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Defense Mechanisms as Diagnostic Criteria for Personality Disorders: A Review
No full textDefense mechanisms are psychological processes that individuals automatically and unconsciously employ to protect themselves from awareness of anxiety, internal stress, and external stress. Defense mechanisms play an integral role in psychoanalytic understanding of personality, though they are not currently included in the diagnostic criteria for personality disorders as defined by the current Diagnostic and Statistics Manual, the DSM-5-TR. The purpose of this literature review is to address several questions in attempts to determine if the DSM should devote a task group to evaluate the inclusion of defense mechanisms as a diagnostic addition for personality disorders. This review found important connections between specific personality disorders and defense mechanisms; however, current shifts towards a dimensional paradigm of diagnosing personality disorders presents challenges in drawing direct links between defenses and specific personality disorders, and for this reason defense mechanisms may initially be better utilized as informing levels of personality organization. In this regard, there are clear connections between immature defense use and levels of personality pathology. The inclusion of a hierarchy of defenses in the AMPD would allow for further facilitation of research on the relationship between defensive adaptiveness and levels of personality pathology
Building Media Literacy in Adolescence: A Cognitive Behavioral Clinician\u27s Manual to Combat Misinformation and Misdiagnosis During Sessions
Full text linkThis paper examines the role of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in countering misinformation that youth encounter on social media and other informal sources, with the goal of creating a manual for mental health clinicians. The use of CBT by clinicians working with adolescents to combat the issue of misinformation and misdiagnosis has received little attention in the literature. Mental health clinicians’ knowledge of media literacy as a psychological construct can foster an effective treatment style by building upon the foundation of well-established theory and practice, such as CBT. CBT is a multifaceted treatment that can help guide mental health clinicians in helping adolescents to critically assess and reframe inaccurate beliefs, particularly around mental health diagnoses, by teaching them to evaluate sources, question cognitive distortions, and develop stronger media literacy skills. By fostering critical thinking and self-awareness, culturally informed CBT can support adolescents in navigating and combating false information that may otherwise negatively impact their mental health. Ultimately, synthesizing cognitive behavioral therapy with the relevant cultural impacts of media literacy on youth populations is a valuable tool for supporting clinicians who seek guidance in an area that is both inundated with information yet lacking in empirical and formalized approaches
Elemental Analysis of Sediments in Johnson County, Kansas: Applications in Fluvial Suspended Sediment Tracing
No full textThis exploratory study investigates whether bulk elemental analysis of sediment samples using inductively coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) can reveal chemical signatures that identify anthropogenic contributions to sedimentation and increased fluvial suspended sediment loads, and whether these contribution sources can be identified. Human activity, urbanization, and changes in land use increase erosion, resulting in higher-than-natural suspended sediments (SS) in waterways and increasing sedimentation in reservoirs across the state of Kansas. These threats to freshwater storage capacity are especially urgent given the projected rise in freshwater demand in the Great Plains region driven by climate change. Understanding the origin of anthropogenic SS loads allows for implementation of more effective mitigation strategies. Therefore, several SS tracing methods have been developed, including “sediment fingerprinting” (using distinct chemical tracers to source SS); the basis of this study.
