Thesis (M.A.)--The Master's College, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-103).

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Carleton University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 359-393). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Auburn University, 2008. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 52-58).

Thesis (Honors)--College of William and Mary, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 28-30). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Proceeding from an autoethnographic representation of the friendship, what I sketch out in this thesis is a ceaseless attempt to testify my involvement in the process of knowing the person and the prolonged course of observing a severe mental illness and to illuminate the peculiarities of such a relational circumstance with the inevitable difficulties in honouring our commitment. The central purpose of this study is to creatively provide a theological space to understand the experience of mental illness and to show how the veracity of past memories and the on-going construction of friendship boundaries reflect the shifting combination of reason and emotion that connects kin over the evolving story of a person's mental illness. I offer fresh insights which draw out the need to understand mental illness as much more than mere suffering and mental health as much more than the absence of symptoms. In reflecting theologically on the peculiarity of the friendship, I make use of Martin Buber's I-Thou and I-It mode of relationships in which my interpretation of a beloved friend's mental illness revolves around focusing on the person rather than the description of the illness. In dealing with the emotional challenges in relation to people with mental illness, I suggest that the Christian practice of lament offers a space to theologically articulate the deep sense of grief, abandonment, and emptiness in the context of mental illness. I also suggest the Christian practice of hospitality as an important resource for the constructive Christian response to mental illness and reflect the fundamental recognition of home in connection to hospitality. Subsequently, I offer a model of friendship which inevitably exposes the limits of commitment and sympathy while affirming the extraordinary power of love which seeks solidarity and sustains the relationship with a person with a severe mental illness.

published_or_final_version / Comparative Literature / Master / Master of Philosophy

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The main aim of this study was to determine the effects on Seriously Mentally Ill (SMI) of implementing a set of highly structured social skills training (SST) modules and to examine some SST adherence factors. The SST modules were designed by Liberman and co-workers to train social and independent living skills to SMIs. Patients' and case managers' interviews were used to assess the efficacy of the SST. A random control group design was used, 56 patients and 7 group leaders participated. This study found that SST modules are viable and clinically practical in a community mental health setting. Internal locus of control, difficulty with adherence, and satisfaction with SST format were significant contributors to SST adherence, which in turn facilitated positive patient outcomes. The results indicate that SMI patients in reasonable remission of their most acute symptoms can indeed adhere to SST and were able to benefit from SST. Issues related to SST dissemination are discussed. The long term goal of this study is to design a clinically efficacious and cost effective comprehensive treatment for SMIs that would enhance the quality care of SMIs.

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