<p> The Digital Age has brought to light emerging individual, social, and cultural changes that impact how mental health practitioners should approach psychotherapy. As techno-humanistic values permeate society, this thesis explores how online identities have been and can be integrated into the psychotherapeutic process through three primary stages of therapy: diagnosis, assessment, and treatment. Utilizing a hermeneutic methodology, this research explores and defines content spanning the digital world; artificial intelligence; virtual, mixed, and augmented realities; what an online identity is; and how online identities develop individually and collectively. Two overarching research findings emerged: (1) the blurring of online and offline realities and (2) that online identities have their own social and cultural context. Within these findings, new suggested clinical applications of how to incorporate online identities into diagnosis, assessment, and treatment modalities are proposed, most notably through the author's original contribution of the Virtual Identities Integration Therapy Model.</p><p>

<p> It is not the existence of depressive symptomology, but understanding the function and effect that should be central in how to best support patients. Even in cases of milder depression, phase-of-life issues, or adjustment-related depressive episodes, the myth of a magical pill, here an antidepressant, appeals to the human desire for cessation of whatever unpleasantness may be arising. As a collective, clinicians may be placating clients&rsquo; psychological defenses and natural desire to suppress or dissociate at the expense of allowing a soulful opportunity to work through and resolve challenges. Utilizing a primarily hermeneutic approach, the author contemplates various studies supporting psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, and combined therapies. Ultimately, the case is made for decision-making processes that place higher value on the greater context of potential soul opportunities for resolution and healing as well as individuation and growth.</p><p>

<p> The present study investigated the prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress and resiliency among college students in Cambodia. The study further identified the impact of socio-demographic factors including gender, place of upbringing, religious affiliation, and perceived financial status on the mental health and resilience of Cambodian college students. Significant predictors influencing depression, anxiety, and stress were identified. The present study was conducted among 529 Khmer students sampled from public and private institutions in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Results found the sample to have mild to moderate levels of depression (M=6.85), moderate anxiety (M=6.61), and mild levels of stress (M=8.90). However, analysis of the severity of distribution explained that 44.6%, 54.2%, and 37.5% of students experienced symptoms above the moderate levels for depression, anxiety, and stress respectively. Results showed 89.8 % of students reported high levels of resiliency. Significant differences in level of depression, anxiety, and resilience were found based on students&rsquo; perceived financial status. Additionally, differences in resiliency were observed based on gender. While no socio-demographic or protective factors were predictive of stress, perceived financial status and resilience were found to be significant predictors of depression and anxiety among college students in Cambodia. Implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research are discussed.</p><p>

University students in South Africa today face a variety of issues with academic and relationship problems, career development issues, depression and anxiety being the most common. This negatively impacts their pass rates and personal success. Research into positive psychology has increased considerably over the past few years. Seligman‟s PERMA model has played a pivotal role in assisting in the understanding of what constitutes a flourishing life. The proposed study aimed to explore and describe the impact of five interventions, based on each of the aspects of the PERMA model, on Student Counselling clients. The research sample consisted of 10 participants seeking Student Counselling, Career and Development Centre Services at NMMU. Purposive sampling was uses to source participants. The researcher facilitated a six-week group programme which was developed by the researcher. In this programme, the participants were introduced to the aspects of the PERMA model. The participants implemented interventions in between sessions and journals of their experiences provided qualitative data on their experiences. The Beck Depression Inventory II and the Satisfaction With Life Scale were utilized as pre and post intervention measure. ATLAS.ti software programme and descriptive statistics were utilized for qualitative and quantitative data analysis respectively. Key findings included benefits such as an overall decrease in depressive symptoms and an increase in life satisfaction following the interventions. The negative impact of academic concerns on life satisfaction was also noted. Moreover, participants reported that they enjoyed both the content and the interactive nature of the group sessions. In conclusion, implementing positive psychology group interventions on students is promoted as a result of the emerging benefits.

