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Hypocrisy in Higher Education: Racism and Transphobia as Barriers and Harm in Mental Health
Get PDFMental health involves acts of naming and noticing, thus the hypocrisy of harm within mental health programs is explored and discussed through interpersonal and structural means. In a space that is meant for safety and care, inaccessibility, pejorative terminology, pathologizing identity, and exclusionary tactics are riddled throughout the layers of the mental health field. From campus, to literature, to different forms of therapy racism and transphobia work against non-dominant groups through interlocking forms of oppression. The centering of Western, White ideology is harmful to students in these programs, as well as the clients of BIPOC, QTBIPOC, and trans* communities. Mental health professionals are unequipped to work with these demographics, as there is much less research and clinical practices to support them. By not attending to these issues, higher education and its research is complicate in cyclical racial and transphobic harm. Without acknowledging said issues and working towards more expansive forms of care, mental health professionals will continue to harm their clients
Dance/Movement Therapy as a Transdisciplinary Approach to Treating Trauma
Get PDFThis thesis considers dance/movement therapy as a transdisciplinary approach to treating trauma in the body. It explains what the functions of the brain are, how trauma negatively affects it, and how posttraumatic stress disorder is expressed in both the body and the brain. It discusses multidisplinary approaches, it shows how these approaches leverage the body in treating trauma. Moreover, it demonstrates the benefits and advantages of a dance/movement therapist in supporting individuals who have experienced traumatic events. To achieve these goals, this thesis discusses research by neuroscientists, such as Damassio (1999), who maintain that the body and mind directly affect each other. This thesis reviews the work of Gray (2017), with polyvagal theory. It discusses sixteen studies on occupational therapists’ treatment of trauma (Edgelow et al, 2020). These studies emphasize occupational therapists need someone with a mental health background to assist with traumatized individuals’ treatments. Through a review of the literature, this thesis will discuss dance/movement therapy as a transdisciplinary approach to treating trauma
Examining Developmental and Sociological Effects of Restrictive Behavioral Sanctions on College Students
Get PDFWith the rising costs and social implications of attending higher education, the importance of student success and degree completion has taken on even more weight in recent years. Something that can derail these important elements is the implementation of a restrictive sanction due to the impact they have on a student’s personal and social development. While the success rate of sanctioned K-12 students continues to be explored by many researchers, the population of traditional college students who are severely sanctioned has not been well represented in the literature. This study explores the lived experiences of college students issued a restrictive sanction due to their behaviors, instead of those who are “failing out” of college. Using a phenomenological method, five research participants completed a survey and took part in a semi-structured interview to provide insights into their experience with these sanctions. These participants, ranging from current students to recent graduates, faced a variety of sanctions across multiple institutions. This analysis resulted in themes such as student ostracization from the institution, perceived labeling from administration, a retreat to individual or small group reliance, reassessing priorities, and a change toward having a resigned or pessimistic view of their circumstances. Additionally, a theme outside of the student experience that arose was the belief that higher education institutions need to reconsider their sanctioning practices to a more individualistic response per each student. Recommendations from this study include institutions implementing a mentor to assist and accompany students on their restrictive sanction journey to enhance reflection
Embodied Digital Storytelling with Ancestral Legacy
Get PDFEmbodied Digital Storytelling with Ancestral Legacy is a study of one\u27s ancestral legacy with a diverse group of professional dancers who were asked to engage in an embodied inquiry. Research questions were: What is the experience of creating embodied digital storytelling when exploring one’s ancestral legacy? What can be learned from identity, sense of belonging, and resilience through this process? The study included an interview about each dancer\u27s ancestral story, the creation of embodied digital storytelling (EDS), a final interview, and a group member checking meeting for the purpose of confirming the transcripts and findings. This meeting also served as a space to watch the EDS films and for an open group discussion where the participants expressed their thoughts of the method and shared their experience. The process of creating an EDS included the dancers creating a choreography through a movement-based gestalt dialogue with the ancestor of their choice. After that, the dancer recorded a dance in a place that supported their connection to their ancestor. The researcher then helped the dancer edit the film, and the dancer created a narrative to go with what they saw in the film. The result of this exploration of ancestral legacy through storytelling and dance resulted in the themes: transgenerational trauma and resilience; place attachment, home, and culture; embodiment with ancestral repair and ancestral support; identity through one\u27s ancestral artifacts and name. All seven participants felt that the EDS process helped them connect to ancestors while engaging with strong emotions and unlocking their creativity. This research provides a model for art-based research using embodied digital storytelling. Furthermore, this research was conducted during the COVID 19 pandemic and had some insights in finding resilience during stressful times
Thoughts, Feelings, Actions; the Brevity of Being: A Haiku Method
Get PDFThe difficulties of delivering clinical services during the pandemic showed that there was a need for interventions that were able to be adapted to virtual sessions. In addition, lack of training and expertise regarding specialized therapies require modern day clinicians to be able to synergize current theory with the reality of the mental health landscape. In this study, 19 individuals participated in a psychoeducation group that taught a therapeutic thought mapping technique that was then adapted towards the creation of a haiku. It was noticed that participants were able to learn a psychological concept, apply it towards their life, create an artwork reflecting the content of the thought map, and share the artwork with each other in the course of 45 minutes. This study provides support for the usage of haiku regarding anxiety and depression based treatment programs. The applications of utilizing haiku as a therapeutic aid are wide, and the accessibility of the art form is high. The training required to create haiku is minimal is cost effective to use in group settings. Possible research for haiku, such as usage as an adjunct with other highly structured therapeutic models and as a healing agent overall are recommended for the future. In addition, research with the utilization of additional art forms as a supplement to structured therapy should be considered
