Reflective Network Therapy (RNT) is a psychoanalytical and systemically-informed therapy approach providing early intervention in the classroom for preschool children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorder, as well as those with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. While research has been conducted to assess RNT's…

Continuous performance tests (CPTs) are frequently used to measure attention and impulsivity in children and adults during psychological and neuropsychological evaluations, often to inform differential diagnosis of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Despite the widespread clinical use of CPTs, the majority of research on their…

Throughout history, disability has been used as a way to justify and maintain inequalities. These inequalities are based on more than negative attitudes about disabled people; they are rooted in the epistemological system of ableism where certain bodyminds are legitimated as the norm. This dissertation explores how ableism is maintained,…

The paradigm shift in healthcare from "sick care" to a disease prevention model is driven by the need to address health inequities. The new paradigm requires a change from the current "distant yet concerned" attitude to patient-relationship-centered approaches. Two questions drive this study: (a) How we can prepare physicians…

Integrated Primary and Behavioral Healthcare (IPBH) programs have been investigated extensively in community settings, but few studies have included the effect of such programs on college campuses. Studies that have examined the effects of IPBH in community settings have indicated that integrated care is more effective than primary care…

Adolescent mental health is a significant concern for school social workers. School social workers bridge mental health needs and available resources with school professionals. The purpose of this mixed-methods participatory action research was to examine how a charter school with limited resources and a part-time social worker addressed students'…

This research explored how three teachers' subjectivities permeated their teaching lives, and how the emergence of self-insight was made available for deep exploration, potentially enabling these teachers to engage more fully with others in the context of teaching. Psychoanalytic theory was used to explore how teachers' narratives take shape and…

Education during recovery could impact a forensic psychiatric patient's community reintegration; however, individual education goals for patients can be difficult due to the lack of available parameters. The purpose of this study was to test whether age at first hospitalization is predictive of educational attainment among forensic psychiatric…

Corrective experiences (CEs) in psychotherapy are important curative factors and clients who experience transformation post rapid gains and thrive as a result. Although transformations are important indicators of growth, less than half of clients experience them. This qualitative study explored the experience of transformation in graduates of a…

This dissertation explores the contemporary educational construct known as Social and Emotional Learning, or SEL. It investigates how the child, the teacher and the relationship between children and teachers are figured in the SEL-managed classroom. The dissertation also examines the extent to which SEL is produced by, and productive of, culture,…

Providing primary health and specialty services to 3.4 million rural and highly rural veterans is a challenging task because of geographic barriers and the uneven distribution of rural healthcare providers. Although the Veterans Health Administration is hoping that technology such as telemedicine expands availability of specialties' access to…

Schools have identified that the use of Teacher Assistants often provides needed additional support in the school setting. In a Health Care Facility that provides inpatient psychiatric services, children ages 5-14 are required to engage in school activities. Currently there are no Teacher Assistants trained in the facility. This study focuses on…

This study examined D.W. Winnicott's construct object usage and related transformational metaphors from a cognitive-linguistic perspective. The paper "The Use of an Object" was positioned historically among extant theoretical models and employed to investigate the semantic evolution of key Winnicottian concepts. Biographical accounts revealed…

This research study was conducted to explore the phenomenon of the third-year experiences of the psychiatry residents. A review of the literature identified themes and subthemes related to the third-year of psychiatry education. The study was conducted at a university health science center. Data were collected from five residents using participant…

There is a growing need for the measurement of therapeutic outcomes and the therapeutic alliance in inpatient mental health services with the adolescent population. This dissertation extends the literature on the use of client feedback measures with adolescents by investigating the use of the Outcome Rating Scale (ORS) and the Session Rating Scale…