<p> This study, as well as the initial pilot study, are the first known, stand-alone, empirical studies of the Tibetan Buddhist <i>tonglen</i> meditation practice, which is intended to increase levels of compassion (and the benefits that come with that), in addition to reducing less helpful mind-states such as fear and egotism. The premise of this larger proof-of-concept study was to investigate whether tonglen meditation can 1) increase self-compassion and compassion for others, 2) in novice meditators 3) with very little instruction, and 4) short amounts of practice time. This study examined changes in self-compassion and compassion for others through a pre/post intervention study design (&alpha; = .05). Subjects (n = 53), who were novice meditators, were given only ten minutes of introduction and instruction; after which, they were asked to participate in an 18-minute guided tonglen meditation, practice on-the-spot tonglen for 30-seconds twice a day for six days, then do one additional 18-minute guided tonglen practice. Results showed a statistically significantly increase in the total scale score of self-compassion (p &lt; .01) and statistically significant beneficial changes in each of the six subscales as measured by Neff's self-report questionnaire, the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS). An increase in compassion for others, though trending up, could not be determined through Pommier's self-report questionnaire, the Compassion Scale (CS), due to a ceiling effect. In addition to the study results, this dissertation includes a detailed discussion of the findings and of the results from the qualitative feedback, which offers insight into the perceived benefits subjects reported, including a reduction in pain, increased communication skills, and the ability for greater perspective taking. The dissertation also contains an introduction to tonglen meditation, a tonglen troubleshooting guide, a chart of tonglen commentaries in English organized by century, and an extended literature review of a cousin compassion meditation practice, loving-kindness meditation (LKM).</p>

Task Comparison Between Career Counselors and Vocational Evaluators| What's the Difference?

<p> Supervision research has demonstrated the importance of a strong supervisory working alliance in the context of clinical training. However, little is known about what specifically occurs in clinical supervision that contributes to a strong supervisory working alliance. The present study of counselor trainees was designed to investigate relations among their avoidant attachment style, perceptions of relational behaviors used by their supervisors in the most recent supervision session, and the supervisory working alliance. Competing hypotheses stated that greater use of relational behavior on the part of supervisors would either mediate or moderate the inverse relationship between trainees' avoidant attachment style and their perceptions of the supervisory working alliance. </p><p> Master's and doctoral trainees in the mental health professions were contacted through listservs, training directors, and social media with a link to the web-based study. The measures were the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Revised ( ECR-R; Fraley, Waller &amp; Brennan, 2000), the Relational Behavior Scale (RBS), which was developed based on Ladany, Friedlander, and Nelson's (2005) Critical Events model of supervision and assesses perceptions of supervisors' use of 5 specific interpersonal behaviors in supervision (exploration of feelings, focus on therapeutic process, attend to parallel process, focus on countertransference, and focus on supervisory alliance), and the Working Alliance Inventory&mdash;Trainee version (WAI-T; Bahrick, 1989). </p><p> Based on the present sample (<i>N</i> = 141) and a similar earlier sample (total <i>N</i> = 262), a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted on the Relational Behavior Scale, which confirmed that a 5-item, one factor solution best fit the data and accounted for 53.38% of the total variance. Results indicated that neither the mediation nor moderation hypotheses was supported. Specifically, trainees' avoidant attachment style was not significantly related to the supervisory working alliance or to the perceived relational behavior of supervisors. However, a significant positive association (<i>r</i> = .62, p = .0001) emerged between scores on the RBS and the WAI-T, providing evidence that supervisors' use of specific in-session relational strategies are strongly associated with trainees' more favorable perceptions of the working alliance. Continued study of relational behavior may enhance theories of interpersonal supervision, provide training guidelines for new supervisors, and suggest strategies for purposeful intervention to build strong alliances with trainees, who in turn may use these modeled behaviors to build strong alliances with their clients.</p>

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<p> The present study utilized the microanalysis techniques for grounded theory described by Strauss and Corbin (1998) to better understand the lived experience of having rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as a young adult woman. The sample consisted of eight women between the ages of 25-36, each of which participated in a 60-90 minute telephone interview that explored how they feel, think, and behave in terms of their RA. A theory emerged from the data that reflected the process of moving from diagnosis to acceptance for the participants. This process was described as being akin to a roller coaster because of the myriad of ups and downs associated with the RA experience. The findings from this study may help to inform the understanding of how young adults experience life in terms of their RA and, therefore, has potentially positive implications for other young adults with RA as well as their health care professionals, family, and friends.</p>

<p> Is exposure to death the formula to accept one&acute;s own demise? The present research tested terror management theory among groups with varying degrees and types of exposures to death from Varanasi to find an answer. Study 1 included 120 funerary workers and 120 farmers. Participants were reminded of their death or a control topic and then reported their level of cultural worldview defense operationalized as attachment and glorification of India and pro-India bias. Farmers increased their worldview defense following death reminders. This increase brought farmers to the same high level of worldview defense displayed, independently from the condition, by funerary workers. This was interpreted as support for the idea that chronic exposure to death leads to a chronic use of cultural worldview defense. Study 2 tested whether a more experiential form of exposure to death involved in going through a terminal illness is the silver bullet to accept death. A group of 30 terminal cancer patients and 30 farmers with no major health concerns from Varanasi completed similar measures as in Study 1. Death reminders increased attachment to India in both groups. These findings suggest that daily exposure to death - at least to dead bodies and illness symptoms - or a Hindu cyclical view of life and death do not lead to death acceptance. Alternative types of exposure to death are offered in the discussion as possible roads to reach death acceptance. </p>