ICP-MS was used to determine the elemental constituents and concentrations of unknown soil samples across Johnson County, Kansas. These samples were sourced from road dust, construction site soil, vegetated areas, streambanks, and in-stream sediment traps from watersheds with urban land cover ranging from 15% to 90%. The ICP-MS analysis was performed blind using internal standard normalization, mass scaling, and certified reference materials to quantify elemental concentrations. Elevated levels of elements such as tungsten (W), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), and lead (Pb) were found in road dust samples, while elements like aluminum (Al) and rubidium (Rb) were depleted, indicating distinct anthropogenic fingerprints compared to other sediment sources. The observed concentration patterns provide insight into suspended sediment origin, especially in the case of road-runoff, without the use of statistical modelling. The distinct characteristic patterns from this study can be used in future modeling and statistical analysis to assist in the apportionment of sediment sources, support tailored mitigation efforts and targeted best management practices (BMPs), and ultimately help to reduce source sediment pollution and preserve freshwater storage capacity in the region
Playing Catch Up: A Brief Look into Modern Internet Culture and Its Impact on Adolescent Male Development
No full textThis doctoral paper argues that the internet, particularly the manosphere, poses three significant threats to the development of adolescent males in the U.S.: the influence of misogynistic online personalities, the normalization of risky online behavior, and the spread of right-wing misinformation. The paper highlights the role of the COVID-19 pandemic in exacerbating these issues due to increased internet usage. Furthermore, it proposes a research study to investigate the link between exposure to online misogynistic content and aggressive behavior in schools, emphasizing the unique challenges of studying adolescents and their online culture. Finally, the paper stresses the urgent need for updated research and treatment approaches to address these emerging problems
Sex Offense-Specific Relational Therapy: Exploring Power, Connection, and Boundaries
No full textIn Colorado, sex offense-specific treatment often takes a cognitive-behavioral therapeutic approach that focuses on relapse prevention and managing risk of re-offense. However, sexual offenses are, arguably, relational transgressions. Here, I suggest that incorporating relational therapy into sex offense-specific treatment will enhance the work being done within the standards and guidelines of the Sex Offender Management Board, Colorado’s governing body for the treatment and evaluation of individuals convicted of sexual offenses. Two case examples are provided to explore the use of power, connection, and boundaries within therapy and to highlight the positive outcomes experienced by both patients. Ultimately, it will be shown that relational therapy does not have to diverge from the prescribed goals of sex offense-specific treatment and can, in fact, bolster a patient’s success
From Solitude to Strength: Understanding an International Student’s Social Isolation and Resiliency During the COVID-19 Pandemic
No full textThis autoethnographic study explores the lived experience of an international doctoral student from India who navigated graduate education remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory as a guiding framework, the study examines how academic disruption, social isolation, immigration uncertainty, and cultural dislocation shaped the student’s emotional well-being, identity, and resilience. Challenges such as time zone difference, limited institutional support, and rising xenophobia compounded the psychological toll of studying abroad from a distance. Despite these barriers, the student employed both emotion-focused and problem-focused coping strategies -including mindfulness, virtual peer support, academic adaptations, and cultural integration - to manage stress and maintain motivation. Resilience emerged as a dynamic process influenced by internal strengths and the presence (or absence) of responsive institutional systems. The findings underscore the importance of culturally competent mental health resources, flexible academic policies, and empathetic faculty engagement in supporting international students during global crises. This study contributes to the growing literature on transnational student experiences and calls for intersectional, inclusive strategies at both university and policy levels to better address the evolving needs of international students
How Insider-Led Processes Lead to Localization: The Case of Digital Technology and Humanitarian Protection
No full textThe humanitarian sector has been increasingly concerned with localizing its activities—devolving capacity, power, and decision-making authority to the local communities and organizations that are the frequent recipients of its assistance. However, the mere “outsider-led” provision of assistance to local actors is not itself sufficient to empower them. In- stead, we argue that “insider-led,” locally initiated processes can be an effective approach to localization. We identify how such shifts can occur and distinguish three different configurations of “insider-led” processes: Autonomous Adopters, Balanced Partners, and Exporting Entrepreneurs. We examine “insider-led” localization in the context of the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for civilian protection in humanitarian settings. The adoption of these technologies can generate localization if the structural power dynamics between global and local actors also shift to elevate locals. To illustrate these localization processes, we draw on original interviews and examples involving technology in the domain of civilian protection from the White Helmets in Syria and the Indigenous Guards in Colombia and Ecuador. The cases indicate that three conditions are important for the success of technology’s ability to generate “insider-led” localization: a degree of pre-existing capacity, social capital among local actors innovating ICTs for protection, and ties to outsiders. Our accounting of the mechanisms of “insider-led” processes shows how future localization efforts can sustainably rebalance relationships between global humanitarians and local actors
Diabetes and Hypertension Frequencies and Trends in the Health Districts of Sololá
No full textThis report was prepared by the students, Graduate Teaching Assistants, and instructor of “The Social Determination of Health” class taught in the fall of 2025 at the University of Denver. The report was prepared for Dr. Luis Pablo Méndez, of the Vice Ministry of Health Regulation, Surveillance and Control, of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance of Guatemala. The work used the following guiding question: How can available data about service production can be used to inform the planning process for the implementation of the Global Hearts Initiative’s HEARTS technical package in the Distrito de Redes Integradas de Salud (DRISS) de Sololá. The Global Hearts Initiative was established by the World Health Organization and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2016 to aid governments in improving the prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases, and the HEARTS technical package has completed pilot implementation in some territories of Guatemala. The report focused on Diabetes and Hypertension in 2023 and 2024, and presents frequencies and trends in consultations for those diseases to public health care facilities in each of the health districts that were part of the DRISS de Sololá, as well as an estimation of the contact prevalence for the two diseases.