<p> With the concentrated government effort to withdraw U.S. armed forces from the ongoing foreign conflicts, millions of veterans are anticipated to transition back into American culture over the next several years. Once discharged, many veterans turn to the California community college (CCC) system for assistance with initiating their Post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefit and societal reintegration. As a historically disenfranchised student population, countless student veterans arrive at CCCs with physical and emotional traumas stemming from combat, lack college readiness, and have civilian adjustment difficulties. While all students in the CCC system have flexibility with persisting at a pace conducive with their academic skill, readiness, and motivation, student veterans have added internal stressors of transferring at an accelerated rate due to the time limitations of the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. </p><p> The purpose of this study is to explore the transitional experiences of student veterans who leveraged their Post-9/11 G.I. Bill at a CCC in pursuit of a timely transfer to a university. A qualitative interview was utilized to understand the life transitions CCC student veterans endure and how their experiences may foster or hinder their timely transfer to a university. The sample group included 20 student veteran participants previously enrolled at Rolling Hills Community College (RHCC) and Crescent View Community College (CVCC) located in adjoining counties in Southern California. Purposeful sampling was employed to elicit information rich cases for in-depth study that have experienced the central phenomenon of interest and provide answers to the questions under study. </p><p> Four major themes emerged that describe the experiences that may foster or hinder a timely transfer from a community to four-year college. Themes that fostered a timely transfer included developing self and solidifying personal identity and community of support. Themes that hindered a timely transfer included managing the transition and racing against time. </p><p> Anderson, Goodman, and Schlossberg&rsquo;s (2012) framework of moving in, moving through, and moving out, in conjunction with the 4 S System of support, was the theoretical framework utilized to analyze the findings. Recommendations based on the findings of this study include increasing the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill allotment, establishing a Post-9/11 financial awareness and literacy training program, mandating enrollment in the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system, streamlining college counseling services, and broadening research efforts to examine the academic outcomes of student veterans.</p>

Problem: Distrust and socioeconomic barriers are widely recognized as contributors to disparities in the healthcare system, particularly as it relates to mental health care (Lindinger-Sternart, 2015; National Alliance on Mental Illness, n.d.). African Americans continually experience societal pressures to disassociate with African American culture and to assimilate into mainstream culture. Perhaps accessing mental health services via a counselor is an extension of that pressure. In this way, the traditional counseling model for mental health intervention is a culturally counterintuitive approach for developing mental health among African American men. Men are a subset of the African American community that tends to engage in mental health treatment at a significantly lower rate than the general population. Conversely, research suggests that their distress is as significant if not more so than that of majority groups (Mental Health America, n.d.; Roberson & Fitzgerald, 1992; Snowden, 2012). Research shows that cultural and systematic factors drive the underuse of mental health services among African American men (particularly counseling). Community-based psychoeducation spread by community members may be a means of making mental health information more accessible to this population in culturally congruent and enfranchised ways. Method: A quantitative, non-experimental survey design was employed to examine the relationship between 1) ethnic identity salience, 2) socioeconomic status (the exogenous variables), and 3) attitudes toward seeking mental health treatment (both endogenous and exogenous) as predictors of receptivity toward community-based psychoeducation (the dependent/endogenous variable) among African American men. ANOVA and Structural Equation Modeling were employed to consider the relationship between variables and the latent construct. Convenience sampling was used to recruit a nationally representative sample of 461 African American men from across the country through the employment of Qualtrics data collection servicer. Following data collection, data were screened and analyzed using SPSS and AMOS software programs to ensure valid interpretation. Results: The results indicated that African American men are most receptive to discussing/receiving mental health information with counselors, friends, and family, and in the corresponding settings (in counseling, social settings, or at home, respectively). Receptivity in those settings had no significant difference, which conveys comparable openness to discussing/receiving mental health information (i.e., psychoeducation). Such findings are indicative of community-based psychoeducation as an alternative to counseling. Overall, respondents were somewhat receptive to a variety of identified settings/individuals; however, barbershops/barbers were the least preferred option for discussing/receiving mental health information. Further, the original structural equation model poorly fit the collected data, so it was adjusted as informed by theory and supported by the literature. The final, good-fitting model explained only 18% of the variance in the dependent variable though it yielded unique insight into the relationship of the variables. Ethnic Identity Salience and Socioeconomic Status were meaningful predictors of Receptivity to Community-based Psychoeducation. Help-seeking Propensity was the only assessed Attitude toward Seeking Mental Health Treatment that was meaningful in the empirical model. Conclusions: The findings support the existing research that African American men are receptive to community-based psychoeducation when administered through the appropriate channels. Given issues with feasibility and access, community-based psychoeducation dispersed through families and friends at home and in social settings may be preferable to counseling as a means of increasing mental health literacy among the general U.S. population of African American men. Future studies should strive to conceptualize mental health intervention in culturally congruent ways, develop community-based intervention modalities, and study African Americans in novel exploratory ways to generate practical mental health advancement. They should also consider how the changing zeitgeist, individual attitudes, and meaningful personal relationships impact the discussion of mental health and utilization of services among African American men.

