<p> Empathy is considered an important aspect of social interactions thus allowing social harmony and understanding however, little is known about what factors influence its development. This study examined how a child's gender, religiosity, and spirituality affect their level of empathy. A total of 79, nine- to 12-year-old students, from two rural school districts, completed questionnaires with parents providing additional information. Results indicate that the children's reported level of spirituality is not related to their reported level of empathy. Their particular religion was also not related to empathy. Additionally, Catholics and other religions were not significantly different from Protestants in terms of reported levels of spirituality. Gender was found to be significantly related to empathy, with females earning higher empathy scores than males. However, gender was not significantly related to spirituality. Although this study did not find factors related to the development of empathy, it is still important to continue research in order to determine what factors are involved. If we can learn what factors positively contribute to the development of empathy, we can support those factors in order to assist all children in becoming more empathic contributors to our society.</p>

<p> This dissertation compares the integrated vipassana movement of North America and the school of psychology. The comparison examines both healing practices and ontological paradigms. The integrated vipassan&amacr; movement in the United States is defined by that element of vipassan&amacr; teachings that blends Therav&amacr;da Buddhist practices with American cultural mores as promoted and disseminated by Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Existential-humanistic psychology is here represented by the teachings of Rollo May, James Bugental, and Irvin Yalom. This inquiry seeks to apprehend the nature and efficacy of compassionate and caring present-moment attention in the context of two distinct ontological orientations. The analysis begins with each tradition's description of humanity's most fundamental flaw: dukkha and angst. The examination of these maladies of life is followed by a comparison of these traditions' respective portrayals of health and harmony: Buddhist liberation as compared with existential freedom. This study then examines and compares the way in which these traditions employ the blended healing practices of compassion and present-moment awareness. The findings include the observation that the Therav&amacr;da concept of no-self and the existential notion of the groundlessness of being provide for two distinct kinds of healing: one promotes a grace born of skillfully encouraging a depth of surrender of self, and the other speaks to creating an authentic world for oneself. This dissertation finds that the two traditions offer practices and orientations that may be used complementarily.</p>

<p>This study researches the journey of transformative learning experiences of adult men and women who have adopted a positive attitude in dealing with challenging and life-threatening issues. By applying a Western grief model and the principles of &ldquo;living the present moment&rdquo; and &ldquo;letting go&rdquo; derived from Buddhist psychology, this study aims to identify ways to transform mental suffering and grieving into positive energy that may help to provide comfort to individuals in despair. </p><p> The research paradigm is transpersonal and the method of this study is narrative analysis. A combination of face-to-face and telephone interviews as well as email exchanges with eight individuals who shared their personal experiences in adopting a positive attitude in overcoming difficult situations were employed. These participants have battled and conquered their unique life-challenging situations. </p><p> The stories of these individuals document their challenges with grief and include insights learned from these experiences and the ways in which they transformed these experiences into catalysts for positive energy. Seven themes became evident and significant in their journey in coping with suffering, and paved the way for their transformational learning experiences. They are: a) Reaching acceptance, b) the importance of a support network, c) making meanings of suffering, d) impermanence, e) letting go of the past, f) living in the present moment, and g) spirituality. It is hoped that this transformational learning experience will enable other people from diverse demographic, professional, and cultural backgrounds to embrace a Western grief model in combination with Buddhist psychology to better cope with their loss or grieving, and help them to understand the opportunity for growth these life challenges can present. </p><p> Everyone experiences loss and difficult challenges in the course of a lifetime. How we view and react to them determines the effect they have on the rest of our lives. This study will contribute to the need for more research in this area by asking the following question: &ldquo;How do actions derived from Buddhist principles help to alleviate suffering among people facing challenges of change?&rdquo; </p>

