M.S.

A phenomenological-hermeneutic method of study was used to understand the counsellor’s process of working through shadow. After analysis, 16 themes were derived, of which 13 themes depicted the counsellor’s process of working through shadow, and three themes depicted the implications of shadow work on the counselling process. The first 13 themes chronologically demonstrate the process of shadow work from the beginning birth of shadow to the eventual incorporation of shadow into a person’s beingness. The last three themes illustrate the implications of shadow work on the counselling process, specifically addressing aspects of client empowerment, therapeutic alliance, and countertransference. / ix, 278 leaves ; 29 cm.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-59).

Sixty subjects divided equally among Anglo-Americans, Black Americans, and Hispanic Americans participated in the study. They were classified as chronic pain patients by medical diagnosis and duration of pain. They were drawing Workers' Compensation and were all blue-collar workers from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Cognitive complexity is a measure of individuals' ability to construe their feelings, events of their lives, and their world in a meaningful manner. Cognitive complexity appeared to differ among the cultural groups as indicated by significantly different functionally independent construct scores. Anglo-Americans appeared to have a greater internal complexity than did Black Americans and Hispanic Americans.

This dissertation explores Wittgenstein’s views on the mind-body problem. It is possible to provide an examination of Wittgenstein’s approach by tracing the evolution of the theory of mind and the mind-body problem, by considering the current ways of dealing with the mind-body problem, and Wittgenstein’s critique of the notion of the mind. Wittgenstein’s views on the nature of philosophy and the relationship between philosophy and psychology make it possible to understand and as this dissertation argues – see beyond – the conceptual confusion that has since arisen out of philosophic tradition that perpetuates a ‘myth of the mind’. Schools of thought such as the Cartesians and cognitivists have attempted, through the construction of various elaborate theories, to solve the ‘riddle’ of the mind and to address the so-called ‘mind-body problem’. Cognitive science, in particular, has used the tradition and the myth of the mind as a basis for its research. Wittgenstein shows that such thinking is particularly muddled. By examining Wittgenstein’s approach to the mind-body problem, it is argued here that theories based on the tradition of the ‘myth of the mind’ are inherently flawed. Wittgenstein uses his methods, consisting of his notions of ‘grammar’, ‘language games’ and the re-arrangement of concepts, to extrapolate meaning and to see through the conceptual confusions that the use of language causes and that give rise to the mind-body problem . / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Comorbid chronic insomnia was found highly prevalent in breast cancer patients. It also persisted through survivorship. Negative emotions upon diagnosis and during the course of cancer treatment might complicate the underlying mediating factors between stress and insomnia found in non-cancer population. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has been evidenced in improving insomnia. With the appreciation of Mindfulness training in improving cognitive flexibility and rumination, a novel treatment approach integrating CBT and mindfulness—Mind-Body Intervention (MBI) was developed. 　　　There were three objectives in the research. Firstly, prevalence data on insomnia and clinical profile of Hong Kong Chinese breast cancer survivors were obtained. Secondly, the mediating roles of negative emotions, hyperarousal, pre-sleep arousals in the relationship between perceived stress and insomnia were examined. Thirdly, the effects of CBT and MBI for breast cancer survivors with insomnia were investigated. 　　　In the first study, 1049 women who survived from non-metastatic breast cancer were invited to complete a survey on stress, mental health, arousals and insomnia. Those who met psychophysiological insomnia were invited to participate in the second study, which was a multisite randomized controlled trial. The 73 participants were allocated to CBT (n=24), MBI (n=27) or waiting list control, WLC (n=22). Both treatments were five weekly-session group therapies. Outcomes on insomnia, mental health, arousals, dysfunctional beliefs, quality of life and mindfulness, were obtained on baseline, post-treatment, 3-month and 6-month follow-ups. 　　　Results of the first study revealed 34.6% of the participants suffered from clinical insomnia, while 15.1%, 27.4% and 12.8% endorsed moderate to extremely severe depression, anxiety and stress respectively. Duration of insomnia was correlated with insomnia severity. Hyperarousal was found moderating cognitive ore-sleep arousal and anxiety, these in turn, together with depression mediated the relationship between perceived stress and insomnia severity. Results of the second study supported the hypothesis both CBT and MBI improved insomnia and other psychological symptoms, while WLC did not. After treatment, significant decreases of 59 and 67 minutes of total wake time per night were found for CBT and MBI respectively. Sleep efficiency values significantly increased in CBT (12.2%) and MBI (12.7%). Moderate to large effect sizes and clinically significant differences were found in most sleep and psychological variables. Generally, CBT produced larger effect sizes than MBI on post-treatment. The therapeutic gains were found sustaining through 3-month to 6-month follow-ups in both treatments. However, the effect sizes of CBT were on the declining trend, while those of MBI were more stable. 　　　The results suggested that insomnia and anxiety were frequently experienced in breast cancer even after completing the medical treatments. The longer the survivors suffered from insomnia, the higher the severity was found. In additional to the cognitive pre-sleep arousal, the important mediating roles of depression and anxiety imply that insomnia treatments should incorporate strategies designed to help in decreasing rumination/worry before bedtime and improving mental health conditions. The findings also provided initial evidence for the efficacy of MBI as a viable treatment for insomnia. More vigorous randomized controlled trial and the long-term efficacy could be further studied. / published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Psychology

