728 research outputs found
Death anxiety and spirituality across the lifespan: factors and relationships amidst COVID-19
Full text linkThis poster won the President Award (2021).
Advisor: Dr. Lesley Jessiman, Department of Psychology
Postpartum Depression: Healing through Archetypes and the Expressive Arts Therapies
Full text linkThis thesis is a literature review investigating treating postpartum depression through the expressive arts therapies and feminine archetypes. The expressive arts therapies explored for treatment are dance, music, art, and drama. Meditation, mindfulness, and writing are also included. The importance of expressive arts therapies in treating postpartum depression is of interest now because of the increasing number of mothers who experience postpartum depression who are looking for alternatives to treatment beyond, or complementing, traditional talk therapy and medication. A search for literature on treating postpartum depression with expressive arts therapies and archetypes was conducted on-line using the Lesley University database. This research provides resources for women who are seeking to overcome postpartum depression in increasingly creative ways. The author will be presenting recommendations for incorporating this creativity in the lives of mothers. Recommendations for incorporating expressive arts therapy interventions for treating postpartum depression will include examples of integrating feminine archetypes for healing
Dance/Movement Therapy as a Potential Supplementary Treatment for Vasovagal Syncope: A Literature Review
Full text linkDance movement therapy has been utilized as an evidenced-based modality in treating numerous medical diagnoses. Despite its established efficacy in diverse medical contexts, little research exists on its application for vasovagal syncope, a condition often intertwined with mental health challenges. Although vasovagal syncope is situated in the body and frequently comorbid with mental health struggles that impact physiological symptoms, treatment options remain solely in the medical model. This literature review seeks to address this lack of research and adequate treatment options by highlighting the body/mind connection and advocating for dance/movement therapy as a potential supplementary treatment for vasovagal syncope. The author used personal experience with this diagnosis as well as Lesley @ll search and Google Scholar to gather research. The research explored is summarized through a description of the diagnosis, the physical and psychological impact, current treatment options, the use of dance/movement therapy with other medical and psychological diagnoses, and polyvagal-informed dance/movement therapy. The therapeutic qualities that emerged from the literature as important to treatment are therapeutic presence, embodied awareness, interoception, resilience, coping, empowerment, self-efficacy, and identity. It was concluded that dance movement therapy has the unique potential to support the body and mind of those struggling with vasovagal syncope supplementary to medical care. However, further research is needed to test this hypothesis
Person-centred advocacy: Some ethical issues
No full textIn the second of two articles on advocacy for people with dementia Mike Fox with Lesley Wilson considers some of the ethical issues arising from advocacy work within a residential home that was due to close
Development of a tool to assess farmers’ mindsets
No full textThe demand for animal-sourced foods (ASFs) is rising, owing to a growing global population and increased per-capita consumption worldwide. The subsequent intensification of ASF production can cause negative impacts on animal welfare, and the environment. Increasing productivity has also failed to provide global food security. Therefore, there is a need to transform future food systems, and farmers are key contributors to this transition due to their direct decision-making powers. However, for efforts to recruit farmers in food systems transformation to be both ethical and effective, it is necessary to understand any potential barriers farmers face in changing their production practices. We developed and validated a tool that uses the COM-B model of behaviour change and the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to assess farmer mindsets in relation to animal welfare and environmental conservation, and their wellbeing: the three interrelated components of the One Welfare framework. Results of our mapping work showed the importance of validating any mappings of qualitative statements from survey or interview data against theoretical models, as erroneous mappings may lead to flawed intervention design, with subsequentially suboptimal impacts. We provide guidelines for other researchers to use this tool, promoting inter- and trans-disciplinary collaboration as we work together towards ethical, sustainable, and successful food systems transformation.Code for: Naydani, C., Jessiman, L., & Jarvis, S. (2025). Development of a research tool leveraging theoretical frameworks to better understand One Health systems thinking among livestock farmers. CABI One Health, 4(1).
