The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of practitioners and scholars in the field of positive youth development through physical activity (PA-PYD) and gather what they have learned during their experience. The primary investigator conducted interviews with a purposeful sample of 10 expert practitioners (5 men and 5 women) in the field of PA-PYD that met inclusion criteria. Participants had a combined 162 years of experience running or researching 24 different PA-PYD programs that took place in 11 different countries. A semantic thematic analysis was conducted to systemically code, categorize, and distill the shared experiences of the participants. The results were organized into five primary themes according to what was shared: (a.) Participants’ journey (b.) Participants’ values (c.) Key factors to consider in perceivably effective programming, (d.) Common barriers, (e.) Strategies for navigating barriers. Finally, these results were then discussed within the scope of systems theory in an effort to propose strategies and future research directions that might better inform PA-PYD future practitioners that aim to achieve distal outcomes within complex systems.

Incarceration is a major problem in the United States. It is a very complex system influenced by politics, ethnicity, poverty, social justice issues, and collective human experiences. Despite it complexities, its understanding by the general public is simplified and sensationalized by the media—prison, its workers, and residents are usually negatively stereotyped and stigmatized. The idea of incarceration only becomes tangible and familiar when a family member or friend that is close to you is directly affected. In this paper I use the qualitative research method—autoethnography—to present a personal narrative about my experiences as a family member affected by incarceration, and as a Master’s Degree art therapy student who has various experiences working with the prison system. My aim is to shed a more subjective light on the prison system as it relates to literature and the media. In this research, I am both participant and researcher—in this thesis, through reflections of my personal narrative, I am able to question the conceptions of the general public and policy makers on the prison system and discuss them from my point of view and what is known from the literature. Through this thesis, I am able to add to the many stories of persons who have been personally affected by the prison system either directly or indirectly. Through the use of autoethnography, I’m afforded the space to discuss the very pressing need for more research in correctional settings that will effectively change the prison system and how an art therapist like myself can begin to create change. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the Master of Science. / ERROR. / ERROR. / Includes bibliographical references. / David Gussak, Professor Directing Thesis; Marcia Rosal, Committee Member; Theresa Van Lith, Committee Member.

Executive Function (EF) is defined as “self-directed actions so as to choose goals and to select, enact, and sustain actions across time towards those goals” (Barkley, 2012; p. 170). These “self-directed actions” can take the form of behavioral, social, or emotional regulation. Since that time, EF has been associated with the frontal lobe function and has been researched as being affected by multiple physical and mental health disorders (Jurado & Roselli, 2007). EF deficits have been linked to Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ADHD is “a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that is frequently displayed and more severe than is typically observed in individuals at a comparable level of development” (APA, 2013, p. 59). Research indicates that 4.4% of the adult population qualify for a diagnosis of ADHD (Barkley, Fischer, Smallish, & Fletcher, 2002; Bush, Valera, & Seidman, 2006; Glutting, Youngstrom, & Walkins, 2005; Kessler et al., 2005; DuPaul, Weyandt, O’Dell, & Varejao, 2009). College students with ADHD face unique challenges compared to their non-ADHD peers with respect to academics (Antshel et al., 2010; Barkley et al., 2006; Dupaul Weyandt, O’Dell, & Varejao, 2009), driving (Barkley, 2011a; Barkley, Anderson, & Kruesi, 2007; Richards et al., 2006), and work performance (Barkley, 2011a; Barkley & Murphy, 2010; Shifrin, Proctor, & Prevatt, 2010; Wilens, Faraone, & Biederman, 2004). Only 20% of young adults with ADHD will enroll in college with about 5% completing college (Antshel et al., 2010; Barkley et al., 2006; Biederman et al., 2006). Adults with ADHD have been shown to have greater likelihood to be at fault for car accidents and receive speeding tickets, (Barkley, 2011a; Barkley, Anderson, & Kruesi, 2007; Richards et al., 2006). Also, adults with ADHD are more likely to have a lower salary are reprimanded more at work (Barkley & Murphy, 2010; Shifrin, Proctor, & Prevatt, 2010; Wilens, Faraone, & Biederman, 2004). Evaluating ADHD in college students is done through multiple methods ranging from cognitive tests of EF to self-report rating scales on ADHD symptomology (Barkley, 2011a). As said previously, cognitive tests of EF were initially used to study individuals with frontal lobe damage (Barkley, 2011a; 2012; Barkley & Murphy, 2011; Jurado & Roselli, 2007). Meanwhile, rating scales of EF for adults evaluate a myriad of cognitive constructs without being based on any theory that allows clinicians to determine which cognitive functions are executive in nature (Burgess et al., 1998; Climie, Cadogan, & Goukon, 2014; Gioia et al., 2000; Naglieri & Goldstein, 2013). The Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale (BDEFS; Barkley, 2011b) is a recently created self-report rating scale that assesses five behavioral deficit areas related to EF: Self-Management to Time, Self-Organization/Problem Solving, Self-Restraint, Self-Motivation, and Self-Regulation of Emotion (Barkley, 2011a). Barkley (2011a) created the BDEFS to easily evaluate EF deficits in adults with ADHD as well as create a measure that was theoretically based (Barkley, 2012). The purpose of this study was to add further evidence to the incremental validity of the BDEFS on assessing ADHD symptoms and life impairments related to ADHD in college students over commonly used cognitive tests of EF. This study analyzed 83 college students diagnosed with ADHD at a southeastern public university. The mean age of the students was twenty-four years old with a median age of twenty-one years old. 47% of the students were male with 69% of the students identifying as Caucasian, 18% as Hispanic, 4% as African American, 4% Asian, and 4% as “Other.” As well, 11% of students identified as being a freshman, 24% as a sophomore, 19% as a junior, 25% as a senior, 16% as a graduate students, and 5 % did not choose a specific year in college. Through the use of multiple independent t-tests and One-way analysis of variances, no significant effects with respect to age, gender, ethnicity, or year in college were found on each of the dependent variables. With respect to incremental validity, the BDEFS subdomains consistently added significant variance over the variance accounted for by cognitive tests of EF on each dependent variable (i.e., inattention symptoms, hyperactivity symptoms, impulsivity symptoms, work performance, and driving performance). Conversely, cognitive tests of EF were never able to add significant variance over the variance accounted for by the BDEFS subdomains on each dependent variable. It is clear that further support of the validity of the BDEFS is needed. This study demonstrated additional evidence towards the incremental validity of the BDEFS over cognitive tests of EF on ADHD symptoms and impairments. This study also demonstrated evidence towards the ecological validity of the BDEFS. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2015. / May 13, 2015. / ADHD, BDEFS, Cognitive Tests, College Students, Executive Function, Incremental Validity / Includes bibliographical references. / Frances Prevatt, Professor Directing Dissertation; Lee Stepina, University Representative; Deborah Ebener, Committee Member; Debra Osborn, Committee Member.