<p> In a child's life, the church has minimal time to make a maximum impact. The time children are in church must not be wasted, but should be spent in valuable and life changing ways. Stories have long been included in Christian education, but is the practice of telling stories something that is continued merely because "we've always done it this way," or is there merit in continuing their use? Story is a wildly popular theme in Christian education today and children love stories, but there is more to a story than mere amusement? Parents and Christian educators wrestle with questions such as "How do stories have lasting meaning and life changing influence on children's lives?" "How can stories be used to affect children's spiritual growth?" "What kinds of stories should be included?" These are important questions to consider as Christian educators set pedagogical goals and specific methodology is followed. </p><p> This research attempts to address these questions by investigating empirical, theoretical, and theological literature related to two domains: (a) what characterizes the spiritual life and development of children, and (b) how story can be used by Christian educators and parents to benefit the instruction and spiritual growth of children. Beginning with an analysis of the spiritual life of children, it will then be shown how story affects the whole person, rendering it a very powerful medium. Using Luke 10:27 as an organizing principle, story is analyzed as to how it affects the heart, the affective realm; the soul, the spiritual realm; strength, the behavioral realm; the mind, the cognitive realm; and loving neighbor as oneself, the social realm. These realms, together, comprise a faith that involves a totality of commitment. Recommendations are then made as to how parents and Christian educators can use the power of story to benefit the instruction and spiritual growth of children. The use of story can be a spark for children's spiritual growth and holds great potential benefit for the church and for the children who are a part of the community of faith. </p>

<p> Religion and spirituality has become a widely researched topic within the field of psychology, however most research studies focus on the quantitative measures of religion used as a coping mechanism for individuals undergoing difficulties and struggles. The terms religion and spirituality are often misunderstood in the field of psychology and used interchangeably. Individuals who share their religious/spiritual experiences are often dismissed and not taken seriously therefore exacerbating the stigma and creating even more distance between the field of science and religion. The goal of this research is to capture the lived experience of prayer for individuals moving through psychosis without enframing the experience in a negative way by placing labels or categories on them or their experiences, but rather by letting the experience show itself in its own unique way. Thus 3 participants who have experienced psychosis were asked about their experience of praying during a time that is typically understood as a psychotic experience. The purpose of this approach is to better understand how the practice of prayer in religion/spirituality is more than just an instrumental coping mechanism, and is, rather, lived out as a way of being in the world. This study uses an existential-phenomenological method to understand participants' experiences of this phenomenon in light of common, existential givens shared by the participants. This study will close with implications for further research and clinical care.</p>

<p> Despite the increase of attention in the counseling profession to spirituality, extant literature examining spirituality and adolescent mental health is limited (Powers, 2005; Van Dyke, Glenwick, &amp; Kim, 2009). Few studies were conducted related to the spirituality of adolescents in residential treatment settings (Dew, et al., 2008; Hawke, Hennen, &amp; Gallilone, 2005; Taylor, 2005). In particular, no studies were conducted to determine the relationship between spirituality and goal attainment or symptom change of adolescents in crisis residence. The purpose of the study was to identify the extent to which there is a relationship between spirituality and spiritual/religious coping, change of symptoms, and therapeutic goal attainment of adolescents in crisis residence. </p><p> A correlational design was used to examine the relationship between spirituality, spiritual and religious coping, goal attainment and symptom change of adolescents in crisis residence. A canonical correlation was conducted. The two sets of variables under investigation were spirituality (as measured by the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale and Brief Religious and Spiritual Coping Scale) and treatment outcome (as measured by the Goal Attainment Scale of Stabilization and the Target Symptom Rating Scale). </p><p> The participants in this study were adolescent clients from an acute care psychiatric facility in the southern gulf coast. Male (n = 47) and female (n = 37) adolescent participants ranged in age from 12 years to 17 years. Ethnicity and religious preference of the adolescents were reported. </p><p> Results of the study indicated that no statistically significant relationship existed between spirituality and treatment outcome for adolescents in crisis residence. </p><p> Spirituality may not be an essential component to crisis stabilization of adolescents. Rather, counselors should be aware that spirituality is a uniquely personal construct. Counselors who utilize spiritual principles as the primary tool for stabilization of adolescents may want to rethink their treatment protocols. For adolescent clients in crisis who place much importance on spiritual matters, addressing spirituality in treatment may be beneficial to attaining goals and reducing symptoms. However, adolescent clients who place no importance on spirituality may still achieve the same treatment outcomes in crisis residence. Additional studies that explore individual perceptions of spirituality, investigate the results of infusing spirituality into treatment strategies, and take into account individual diagnosis with this population would be useful.</p>