https://doi.org/10.1079/cabionehealth.2025.0011unknownunknow
Development of a tool to assess farmers' mindsets
No full textThe demand for animal-sourced foods (ASFs) is rising, owing to a growing global population and increased per-capita consumption worldwide. The subsequent intensification of ASF production can cause negative impacts on animal welfare, and the environment. Increasing productivity has also failed to provide global food security. Therefore, there is a need to transform future food systems, and farmers are key contributors to this transition due to their direct decision-making powers. However, for efforts to recruit farmers in food systems transformation to be both ethical and effective, it is necessary to understand any potential barriers farmers face in changing their production practices. We developed and validated a tool that uses the COM-B model of behaviour change and the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to assess farmer mindsets in relation to animal welfare and environmental conservation, and their wellbeing: the three interrelated components of the One Welfare framework. Results of our mapping work showed the importance of validating any mappings of qualitative statements from survey or interview data against theoretical models, as erroneous mappings may lead to flawed intervention design, with subsequentially suboptimal impacts. We provide guidelines for other researchers to use this tool, promoting inter- and trans-disciplinary collaboration as we work together towards ethical, sustainable, and successful food systems transformation.Dataset for: Naydani, C., Jessiman, L., & Jarvis, S. (2025). Development of a research tool leveraging theoretical frameworks to better understand One Health systems thinking among livestock farmers. CABI One Health, 4(1).
https://doi.org/10.1079/cabionehealth.2025.0011notReviewe
Sacar La Voz: A Manifesto For My Latinx Peers
Full text linkThis thesis was originally concerned with the use of expressive arts therapy with Latinx survivors of domestic violence. As the author carried out the review of literature, she began to encounter fundamental issues in the way that the Latinx community is approached in research. Instead of carrying out a traditional review of literature, the author approached the literature through three main questions: Who is the research about?, Who is the research by?,” and Who is the research for? Reductive generalizations, missing information, and disempowering assumptions were found. These problematic realities are presented as symptomatic of larger systemic issues, which the author connects to her experiences in formal education, as well as to relevant personal and professional experiences. The paper concludes by exhorting mental health counselors and expressive arts therapists to give up the idea of being apolitical because trauma work, especially with those experiencing compounded marginalization, is inherently political
CIPD accreditation approval document
No full textAccepted document for CIPD accreditation of the MSc Human Resource Management Programme.Approved April 2023Programme Commenced September 2023Principal Author: Dr Lesley McLea
The Role of Defense Mechanisms of Israeli Society in Relationship to the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict: From “1948 Repression” to Artistic Sublimation
Full text linkAlthough many researchers have examined the concept of defense mechanisms, almost none have done so from a societal and cultural point of view. The author investigated the following research questions: (1) Which defense mechanisms are used in Israeli society within the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict? What changes, if any, have occurred in these defenses over the years? (2) What are the reasons for the use of these defenses? What are the consequences of the use? (3) How can a transition(s) from the use of a lower-level defense mechanism(s) to a higher-level one(s) occur? What is the role of the arts in this transition(s)? The author reviewed the concept of defense mechanism as coined in 1894 by Sigmund Freud and then developed by later researchers and clinicians. The author also reviewed the ways defense mechanisms are perceived and processed within the realm of expressive therapies. The research paradigm was qualitative and the major investigative method consisted of semistructured interviews of six professionals involved in Israeli–Palestinian relations. The author found that a slow, positive transition has occurred in use of the defenses, namely, a progression from mainly psychotic and early forms of immature defenses such as denial, distortion, and splitting to the use of higher-level expressions of immature forms of defenses, as well as various levels of intermediate defenses, such as projection, repression, rationalization, and isolation. The author suggested practical steps to continue the perceived advancement on the developmental scale of the defenses toward more adaptive and empathic relations between Israeli society and the Palestinians. These steps include creating a more objective media, developing changes within the educational system, generating more symmetric encounters and personal contact between Israelis and Palestinians, while using artistic language in order to increase empathy
Expressive Arts Therapy for Healing Gang Trauma: A Community Engagement
Full text linkMany ex-gang members have experienced trauma. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the benefits of arts-based programs for rehabilitating gang members who have experienced trauma. The literature reviewed explores arts-based programs for those who have been incarcerated and those who have experienced trauma. The author was part of a community engagement with a gang-rehabilitation program in Los Angeles. The author participated in Music, Art and Drama based programs with ex-gang members. This experience further demonstrated the benefits of the expressive arts being used as a tool for treating trauma, especially in a community of people who have participated in gang life
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