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Myth and Marrow
No full textA poetry collection centered around world mythology and themes of creation, life, death, and the stories that shape identity
Boys Don\u27t Cry: Dance/Movement Therapy as Effective Treatment for Men Who Adhere to Traditional Western Masculinity Ideology
Get PDFTraditional Western masculinity ideology, which is adhered to mostly by white men (Levant & Pryor, 2020, p. 12), is the dominant construct of masculinity in the United States that influences expectations of behavior among males (American Psychological Association, 2018; Levant & Richmond, 2016). Men who adhere strictly to traditional Western masculinity ideology may find their lives negatively affected by their behavior related to socialized gender norms. Seeking help for mental health challenges goes against traditional Western masculinity ideology, as does emotional expression, which makes these men especially vulnerable to the negative effects of poor mental health. Dance/movement therapy is an effective way to counsel men whose adherence to traditional Western masculinity ideology leads to mental health problems because of its use of nonverbal communication; its emphasis on increasing emotional awareness; its humanistic, strength-based approach; its ability to enhance an individual’s self-compassion; and its efficacy as a group therapy modality
Gifts from The Underground: Co-Creating Subaltern Zones of Liminality in Dance/Movement Psychotherapy
No full textUtilizing Liberation Psychology’s assertion that mental health exists in a social and relational dimension as a critical frame, this paper examines how dance/movement psychotherapists can enter therapeutic work from the under as a means of accessing germinal material for creative restoration. Central to this process is the facilitation of liminal spaces in which narratives may be revised. This paper connects the notion of “liminality” found in underground spaces to the “potential” therapeutic space – the affectual in-between where new meaning is created. Vibrating yet unseen, The Underground honors the essence of the fugitive, the deviant, and the transgressive. Kinetic melodies such as movement, vibration, rhythm, and enactive co-creation are the building blocks for interaffective exchange and are present in both The Underground and the potential space. Given that interaffective exchange is where meaning is cultivated, psychotherapeutic work focused on un-relating from dominant cultural paradigms is strengthened through accessing this in-between space where relational components can be re-imagined. Doing so disrupts hierarchical, Western psychotherapeutic paradigms by tapping into shared resonant experience rather than imploring rigid prescriptive interventions. Thus, dance/movement psychotherapy provides a unique portal to the liminal, and the framework of The Underground may allow the dance/movement psychotherapist to access a critical embodiment – one that works relationally, resists pathology rooted in individual blame, and utilizes kinesthetic modalities to encourage neuronal plasticity
Social Studies: The Art Form & Forgotten Gem of the Classroom
Get PDFThe marginalization of Social Studies is not a new phenomenon. As it is slowly being squeezed out of our children’s classrooms, it prompts us to look at the current state of Social Studies in the world and question how we’ve arrived there. This thesis defines Social Studies through multiple perspectives and examines what has influenced it over the years while simultaneously reminding us of both the values and consequences of removing it from the classroom. I propose a solution to our current problem of the decline in Social Studies– the creation of a child-centered, interactive, and inquiry-based curriculum; applying the six following approaches to Social Studies: multiculturalism, interdisciplinary connections, play-based opportunities for students, social issues & civic engagement connections, literature as Social Studies resources, and multi-modal learning opportunities. This thesis also draws forth the ideas of researchers and educators actively working to solve this problem. Finally, reflections from New York City elementary students and my time spent in both a progressive public and charter school helped to develop Wisdom Over the Bridge, a K-6 Curriculum I’ve created to reinstall Social Studies back into the classroom as a core subject
Educators and Epistemic Authority: Reflections on the Messy Relationship Between Teachers’ Voices and Agency
Get PDFIn this oral presentation, I argue that educators are knowers (Epistemic Authorities); however, in the U.S., teachers are not socially recognized as those with epistemically authoritative Voices. By looking at broad (media) and personal (student-teaching) accounts of teaching in this country, we can observe that the voices of teachers are silenced in favor of less qualified stakeholders in education. When inquiring into this problem, the questions we must ask are: what does a teacher’s knowledge look like? Why aren’t teachers’ ways of knowing taken seriously? How might teachers reclaim their voices and epistemic authority? Answering the first question will necessitate a look into the Prospect process, a representative form of teacher knowledge. In answering the second question, we will look at the program, Amplify, as a case study of the hegemonic practices in education that invalidate a teacher’s way of knowing. Finally, in answering the third question, we will consider the possibility of teacher coalitions as part of the solution to our problem