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Systemic racism endures in the United States (Feagin, 2010). The race-related barriers experienced by trainees of color in counseling, clinical, and school psychology programs (Clark et al., 2012; Maton et al., 2011) reflect this reality. Focusing exclusively on the barriers confronting people of color, though, can distract from the benefits and power that Whites accrue to maintain a system of privilege and oppression. Recently, counseling psychologists have recognized the critical importance of understanding social privilege (Israel, 2012) and its unique features based on context (Ancis & Szymanski, 2001). However, the study of White privilege within counseling psychology training is an underrepresented area of the literature. To address this gap and more deeply explore racial inequities in training, interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith, 1996) was used to guide a qualitative exploration of White privilege in counseling psychology training programs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with advanced-level doctoral trainees in APA-accredited programs. In addition to recruiting White trainees, Black participants were also recruited to honor a marginalized perspective on White privilege. Encounters with White privilege in training were particularly salient and painful for Black participants. White participants identified a number of unearned racial advantages, and other unacknowledged privileges in their accounts were revealed through analysis. Emerging superordinate themes and subthemes from each subsample are presented separately and then examined concurrently. Recommendations for counseling psychology training programs are made, and a developing list of White privileges in training environments is presented.

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<p> This dissertation research investigated the experience and the transformational impact of the Person-Centered Soul Retrieval (PCSR) shamanic healing method of Shaman Ross Bishop on personal healing and transformation. PCSR is 1 intervention in a larger shamanic healing process which was modified from Mayan shamanism specifically for use in the United States and potentially for use in other Western societies. The intended result of the shamanic healing is transformation of the self towards wholeness, or integration of the inner parts of an individual, which is a goal inherent to transpersonal psychology. The potential for the use of this shamanic healing process in psychotherapy today is promising, yet evidence for its efficacy and impact was only anecdotal. The purpose of this study then, was to describe, analyze, and interpret the experience and the transformational impact of the specific process of PCSR, 1 aspect of the larger healing system. The current research used a case study method appropriate for exploratory and descriptive research. Based on the logic of replication, a multiple case study design with 5 independent cases was conducted. Participants received the PSCR intervention in 1 or more sessions, the number of which depended on participants&rsquo; individual therapeutic needs. Multiple sources of data included transcripts of all intervention sessions; session notes taken during each session; semistructured participant journal entries after each session, as well as at the end of the treatment cycle; and transcripts of a semistructured final interview with the participants. Data analysis included thematic content analysis with an inductive process to identify themes, as well as to discover descriptive evidence for themes. Pattern matching was used within each case, then aggregated across cases in a cross-case analysis. Results of all 5 of the individual cases and cross-case analyses support the efficacy of the PCSR intervention by demonstrating a significant transformative impact on all participants in emotional, cognitive, and/or behavioral areas. </p>

<p> This thesis interweaves the theories of Jungian psychology with the Native American Winnebago tribe&rsquo;s trickster mythology in order to identify what the role of the trickster is in the process of research. With an alchemical hermeneutic and heuristic methodological approach, the researcher becomes the subject of the thesis. In this intertwining of ideas and heuristic methodology, the trickster archetype traps the researcher in such a way that promotes assimilation of unconscious material through the use of dream work, shadow integration, and the exploration of countertransference and individuation. This thesis emphasizes the hermeneutics aspects of psychotherapy and explores the therapeutic relationship from a Jungian perspective. In documentation of the personal experience of the researcher, the trickster helps to illuminate that which is not understood.</p>