Dissertation Oral Defenses

This hermeneutic dissertation examines clinical and theoretical materials from depth psychology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, religion, and literature to understand the role of literal and symbolic death among key thinkers in depth psychology, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and James Hillman. Beginning with the Freud—Jung separation, then moving into the postmodern era with the arrival of James…

Focusing on the capacity of feminist mythology as cultural and psychological change agent, “Regenerating Magdalene: Psyche’s Quest for the Archetypal Bride” examines the history of the lost and degraded archetypal feminine of Western cultures as embodied in Mary Magdalene, whose resurgence via scholarship and the arts, is trending. Scholars in many disciplines have addressed facets…

In his foundational text, Re-Visioning Psychology, Hillman (1975) defined personifying as “imagining things in a personal form so that we can find access to them with our hearts” and stated that personifying “offers another avenue of loving” (p. 14). This study explores and demonstrates personifying as an applied, everyday practice of depth psychology—a way in…

This alchemical hermeneutic investigation studied the horse and human relationship from a historical and cultural perspective regarding how horses have psychologically benefitted humans throughout antiquity. The soul to soul interactions between humans and horses in their natural environment were investigated from a depth psychology perspective. The intention was to glean a more comprehensive understanding of…

This qualitative study explores the lived experience of five professional movie screenwriters who have suffered writer’s block, with the objective of gaining insight into the underlying psychological conflicts leading to this syndrome. The data include participant interviews; interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to organize and code the transcripts. Data analysis revealed five themes regarding…

This dissertation study utilized narrative approach to examine African American women’s lived experience of pursuing a doctoral degree in liberal studies in a predominately Caucasian environment. The purpose of this study was to explore women’s perceptions of their experience in order to address issues African American women continue to face while they pursue higher education.…

This liberatory participatory action research involved a collaborative inquiry by unaccompanied minors from Central America. Using participatory action research and a liberatory approach, the study followed the youth as they investigated and shared their experiences in the systems of custody and legal protection that exist for unaccompanied minors in the United States. The research question,…

The purpose of this Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009) dissertation was to explore the process, by which individuals create and maintain meaning in their lives post mid-life. Methods of inquiry included phenomenological reflection on data elicited by existential investigation of individuals’ experiences in later life. The results of this study uncovered four…

A depth psychological perspective of motivational interviewing expands the practice of client-centered and directive conversations to embrace a theory of unconscious communication. This study employs hermeneutic methods to compare motivational interviewing tenets with Jungian psychoanalytic theories and contemporary research on affective neuroscience. The goal is to create a vision of communication education that is relevant…

This dissertation uses a phenomenological hermeneutic approach, and Moustakas’ heuristic method, to explore the experiences of garba dancers during Navaratri, a Goddess festival celebrated in Gujarat, India, and throughout the Gujarati diaspora, with community circle dances. Individual depictions highlight the experience of 12 adult participants, interviewed using an open-ended, conversational style. Explication of themes suggest…

Climate change is the single most important challenge of our time. Scientific research indicates that business-as-usual human behavior could lead to severe consequences for people and Earth’s life support systems. Profound transformation in all human systems is required to achieve climate stability at levels preventing catastrophic impacts on human and natural communities. Despite growing calls…

The more we search for meaning and enlightenment, the stronger our pathologies and anxieties become. No rationale can explain that letting go of something guarantees finding it—or something better, and by accepting various levels of the soul’s descent, we find ourselves on the spiritual path of transcendence. Yet this is exactly the message of religion,…

Is motherhood a well-kept secret? This heuristic research explores how the lived experience of motherhood involves emotional landscapes that catch women unaware. This body of work involves the personal stories of 11 women. Personal images, expectations, and perceptions of what a mother is are embedded in ideologies that communicate powerful messages. These ideologies contribute to…

The history of Cannabis in relation to humanity is over 12,000 years old. This study considers the archetypal role of Cannabis in many agricultural rites and shamanic traditions. The author approaches a long folk history of the plant to discern veritable ethnographic sources from modern hyperbole. A depth psychological method is applied to written folklore,…

The figure of the werewolf has changed in popular culture since the first tale was published in pulp magazines in the late 1930’s. As American attitudes changed towards violence and conflict, the way the werewolf is portrayed transformed. Through the use of myths, folklore, and literature of eras past, each generation has built upon the…

Frederick Douglass (1845), W.E.B. Du Bois (1940), and Booker T. Washington (1963) are pioneering examples of historic African American leaders who realized the fullness of their potentialities despite the inhumanity of their day-to-day circumstances (Morrison, 1987). It was through their abilities to respond to the individual and shared needs of their regularly enslaved, often mistreated,…

Defense Host: Dr. Christine Downing Los Hermanos de la Fraternidad Piadosa de Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno, better known as the Penitentes, are lay Catholic confraternities, mostly found in the rural communities of mountainous northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. The dominant discourses about the tradition aver that it is Spanish and Catholic, with roots in…

This study applies a depth symbolic approach with hermeneutic methodology to examine the psychological legacy of the historical Chinese Exclusion Act (1882-1943) and its impact on the psyche of the Chinese American. The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first and only American legislation that ever prohibited a group of immigrants from entering America solely on…

Previously, many psychologists have had limited professional involvement with older adults (Karel, Gatz, & Smyer, 2012). The ageing baby boomers in 2011foresaw the numbers of older adults increase dramatically as a proportion of the population (AHA, 2007). About 1 in 5 older adults has a mental disorder, such as depression, anxiety and dementia (NAMI, 2015)…

This research explores the inextricable link between the individual and the collective psychology through the shared ordering principle derived from the underlying image of god representative of the collective religion, spiritual tradition, or ethical beliefs. Per psychologist Carl Jung the image of god is linked to human consciousness and evolves with human consciousness. Using a…