It is well understood that psychoanalysis began with Freud’s encounter with hysteria and his work with illnesses of the mind which manifested in bodily terms. However, despite its close connection to the body and the understanding that psychoanalytic theory and practice develop hand-in-hand, psychological conflict that expresses itself in physical terms and more especially the role of the two bodies in the therapy room has received relatively little attention. The topic of this research project is captured in its title: “Minding the Body”, and the four journal articles it presents interrogate the relationship between the mind and body of both the patient and therapist. The thesis begins with two published papers which focus on the body of the patient, rehearsing and extending the psychoanalytic theory of bodily psychopathology and the implications that the different understandings of the relationship between body and mind in different forms of psychosoma have for clinical interventions. The second two papers examine what the analyst’s interpretation of her somatic responses to the patient, and the patient’s engagement with the analyst’s body, can reveal about the dynamics of the therapeutic dyad. The project concludes with a discussion of the clinical implications of a greater focus on the two bodies in the room, suggesting that the techniques developed to make sense of the patient’s physical symptoms can be usefully applied to decode the somatic countertransference as it manifests in a particular therapeutic dyad. That process, coupled with an awareness of the patient’s engagement with the therapist’s body, can create conditions under which the analyst’s body may become an analytic object and this can add significantly to the analytic repertoire.

The objective of this study was to compare the acute heart rate variability responses to relaxation alone versus relaxation preceded by Hatha yoga. Twenty women and men (aged 18-50 years) participated in the study. Participants completed a yoga plus relaxation (YR) session and a relaxation only (R) session. The YR condition showed significant changes from baseline in HR (bpm, p < 0.001), RR (ms, p < 0.001), pNN50 (%, p = 0.009), LF (% p = 0.008) and HF (% p = 0.035). The R condition showed significant changes from baseline in HR (bpm, p < 0.001), RR (ms, p < 0.001), HF (ms2, p = 0.004), LF (%, p = 0.005), HF (%, p = 0.008) and LF/HF (%, p = 0.008). There were no significant differences between conditions for the changes from baseline for any of the variables. The results demonstrate that relaxation produces favorable changes in indices of heart rate variability whether alone or preceded by about of Hatha yoga. / by Nina Markil. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Acupuncture has been used for thousands of years to treat a wide range of diseases, but the mechanisms involved in the process have remained a mystery. The present study measures EEG responses to stimulation of a specific acupuncture point, GB37 (Guang Ming), with two different types of manual needle stimulation. Previous studies stimulated for a maximum of 2 minutes. The present study reflects the normal acupuncture treatment time of 20 minutes, with EEG recordings during and for 10 minutes prior to and after stimulation. Our results show no changes in the global spatial and temporal properties of EEG during and shortly after acupuncture treatment of acupoint GB37. The second part of this study examines the global protein expression of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) knockout mice. GAD is the rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of GABA, the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. The protein content of wild type, hetero-, and homozygous GAD knockout mice brains were determined using a LC-MS-based gel-free shotgun profiling of complex protein mixtures. The data was analyzed using the Raculovic algorithm to determine the proteins differences. A short list of 32 proteins was determined with four that have been shown to be significant proteins that influence cell survival and excitotoxicity in the brain and have potential relationships with GABA. These proteins include VATPase, Glutamine synthetase, Beta-synuclein, and Micortuble associated protein (MAP). The proteomics results provide a preliminary best guess list of proteins influencing GAD and GABA production. / by Michael L. Marshall. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

In this thesis I will argue that it is irrational to anticipate the future. I do not claim that the future will not exist, but rather that our current selves will never experience that future. Support for this seemingly implausible thesis begins when consider the problems posed by personal identity puzzle cases. When we consider hypothetical cases such as fission, where one existing person will divide into two future people (for example through brain transplants or teletransportation), we instinctively wonder which of the two post-fission bodies the pre-fission person would 'wake up' in. Could it be the case that our subject of experience does not in fact 'go' anywhere? I initially consider the interdependency between personal identity and the displacement of our current selves into the past or future. Ultimately, I will argue that self displacement is not based on personal identity, but rather the reverse that is, that personal identity is based on our hard-wired tendency to displace our current selves into the past or future. I then present the crux of my argument, that it is irrational to anticipate the future. I will do this by presenting cases in which it is clearly irrational to anticipate 'waking up' in a certain body and demonstrating that these cases are comparable to 'waking up' in the same physically or psychologically continuous body. Contrary to our most deeply held beliefs, it is not rational to expect that our present subject of experience will somehow be there in the future. This astonishing conclusion removes our most obvious reason for concern about future selves. I will argue that if this conclusion is correct, we have relatively weak reasons for prudential concern about the future. One of the key objectives of this thesis will therefore be to determine whether it is rational for our current self to be concerned about a future self that it will never experience being. I will show that if we are irrational to anticipate the future, then we must radically rethink the sort of prudential concern we have for our future selves. I argue that our reasons to be concerned about future selves are much weaker than (or at least very different than) those we might have originally imagined. I will also show that it is not against reason to be unconcerned about future selves, unless we believe that we are morally obliged to be concerned for all future people.