The present study establishes a more full and accurate understanding of the importance of mysticism in the art and life of Emily Dickinson, and shows that because of the physiological changes endured by the mystic and the unique relationship between mysticism and madness, what might be read literally as madness (psychosis) in Dickinson's poems should be seen as a metaphor for the dark counterpoint of the mystical cycle.Chapter One establishes a necessary background on mysticism and discusses the effects of mystical experience on the mind and body of the mystic. As the mystic undergoes spiritual purification, she will be changed physiologically because the central nervous system has to be cultured and strengthened to withstand the changes created by the transcendental level of consciousness.Chapter Two chronologically documents Dickinson's mystical achievement, using her letters as the primary source and Evelyn Underhill's five stages of mystical development as the base of measurement. Dickinson achieved the first mystic life-Awakening, Purgation, and Illumination. Hints of the Dark Night of the Soul may be seen in her later years, but there does not appear to be firm evidence that it was ever fully established. Oscillating between states of pain and pleasure throughout her life, she did not achieve the perfect serenity, peace, and certitude that characterizes Union. Chapter Three examines the symbiotic relationship between mysticism and madness, to show that they share a common source and the end result depends on the preparedness of the individual. Chapter Four examines selected poems, written from 1859-65, from the perspective that Dickinson is a mystic describing mystical experience rather than a psychotic describing insanity. Chapter Four, as does Chapter Three, refers to the interpretation of Dickinson's poetry made by the Freudian psychiatrist, Dr. John Cody, because his interpretation has made the strongest argument for literal madness in Dickinson's work. Chapter Three shows the insufficiency of the argument to explain Dickinson, other mystics, and two of the parallel cases Cody used to support his thesis; Chapter Four demonstrates the same insufficiency when applied to Dickinson's poems of madness, terror, and despair. Chapter Five briefly examines the relationship between Dickinson, the mystic, and Dickinson, the poet. / Department of English

Since the introduction of the deinstitutionalisation policy in 1997 in South Africa, many families have agreed or have felt forced to take full responsibility of the care of their mentally ill family members. This impacted the lives of families because they were not well prepared for caring for their mentally ill family members. As a result of this, families were burdened, mentally ill family members defaulted treatment and ultimately revolving door admissions occurred. In spite of these concerns, some families do seem to cope with supporting their mentally ill family members. This makes it vital to explore and describe the strengths of families who take care of mentally ill family members in Potchefstroom, in the North West Province in order to formulate guidelines to support these families. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design was employed to understand what strengths families have to support their mentally ill family members. Purposive sampling was used to select potential participants. Unstructured individual interviews with an open-ended question were conducted with nine participants after ethical approval was granted under the RISE study (Strengthening the Resilience of Health Caregivers and Risk Groups), and the permission of the North-West Provincial Department of Health, the psychiatric hospital where the data was collected and the family members of the mentally ill family members were obtained. Data were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. A consensus meeting was held between the researcher and the co-coder after they had analysed data independently to identify themes that emerged from the data. Twelve themes emerged from the data namely the strengths of getting the necessary treatment for the mentally ill family member, utilizing external resources, spirituality or faith, social support, supervising the mentally ill family member, finding ways to calm the mentally ill family member, explaining the importance of treatment to the mentally ill family member, finding ways to keep the mentally ill family member busy, trying to keep the mentally ill family member away from negative outside influences, trying creative ways to communicate with or understand the mentally ill family member, giving the mentally ill family member praise for doing something good or right and accepting the situation. From the findings, it is clear that the families do have strengths to support their mentally ill family members, although they seem to rely more on external than on internal strengths. From the findings, literature and conclusions of this study, recommendations were made for nursing practice, nursing research and nursing education, including guidelines to support families in their support of a mentally ill family member. / Thesis (MCur)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Several interventions have been developed and implemented to reduce the stigma attached to mental illness. However people who experience mental illness are still stigmatised in the communities in which they live, as well as in the healthcare centres where they receive treatment. The objective of this study was to critically synthesize the best available evidence regarding interventions to reduce stigma attached to mental illness. This study aimed to provide clinical practitioners with accessible information on interventions to reduce stigma attached to mental illness. Systematic review was chosen as a design method to identify primary studies that answer the following research question: What best evidence is available regarding interventions to reduce the stigma attached to mental illness? A thorough search was done on selected electronic databases: EBSCOhost; Science Direct; Web of knowledge; Scopus; Sabinet; ProQuest; SA Nexus; Cochrane; Google Advance Scholar were searched for primary studies that were published from 2001-2011, including the available 2012 literature and reference lists. The following key words were used in the search: Intervention, stigma, program, mental illness, mental disorder, psychiatric patients. During the selection of studies pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Seventeen studies (n=17) were included for critical appraisal of methodology and quality using standard instruments from the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) the John Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice (JHNEBP) Research Evidence Appraisal Tool and Evidence Analysis Manual; Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. All seventeen studies (n=17) were identified as evidence that answers the research question. Extraction of evidence, analysis and synthesis were conducted by means of the evidence class rating and grading of strength prescribed in the Evidence Analysis Manual (EAM, 2012:70). Findings indicated some interventions that reduce the stigma attached to mental illness. Using Web-based approaches and reading printed educational materials, documentary films and anti-stigma films, live and video performances, and humanising and traditional, naturalistic educational methods are effective in reducing stigma attached to mental illness for health professionals because there were no stigmatising attitude and social distance towards individuals with mental disorders. The German WPA (World Psychiatric Association) “Program against stigma and discrimination because of Schizo-phrenia – Open the doors” is effective in reducing stigma attached to mental illness for the general population. Combining education and video-based contact, in vivo contact and videotaped education, Active Minds and documentary films are effective in reducing stigma of mental illness for students. The use of puppets, psycho-education and contact (via DVD) and public education programs are effective in reducing stigma attached to mental illness for adolescents. The research was evaluated, a conclusion was given, limitations were identified and recommendations were formulated for nursing practice, nursing education and nursing research. / Thesis (MCur)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Since the introduction of the deinstitutionalisation policy in 1997 in South Africa, many families have agreed or have felt forced to take full responsibility of the care of their mentally ill family members. This impacted the lives of families because they were not well prepared for caring for their mentally ill family members. As a result of this, families were burdened, mentally ill family members defaulted treatment and ultimately revolving door admissions occurred. In spite of these concerns, some families do seem to cope with supporting their mentally ill family members. This makes it vital to explore and describe the strengths of families who take care of mentally ill family members in Potchefstroom, in the North West Province in order to formulate guidelines to support these families. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design was employed to understand what strengths families have to support their mentally ill family members. Purposive sampling was used to select potential participants. Unstructured individual interviews with an open-ended question were conducted with nine participants after ethical approval was granted under the RISE study (Strengthening the Resilience of Health Caregivers and Risk Groups), and the permission of the North-West Provincial Department of Health, the psychiatric hospital where the data was collected and the family members of the mentally ill family members were obtained. Data were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. A consensus meeting was held between the researcher and the co-coder after they had analysed data independently to identify themes that emerged from the data. Twelve themes emerged from the data namely the strengths of getting the necessary treatment for the mentally ill family member, utilizing external resources, spirituality or faith, social support, supervising the mentally ill family member, finding ways to calm the mentally ill family member, explaining the importance of treatment to the mentally ill family member, finding ways to keep the mentally ill family member busy, trying to keep the mentally ill family member away from negative outside influences, trying creative ways to communicate with or understand the mentally ill family member, giving the mentally ill family member praise for doing something good or right and accepting the situation. From the findings, it is clear that the families do have strengths to support their mentally ill family members, although they seem to rely more on external than on internal strengths. From the findings, literature and conclusions of this study, recommendations were made for nursing practice, nursing research and nursing education, including guidelines to support families in their support of a mentally ill family member. / Thesis (MCur)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Several interventions have been developed and implemented to reduce the stigma attached to mental illness. However people who experience mental illness are still stigmatised in the communities in which they live, as well as in the healthcare centres where they receive treatment. The objective of this study was to critically synthesize the best available evidence regarding interventions to reduce stigma attached to mental illness. This study aimed to provide clinical practitioners with accessible information on interventions to reduce stigma attached to mental illness. Systematic review was chosen as a design method to identify primary studies that answer the following research question: What best evidence is available regarding interventions to reduce the stigma attached to mental illness? A thorough search was done on selected electronic databases: EBSCOhost; Science Direct; Web of knowledge; Scopus; Sabinet; ProQuest; SA Nexus; Cochrane; Google Advance Scholar were searched for primary studies that were published from 2001-2011, including the available 2012 literature and reference lists. The following key words were used in the search: Intervention, stigma, program, mental illness, mental disorder, psychiatric patients. During the selection of studies pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Seventeen studies (n=17) were included for critical appraisal of methodology and quality using standard instruments from the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) the John Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice (JHNEBP) Research Evidence Appraisal Tool and Evidence Analysis Manual; Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. All