The Introduction and Advanced Equine Assisted Family Therapy (EAFT) courses offered at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) provide graduate Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) student therapists the space to learn about collaborating with horses for therapeutic and educational purposes. However, these courses also offer the potential for a unique dimension to self of the therapist development. Through these courses, student therapists are able to learn theory and application of an innovative experiential model for clients, but also utilize the activities to get to know themselves better as emerging therapists. The purpose of this study was to explore if and how the learning that occurs within the EAFT courses transfers into traditional talk therapy sessions. More specifically, the study explored how students utilized the experiential process of learning within the courses to further their understanding of the self of the therapist. The conversations that unfolded from reviewing MFT student therapists’ video recorded talk therapy sessions at the Brief Therapy Institute’s family therapy clinic served as the data. Interpersonal Process Recall (IPR) was used to inquire about this process, including specifically how it relates to self of the therapist development.

Social contact is known to be vital for older adults' mental and physical health, but few studies of social interactions have taken place in long-term care settings. The current study investigated whether the psychological well-being of assisted living residents was influenced by factors associated with residents' social interactions involving humor. Specific aims of the present study were to develop and test a measure related to humor-related social exchanges, to examine how humor-related social exchanges affect residents' mental health, and to explore whether humor-related social exchanges mediated the effects of resident and facility characteristics on indices of mental health. One hundred and forty older adults residing in 14 assisted living facilities in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area were interviewed about the frequency and types of social interactions they experienced with members of their facility-based social networks, as well as depression, mood, loneliness, self-esteem, and self-rated health. A 12-item, two-factor model of humor-related social exchanges was identified through confirmatory factor analysis, including both positive and negative humor-related social exchange factors. The newly developed scale displayed evidence of adequate reliability and validly in the current sample. Results indicated that both positive and negative humor-related exchanges were associated with various aspects of mental health, although negative humor-related exchanges appeared to be a stronger predictor of mental health than positive humor-related exchanges. Both positive and negative humor-related exchanges also served as mediators between resident and facility characteristics and indicators of mental health. Cultivating a better understanding of the relationships between humor-related social exchanges and mental health may be beneficial for researchers interested in the way humor impacts older adults' ability to cope with stress. This research may also be of value to long-term care providers who create interventions designed at improving residents' mental health and overall quality of life.

This research examines the effects of a daily, ritualistic, intentional practice of Sufi meditation Tamarzok, Sufi Zikr and art making in the life of a female art therapist graduate student, in a transitional professional and developmental stage of life. The general psychology and art therapy literature were examined to look at contemporary understanding in the integration of spirituality and art in mental health. A lack of information in the art therapy literature prompted the interest in the development of this study to respond to this inquiry. This art-centered research informed by a heuristic, phenomenological, dialectical inquiry of self-examination, encompassed the practice of Sufi Zikr and Sufi meditation Tamarkoz as understood from the perspective of the Sufi Order Maktab Tarighat Oveyssi Shahmaghsoudi School of Islamic Sufism, followed by art making as a way of documenting and contextualizing the qualities of the internal and external emotional landscapes to uncover themes and broaden self-knowledge in the support and enhancement of growth and well-being. The data was analyzed by looking at emergent themes. Conclusions drawn aligned the combined practices of art making and spirituality to that of a relational home where the Self and all parts of the psyche can coexist and contextualized for meanings to emerge and healing to take place. The findings of this inquiry were in overall alignment with the reviewed art therapy literature; gaps in the reviewed literature were noted in the exploration of the somatic component of the practice of art making as it relates to healing. Further research is warranted to expand and explore the data and the uncovered areas.

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The aim of the diploma thesis is to create a set of activities for university teachers that will have the potential to improve the working life of teachers and overall, well-being. The theoretical part of the thesis contains knowledge about well-being, its determinants, sources, but also well-being in connection with health. The next part of the theoretical part deals with the issue of personal change of well-being, how an individual can positively and negatively affect well-being. Furthermore, the theoretical part includes the topics of well-being in the workplace and creating a healthy work environment. In the last and one of the most important chapters of the theoretical part, the issue of well-being in university teachers is discussed, what shapes and influences his well-being. In the practical part there is a design of set of activities to improve well-being of university teachers. These activities are created on the basis of a search of professional literature. The practical part consists of two main parts. The first part contains suggestions for activities to improve the well-being of the university teachers, which the university teacher himself includes in his work life and personal life. In the second part, activities are also reaching to the improvement of well-being of university...

The purpose was to examine the effect of a self-care educational intervention on nursing student resilience and thus the potential for compassion fatigue, depersonalization, burnout, depression, and inadequate self-care. A one-group pretest-posttest research design was applied to a convenience sample of 104 nursing students near the end of their last semester in a baccalaureate nursing program. The measurements were demographics, a psychometric resilience scale, program evaluation, and reflection question. The intervention was a standardized, intensive 30 min training program on the high degree of stress and burnout nurses face and the core self-care methods that can promote resilience to these hazards. The educational intervention had a strong positive effect on resilience scores (effect size of r=72%; p < 0.05). Eighty-six percent of the participants believed that the intervention increased their capabilities for self-care, especially in sleep, spending time outside, hydration, nutrition, and physical stretching exercises but not in journaling. Eighty-one percent stated that they would be likely to seek professional help if needed. Although this study must be repeated in other samples before it be implemented with full confidence, the standardized, high intensity, short duration, resilience training session can be recommended to nursing programs just prior to graduation and to hospitals for nurse orientation programs.