Interoception and Expressive Writing in Expressive Arts Therapies: A Trauma-informed Approach – Literature Review
Get PDFJournal writing is a popular intervention to bring into therapeutic work with groups and individual clients, particularly within applications of expressive arts therapies. Yet often participants become resistant when encouraged to explore more challenging episodes of their lives through writing, even though studies have shown that excavating these events is precisely what benefits health and wellbeing through expressive writing applications. This literature review provides a deeper understanding of the role of interoception and mindful, contemplative movement on unlocking the stories our bodies hold. An arts-based, autoethnographic practice informed the selection of literature. This paper investigates the theoretical connections to similar therapeutic orientations such as narrative therapy; applications such as writing the trauma narrative; how interoceptive awareness aids in accessing implicit memory. Findings in the literature also identify how integrating interoceptive training can aid in emotional regulation and in titrating and tolerating discomfort when engaged in evidence-based expressive writing protocols toward healing outcomes. A review of existing applications within expressive arts therapies reveals many natural entry points for bringing the language of the body – sensory awareness – into cognition to support the expressive writing process
The Use of Drama Therapeutic Play and Unconditional Positive Regard in Fostering Self-Actualization in Unhoused Individuals
Get PDFChildhood instability and the associated trauma are risk factors for homelessness, a circumstance which is perilous and traumatizing in itself. In order to survive such dangerous situations, unhoused individuals can develop protective behaviors to keep others away, which makes building and maintaining interpersonal relationships difficult. Beyond this, aspects of childhood instability can negatively affect socialization and interpersonal skills; for example, attachment theory suggests that attachment-based trauma (resulting from an insecure relationship with a caregiver) can negatively impact self-regulation and social skills into adulthood. This literature review seeks to better understand how two specific approaches to treatment, person-centered therapy and drama therapy, may be especially helpful to unhoused individuals who struggle with interpersonal relations. Person-centered therapy focuses on the therapeutic relationship, as well as faith in the client and their experience. Drama therapy utilizes theatrical techniques to foster therapeutic change, with play being a core aspect of the modality. The playfulness of drama therapy, coupled with the trust and empathetic understanding of person-centered therapy, as well as the relational aspects of both approaches, may be especially helpful in bolstering social skills and navigating difficult behaviors; thereby being an especially effective treatment for unhoused individuals, who may struggle to seek treatment and maintain social connections
Exposure to Mindfulness Basics Through Existing Habits: A Brief 5-Week Curriculum for Exercisers
Get PDFThis thesis explores the mind-body connection inherent in both physical exercise and mindfulness and how habit-formation can play a key role in introducing regular exercisers to the benefits of mindful practice. New habits are established when they are linked to established daily routines through small modifications to existing patterns of behavior, but this runs counter to how traditional mindfulness practice is typically taught. By providing exercisers with a limited time-commitment and fully integrated opportunity to learn and practice both formal and informal practice as part of weekly exercise, that practice is more likely to be durable. The approach presented here is a brief, five-week, introductory mindfulness curriculum called Mind-PLANK, designed for exercisers, and delivered as an adjunct to fitness class as an extension of post-workout recovery. The focus and intention of the curriculum is to de-mystify mindfulness by teaching some basic tools and tenets of practice so that they may be more easily incorporated as part of an overall healthy lifestyle
Yoga and Reiki as Self-Care Interventions for Professional Nurses: A Weekend Retreat
Get PDFNurses provide compassionate care to their patients and often fail to turn that compassion inwards. Nurses are experiencing unprecedented levels of stress in the workplace related to the COVID-19 pandemic and research shows that workplace stress has a negative impact on both nurses and the patients they care for. The wellness of the nursing force is a public health priority. This paper describes the workplace challenges facing nurses today, and the associated impact on nurses and patients is supported with research. Research is offered supporting self-care and self-compassion as vital components to wellness, enhanced emotional resilience, and prevention of burnout and compassion fatigue among nurses. The research examined in this paper investigates the impact and efficacy of yoga and Reiki as self-care interventions to help nurses cope with the demands of the current health care environment and foster self-compassion. The research shows a need for nurses to engage in self-care for all the reasons stated. What was missing from the literature reviewed was how to engage nurses to invest in their self-care. A creative thesis follows the rationale paper and offers a yoga and Reiki retreat for nurses as a vehicle to engage nurses in self-care. The retreat creates a space for cultivating self-compassion and offers nurses an immersion into yoga and Reiki on an experiential level
Examining CBT with Music as an Early Psychosis Intervention: A Critical Review of the Literature
Get PDFThis critical literature review investigates the use of music therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy-based treatments for use in early psychosis intervention with adolescents and young adults. It examines the format of cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis (CBTp), music therapy, and cognitive behavioral music therapy (CBMT) treatments and the effectiveness of the treatments in reducing symptoms of psychosis. The literature reviewed consists of peer-reviewed journals, books, essays, and research studies that address the theory, structure, application, and outcomes of treatment for psychosis in first-episode cases. The literature is organized by introducing the presentation of first-episode psychosis, then by review of CBTp, music therapy, and CBMT treatments. The discussion addresses the strengths and weaknesses of the literature and calls for further research to expand the potential for a composite early intervention CBMT treatment for psychosis in first-episode patients