<p> Researchers have examined reverie and the numinous autonomously; however concomitant studies on reverie and the numinous are nonexistent. Moreover, no research in depth psychotherapy explores reverie or the numinous as essential experiences associated with early childhood psychospiritual awareness. This heuristic investigation examines the experience of reverie as it can lead to the numinous in the context of Child Centered Play Therapy (CCPT). Case history as arts based data conceptualizes this premise. Five nonactive child case histories give an initial glimpse into the researcher's clinical experience of reverie as it can lead to the numinous. </p><p> Reverie is defined as a daydream, and numinous is viewed as an ethereal attribute given to one's personal experience of phenomena. Both descriptions are universal depictions. The researcher includes personal perspective through autobiographical accounts of early childhood experiences and through reflections of reverie as it can lead to the numinous in adulthood. In heuristic inquiry, understanding the researcher's internal frame of reference is essential to understanding the research premise and the unique explorative research process. </p><p> Overall, this research serves as a way to include children and their unique depth psychotherapeutic processes. Understanding how children access unconscious material may help depth psychologists to understand what informs early childhood psychospiritual awareness. </p><p> Ultimately, children can and do access psychological material that can and do lead to transformation and healing at a deep level. Children's psychotherapeutic processes manifest differently and sometimes emanate from a place of reverie; what manifests from those soulful reveries sometimes take on a numinous quality. </p><p> This initial heuristic investigation on reverie as it can lead to the numinous is exploratory in nature and is not intended to be conclusive. More research is likely needed to continue to expand on this dissertation's premise. </p><p> Key words: case history, child centered play therapy, daydream, heuristic, numinous, psychospiritual, reverie, Sol <i>niger.</i></p>

<p> In learning to be a yoga teacher, the focus is largely on <i>what </i> is being taught, in other words, the physical techniques such as <i> asana</i> (posture) and <i>pranayama</i> (breath). There is substantially less focus on who teachers are as individuals despite research from neuroscience which suggests that <i>who</i> teachers are may be far more important to students' learning than what they are teaching. This thesis dives into the question of who yoga teachers are as individuals through the lens of authenticity. Drawing on transformative learning theory, Jung's theory of individuation, and the stories of eight teachers who have wrestled deeply with this question, this thesis explores the process of developing authenticity in the context of teaching yoga. This study finds that authenticity results from one's journey of individuation, which although personal in nature is supported by relationship to self, Self and other (mentor, teacher, therapist). </p>

<p> The colloquial phrases "choke artist" and "clutch performer" are used to refer to individuals who have a tendency to falter or excel, respectively, when performing under pressure conditions. The objective of this study was to conduct a broad survey of the extant literature on the topic of performance under pressure and to offer a Critical Interpretive Synthesis (CIS) of that literature. The output of this project was multi-faceted and included an organized exposition and coarse-grained critical analysis of the literature on performance under pressure, an interpretive synthesis containing multiple suggestions for improving the literature base, and a reflexive account of the experimental use of the CIS methodology.</p><p> The critical analysis centered on a critique of the field's predominantly positivistic approach, which has produced a fragmented and ambiguous literature pervaded by enduring difficulties across the domains of conceptualization, research, theory, and practice. The interpretive synthesis was subsequently organized around the theme of advocating for a more balanced and integrative approach to both inquiry and intervention that honors the inevitable role of subjectivity in the pressure-performance relationship.</p><p> Specific suggestions for improving the literature base included incorporating a subjective self-assessment component into the operational definition of choking, complementing experimental studies with more qualitative and mixed-methods research, constructing interactional theories of choking that consider the important role of context and meaning-making, and treating athletes and performers more holistically by focusing on personal development and overall well-being in addition to teaching psychological skills.</p><p> Perhaps the most provocative suggestion to emerge from the present synthesis is that, as part of a more integrative and holistic approach to psychological training for sport and performance, the Western academic and applied sport psychology communities should begin to look beyond the relaxation and concentration benefits of Eastern mindfulness practices in order to bring into view the potentially broader benefits of the ego-transcendent functions of the spiritual traditions from which these practices derive.</p>

