<p> The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of healing and transformation that occurs for wounded healers who brings their ancestral story and related traumas and resiliencies to consciousness. The primary research questions guiding the study were: What is the journey of healing that occurs for wounded healers exploring their ancestral story and related intergenerational traumas and resiliencies? What is the transformation that happens in the course of this healing? </p><p> Using narrative and art-based methodologies, the study involved interviewing six healing professionals who had consciously addressed the wounding passed down to them from previous generations. Themes of healing and transformation were identified using Riessman&rsquo;s (2008) coding and narrative analysis, Lieblich&rsquo;s (1998) holistic-content approach to narrative, and art-based inquiry. </p><p> The findings indicate that on the journey of bringing ancestral story to consciousness the participants experienced healing and transformation in the following ways: breaking ancestral patterns, receiving support from the ancestors, reclaiming ancestral heritage, deepening awareness of the healing power of nature, acquiring a new sense of identity, and finding purpose. Additional research comparing the particular types of modalities involved in healing and transforming ancestral trauma would be of benefit.</p><p>

Background: Acceptance is understood to be an important element in coping with chronic illnesses, linked to positive outcomes such as reduced symptoms and greater quality of life. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a disabling syndrome that is associated with a poor reported quality of life even in comparison to other chronic conditions. Given that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a psychotherapeutic model aimed at increasing psychological flexibility, with an emphasis on experiential acceptance and the pursuit of values, this approach holds potential for living and coping with CFS. Methods: This study used a mixed method multiple single case design to explore the effects of a six week self-help ACT intervention with six participants with CFS. Results: Significant increases in ‘engaged response style’ was replicated in four out of six participants and maintained at follow up, with the qualitative data adding further validity to the importance of the values component of the intervention. Low initial acceptance scores improved in four participants but were not maintained. Overall measures of psychological flexibility indicated improvements maintained at follow up for three participants. All participants wearing the activity monitor showed increased physical activity post-intervention, three of which maintained this at follow up. Five participants reported less symptoms and disability, which was maintained for three participants. The implicit measure indicated that underlying beliefs remained stable. Conclusion: This study was largely exploratory but it seems that this intervention might be of benefit to some individuals with CFS, particularly in the promotion and pursuit of individual values. This study adds support to the role of acceptance in CFS however in this format at least it seems that any benefits from the intervention are difficult to maintain. Although improvements in overall psychological flexibility were replicated in three out of six participants, this prompts discussion about the ineffectiveness of the intervention for other participants.

<p> Correctional Officers are responsible for responding to emergency/crisis situations in correctional settings. Research shows that their work is characterized by numerous psychological stressors that vary by degree and intensity, which can lead to compromised job performance and, ultimately, job burnout. Despite the increased attention directed to the problem of occupational stress in first responders among other professions over the past several years, virtually no investigations have focused on correctional officer resilience. The purpose of this study was to: (a) identify whether select positive personal variables (i.e., hope, optimism, social support) are associated with increased resilience, (b) determine the extent to which individual resilience acts as a protective factor against job burnout, (c) ascertain whether resilience serves as a significant mediator between hope, optimism and social support and reduced burnout, and (d) utilize the findings to make suggestions for future interventions and research in this area. By identifying specific individual characteristics that increase resilience and protect correctional officers against job burnout, it is expected that more efficacious approaches can be identified to enhance stress reduction and management.</p><p>