Objectives: A large number of people cannot afford healthcare services in the United States. Researchers have studied the impact of lack of affordability of health care on the outcomes of various physical conditions. Mental health disorders have emerged as a major public health challenge during the past decade. The lack of affordability of health care also may contribute to the burden of mental health. This research focuses on the association between financial barriers to health care and mental health outcomes in the US state of Tennessee. Methods: We used cross-sectional data contained in the 2019 US Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). We extracted data for the state of Tennessee, which included 6242 adults aged 18 years or older. Multinomial regression analyses were conducted to test the association between not being able to see a doctor with the number of mentally unhealthy days during the past month. We coded the outcome as a three-level variable, ≥20 past-month mentally unhealthy days, 1 to 20 past-month mentally unhealthy days, and 0 past-month mentally unhealthy days. The covariates examined included self-reported alcohol use, self-reported marijuana use, and other demographic variables. Results: Overall, 11.0% of participants reported ≥20 past-month mentally unhealthy days and 24.0% reported 1 to 20 past-month mentally unhealthy days. More than 13% of study participants reported they could not see a doctor because of the cost in the past 12 months. The inability to see a doctor because of the cost of care was associated with a higher risk of ≥20 past-month mentally unhealthy days (relative risk ratio 3.18; 95% confidence interval 2.57-3.92, P < 0.001) and 1 to 19 past-month mentally unhealthy days (relative risk ratio 1.94; 95% confidence interval 1.63-2.32, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Statistically significant associations were observed between the inability to see a doctor when needed because of cost and increased days of poorer mental health outcomes. This research has potential policy implications in the postcoronavirus disease 2019 era with healthcare transformation and significant financial impact.

<p>Research examining the relationships between religious indicators and the cardiovascular health of individuals and populations has been relatively understudied in the Canadian context. This thesis contains three main studies, developed from a sequential explanatory mixed method research design.</p> <p>The first study examined the association between the frequency of religious service attendance (RSA) and prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD), diabetes and high blood pressure in Canada. The Saskatchewan sample of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS-4.1) was used to build multivariable logistic regression models. The analysis revealed participants who attended religious services more than once a week had lower prevalent odds of CHD (OR= 0.82, 95% CI 0.61-1.11, p>0.05), diabetes (OR=0.60, 95% CI 0.45-0.80, p</p> <p>The second study was qualitative and undertaken to help interpret and explain the quantitative results from the CCHS. Twelve semi-structured interviews with ordained pastors and three focus groups with parishioners in Catholic, Anglican and United churches were conducted in Canada. The findings suggest that attending religious services: (1) promotes mental health; (2) provides social support and activities; and (3) promotes health and lifestyle behaviours to lower CHD risk.</p> <p>Qualitative data from the second study was used for the third study, which identified relevant factors associated with the implementation of heart health promotion programs in churches. Among the various factors identified, pastor leadership, funding for a parish nurse, community-focused interventions, secured infrastructure and social support were important to facilitate health promotion programs in churches.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This research project aims to explore the relationship between art-making and wellbeing in professional artists during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involves 14 respondents who were invited to complete a Qualtrics survey as well as a process of arts-based inquiry. Researchers analyzed participants’ survey and art responses using an iterative collaborative process to identify emergent themes. These themes included a non-optional and internally-located drive to create; positive emotional, social, and physiological impacts associated with art-making and art-sharing; and, positive impacts on art practice associated with the pandemic. These findings emphasized the unique strengths and challenges associated with the professional artist identity.

This research project examines an array of art prompts and projects that have been used in program-based art making workshops to facilitate creative expression amongst those who have been impacted by a cancer diagnosis. The review of literature emphasizes the value of this research, as the field of healing arts programs/expressive arts workshops in cancer care is varied and sparse. While there is substantial research that indicates art therapy to be a highly valued and accepted clinical intervention used in cancer care, there is little research that focuses on the specific role of art making with cancer patients/survivors and even less research on program-based art making workshops. As an artist and cancer survivor, this research incorporates my lived experiences to inform the cataloging, evaluation, and analysis of five art projects completed and used as inspiration for a program-based art-making workshop. The artworks included are an altered book, a cloth doll, a paper mask, a wooden box, and a Styrofoam head. The five central themes that arose from these five particular projects include that they were fun/engaging, encouraged play/experimentation, increased self-understanding, fostered the need to creatively express unexpressed emotions, and offered a sense of pride/accomplishment. This preliminary research project suggests that a broader investigation is needed in order to gather a deeper understanding of the impact of program-based expressive arts workshops as a healing modality with this patient population.