Shining Lights: The Power of Students as Storytellers
Get PDFWeall have stories waiting to be told, and this thesis intends to explore the ways in which we as educators can support children as innate storytellers and nurture a love of storytelling. Storytelling f irst emerges through imaginative play during early childhood, and lends itself to the development of literacy skills they can later use to tell their stories. The continuation of play-based learning for upper elementary students is necessary in maintaining their original voice and imagination alive in their storymaking. Along with oral and written stories, we have to embrace dramatic arts and visual storytelling as mediums for students to create stories and express themselves without barriers. In the writer\u27s workshop, teachers take on the role of story-supporter, where they provide scaffolding for the diverse range of storytellers and build a relationship where they feel wholly seen and heard by not just the teacher, but their peers as well. All of these ideas advocating for children\u27s stories to be honored in the classroom contribute to the bigger picture of fostering a sense of belonging and connectedness, as it is an empowering feeling they can carry with them for the rest of their lives
Exploring The Impact of Chromosome 18 Anomalies on Sibling Mental Health and Family Dynamics: Insights and Implications for Support
No full textWhen one member of a family has a disability it can affect every person within that family; yet, siblings of individuals with disabilities are often overlooked by parents, healthcare professionals, and researchers. Current research suggests that having a sibling with a disability can lead to increased levels of depression and anxiety while simultaneously increasing prosocial behaviors. The present study looked at the effects of having a sibling with a chromosome 18 anomaly (SCA) on the mental health and daily lives of their unaffected siblings through the lens of anxiety and depression. Participants completed the Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS) and were interviewed to assess sibling relationships, parent support, family dynamics, social relationships, mental health, and resources. Findings suggest that SCAs can have both positive and negative impacts on the mental health and overall well-being of their siblings. Individuals with an SCA were found to experience variable levels of separation anxiety, generalized anxiety, panic, social phobia, obsession/compulsions, and depression at a higher degree than those of the general population. Although SCAs favorably shape the individual through increased maturity and responsibility, they are also associated with adverse effects such as decreased parental attention, impacts on the participant\u27s social and school life, and changes in the family schedule and activities. Participants demonstrated a lack of awareness about current resources available to them and expressed a desire for support that is more accessible and ongoing. Taking this into account, the results of this study aim to catalyze subsequent research and the development of tailored resources to support these siblings
Evaluating Natural Language Processing Algorithms for the Phenotype-Guided Genomic Diagnosis Platform, GenomeDiver
No full textHuman Phenotype Ontology (HPO) terms help identify and rank causative genes in exome/genome sequencing for patients with rare disease, yet diagnostic rates remain low. GenomeDiver reanalyzes phenotypes to prioritize features that distinguish variants and diseases. Manual extraction of phenotypic terms from Electronic Health Records is time-consuming, providing opportunities for natural language processing (NLP) to support the diagnostic process. We evaluated NLP system performance for Clinphen and Elastex in extracting HPO terms for use in GenomeDiver. 14 patients with various note types were randomly selected from the NYCKidSeq study. Two annotators independently extracted HPO terms from the 56 total notes. A third investigator adjudicated, creating the gold standard (GS) dataset. Pooled Kappa determined interannotator agreement. NLP’s were evaluated by comparing each system’s extracted HPO terms to the GS, obtaining precision, recall and F1. GS, Clinphen, and Elastex averaged identifying 6.96, 5.66, and 14.9 HPO terms per note, respectively, for a total of 239, 183, and 337 unique HPO terms across all notes. Interannotator agreement for GS = 0.67. Elastex’s recall was higher (0.69 vs. 0.44), while Clinphen’s precision was higher (0.64 vs 0.55). ClinPhen demonstrated higher precision, allowing more curated terms to be sent back to clinicians through GenomeDiver. Yet systems with higher recall are easier for providers to identify true positives and discard false positives from the list of phenotypic terms generated by NLP evaluation. Awareness of the limitations of NLP systems may optimize the utility of automated HPO extraction for the purposes of GenomeDiver