seventeen studies (n=17) were identified as evidence that answers the research question. Extraction of evidence, analysis and synthesis were conducted by means of the evidence class rating and grading of strength prescribed in the Evidence Analysis Manual (EAM, 2012:70). Findings indicated some interventions that reduce the stigma attached to mental illness. Using Web-based approaches and reading printed educational materials, documentary films and anti-stigma films, live and video performances, and humanising and traditional, naturalistic educational methods are effective in reducing stigma attached to mental illness for health professionals because there were no stigmatising attitude and social distance towards individuals with mental disorders. The German WPA (World Psychiatric Association) “Program against stigma and discrimination because of Schizo-phrenia – Open the doors” is effective in reducing stigma attached to mental illness for the general population. Combining education and video-based contact, in vivo contact and videotaped education, Active Minds and documentary films are effective in reducing stigma of mental illness for students. The use of puppets, psycho-education and contact (via DVD) and public education programs are effective in reducing stigma attached to mental illness for adolescents. The research was evaluated, a conclusion was given, limitations were identified and recommendations were formulated for nursing practice, nursing education and nursing research. / Thesis (MCur)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

This is a qualitative research centred on factors related to depressing and mental health among elderly Chinese immigrant women living in Ontario, Canada. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine those social factors that affect or contribute to depression or other forms of mental illness among elderly Chinese immigrant women. Qualitative content analysis was used. Reports of organisations concerned with elderly Chinese immigrants, qualitative research articles on elderly Chinese immigrant women, and government reports and publications were analysed based on their content. From the data, three main categories were developed. These are pre-migration, settlement experiences and health promotion. Some of the themes or sub –categories under these three main categories include the following: separation, isolation and loneliness, family and economic dependence, communication barriers, physical and psychological illness, transportation and food challenges, and empowerment. These themes or sub-categories were presented alongside the general conditions affecting elderly immigrant women as reported by other literature. From these findings several recommendations with regards to feminist health promotion were discussed. These include empowerment, making health social support accessible, family connectedness and others.

In the past two years, six National Football League players have died by suicide. Investigations into most of the deaths revealed that the players suffered from brain damage likely caused by repeated concussions. As is the case with many health issues, tragedy often precedes action; the suicides of these high profile football stars have catalyzed action on concussion policy and practice, as well as opened up the conversation about the overall mental health of athletes. This thesis joins the conversation around mental health and athletes, specifically Canadian varsity football players. Mental health problems and illnesses are presented as especially common, affecting about 1 in 5 Canadians. That is not to underestimate the severity of mental illnesses, which can deteriorate an individual’s quality of life, significantly impact friends and family and, in the most severe cases, also lead to death by suicide. That said, this thesis adopts a theoretical perspective that focuses on the promotion and protection of good mental health. This thesis is primarily concerned with investigating the social, political, and external factors that negatively impact how football players conceptualize mental health and mental illness, and also the recommended behaviour to seek professional help if needed. The growing body of research concerning the negative impact of mental illness stigma is compelling and leaves no doubt that stigma is a significant barrier to recovery. This thesis explores the stigma process as well as its social function in groups. Next, it investigates how the already powerful stigma around mental illness is further exacerbated by gender and more specifically, how traditional masculine ideology (i.e. men should be strong and powerful) conflicts with stereotypical beliefs about mentally ill people (i.e. weak and/or incompetent). Gender and health are further linked in terms of behaviour. In other words, rejecting health behaviours becomes a strategy some men utilize to project their masculinity, paradoxically contributing to the creation or worsening of many health problems. A health behaviour that is explored in detail is psychological help-seeking, and the psychosocial processes of help-seeking, which are also mainly regulated by masculinity. An overview of the most common mental health problems and illnesses found in male varsity athletes is provided. All of the above components are then applied to the unique context of varsity football players. The thesis draws on the literature as well as qualitative interview data that explores the experiences of 8 varsity football players at the University of Ottawa. Regarding mental health promotion, the findings show that football players may require adapted communication approaches. To that end, the thesis transitions into an early-stage health communication plan supported by the literature and the primary data. The plan proposes overall outcomes, short term/intermediate objectives, a communication strategy, and a tactical approach. Next, a web-based health resource is suggested as a primary communication vehicle and is outlined in detail. The plan then suggests potential partnerships for extending the strategic communication plan’s reach and credibility. This is followed by suggestions for evaluating both the short term/intermediate objectives as well as the strategic communication plan’s overall impact. This thesis concludes with a chapter exploring the contributions lifted from the eight qualitative interviews, as well as suggested directions for research, policy and practice.

