<p> This thesis examines the use of two depth psychological techniques, somatic active imagination, known as authentic movement, and dream work in aiding a woman to embody elements of the Great Mother archetype within her psyche. These techniques act to unearth unconscious material, providing access to archetypal symbology. They help identify and explore the boundless archetypal content within, drawing it from the unconscious into consciousness for psychic integration. Dreams and authentic movement sessions are used to demonstrate how one might assist a woman in developing an embodied relationship with the Great Mother archetype and the archetypal Feminine as it exhibits within her psyche. The process is analyzed from a Jungian perspective and uses a heuristic methodology, contemplating the Great Mother archetype as an avenue for psychic transformation.</p>

<p> Using hermeneutics research methodology, this thesis explores the impact of negative attitudes towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals and the importance of a positive support system to help decrease self-harm and suicidality rates among the LGBT community. This thesis investigates the negative effects long-standing rejection, discrimination, oppression, and scapegoating of the LGBT community throughout history have had. This will provide a greater understanding of how rejection and scapegoating negatively affect the LGBT community and the individuals who comprise it. This thesis also suggests ways for family, friends, and society to become a positive support system for an LGBT individual and looks at possible interventions marriage and family therapists can apply to their clients who identify as LGBT.</p>

<p> This thesis draws from developments in Jungian thought, somatic and mindfulness-based therapeutic modalities, and interpersonal neurobiology to examine the cultural layer of the unconscious and the complexes that operate therein in their relevance to clinical work. Using hermeneutic and heuristic methodologies, it argues for the development of awareness in the clinician of culturally rooted complexes as they manifest in the clinical moment, and the importance of recognizing, accepting, and working with the defenses around these complexes. The importance of therapeutic work from a somatic and mindfulness-oriented approach is discussed, drawing from the theory and practice of Hakomi and the Re-Creation of the Self Model of Human Systems, as grounded in interpersonal neurobiology and complementary to aspects of Jungian theory.</p>

<p> The purpose of this project was to write a grant to fund teacher and counseling staff training in mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) and provide for subsequent instruction of MBIs within the school context. The host agency is the Windsor Unified School District, located in Sonoma County, California. </p><p> The goals of the program include teaching mindfulness techniques to designated school staff and students, reducing school staff stress, and increasing the social and emotional learning of students. The objectives include delivering a 12-week MBI training to at least 40% of designated school staff in the district, as well as providing an 8-week, 20-minute MBI series taught to students. Program success will be evaluated through pre- and post-testing of school staff and students with respect to their stress levels and social and emotional skills. </p>

<p> Cybervictimization is related to negative psychological adjustment (e.g., Tokunaga, 2010); however, not all cybervictims report negative outcomes, and it is not clear what factors may influence vulnerability. One possibility is that cybervictims' attributions regarding technology-based communication impact their emotional adjustment. Those who make hostile intent attributions in ambiguous situations are more likely to experience negative outcomes (e.g., Crick &amp; Dodge, 1994), and the inherent ambiguity of electronic communication may be particularly susceptible to misinterpretation. In addition, how individuals respond to cyber experiences may serve to either protect or damage their emotional well-being. Furthermore, those who are high in rejection sensitivity (Feldman &amp; Downey, 1994) may be especially likely to perceive ambiguous electronic communications negatively. Also, friendship quality may buffer negative outcomes for those that are cybervictimized (Parker &amp; Asher, 1993). This study examined whether college students' level of rejection sensitivity and friendship quality, as well as attributions and behavioral responses, help explain the relation between cybervictimization experiences and emotional adjustment. </p><p> Participants included 454 undergraduates (235 females) ages 18-24 years (M= 18.79) who completed an online survey assessing cybervictimization, cognitive attributions and responses to ambiguous cyber situations, depression, rejection sensitivity, friendship quality, social anxiety, loneliness, self-perception, and peer victimization.</p><p> Results indicated that cybervictimization was associated with increased social anxiety and loneliness and decreased self-worth, but not with depressive symptoms. Moderated mediation results indicated that rejection sensitive college students who experience low levels of cybervictimization and blame ambiguous peer provocation on their own inability to be socially effective are at increased risk for experiencing depressive symptoms, especially if they are female. It was hypothesized that rumination would further explain increased depressive symptoms but this assertion was not supported. It was also believed that friendship quality would mitigate poor adjustment for those who are cybervictimized. Interestingly, this was true only for those who experienced greater cybervictimization and who blamed the ambiguous peer provocation on something they could not change about themselves. Findings highlight the importance of investigating the role of cognitive attributions in the development of negative adjustment outcomes for those who experience cybervictimization.</p>

