Dissertation Oral Defenses
he purpose of this study was to describe the phenomenological experience of men who identify ethnically as Mexican American. In the research literature, group identification, microaggressions, cultural complexes, and archetypes were shown to influence the quality of the experience for individuals of this ethnic group. To identify these processes in individuals this qualitative study gathered…
In 1975, James Hillman published Re-Visioning Psychology, which is perhaps his most important book, and certainly constitutes one of the main texts in archetypal psychology. This dissertation argues that the ideas presented by Hillman forty years ago have lost much of their psychological value, and are again in need of revisioning. In order to execute…
This depth-oriented study focuses on narratives shared by six women about their midlife transition experience and the evolution of their self-expression. Truth-telling is generally defined as a person’s willingness and dedication to speaking her own personal truth regardless of the consequences. The narratives of the six postmenopausal women, including the researcher, who participated in this…
The purpose of this study is to explore the meaning of the experience of real romantic love when it emerges mutually between analyst and analysand from the perspective of C. G. Jung’s concept of individuation. In this dissertation, the real romantic love relationship is defined as a romantic mutual love involving less projection and more…
This mixed methods study explored whether body-work such as Ashtanga yoga can lead to improved affect regulation and body awareness among survivors of complex childhood trauma. It examined the prevalence of complex trauma among Ashtanga yoga practitioners to determine qualitatively whether their perceptions of emotions, their ability to manage affective states, and their body awareness…
This hermeneutic study explores the phenomenon of love-suicide using Cleopatra VII as a case study. This research explores a variety of depth psychological perspectives of death and destruction, suicide, and romantic love in order to gain an understanding of the meaning of death for the psyche and the archetypal underpinnings of suicide in the context…
This study explores the lived experiences of Brazilian students of African descent (N=8) having to self-categorize racially as they enrolled into institutions of higher education through affirmative action policies. A phenomenological methodology was used for the establishment of eight essential constituents inherent in the experience of being Black: (1) racial socialization influencing sense of Blackness,…
This qualitative study examined the psychological construct of place attachment in Louisiana and Mississippi residents [N = 6] who experienced forced relocation in 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina and ensuing events. The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences related to place attachment of relocated individuals who returned home and those who…
Psychologists across disciplines have examined narcissistic phenomena for over a century. Through the lenses of social constructivism and depth psychology, this dissertation illuminates the clinical psychological implications of narcissistic phenomena in American culture through an archival, phenomenological analysis of a specific cultural artifact: the lyrics of contemporary popular music. The importance of music and its…
Until September 11, 2001, Arab Americans were a concealed minority that blended within America’s multicultural fabric making the acculturation and assimilation into their host country an individualized process. However, the events of 9/11 have influenced this personalized phenomenon. This qualitative phenomenological study explores the post September 11th experiences of five women from Arab, Muslim backgrounds…
Much has been written about shame and depression and its importance for affecting change in clinical work with clients. Recent literature has suggested the importance of clarifying the role of shame as a predictor of depressive symptoms. In light of this work, this investigation hypothesized that the participants with depression would score higher on the…
This study explores the experience of soul connection through Irish music, from the comforts of feeling at home to the other-worldliness of metaphorically magical encounters. Previous psychological studies involving music have tended to focus on the listener’s experience and clinical applications, often emphasizing classical music or song lyrics. This inquiry focuses on the musician’s experience…
Objective: In this study the researcher examined the psychological mindset of men who have killed in combat and specifically the mental process that allowed them to do so. Additionally, this study examines killing from a Jungian perspective. Method: Grounded Theory Method provided the structure to examine ten written accounts of men who experienced combat and…
Depth psychologist C.G. Jung bemoaned the loss of imagination within religion. Jung’s mystical experience was far too deep and intense to be captured in any language other than that of the soul. Rather than striving for an exact or literal meaning, the soul delights in plurality as well as multiple levels of understanding, and realizations.…
This study explores the exegetical methodology of the early Christian philosopher Origen of Alexandria, and re-introduces him as a vital guide for the interpretation of the ongoing personal myth written in the living human documents of every soul. Origen utilizes a three-tiered exegetical strategy, interpreting meaning first at the literal level—with both historical and religious…
This study utilized a Grounded Theory methodology to investigate the positive and negative impact of silence in the therapeutic dyad. Thirteen licensed psychotherapists of different theoretical traditions related their experiences of using silence as a clinical tool to increase patient contact with unconscious affect needing to be expressed and integrated. Investigation centered on both the…
This study sought to contribute to the body of cross-cultural and multicultural psychology literature by embarking on a qualitative exploration of how health and illness are conceptualized and treated from an Amerindian indigenous shamanic perspective. Utilizing Charmaz’s (2006) grounded theory methodology, a conceptual theory of indigenous shamanic healing interventions and their mechanisms of efficacy was…
The purpose of this artistic self-case study is to explore how the role of the soldier might be transformed from service in war to service for community, via creative exploration of the archetypal figures, Warrior and Shaman. With this in mind, a creative and introspective method was tested for its efficacy in generating new images…
The purpose of this study was to investigate and understand MDMA-assisted psychotherapy from its early days to its current use in FDA approved studies. By utilizing a Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) method to analyze the data for this study, the team sought to shed light on the main findings of the research. The participants were…
The methodology for this work uses a psychological and phenomenological approach to listening, which emphasizes noticing affects and gestures as intimations of felt meaning in the researcher as she engages in the work. The initiating intimation called for listening into Western relatedness to mathematics across three significant discoveries in the history of Western mathematics: ancient…
