<p> This study explored the possibility that social connection is one element that can contribute to persistence in a simple meditation exercise using Beary, Benson, and Klemchuk&rsquo;s relaxation response exercise with the addition of a social element. Participants were 82 females, ages 30 to 65, with English as a first language, naive (less than 2 months experience) to meditation, who were drawn from the general population. They were screened to exclude hospitalized individuals and those who have been treated for a psychological condition within the last three years. Participants were randomized to two groups. Each group received written instructions, with the control group receiving generic instructions only and the experimental group receiving the same instructions with the addition of a social element. It was expected that the group receiving instructions with a social element would show greater persistence (i.e., participate more often in the exercise and continue to use the exercise over a longer time span) at a minimum p value of .05 and with at least a small effect size. It was expected that attachment type would moderate persistence, so attachment type was measured. The persistence data were not normally distributed, so a nonparametric equivalent to a <i> t</i> test, a Mann-Whitney <i>U,</i> was used to compare the persistence means for the experimental group and the control group. No significant effect was found. The sample obtained had too few individuals by attachment type per group to permit analysis of moderating effects of attachment type.</p>

<p> This hermeneutic and alchemical hermeneutic dissertation reviews Jungian literature related to body-based methods of practicing depth psychotherapy to address the problem of extremely limited body-based Jungian psychotherapeutic modalities. It goes on to offer explanations of the various psychological aspects of four of the five Elements within Chinese medicine. It then offers four sequences of Five Element Archetypal Qigong (FEAQ) related to the four Elements previously addressed: Wood, Fire, Metal and Water. It concludes with a discussion of findings and recommendations for future research and practice. Essentially, this dissertation uses the psychological concepts and insights contained in Chinese medicine to show how they can be applied to Jungian psychotherapy through the moving meditation of FEAQ. Body-based psychotherapies constitute a minuscule fraction of the literature and practice modalities within Jungian psychotherapy. This dissertation begins the process of increasing the validity and prevalence of body-based Jungian psychotherapy. It also implies the need for further research on the applicability of Chinese medical concepts to contemporary Western body oriented psychotherapies. </p>

<p> When a child has a terminal diagnosis, the intervention of legacy building is offered as a standard of care in all of the 77 teaching children&rsquo;s hospitals in the United States. Legacy building is a group of activities designed to create tangible items, such as hand and foot prints, locks of hair, or scrapbooks, to promote meaning making for dying individuals, while also providing support to family and friends. Nevertheless, research has yet to identify the benefits of such interventions for the surviving immediate family. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of legacy building interventions on bereaved parents and siblings. Specifically, how do legacy building interventions facilitated by healthcare professionals impact bereavement for the immediate family? A qualitative thematic analysis approach was taken to address the research question. </p><p> A total of 16 participants representing 8 families, consisting of 11 parents and 5 siblings participated in semistructured interviews. Thematic analysis was utilized and developed into 4 major parent themes emerged: (a) Introduction of legacy building, (b) Experience of legacy building items, (c) Psycho-social care, and (d) Maintaining connection. Additionally, 4 major sibling themes emerged which are (a) Experiences with legacy building items, (b) Sibling grief, (c) Psycho-social care, and (d) Maintaining connection. Implications for clinical practice will be discussed as well as future research.</p>

<p> Psychology graduate trainees are exposed to a variety of stressors during their education, such as costly tuition, long hours of study, and demanding clinical work. There is a need for graduate institutions to help trainees build self-care skills; however, there is little agreement about the best approach for boosting these skills. The present study proposes that self-care training may benefit from helping students to build self-compassion (an attitude of warmth directed inward). To explore the possibility that self-compassion promotes student wellbeing, a sample of 122 mental health trainees was recruited from a large Midwestern training institution. Most participants were female (82.8%) and the mean age was 30.2 years. The sample was ethnically diverse. Over half identified as Caucasian (56.6%), with the reminder identifying as African American, Latino/a, Asian, Filipino, or American Indian or Alaska Native. All participants completed measures of three variables: self-compassion, self-care behavior, and perceived stress. The results showed that students with greater levels of self-compassion experience significantly lower levels of perceived stress (r = -.57, p &lt; .001) and engaged in significantly more self-care behavior (r = .64, p &lt; .001). Furthermore, self-care behavior partially mediated the effect of self-compassion on perceived stress, and this partial mediation effect was statistically significant (z = -3.42, p &lt; .001). These findings indicate that greater self-compassion is associated with more self-care behavior, which, in turn, is associated with reduced stress levels. Therefore, graduate institutions that wish to promote student wellbeing can benefit from teaching students ways to build self-compassion.</p>

<p>Echo and Narcissus is one of the most famous myths in Western culture. This thesis explores the personal and archetypal significance of the character Echo. Topics addressed are early childhood trauma, affect regulation, borderline personality disorder, the relationship between self and other, and the theory of dialectics. Texts are examined from psychoanalysis, analytical psychology, existential philosophy, interpersonal neurobiology, and behavioral psychology. Using a hermeneutic approach to compare these texts, this paper tracks the archetypal dynamic of Echo and Narcissus over time and across a variety of disciplines. By looking for traces of Echo and Narcissus in multiple contexts, this thesis offers a fresh take on a familiar story. </p>

<p> The literature to date on deception in psychotherapy is lacking in several areas, particularly in the exploration of therapists&rsquo; perceptions of being deceived in session. The current study explored the perceived frequency of client deception, therapists&rsquo; deception cue reliance, the content of perceived deception, detection confidence, perceived motivation to deceive, and the effect of the lie on several areas of treatment. Participants included psychologists who were generally representative of the population of practicing psychologists in the United States. Results indicated therapists significantly underestimate the frequency of client deception, relied on verbal information, and were generally confident in their detection ability. Results were mixed regarding the therapists&rsquo; understanding of their clients&rsquo; motivation for deception, but revealed the majority of therapists believed the lie negatively affected the therapeutic relationship. The current study&rsquo;s limitations are explored as well as suggestions for future research to further the literature on deception in psychotherapy.</p>

