<p> The effects of entertainment-education narratives on pro-social, story-consistent beliefs and behaviors have been discussed by many. Less research has looked into the underlying mechanisms that facilitate these effects. Past research have attempted to explain the process through which persuasion occurs in narrative using a variety of theories, models and constructs. Recently, a better-integrated and structured theoretical framework &mdash; the Entertainment Overcoming Resistance Model &mdash; has been proposed to account for the persuasive effects. It clarifies the role of some similar constructs in narrative message processing. The present study examined several hypothesized relationships in the EORM by investigating the effects of exposure to a major bipolar disorder storyline embedded in a popular serial teen drama &mdash; <i>90210</i> &mdash; compared to those of exposure to a PSA addressing bipolar I disorder. The role of identification, transportation, parasocial interaction, perceived similarity, counterarguing, reactance, and perceived invulnerability in producing persuasive outcomes were re-examined in this bipolar I disorder E-E narrative. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three viewing conditions, a Stormwater Runoff Public Service Announcement plus a video of <i>90210 </i> excerpts containing bipolar disorder storyline, a bipolar disorder PSA paired with a video of <i>90210</i> excerpts without bipolar disorder storyline, and the Stormwater Runoff PSA plus the video of <i> 90210</i> excerpts without bipolar disorder storyline (control condition). They completed a questionnaire immediately after viewing each video and filled out another online follow-up questionnaire two weeks later to assess their responses to the program. Results of the study indicated the following: (1) Relative to the control condition, BPI E-E narrative exposure was not associated with greater overall pro-treatment behavioral intention and behaviors regarding BPI but did enhance the behavioral intention to seek help from mental health professional regarding BPI; (2) among the three resistance-related variables examined in this study, only perceived invulnerability was negatively associated with behavioral intention; (3) identification with characters was the only construct that contributed to reduced perceived invulnerability; and (4) the additional consideration of perceived invulnerability of "others" seemed helpful in understanding the effects of the bipolar I disorder narrative. Implications of findings, suggested areas of future research, and limitations of the present study are discussed.</p>

<p> This depth psychological study explores the possibility that the drawing and subsequent recognition of chaotic looking irregular and misshapen shapes, lines, and marks applied in a lopsided and unbalanced manner within and protruding outside a mandala circle represent the beginning of a psychological development in the patient's psyche. Such a shift in the psyche may set the stage for using mandala psychology to facilitate the psychotherapeutic work of gathering and containing additional destructive and shadowy psychological material. </p><p> A retrospective single case study design is combined with a heuristic approach to discover the effects of producing an asymmetrical mandala, as described above, while following the chaotic mandala images through a change in the plot line of the research/participant's psychological story. Information is collected and outlined for the depth psychotherapy community that describes the process of mandala psychology from this vantage point of unbalanced and chaotic mandalas, illustrating the mandala's usefulness as a container for psychological and emotional chaos. The change in the plot line of the subject's mandala story is compared to and amplified with the structure of the plot line of the prototypical fairytale narrative at the moment when the darkly woven female character of the witch enters the narrative. This mythological component is introduced to enrich the telling of this case study. The archetypal analysis hypothesizes that at the moment the research/subject engaged her chaotic mandalas, the shift she experienced represented the collective and empowering primal energy of the dark energies of the feminine, personified for this study as the witch. Key words include: asymmetrical, mandala, chaos, case study, witch, art therapy, creative, container, chaotic images, destructive psychological material, dark feminine, fairy tale.</p>

<p> Substance Abuse is an illness that affects every community in every country. The United Arab Emirates had been used as a transportation hub for drug trafficking for a number of years. The exposure to illegal and legal substances has left individuals in the community susceptible to the effects of substance use and addiction. The changes in the country, due to globalization, have increased the level of stress and prevalence of depression. Substance use is a method that individuals use to cope with these changes. Studies need to be conducted to create or tailor treatments for substance abuse in the United Arab Emirates. However, the country practices Shariaa law, which perceives substance use as a sin. As a result, prison is seen as an appropriate punishment for such a sin against religion. This doctoral project aims at identifying and increasing awareness of the factors involved in Substance Abuse in the United Arab Emirates and at determining the best method to research this topic given the social, legal and religious barriers.</p>

