Thesis (M. A.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1996. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 200-229).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on June 22, 2009) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2001 / Zhi dao jiao shou: Mo Banghao. 880-03 Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Aug. 7, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 94-96). Also issued in print.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Marburg. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 329-363).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2008. / Abstract. Description based on Microfiche version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 205-210).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Idaho, May 2006. / Major professor: Dennis Dolny. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-51). Also available online in PDF format.

Background: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has shown promise as an effective intervention in the treatment of mental health disorders. In the last decade, the delivery of ACT has expanded to include various formats (e.g. groups, self-help, online and phone apps). Further research is needed to evaluate whether such delivery formats are a viable extension of ACT. Furthermore, the existing evidence base of certain alternative delivery formats have yet to be reviewed. This thesis portfolio sought to contribute to this area of research. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted to investigate the efficacy of group-based interventions for mental health disorders using ACT. Five databases were systematically searched, manual searches were conducted and corresponding authors were contacted. Studies which used a randomised-controlled design, with adult samples and investigated group-based ACT interventions for mental health disorders were included. A meta-analysis of the included studies was conducted for post-intervention and follow-up data. In the empirical study, an ACT manual was trialled using a randomised-controlled design to investigate the efficacy of using ACT in a guided self-help context. Participants with anxiety/depression were randomly assigned to receive either the ACT intervention or treatment as usual (TAU). Those in the ACT group were posted an ACT manual and received two telephone calls. Outcome measures were analysed after the six-week intervention. Results: From the meta-analysis, 18 randomised-controlled trials were identified, 14 of which focussed on anxiety and depression. The findings suggest that ACT-based groups have a large effect on symptom reduction when compared to non-active comparisons at post-treatment and a moderate effect when compared to non-active comparisons at follow-up. Additionally, there was a small effect in favour of ACT when compared to active treatment controls at post-treatment and equivalent effects when comparing ACT to active treatment controls at follow-up. Similar effects were found when separately comparing the 14 studies which focussed primarily on anxiety and depression. The empirical study revealed that guided self-help was found to be no more effective in improving quality of life or reducing psychological distress than the TAU group. However, such results should be interpreted with caution as the small sample size and high attrition rate indicates that further research with larger samples and follow-up are needed before strong conclusions can be made. Conclusions: The findings of this research indicate that group-based ACT interventions may be a suitable alternative delivery format for service providers in the provision of common mental health disorders, particularly anxiety and depression. Further research is needed before any strong conclusions can be made regarding the efficacy of guided self-help for anxiety/depression.

People who have been diagnosed HIV positive often experience distress and anxiety due to uncertainties pertaining to the implications of an HIV positive status. Research has shown that support groups have always been a way for people to cope with the distress and stressful circumstances associated with health conditions such as HIV. This research investigated the role of face to face support groups in the lives of those living with HIV. The primary focus of this research project is to provide an in-depth exploration of HIV positive individuals‟ experiences of being in a support group. The study aims to explore the positive and negative experiences of being in an HIV support group and aims to gain an understanding of the role support plays in the lives of those living with HIV. A qualitative research design was used to explore the above mentioned aim. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five individuals, (three women and two men) who had experienced HIV support groups. The interviews were transcribed and then analysed according to the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The findings of this study revealed five super-ordinate themes, which revealed not only the positive and negative experiences of being in a support group, but also the challenges that the participants‟ experienced before joining the group. Getting a sense of the participants‟ experience before joining the group allowed the researcher to get a better understanding of how useful or not the support group has been in helping them deal with the challenges of living with HIV. The themes included: „struggling to survive after diagnosis‟, „struggling to cope: adopting negative coping skills‟, „experiencing a turning-point: a will to survive‟, „attending support group: a sweet experience‟ and lastly, „attending support groups: a bitter experience‟. Findings suggest that for these participants, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages of being in a support group. Therefore this study suggests that face to face support groups are a viable and even necessary option for support. These findings support previous research and literature in regards to the importance of social support in the form of support groups in effectively assisting HIV positive people in their journey to adjust to the consequence of living with HIV.

Stoma nurses and their contribution to work with self-help groups of patients. The diploma thesis dealt with the cooperation of stoma nurses with self-help groups of stoma patients in ten regions of the Czech Republic. The aim was to find out if stoma nurses recognize the importance of self-help groups for stoma patients, how their work contributes to self-help groups, if stoma nurses cooperate with self-help groups and if they inform stoma patients about the existence of self-help groups. Another objective was to determine the level of significance stoma patients give to self-help groups. The goals of the work were met. The theoretical section addresses the issues of self-help groups, the history, benefits, risks, stoma nurses and their education. Cooperation between doctors, stoma nurses and the club of patients is also mentioned. The contexts of a stoma - preoperative and postoperative care, nursing care complications, the stoma aids - are involved in the conclusion of the thesis. In the practical section an investigation through qualitative in-depth interviews with stoma nurses on the base of five research questions was carried out. Do stoma nurses consider self-help groups important in the life of a stoma patient? What information do stoma patients ask for when stoma nurses participate in self help groups? What is the cooperation of stoma nurses with self-help groups in individual regions? Do stoma patients take part in activities within self-help groups? Which age groups of patients, according to stoma nurses´ opinion, prefer to work in self-help groups? On the basis of a qualitative research hypotheses were established for a quantitative investigation. This quantitative research survey through questionnaires was conducted in patients with a stoma, also in ten regions. H1: Stoma nurses recognize the importance of self-help groups for patients with a stoma. H2: Stoma nurses cooperate with self-help groups of stoma patients. H3: Stoma nurses inform stoma patients about self-help groups. H4: The biggest benefit of stoma nurses for stoma patients in self-help groups is giving information about the use of aids. H5: Stoma patients consider self-help groups very important. All hypotheses were confirmed. Stoma nurses as well as stoma patients consider self-help groups very important in their lives. Currently stoma nurses cooperate with self-help groups in all regions, they inform new stoma patients about opportunities to take part in self-help groups and do not forget to give advice about aids and stoma nursing, which is the most valuable information for the stoma patient especially at the beginning of treatment. The results were consistent in both investigations and will be offered to individual stoma nurses for improvement of mutual cooperation. And in the regions where self-help groups do not exist yet or are being established, I firmly believe that the results of this thesis will help in self-help groups activities. The research survey has proved that the stoma nurses´ work is meaningful owing to its results and goals. Stoma nurses have a large share of the self-help groups work.