This study examined the effects of perceived parental rejection in gay men and romantic relationship quality during the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic,. Meyer (2003) noted several dimensions of minority stress that LGBTQIA+ individuals are at risk of experiencing, including discrimination based on their sexual orientation, internalizing negative societal attitudes about homosexuality, and expecting rejection due to their sexual orientation. Researchers have just started to identify protective factors that contribute to resilience among gay men (Goldfried & Goldfried, 2001; Holahan et al., 1994; Steinberg, 2001), and this study sought to add to that literature. Perceived parental acceptance has been found to be associated with improved well-being (Steinberg, 2001; Holahan et al., 1994), suggesting that relationships with parents or caregivers have effects well into adulthood. Yet, the literature has failed to examine the effects of early parental rejection and how current attachment styles may mediate past experiences and their effects on current relationship quality. The main goal of the current study was to examine whether recollections of past parental rejection were associated with relationship quality later in their adult intimate relationships (Cassidy, 2008). Outness to family, friends, and others and current attachment styles were assessed as mediating variables for the links between perceived parental rejection and relationship quality. A sample of 275 participants was recruited through Amazon Turk (MTurk), Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The mean age of participants was 31.05 years old (SD = 7.94), with a range of 18-65. The sample consisted of 93% of the sample identified as male, with the remainder identifying as transgender (4%), non-binary (0.7%), or other (2.2%). This diverse sample identified their race/ethnicity as either European American (41%), followed by African American (15%), Asian American (14%), Hispanic American (14%), American Indian, or Alaskan Native (12%), Other (4%), and Biracial (1%). The researcher conducted a multiple mediation analysis using Hayes (2018) PROCESS macro to examine the relationship between perceived parental rejection and relationship quality, with attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, and outness as possible mediators. Consistent with the literature, perceived parental rejection from both mothers and fathers was associated with lower current relationship quality. Overall, the findings of the current study indicate support for attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance mediating the effect of perceived parental rejection on current relationship quality. Attachment Avoidance was found to be a stronger mediator of the relationship between perceived maternal rejection and relationship quality. Attachment anxiety was still a significant predictor, but not as strong when compared to attachment avoidance. Surprisingly in contrast with existing literature, results showed that outness is not a potential mechanism for how perceived parental rejection is related to relationship quality.

No description available.

This study sought to determine the effectiveness of portrait drawing as an art therapy intervention for adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as a way to improve communication and social skills as well as increase an understanding of facial expressions and social cues. Participants consisted of two females with ASD from a center for autism at a major university in the southeast United States. The participants took part in six weekly art therapy sessions where the Face Stimulus Assessment (FSA) was administered as a pre and post test. A modified version of the Formal Elements of Art Therapy Scale (FEATS) was used to score the FSA drawings. Additionally, questionnaires based on the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) was used to measure the impact of portrait drawing on the participants' weekly behavior. The sessions incorporated the concept of the 'Interactive Square' (Bragge & Fenner, 2009) as an approach to art therapy with the more structured directive of portrait drawing. The participants were asked to create self-portraits before drawing the researcher's portrait. Next, participants with ASD engaged in portrait drawing with neurotypical peers. Qualitative and quantitative results showed the portrait drawing is an effective technique for adults with ASD. Quantitative and qualitative data are discussed. Artwork is used to illustrate the qualitative data. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Art Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester 2015. / June 23, 2015. / Art Therapy, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Communication, Interpersonal Relationships, Portrait Drawing, Social Skills / Includes bibliographical references. / Marcia Rosal, Professor Directing Thesis; David Gussak, Committee Member; Theresa van Lith, Committee Member.

I believe that Adlerian psychology is a perspectivist model, and that the more perspectives we bring to understanding an individual, the richer our understanding will be. Among the most important of Adlerian perspectives, I include those gained from an assessment of (a) family constellation and other systemic aspects of the sociohistorical family; (b) life tasks, including all those that might be considered supportive of Adler's original three; (c) teleology in both immediate goals and life movement; (d) developmental processes; (e) gender and cultural experiences; (f) individual parts, traits, and selves in movement; and (g) early recollections. Taken together, these perspectives lead to thick holistic descriptions, biographies-in-progress, the narratives of an individual's lifestyle. Such narratives are not merely stories coconstructed for the moment in the therapist's office. Rather, they are increasingly accurate descriptions of the real life that a real person is really living. It is from this perspectivist kind of knowing that a foundation is laid for the integration of other models. Other Adlerians prefer to integrate therapeutic interventions from social constructivist theories like narrative therapy and solution-focused therapy. Like Adler, I believe that making a contribution is the meaning you achieve in life. Like Adler, I believe that the principles of Individual Psychology will sustain me where religion has not. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)