No description available.

This study examined the Ball State Diagnostic Inventory. First, the construct validity of the measure and the 14 corresponding psychiatric diagnoses was considered. Secondarily, the investigation considered the psychiatric epidemiology of a college-age population.A review of the literature was presented with an emphasis on psychiatric syndromes, the Neo-Kraepelinian tradition, and the development of empirically based diagnostic criteria. The construction of the Ball State Diagnostic Inventory was placed in the historical context of the assessment of empirically based descriptive diagnostic criteria.One thousand and twenty-two undergraduate and graduate students from four U.S. universities volunteered to complete the Ball State Diagnostic Inventory. Participants were screened for prior psychiatric treatment or a course of psychotrophic medication. The mean chronological age of the subjects was 20.6 years (SD = 1.25) with a range of 18 to 28. The Ball State Diagnostic Inventory is a 218-item measure of adult psychopathology as reflected in the diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic Inventory Schedule.The results showed the epidemiological point prevalence rates for this college age sample to correspond to other estimates. The 14-factor solution provided evidence of grouping of symptoms into traditionally defined diagnostic categories. Moreover, derived factors were similar to previous factor analytical studies with major psychiatric syndromes.The results were discussed in terms of their support for the utility of empirically based diagnostic criteria. Further investigations with the Ball State diagnostic Inventory were explored. / Department of Educational Psychology

Denna studie, “Att leva ovetandes i det tysta”, är skriven av Elin Edman och Elina Hedin och handlar om personer som har varit medberoende. Medberoende är ett omdiskuterat begrepp inom vetenskapen, men har tidigare inte haft så stort fokus i samhället. Istället har fokus legat på exempelvis missbrukare eller psykiskt sjuka, men inte på deras anhöriga som också är drabbade. Syftet med denna studie är att ta reda på om insikten om att vara medberoende, kan få anhöriga att hantera sin livssituation och relationen till den beroende och/eller psykiskt sjuka annorlunda. För att ta reda på detta har fem livsberättelser hållits med personer över 18 år som har varit medberoende till någon med en beroendeproblematik inom alkohol eller narkotika, och/eller till en person med psykisk ohälsa. De två teorier som användes för att förklara resultatet är känslan av sammanhang samt copingteorin. Det resultat studien visade är att insikten om att vara medberoende fick alla informanter att hantera både sin livssituation och relationen med den beroende och/eller psykiskt sjuka annorlunda. Detta kunde bland annat ta sig till uttryck genom att man valde att bryta kontakten med den beroende och/eller psykiskt sjuka, för att förbättra livssituationen, eller ändra sitt eget beteende i syfte att hantera relationen bättre. / The present study entitled ”Living in silence without knowledge” presents and analyses the life stories by some persons living in close relations to relatives with drug abuse or mental disorder. The study is drafted by Elin Edman and Elina Hedin. Previously the main interest in society has been focused on the individuals suffering from mental disorders or being dependent on various substances. The particular social situation of co-dependence has in the past been dealt with in certain research studies but only recently become an issue of public discourse, lifting up the distress endured in silence by the e.g. family members and people around the addicts. The present study wanted to investigate whether if and how the understanding of the role of co-dependent facilitated the coping with and improvement of the existing situation. Five persons older than 18 years with experience of living close to an addict and/or mentally ill person were interviewed and asked to tell their life stories. In analyzing the information obtained the two theoretical perspectives of coping and the sense of coherence were taken into account. The present study shows that the participants of this study, by achieving an understanding of their acting as co-dependent and thereby their impact on the situation, made them change their behavior and relation both to the dependent and the social circumstances. In general the changes made, resulted in better life conditions for the whole social group and often real improvements for the victim of co-dependence.