<p> Atypical sensory reactivity to visual and/or auditory stimuli is prevalent among individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Data from cognitive neuroscience research suggests that changes in attention can alter sensory processing at several levels of analysis, and thus could be contributing to changes in sensory reactivity. Furthermore, attentional pathways are modulated by the individual difference variable of working memory capacity (WMC). This study examined the relationship between sensory reactivity, individual difference, and auditory attention in ASD by using electroencephalography technique. Participants (n=25, 12 with ASD and 13 age- and IQ-matched controls) completed a sensory profile, complex operation span task for working memory capacity (WMC), and performed a modified 3-stimulus (target, non-target, and distractor) oddball task under varying perceptual load (high or low). Event-related potential (ERP) analysis assessed early sensory processing (P50, &sim;50ms latency; N100, &sim;100ms latency), cognitive control (N200, &sim;200ms latency), and attentional processing (P3a and P3b, &sim;300ms latency). Behavioral data demonstrates participants with ASD and neurotypical performed similarly on WMC and auditory target detection, but diverged in sensory profiles. In target processing under high perceptual load did not enhance P3b latency in those with ASD suggesting increased perceptual capacity compared to neurotypicals. No neurophysiological difference between groups in target data suggests intact top-down control in people with and without ASD. Early and late orienting ERPs (P50, N100, P3a) in non-target processing were unaffected by perceptual load. Robust differences in distractor processing were observed between groups in both early (N100) and late (N200) neural correlates of auditory attention. N100 responses in participants with ASD were strongly attenuated by increasing perceptual load compared to neurotypical controls. Decreased distractor interference at high loads in participants with ASD contrasted attenuation of enhanced late, perceptual processes indexed by the N200 in neurotypical controls. Increased perceptual capacity and decreased distractor processing suggest enhanced bottom-up attention in participant with ASD and has a direct relationship to atypical sensory reactivity in ASD. Collectively, data describes intact top-down control, behaviorally and neurophysiologically, while demonstrating benefits of atypical sensory reactivity on bottom-up attention in people with ASD. </p>

<p> Psychotherapy is only as effective as the quality of its provider-patient discourse (Poland, 1968; Schwartz, 2009). It is arguable that, in the practice of psychotherapy, theoretical orientations will encapsulate common understandings of the attitude-intention-behavior process, in order to assist in the promotion and prediction of positive health outcomes; and, that personality traits, and professional and demographic characteristics will similarly influence the kind and quality of the therapeutic relationship. </p><p> The current research was interested in investigating whether there were meaningful relationships between the language or labels used to describe consumers of mental health services and the primary theoretical orientation of the clinician. This was accomplished through examination of descriptor preference of consumers. Descriptors that were examined varied in terms of personable descriptors (e.g., the use of a client's initials) versus more traditional labels (e.g., patient and client abbreviations). Participants indicated preference by selecting descriptor words in case study vignettes in two repeated measures of <i> least</i> and <i>most</i> preferred options. Theoretical orientations surveyed were categorized as <i>action-based</i> (e.g., CBT, SBT, ABA, and systemic), <i>insight-based</i> (e.g., psychodynamic and humanistic), and <i>other,</i> which included integrative and crisis-based interventions used in medical environments. </p><p> Results indicated there were differences in the patterns of most and least preferred, depending on theoretical orientation. Insight-based practitioners demonstrated a greater bias against the use of initials and a bias away from the use of patient, whereas Action-based practitioners most preferred initial descriptors. These findings were in direct contrast to previous health care quality studies on physician provider populations, which, in general, opted for maintaining the use of traditional monikers. Further results indicated trends in term preference and demographic and professional variables. For example, related to Gender, men showed a preference for the term patient, whereas women did not. Additionally, older and more experienced clinicians were less biased against the use of the more traditional client. Findings were explained in terms of the differences in the primary foci of services between mental health and physician providers and in terms of the underlying objective in the training of psychotherapy to cultivate heightened listening skills and sensitivity towards the quality of therapeutic discourse.</p>