<p> Empathy is considered an important aspect of social interactions thus allowing social harmony and understanding however, little is known about what factors influence its development. This study examined how a child's gender, religiosity, and spirituality affect their level of empathy. A total of 79, nine- to 12-year-old students, from two rural school districts, completed questionnaires with parents providing additional information. Results indicate that the children's reported level of spirituality is not related to their reported level of empathy. Their particular religion was also not related to empathy. Additionally, Catholics and other religions were not significantly different from Protestants in terms of reported levels of spirituality. Gender was found to be significantly related to empathy, with females earning higher empathy scores than males. However, gender was not significantly related to spirituality. Although this study did not find factors related to the development of empathy, it is still important to continue research in order to determine what factors are involved. If we can learn what factors positively contribute to the development of empathy, we can support those factors in order to assist all children in becoming more empathic contributors to our society.</p>

<p> The present research study examined the strength and direction of the correlations between three leadership styles (transformational, transactional, &amp; servant) and satisfaction with leadership and motivation as outcomes of leadership style. A web-based survey was used to collect data from 181 professional Latino employees in the U.S. <i>The Leadership Style Survey </i> was combined from the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and the Servant Leadership Questionnaire (SLQ), which measured transformational, transactional, and servant leadership styles, as well as satisfaction with leadership and motivation. Data was collected about Latino employees' perceptions of their supervisors' leadership styles, and satisfaction with leadership and motivation. Results from one-sample t-tests indicated Latino employees' responses to the leadership, satisfaction, and motivation scales were significantly lower than the norm. All Pearson correlations indicated there were strong positive relationships between each of the leadership styles and satisfaction with leadership and motivation. More importantly, Fisher <i>r</i>-to-<i> Z</i> transformations demonstrated that correlations found on the Latino sample were significantly higher than the correlational norms. The findings suggest Latinos are less motivated and less satisfied with their current leaders, however characteristics of transformational, transactional, and servant leadership are highly important to Latino employees and are highly correlated to their motivation and satisfaction with leadership. Cultural values may have a strong impact on Latino professional employees' evaluation of their supervisors. The results also highlight that the responses from the Latino sample are significantly higher in terms of the relationship between servant, transformational, and transactional leadership and satisfaction with leadership and motivation. </p>

<p> One of the primary pursuits of archetypal psychology has been to "unpack the backpack" of psychology&mdash;relying heavily on a methodological stance of <i>via negativa,</i> or description through negation, and deconstruction. This position has resulted in a wealth of critique that, while often controversial and even heretical, has had a significant impact on the field of psychology. It is important to note, however, that this deconstructive approach is also one fantasy amongst many. A move towards seeing through this methodology invokes an immediate encounter with the dismembering influence of Dionysus. It is the Dionysian presence that facilitates the radical re-visioning and tearing apart of stale, violently fixated, and dogmatic theory and practice. Through the work of archetypal psychology, Dionysus has presented as a dialectic partner to the abhorrent one-sidedness of Apollonian natural science psychology. As necessary as this deconstruction has been, James Hillman (2005) himself has noted, every archetypal image has its own excess and intensity. Without an explicitly constructive element, the clinical implications of archetypal psychology will remain largely dormant. Archetypal psychology has yet to produce a work that effectively encapsulates an archetypal approach to psychotherapy (Hillman, 2004). True to its Dionysian form, dismembered pieces of therapeutic method are strewn throughout the literature (Berry, 1982, 2008; Guggenb&uuml;hl-Craig, 1971; Hartman, 1980; Hillman, 1972, 1975a, 1977a, 1978, 1979b, 1980b; Newman, 1980; Schenk, 2001a; Watkins, 1981, 1984). This study will attempt to gather the disparate pieces of archetypal method and weave them together with dreams, fantasy images, and clinical vignettes in an effort to depict the particular style taken up by archetypal psychotherapy. While respecting the importance of deconstruction and <i>via negativa,</i> the aim of this research is to re-construct and clearly describe the primary elements of a therapeutic method derived from the literature of archetypal psychology using a theoretical design complemented by the alchemical hermeneutic method resulting in a depiction of an archetypal approach to psychotherapy. The face of archetypal psychotherapy that has taken form throughout this study is one in which the phenomenal presentation of psychic image is given radical autonomy and privilege. </p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> Archetypal, Dream, Image, Myth, Psychotherapy.</p>

<p> This dissertation compares the integrated vipassana movement of North America and the school of psychology. The comparison examines both healing practices and ontological paradigms. The integrated vipassan&amacr; movement in the United States is defined by that element of vipassan&amacr; teachings that blends Therav&amacr;da Buddhist practices with American cultural mores as promoted and disseminated by Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Existential-humanistic psychology is here represented by the teachings of Rollo May, James Bugental, and Irvin Yalom. This inquiry seeks to apprehend the nature and efficacy of compassionate and caring present-moment attention in the context of two distinct ontological orientations. The analysis begins with each tradition's description of humanity's most fundamental flaw: dukkha and angst. The examination of these maladies of life is followed by a comparison of these traditions' respective portrayals of health and harmony: Buddhist liberation as compared with existential freedom. This study then examines and compares the way in which these traditions employ the blended healing practices of compassion and present-moment awareness. The findings include the observation that the Therav&amacr;da concept of no-self and the existential notion of the groundlessness of being provide for two distinct kinds of healing: one promotes a grace born of skillfully encouraging a depth of surrender of self, and the other speaks to creating an authentic world for oneself. This dissertation finds that the two traditions offer practices and orientations that may be used complementarily.</p>