<p> Trauma experiences are often at the core of co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders. Many women report the initiation of substance use after a specific traumatic event. Among women in substance abuse treatment, 55% to 95% have experienced trauma. A sizeable body of literature has shown spirituality to be a mitigating factor in recovery from co-occurring trauma and substance use disorders. Although advancements have been made concerning trauma and spirituality, gaps remain in comprehensive, gender-specific, assessment strategies and treatment models that include an understanding of the impact of trauma on spiritual development. </p><p> This exploratory study examined the relationship between trauma and the spiritual well-being of women with substance use disorders. Specifically, this study examined the relationship between type of trauma and the spiritual well-being of women with substance use disorders, the relationship between age of first traumatic occurrence and the spiritual well-being, and the relationship between the number of traumatic occurrences and the spiritual well-being score as measured by <i>Spiritual Well-Being Scale.</i> Data were collected from adult females residents (n = 108) of a two-year modified therapeutic community. Participants met DSM IV criteria for a substance use disorder and reported a lifetime history of at least one traumatic occurrence. </p><p> The results of the study reflect descriptive data (demographic and frequency data) and outcome data from the <i>Adapted Trauma Assessment</i> and <i>Spiritual Well-Being Scale.</i> Descriptive data provided a representative profile of the sample. The majority of the women were White/Caucasian and Black/African American women in their late thirties. Most had obtained a high school education or equivalent. The typical participant initiated alcohol use between the age of 13 and 14, and drug use (other than alcohol) around the age of 16. Cocaine was identified as the primary substance used. The majority of the participants reported experiencing eleven traumatic occurrences. Most had experienced their first trauma between 9 and 10 years of age. "Physical Assault" and "Completed Rapes" were the most frequently reported type of trauma occurrence. The mean Spiritual Well-Being Score (94.0) indicated the majority of the participants had a scores within the high level of the "medium" range. </p><p> When addressing the research question, "What is the relationship between the type of trauma and spiritual well-being for women with a substance use disorder when comparing different types of trauma?" the data indicates that women who experienced sexual molestation had significantly lower (p = .047) Spiritual Well-Being scores than those who had not experienced the trauma of sexual molestation. For the question, "What is the relationship between age of first traumatic occurrence and spiritual well-being as reflected by the <i>Spiritual Well-Being Scale and the Trauma Assessment</i>?" a significant positive correlation between age of first trauma from "Physical Assault" (r = .178, p = .039), "Being Tormented, Stalked, or Repeatedly Humiliated" (r = .244, p = .048), "Causing Harm" to another person (r = .519, p = .016) and Spiritual Well-Being scores was found. That is, as the age at first occurrence increased so did Spiritual Well-Being scores. Put another way, the younger the participant was at the age of each of these trauma occurrences, the lower her spiritual well-being scores. Examining the question, "What is the relationship between the number of traumatic occurrences and spiritual well-being as measured by the <i>Spiritual Well-Being Scale and the Trauma Assessment</i>?" no significant relationship (r = -.093, p = .336) was found between the total number of traumatic occurrences and Spiritual Well-Being scores of women with substance use disorders. </p><p> This study examined the complex and co-occurring clinical concerns of women with substance use disorders. Conceptualized through Fowler's Faith Development Theory, these findings address the implications of trauma and spirituality from a developmental lifespan perspective. Further, prevalence rates for co-occurring trauma and substance abuse identified in this study reinforce the need for comprehensive, gender-specific, trauma-informed, and trauma-specific service delivery systems that recognizes the unique life experiences of women. Recognition of the prevalence of co-occurring trauma and substance use disorders and the impact of those events on treatment presentation, symptomology, retention and completion fosters a more holistic clinical perspective. Integration of spirituality in the provision of care promotes the inclusion of intrinsic and extrinsic supports that provide mitigating factors in trauma recovery. </p>