<p> Since publication in 2005, the Young Schema Questionnaire Short-version 3^rd Edition (YSQ-S3) has increased in popularity over the years among psychologists in Europe and the U.S.; yet to date it has not been normed within a U.S. sample. A sample of 148 participants completed eight demographic questions, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder -7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire -9 (PHQ-9), and YSQ-S3 via Survey Monkey.</p><p> Participants were classified into clinical and non-clinical groups depending on responses to the GAD-7, PHQ-9, and demographic questions. YSQ-S3 results were analyzed via SPSS 23.0 to conduct descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, and exploratory analyses to test the following hypotheses: (a) There will be significant mean score differences between the clinical and non-clinical participants on each YSQ-S3 schema except entitlement/grandiosity and unrelenting standards/hypercriticalness; and (b) That the clinical sample will have a higher number of schemas active. An additional goal was to produce preliminary cut-off scores for distinguishing pathological from normal scores for the schema-based scales.</p><p> Results indicated significant differences between clinical and non-clinical participants on YSQ-S3 mean scores with moderate to mostly large effect sizes. Due to substantial overlap between the two groups, we were unable to establish cut-off scores for the YSQ-S3 subscales. Regression analyses demonstrated perfect classification for anxious participants for the Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMS) and weaker classification in predicting depression and the comorbidity of anxiety and depression in participants.</p><p> The main limitation to our study was that schemas are commonly conceptualized as a partially unconscious phenomenon; thus the self-report approach of the YSQ-S3 may not readily capture schemas (Bowlby, Ainsworth, Boston, &amp; Rosenbluth, 1956), and we lacked a severe clinical group.</p><p> Results indicated that at least in the present sample the YSQ-S3 was only somewhat able to effectively distinguish the normal group from those with mixed anxiety and depression for individual schemas. Due to overlap between the clinical and normal samples and absence of an established method, we were unable to propose preliminary cutoff scores on the YSQ-S3 subscales, or suggest a difference in EMS quantity between pathological and normal samples.</p><p>

This study examined patterns of comorbid diagnoses and their relation to treatment entry, treatment completion and alcohol use severity in a sample of 494 adolescents involved in a substance abuse treatment program. Utilization of other treatment services was also examined. The results revealed no significant differences among groups with various patterns of comorbid disorders in terms of retention. However, there was a trend suggesting that participants diagnosed with externalizing disorders were less likely to enter into treatment. Adolescents who used alcohol more severely were more likely to read self-help books. Results indicated that adolescents diagnosed with internalizing disorders used alcohol more severely than participants diagnosed with mixed or externalizing disorders. Study results suggest a need for improving treatment entry for adolescents with externalizing disorders and merits further research of treatment outcomes for clients diagnosed with internalizing disorders since these groups differ systematically from other adolescents who participated in the program.

The goal of this study was to develop a profile, using multivariate statistical techniques, which would predict the probability of a patient's response to placebo. The interest was in baseline factors (demographic, physical and psychiatric history, and psychiatric rating scale scores) that might distinguish placebo responders from non-responders in clinical trials in depression. The patient population studied consisted of 1048 patients who were treated only with placebo during randomized, double-blind clinical trials investigating the efficacy of two new antidepressant compounds. All subjects were outpatients, suffering from moderate to severe major depressive episodes. A positive placebo responder was defined as a patient who, at his or her final evaluation during the six-week study, showed a decrease of at least 50% in the baseline total score of the Hamilton Psychiatric Rating Scale for Depression. All other patients were classified as non-responders. Thirty-two percent of the patients (344) were classified as responders and 68% (704) were non-responders. Baseline differences between responders and non-responders were analyzed by univariate and multivariate methods, including logistic regression. Patients were randomly divided into two groups. The first multivariate logistic regression model was formulated using the data from one group and validated with data from the second group. The final model was formulated using the entire group; due to missing values, this model was based on the data from 1026 patients. This final model included: age, family adjustment, precipitating stress, previous psychiatric treatment, and race. Those patients who responded better to placebo were younger, had an adequate family adjustment, had not been previously treated, and were suffering from definite or probable precipitating stress. Those who had poor family adjustment, had been previously treated, and had no precipitating stress had a lower probability of responding. In general, those patients with a more deep-seated, severe depression were less likely to respond to placebo. This model is indicative only of response trends in this population and should not be used to predict an individual's possible response to placebo until it has been assessed in additional populations.

