<p>Health literacy is described as the ability to process and understand basic health-related information in order to make appropriate health care decisions. It has been shown that many older Latinos have low health literacy resulting in poor health outcomes. Research has also identified that some older Latinos with low health literacy often also have symptoms of depression. The purpose of this project was to write a grant to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to fund a program entitled Tu Vida, Tu Salud, a two-fold program to help older Latinos residing in La Habra, California. The goals are to (1) increase their health literacy through work with a Promotora and (2) decrease their depressive symptomatology through a cognitive-behavioral intervention program. The Institute for Healthcare Advancement and the Family Resource Center in La Habra are the host agencies for this grant. The actual submission and/or funding of this grant was not required for the successful completion of the project.

<p> This research is about revisioning the Feminine; this is an exploration into the depth of image, alchemy, and intentional creativity, and the catalytic role they play in psychic and somatic integration. Hekate was identified as an image of the dark Feminine that invoked fear in Western culture. For this reason Hekate was selected for interpretation for this alchemical hermeneutic study. An examination of the dark Feminine as Hekate was conducted using an intentional creative process. Also investigated in this study are the alchemical processes of <i>nigredo</i> and <i>albedo</i> and their correlation with transformation within an intentional creative process. Intentional creativity was identified as a viable method for encountering experiences of psychic and somatic integration. Further, through incorporating current research in trauma and neuroscience, this research examined responses to fear in connection to image and the involvement of image in mind-body-subtle body disconnection. This qualitative research was conducted using alchemical hermeneutic methodology to examine the lived experience of re-visioning the Feminine. The data examined in this study were collected by working with an intentional creativity method developed by artist Shiloh Sophia McCloud. McCloud&rsquo;s intentional creativity model was applied to a dream image, and the researcher&rsquo;s responses to the layers of the painting process then generated the data for the study. The findings of this study show that McCloud&rsquo;s method produced lasting experiences of psychic and somatic integration, and that through re-visioning the Feminine, the mind-body-subtle body experience of fear was transformed. </p>

<p> The lives of humans and animals have been intertwined through time immemorial, and in many instances the relationship between humans and animals has been thought to be good for human well-being. As such, it is not surprising that treatments for a wide range of ailments, from physical to psychological, have developed that capitalize upon the relationship between humans and animals. While animal-assisted interventions have become popular in practice, the research-base of evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of these approaches is limited. Research is needed to clarify the effectiveness of animal-assisted approaches using well-controlled and randomized samples, and to help shed light on the mechanisms of effectiveness for these techniques. While a variety of animals are used for psychotherapeutic intervention, horses are of particular interest because of the qualities that distinguish them from traditional household companion animals. The size, power, and sensitive nature of horses are thought by many to serve as a foundation for personal growth and psychological healing for humans. The current study evaluated the impact of equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) versus traditional contact with horses on the depressive symptoms of five at-risk adolescents. Results suggest that structured contact with horses in either a horsemanship or EAP context may be both enjoyable, engaging, and beneficial for at-risk youth within the areas of depressive symptoms, social skills, and coping skills. Additional skills, such as persistence and problem-solving, may be uniquely impacted by EAP.</p>

<p> Researchers and clinicians have been applying narrative techniques to psychology for decades. James Pennebaker, a noted psychologist who studies narrative therapy and techniques, helped to create the Linguistic Inquire and Word Count program (LIWC), which analyzes and delineates word usage in a given body of text. This is based on his research and interactions with narrative techniques. Through the use of LIWC, researchers have determined that individuals who present with adaptive personality traits, such as insight and a desire to seek personal growth, display a certain writing style and word usage. Socially inclusive words (such as the pronouns &ldquo;we&rdquo; and &ldquo;us,&rdquo; along with words related to social interactions), insight-related words, and emotion/affect words were linked to higher rates of health. Utilizing the LIWC tool with populations not previously studied can expand the literature on narrative analysis to include new and specific syndromes. The current study used the LIWC program to analyze works of poetry written by women with and without known mental health conditions, in order to identify markers related to depression and suicidality. Poetry by Sylvia Plath, Dorothy Parker, and Elizabeth Bishop served as the literature analyzed by the LIWC system. Each author was addressed based on depressive symptomatology; their respective word usages were noted, analyzed, and compared, looking for significant differences among the three authors. Results suggest that poetic writing focused on insight, pro-social behaviors, and opportunities for change are correlated with positive mental health. Results further suggest that the act of writing and understanding poetry may correlate to mental health intervention when certain linguistic markers are noted.</p>