<p> The purpose of this research study was to determine the effects of Fostering Resilience&trade; (FR), a new integrative relapse prevention group protocol for improving relapse risk, internalized shame, and psychological well-being in adults with substance use disorders (SUD). This study also sought to identify any relationship among relapse risk, internalized shame, and psychological well-being. It is the first study to investigate the new FR manualized program model compared to treatment as usual (TAU). The FR model was created based upon direct client experience, the supposition of the intrinsic role shame plays in SUD, and the corresponding belief in the essential value of implementing shame reduction techniques for improving treatment outcomes. Participants were 43 adults with SUD (19 FR and 24 TAU) seeking outpatient treatment. All participants received the 8-week intensive outpatient (IOP) treatment, with the FR group receiving 16 sessions of the manualized FR relapse prevention group protocol in lieu of other TAU group options. Assessments were administered pre and post-intervention. </p><p> Results indicated that the FR treatment group produced a significant reduction in relapse risk (<i>p</i> = .002, <i>ES</i> = .825), shame (<i>p</i> = .004, <i>ES</i> = .763), and psychological well-being (<i>p</i> = .008, <i>ES</i> = .679) from baseline to post-intervention, while the TAU comparison group produced a non-significant improvement in relapse risk (<i>p</i> = .209, <i> ES</i> = .264), shame (<i>p</i> = 055, <i>ES</i> = .409) and psychological well-being (<i>p</i> = .088, <i> ES</i> = .456). Correlation results indicated highly significant correlations between all the dependent variables. All correlations dropped post-intervention, although remained significant. The strongest relationship was found between shame and relapse risk at baseline: ALL (<i>n</i> = 43, <i> r</i> = .880), FR <i>n</i> = 19, <i>r</i> = .869), TAU <i>n</i> = 24, <i>r</i> = .908). This preliminary study establishes support for the new FR model as a beneficial treatment for significantly improving relapse risk, internalized shame, and psychological well-being in adults with SUD. It also provides important knowledge and insight regarding the critical nature of shame and its role relative to relapse risk and psychological well-being in those with SUD.</p><p>

<p> Research on the negative impact of divorce on children&rsquo;s well-being is extensive and indicates that, on average, children from divorced families suffer from more adjustment difficulties than those whose families remained intact. However, few studies have been done on the specific long-term effects on individuals who experienced parental divorce when they were particularly young. Are there maladaptive behaviors, or other implications for adult adjustment? This study explores the adaptive functioning of a college population of young adults whose parents divorced between the ages of two and seven. Participants completed questionnaires on demographic information, current level of functioning, parental marital status, and survey items taken from reliable measures. The responses of participants who were between the ages of two and seven during time of divorce were compared to the responses of two control groups: individuals whose parents divorced after the age of seven, and individuals whose families remained intact. Results indicated that marital status grouping (early divorce, later divorce, or intact family) did have a significant effect on certain aspects of adaptive functioning. Adult children of early childhood divorce indicated lower formal educational attainment, lower financial status, more reports of mental health diagnosis, higher number of transitory adult intimate relationships, less secure attachment to father, lower self-esteem, and greater learned helplessness than both later childhood divorce and intact family participants. The developmental timeframe in which divorce occurs plays a key role in young adult adaptive functioning.</p><p>

<p> This thesis seeks to explore the association between ego threat and coping in terms of cognitive strategies and behavioral tendencies. Moreover, the current study is also intended to use attachment dimensions as an underlying mechanism to understand the impact of ego threat on coping. Within the internal working models of attachment theory, the current study seeks to examine two major questions: (1) what strategies individuals use to cope with ego threatening events: and (2) how attachment associates with coping strategies during various ego-threats conditions? The results had a significant impact when individuals were presented with ego threat scenarios suggest that individuals are most likely to use state coping of emotion focused disengagement followed closely by state coping disengagement while experiencing an ego-threat condition. However, all state coping strategies (e.g., state coping engagement, state coping disengagement, state coping problem focused engagement, state coping emotion focused engagement, state coping problem focused disengagement, and state coping emotion focused disengagement) had a significant impact when individuals were presented with ego-threat scenarios. The results of association between attachment dimensions and state coping strategies across ego-threat conditions were not significant. Further this study implies ego-threat conditions make it more likely for individuals to use dysfunctional coping strategies such as state coping disengagement and emotion focused disengagement. Overall, the study has implications for enhancing our understanding of internal working models of attachment and the tendency for ego-threat to impact coping strategies, emphasizes the potency of ego-threatening events as they impact self-view and efficacy of coping solutions.</p><p>

<p> This thesis explores the evolution of consciousness through the lens of the relationship between masculine and feminine from the Neolithic era to the present and the impact on pregnancy and birth within the current patriarchy. Using heuristic and hermeneutic methodologies, the author"s experience through her pregnancy is explored as an example of the often dysfunctional and disempowering interplay between masculine and feminine in the modern era. The author specifies possible avenues of healing, integration, and awakening into a new state of consciousness. In an overarching traumatized collective culture that is characterized by the patriarchal system, how does the current medical model of childbirth, governed by the same rules of the patriarchal system in which it was born, distort the feminine experience? What is the impact of being pregnant and having a baby within this cultural paradigm on humanity at large as well as on individuals including mothers and babies? </p><p>