<p> Responses to disclosures/discussions of trauma can have lasting impacts on survivors who choose to share their experiences and historically have been categorized as positive, negative, and/or neutral responses with corresponding effects on the survivor. Literature recommends the use of tenets and techniques reminiscent of therapeutic common factors (e.g., listening skills, empathy, support, validation, creating a safe environment and strong therapeutic alliance) when responding to trauma. However, existing research focuses on reactions to survivors' disclosures outside of therapy and there is little research focusing on therapists' responses. Specifically, there are no studies that investigate how therapists or trainees are actually responding in psychotherapy sessions (e.g., frequency and rate of such responses). </p><p> Accordingly, the purpose of the present study was to qualitatively explore the responses of student therapists in psychotherapy sessions with trauma survivors. A sample of 5 therapist-participants from university-based community counseling centers were selected and transcribed videotaped sessions in which client- and trainee therapist-participants discussed trauma were analyzed using a qualitative and deductive content analysis. A coding system was created to categorize responses based on extant literature. Results indicated that trainee therapist-participants responded in all proposed categories (positive: validating, supportive, empathic; negative: invalidating, unsupportive, unempathetic; and neutral: clarifying questions, and reflection/summary statements). Of these, neutral responses tended to occur more frequently than positive or negative responses. Overall, positive responses followed as next most frequent and negative responses as least frequent. Other findings included that in 2 of the 5 individual sessions, negative responses were more frequent than positive responses; empathic responses were the least frequent code across all 10 coding categories; and 2 sessions had 0 recorded empathic responses. Finally, there were numerous missed opportunities for positive responding throughout the sessions. </p><p> It is hoped that this study will raise awareness around the importance of therapeutic responses to trauma survivors' discussions in psychotherapy sessions and provide insight as to how trainee therapists might apply their existing competencies to respond to clients in positive ways. Findings have implications for both future studies and clinical training practices, for example in graduate programs for trainee therapists, an area of study that is currently under-researched.</p>

<p> The relationship between international development and psychological aid is a very complex one. The conversations regarding societal restoration, restorative justice and healing are full of theoretical frameworks aimed at centering on a plan for rehabilitation. The Great Lakes Region of Africa has endured longstanding conflict, famine and poverty and has been the focus of both psychological aid and international relief efforts. While much research focuses on the needs of the communities within the Great Lakes Region, there is a need for the voices of those who are carrying out the restorative work on the ground to be heard. This dissertation focuses on acknowledging the voices of those trauma counselors in Gulu, Uganda and Nakivale Refugee Settlement who have been trained to carry out a specific form of trauma counseling called Scripture Based Trauma Healing. These words reflect their stories.</p>

<p> This dissertation is a phenomenological analysis of the lived experiences of adult daughters who perceive their mothers to have struggled with a mental illness throughout their childhood, adolescence, or even into adulthood. An extensive review of the literature showed a noticeable dearth in the existing literature regarding the lived experiences of adult daughters who experienced maternal mental illness first-hand. Qualitative face-to-face interviews were conducted with eight female participants in an effort to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of their retrospective account of living with a mother who is mentally ill. Of particular interest was creating a space for the women to re-tell their stories and to identify ways in which their own relationship with their mothers has had a trans-generational effect on the relationship and parenting styles with their own children. Several thematic patterns were obtained from the interviews including parentification (mothering the mother), minimization of the mother's mental illness, and feelings of anger, sadness, embarrassment that came up as the daughters dealt with the impact of maternal psychopathology. The stories told by these women will hopefully contribute to the existing literature on attachment, maternal mental illness, and the subsequent impact on parenting practices.</p>

<p> From the perspective of acculturation stress theory, the historical background of Iranian immigrants is visited in this dissertation, as well as different types of acculturation strategies that are being utilized by immigrants. This research study addresses the impacts of inadequate access to and underutilization of mental health services on the psychosocial wellbeing of Iranian families, and the lack of appropriate interventions due to ongoing stress, such as economic hardships. Furthermore, the usefulness of several inexpensive and accessible stress-reduction techniques in reestablishing psychophysiological relaxation is examined. It is noted that, in spite of their long history, such techniques are not widely recognized as effective coping skills in response to stress-inducing immigration experiences. In addition, the relaxation qualities of music are reviewed, revealing consistent therapeutic effects and significant relaxation responses elicited in the listeners. The purpose of this applied research study was to develop a proposed Hindustani music-assisted multimodal guided relaxation intervention designed to lower stress and particularly, acculturation stress experienced by Iranian families. An evaluation of the program's efficacy by validity judges concluded that this program is potentially effective for inducing relaxation responses in the listeners.</p>

<p> Substance abuse in the United States continues to be a serious topic of concern. However, the efficacy of various substance abuse treatment methods remains inconclusive. As the current literature review has returned no comprehensive recommendations for all types of substance abuse, further empirical studies are merited. The aim of the present study is to investigate the long-term effects of 12-Step group therapy on abstinence rates of heroin addicts. Data from the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research 2258 was analyzed to gain insight into the predictive relationship between 12-Step attendance and abstinence rates; the implication is that future meta-analytic studies may help indicate the most appropriate treatments for specific substance abuse disorders. The hypothesis that 12-Step attendance is a predictive factor for abstinence in this population was supported. Practical implications and future directions were discussed.</p>