<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> This phenomenological study explored transgender individuals&rsquo; lived experiences of romantic relationship. This study utilized the concepts of Jung&rsquo;s transcendent function and Buddhism&rsquo;s middle way in order to articulate the transgender individuals&rsquo; felt experience of romantic relationships. Eight participants were interviewed and provided the research data, which was then examined in order to articulate and describe the experiences of the participants. This researcher found that most of this study&rsquo;s participants pursued the fulfillment of their genuine gender individualities and participated in romantic relationships that are built on the full expression of their authentic gender identities. Additionally, many participants reported that their relationships were built around values such as support, negotiation, communication, and compromise. Further, multiple participants described the presence of the third, or in other words, the multiple or plural spectrum, via the ways of working through romantic relationship issues by forming contracts and an openness to co-create defined relationship boundaries. This research arrives at an understanding of the transgender romantic relationship and subsequently, human relationships through depth psychological understanding. The findings are discussed in connection to the themes provided by the participants: the personal evolution of their transgender experience, the experiences of living in a romantic relationship, and the experiences of the third. Further areas of depth psychological research, study, and clinical implications are also discussed.</p>

<p> Military stigma is a heavy burden of social stigma internalized by veterans who are diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during post-deployment psychological screening. PTSD is classified as a mental disorder associated with widespread reluctance to seek medical assistance. Among military veterans who suffer from combat-related posttraumatic stress (PTS), military stigma is considered a widespread problem. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore veterans&rsquo; perceptions of various aspects of military stigma, including post-deployment psychological screening, the diagnosis of PTSD, and factors associated with reluctance to seek medical assistance for PTS. In-depth interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 10 veterans of 2 recent operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. A modified form of labeling theory was applied to address the role of cultural stereotypes in stigma (societal and self-internalized), and the discriminatory factors associated with them. Multiple themes emerged, including a commonly held view that post-deployment health screenings are superficial, inconsistent, and ineffective procedures in which veterans feel the need to lie about their experience for fear of being stigmatized with a mental disorder. The findings confirm that the stigma associated with a diagnosis of PTSD perpetuates veterans&rsquo; reluctance to seek help for PTS, which results in multiple personal and professional problems. Remedies recommended by these veterans included improved post-deployment medical screening procedures, reclassification of PTSD as a war injury instead of a mental disorder, and PTS-related stigma awareness training. </p>

<p> Same-sex couples are affected by the social and political climates in which they live, as these create the difference between acceptance and legalization, and discrimination and prohibition, of their relationships. This contingence is made increasingly impactful by the privileges and protections afforded to married couples by the federal government; same-sex couples, along with other couples that choose not to, or cannot, marry, are excluded from these benefits. Following the June 26, 2013 ruling that Section Three of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage as between a man and a woman, was unconstitutional, same-sex couples were given access to over 1,100 federal protections and benefits and supported legally for the first time. My research explored the lived experiences of same-sex couples following this milestone in order to develop an understanding of the psychological and relational effects of the DOMA repeal on same-sex couples. This understanding may assist therapists working with these couples by increasing comprehension of their context and the effects of the DOMA repeal on their internal and relationship functioning. By understanding these aspects, therapists may work more capably and sensitively with same-sex couples, and be more informed regarding potential problems these clients may bring to therapy. </p><p> Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were employed in order to gather comprehensive data on the topic, utilize the strengths of both methodologies, and enhance the results of each method with the other. A single instrument, an online survey, was utilized. The quantitative paradigm provided numerical data on the experiences of same-sex couples following the DOMA repeal, as well as differences in experiences based on variance in state laws. Under the qualitative paradigm, phenomenological methodology was utilized to explore and convey participants' experience of the repeal in their own words. Responses were collected via survey to allow for more anonymity for participants, as well as a more representative sample of same-sex couples across the country. Qualitative and quantitative questions were included on the survey; responses were analyzed separately, and then merged during interpretation. </p><p> Implications for clinical practice derived from this study are reviewed, as well as implications for advocacy work and directions for further research. It is hoped that this study will provide a better understanding of same-sex couples' lived experiences following the repeal of DOMA's Section Three, and provide implications for therapists working with these couples. </p>

<p> The unique nature, challenges, and demands of rural counseling has been linked to higher rates of burnout and turnover among rural counselors in comparison to their urban and suburban counterparts. The current study examined the relationship between burnout and selected variables among professional counselors working in rural settings. A review of the literature indicated that multiple relationships, confidentiality, competence and training, lower compensation, lack of privacy, and personal and professional isolation were the variables most frequently identified as problematic for rural counselors. Data from 127 respondents were analyzed using multiple regression models. Individually, the independent variables were significant predictors of burnout, however, only confidentiality, lower compensation, lack of privacy, and personal and professional isolation were significant predictors in the multiple regression models.</p>