Este informe fue preparado por los estudiantes, los asistentes de cátedra y el instructor de la clase La determinación social de la salud impartida en el otoño de 2025 en la Universidad de Denver. El informe fue preparado para el Dr. Luis Pablo Méndez, del Viceministerio de Regulación, Vigilancia y Control de la Salud, del Ministerio de Salud Pública y Asistencia Social de Guatemala. El trabajo utilizó la siguiente pregunta guía: ¿Cómo se pueden utilizar los datos disponibles sobre la producción de servicios para informar el proceso de planificación para la implementación de la Iniciativa Global HEARTS en el Distrito de Redes Integradas de Salud (DRISS) de Sololá? La Iniciativa Global Hearts1 fue establecida por la Organización Mundial de la Salud y los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades de los Estados Unidos en 2016 para ayudar a los gobiernos a mejorar la prevención y el control de las enfermedades cardiovasculares
Symposium Introduction: Interrogating the Hidden Curriculum: Implications for Formation of Professional Identity
No full textThis article provides an introduction to the Symposium, which was held at the University of Denver\u27s Sturm College of Law on September 22 - 23, 2023. The Symposium brought together law professors who have taken up the call in the Carnegie Report and the ABA Accreditation requirement that we make broad and integrated effort to provide opportunities for law students to form their professional identities as future attorneys while they are in law school. The law professors invited to participate in the Symposium have worked and written in the area of professional identity for lawyers for many years, and are among the experts in the field. This article introduces the topic of the Symposium, and each of the eight articles published in this Symposium issue, which was published in a full volume of the Journal of Law Teaching & Learning
Consumer Protection and the Illusory Promise of the Unconsciounability Defense
No full textThe United States Supreme Court’s notorious decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion seems to display impatience with the idea of an unconscionability defense to the enforcement of a contract. At the core of Justice Antonin Scalia’s opinion, however, was not an argument against the idea of unconscionability per se, but an argument against using “unconscionability” as a cover for a broader public policy agenda. This interpretation is confirmed by the Court’s little-known decision in Marmet Health Care Ctr., Inc. v. Brown, handed down the term after Concepcion was decided. Plaintiffs were allowed to move forward in Marmet because the Court acknowledged they might have an authentic unconscionability defense separate from their public policy defense.
Despite Concepcion’s undeniably negative impact on consumer rights, the little-known Concepcion-Marmet sequence contains a crucial lesson for progressive contract scholars today. The distinction between public policy and unconscionability defenses in contract is not just nitpicking; far from it. In a legal world dominated by online clickwrap and wildly asymmetrical bargaining power, a central question for contract law today is what sorts of defenses can stop boilerplate from eviscerating consumers’ rights? Many judges and law professors – and indeed the American Law Institute in its new Restatement of Consumer Contracts – have proposed “the unconscionability defense” as the best answer. But as we illustrate in this essay, that answer will be a catastrophe for consumers, just as it was in Concepcion. The conventional justification of unconscionability requires a showing of shocking injustice for the litigants before the court, and is thus highly individualized. The problems with a wide array of boilerplate contracts are not the harshness or oppressiveness suffered by single litigants, and those subject to their terms cannot depend on individual litigation or arbitration. Courts’ best reasons for declining to enforce the various waivers, disclaimers, and limitations that repeat-player actors force on consumers today turn on public welfare and market forces. For centuries, courts have enjoyed substantial if measured competency to regulate contracts with such goals in mind – that is what “public policy” defenses are about. Calling these “unconscionability” arguments, we argue, is both a doctrinal error and a strategic blunder, because it obscures rather than highlights the power inherent in our common law courts to structure the kinds of obligations to one another the law is willing to enforce