<p> Research on microaggressions has consistently lacked focus on microaggressions experienced by persons with mental illness. What little research has been conducted has examined microaggressions as reported by the victim. The current study aimed to explore mental illness microaggressions by examining the view of the committer (i.e., the person enacting the microaggression), the role specific prejudicial beliefs (i.e., <i>authoritarianism, social restrictiveness, benevolence</i>) play in microaggressive behavior, and whether level of intimacy of interpersonal contact is related to reduced mental illness microaggressions. Participants for this study were recruited using Amazon&rsquo;s Mechanical Turk; they completed a series of questionnaires and were compensated for their work. Results indicated there is a positive relationship between the likelihood of mental illness microaggression perpetration and the prejudicial beliefs <i>authoritarianism</i> and <i> social restrictiveness</i> while there is an inverse relationship between mental illness microaggression enactment and the prejudicial belief <i> benevolence.</i> This study determined that social restrictiveness accounts for the most variance when predicting potential perpetration of mental illness microaggressions. Additionally, results of this study determined there is a negative relationship between mental illness microaggression enactment and level of intimacy of interpersonal contact with mentally ill individuals, suggesting that interpersonal contact may be an effective strategy for reducing mental illness microaggressions.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experience of nurses who care for hospitalized women outside of an addiction treatment setting who have a problem with drugs and / or alcohol. The relational experiences of ten registered nurses who had cared for women with drug and alcohol problems were elicited. Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology was the method used to interpret the nurse participants&rsquo; meaning of their experience. The theoretical framework that was used to explore the nurses&rsquo; experience of caring for women who abuse or are dependent on alcohol was Boykin and Schoenhofer&rsquo;s <i> Nursing as Caring</i> (1993). The relational themes that emerged were: Caring in the dark; Intentionally knowing the woman with AOD as a unique person; and Experiencing sisterhood.</p>

<p>ABSTRACT Existing models and measures of well-being tend to be based on an individualistic, western worldview. In addition, when cross-cultural comparisons are made, diverse cultural groups within the same national border are typically not examined. The Multidimensional Well-Being Assessment (MWA) was developed because of the absence of a culturally relevant measure to assess the well-being of those whose worldview is more consistent with collectivism. Although much attention has been given to detrimental forces in the lives of African Americans, less consideration has been given to assessing well-being in this population. In this study, a nonrandom sample was used to examine the validity of the MWA. In addition, several demographic variables were considered to explore the relationship of the dimensions of well-being contained on the MWA. A total of the 169 persons who identified as African-American or as a Black person with African ancestry participated in the study. The MWA showed strong reliability on nearly all dimensional subscales, as well as a pattern of expected significant positive and negative correlations with multiple validation measures. Significant correlations between demographic variables (i.e., age, education, income, and gender) and several dimensions on the MWA were also found. This study has implications for future research and the MWA shows promising results with regard to its psychometric properties. It is a potentially useful instrument to utilize in research that seeks to deepen understanding of life satisfaction and wellness in diverse populations, with particular attention to unique findings within the African American population.

<p> Due to the increasing number of persons of Arab descent living in the United States, estimated at over 3.5 million in 2012, there has been a recognized need for a deeper understanding of acculturative, gender, and immigration-related stressors that Arab American women face. In response to this need, a one-day workshop for mental health professionals interested in or currently working with women of Arab descent living in the United States was developed. The workshop focuses on increasing knowledge of the various types of stress (e.g., acculturation, discrimination, gender role strain, parent-child relationships, care giver, familial, cultural expectations, work, school, etc.) experienced by Arab American women and providing culturally congruent stress reduction interventions. The development of the curriculum was informed by existing literature on people of Arab descent living in the United States, cultural issues in serving diverse populations, and stress management interventions. Interviews with 3 Arab American women were integrated with the literature and the 1-day workshop curriculum was developed. The curriculum was reviewed by 2 current practicing psychologists who rated the content, strengths, and weaknesses of the curriculum. Their feedback was incorporated into a compilation of suggestions and future directions for the refining and evaluating curriculum.</p>

<p> Participatory Action Research (PAR) was utilized as the primary research methodology in conducting a program evaluation and development of a mythopoetic men&rsquo;s retreat. Over the course of a two-year exploratory process, a variety of qualitative and quantitative measures were used to plan, conduct, and respond to research studying Victories of the Heart&rsquo;s Breakthrough Weekend retreats. This research sought to understand the weekend&rsquo;s effect on the levels of gender role conflict, perceived social support and psychological wellbeing in men who attended the retreat. Changes in these variables were measured using the Gender Role Conflict Scale &ndash; Short Form, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the Flourishing Scale through use of an independent measures pretest posttest design. Qualitative interviews were conducted in order to better understand the research and programmatic needs of Victories of the Heart as an organization, the lived experiences of the men who attended these retreats as well as future directions for research and program development. Although no statistically significant changes were found in the quantitative data, the Breakthrough Weekend participants described their retreat experiences as &ldquo;life changing&rdquo; during qualitative interviews.</p>

<p> Positive outcomes associated with traumatic stress have been gaining attention over the past 20 years. Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is one such outcome, characterized by changes resulting from struggling with trauma that leave an individual or community with improved wisdom, strengths, or skills in certain areas that they would not have gained without struggling with trauma. The current study looked at PTG among women in residential treatment for substance use and mental health concerns. All women were also pregnant or had a child under one year of age. Pregnant and new mothers are a particularly high-risk group for negative outcomes related to substance use. This was the first study to assess PTG among women who use substances. Participants were 104 women in a six-month residential treatment in central California from 2012-2015. Services included substance use recovery interventions, trauma interventions, parenting education, and individual and group counseling. Ninety-eight percent reported at least minimal PTG; the mean growth score was the equivalent of between a moderate and great degree of growth. Results demonstrated no relationship between trauma symptoms or change in substance use severity and PTG scores. However, consumer satisfaction was related to PTG, with greater satisfaction being related to higher levels of PTG.</p>