists can form therapeutic alliances with children experiencing psychosis, assist the child with integrating their unconscious experiences, affect, and thoughts into conscious reality thereby managing distressing emotions, contributing to healthy ego development, and reducing psychotic symptoms. Psychological literature and a friend of the author&rsquo;s experience of psychosis are examined to demonstrate how the integration of unconscious material leads to the potential to heal the fragmentation of the psyche caused by trauma and psychosis.</p>