The present study aimed to examine several research questions related to alcohol craving, state mindfulness, and response inhibition in binge drinking college students who do and do not use cannabis. Before and after listening to a mindfulness or a control audio clip, participants (N = 30) completed a cued Go/NoGo task. EEG activity was measured throughout, and alcohol craving was assessed before and after each task. We examined whether P300 amplitude would differ as a function of the within-subjects variables Block (1 vs. 2), Target (Go vs. NoGo), and Cue (Alcohol vs. Neutral) of each task. We also examined if P300 amplitudes to alcohol cues would be affected by craving for alcohol and/or a short mindfulness induction, and whether craving for alcohol would be affected by a short mindfulness induction. Results were in partial alignment with previous literature, showing larger amplitude P300 ERPs for alcohol compared to neutral stimuli. Counter to previous work, however, this occurred in Go rather than NoGo trials. Craving was not found to be involved in the relationship. Additionally, time point of craving and audio manipulation were found to interact such that craving immediately after the audio manipulation (relative to immediately before) was reduced in both groups, but to a greater extent in the mindfulness compared to control group. Exploratory analyses related to cannabis use did not provide evidence that concurrent alcohol and cannabis use were associated with P300 amplitudes. In conclusion, recent research suggests that neural measures of response inhibition, like the P300 ERP, may be useful for identifying and tracking changes in functional responses to substance use-related stimuli. P300 ERPs show potential for advancing the identification, understanding, and treatment of addictive behaviors related to alcohol and other drugs. Going forward, research should examine how mindfulness may be associated with inhibition-related processing of substance use-related stimuli, especially in populations with greater levels of craving and craving variability. Significant study limitations are identified and discussed.

Exercise has been shown to improve mood (Stöhle, 2009). Research has explored how exercise instructors can affect class participants' mood (Edmunds, Ntoumanis, & Duda, 2008). One style of instruction that is less understood relates to task-oriented vs. person-oriented instruction. The primary aim of this research was to explore the impact of spin-class instruction style on mood among spin-class participants. In Study 1, research assistants (RAs) evaluated the instruction of spin-class instructors and administered mood surveys to spin-class participants and instructors. Overall, positive mood improved for all spin-class participants and instructors. Instruction style did not moderate this effect. In Study 2, a refined instruction evaluation form was used to better detect person-oriented vs. task-oriented instruction. Unlike in Study 1, RAs also completed mood surveys. Overall, positive mood improved as a function of the exercise class for spin-class members and instructors, but not for RAs. Instruction style did not moderate this mood effect. Overall, the results support prior research that exercise leads to mood improvement. However, an impact of instruction style on class participants' mood was not found. One novel approach of this study was that instruction style was not manipulated. This pragmatic approach allowed the research team to explore organic instructor-student dynamics in a spin-class, which may improve the generalizability of the findings. / Master of Science

Previous research done in the area of eating disorders suggests many different variables, such as cognitive, biological, and social, that are thought to influence eating disorder development and maintenance. The present study attempts to combine cognitive and sociocultural research findings, memory recall and critical body comments, in an effort to see how, if at all, these two variables affect eating disorder symptomology. Participants for this study were 120 female students that were recruited via Study Board. Participants completed the demographics form, the Eating Disorder Inventory-3 RF, and the Social Hassles Questionnaire. The participants then watched an E-prime presentation of different positive, negative, and neutral appearance and non-appearance related words. After this presentation, participants completed a word recall task in which they wrote down as many of the words from the presentation as they could remember. Results were consistent with previous research that has found a relationship between remembering a critical comment and subsequent negative emotions/ experiences and also research that has found a negative relationship between high body dissatisfaction and number of positive words recalled. Results also showed that eating disorder symptomology predicts less recall of positive words. Results from the present study shed light on the need for better treatment for those suffering from eating disorders or any amount of eating pathology, especially treatments aimed at increasing positive ways of thinking.

<p> Our earth has begun its sixth extinction and our culture thrives in ideological third nature and the era of technology. Hardcore pornography demonstrates a fear-based split in the relationship between the Great Mother and Terrible Mother archetypes, and the consumption of violent sexual material is indicative of existential death-avoidance, or despair. The archetypes present in the Moms/Hot Mom/Mother/MILF, Youth/Teen, and 18 and Abused categories of porn evoke the fear of the feminine as related to Mother Earth, and elucidate the collective&rsquo;s split feminine archetypes. This research uses heuristic and alchemical hermeneutic research methods to discern how these archetypes within hardcore pornography explicate our cultural complex regarding Mother Nature. What results is a call to consciousness and a clinical aim toward shadow integration, the assimilation of masculine and feminine parts of self, and a cohesive relationship toward imagery and imagination, lest they be altogether replaced by pornography.</p>