Dissertation Oral Defenses

The current body of cannabis literature is predominately rooted in the Western medical model and based in ideas of pathology and medicalization. A negative bias permeates the literature and use that falls outside the bounds of Western medicine remains poorly understood, yet some emerging and qualitative research suggests that there are reasons for use and…

This qualitative, phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of fire department union leaders who were invited to share their perspectives on the value of using ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) for firefighters diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Currently, the occurrence of PTSD and depression among firefighters is nearly five times higher than the civilian population. KAP…

This production style dissertation includes the exploration of the relationship between women’s erotic imagination and their individuation journey through living inquiry, a practitioner-based research method marked by the creation of 20 original works of art. Bolstered by the philosophical underpinnings of a Jungian arts-based research (JABR) methodology, the artist–researcher approaches archetypal images of her erotic…

Although the Jungian concept of cultural complexes added an essential layer to the understanding of the unconscious, research regarding how cultural complexes contribute to psychological suffering is still lacking. It is crucial to explore how the individual psyche is influenced by the group psyche in order to break crystalized worldview assumptions and improve clinical practice.…

The study used narrative inquiry to understand generational war and the history of Genocide in Armenia. The intention is to bring awareness to the world regarding the challenges and the chaos that one nation is experiencing and the trauma that they endured while the Armenian Genocide received little attention in the media. Narrative interviewing was…

This Jungian Arts-Based Research (ABR) dissertation explores women’s sexual sovereignty through the creation of artistic work that enters into creative conversation with the mythology of the Mórrígan, an Irish sovereignty goddess. The creative work produced includes an experiential workshop format exploring the story of Macha (a figure of the Mórrígan), example images and interpretations from…

This hermeneutic study considers the role of Dionysian consciousness in the engagement of trauma and grief, the embrace of instinctual life, and the evolving perception of “the other” as these matters are drawn into our relationship with nature. Dionysian consciousness is explored by means of the archetypal psychology of James Hillman and applied to the…

The purpose of this study was to shed light from a depth psychological perspective on the role that hope plays in the successful transition out of gang life for previously incarcerated Latino men. A phenomenological approach was taken to help understand the role of esperanza, or hope, in the lived experience of formerly incarcerated men.…

This dissertation seeks to understand how clinicians can best support the psychedelic integration process. There is currently an overemphasis on the administration of psychoactives in psychedelic-assisted therapy and a lack of attention on the aftercare process termed psychedelic integration. Utilizing a voice-centered and relational approach, five informants were interviewed about their experience of working in…

Following dominant practices of traditional and mainstream Christianity, contemporary American evangelicalism primarily images Jesus as Savior, Messiah, and Son of God. The supporting language and imagery are overwhelmingly masculine, repressing, if not totally excluding, feminine language and imagery for God and Jesus. These predominantly masculine images of God and Jesus substantially contribute to the abuse…

Mysterious stone structures are scattered across the place known today as Woodstock, New York—on the side of Overlook Mountain, in its hollows, and in the valley below.  This hermeneutic study seeks to uncover the symbolic meaning of the place and its stones for our cultural-historical time.  The study shows that the place that birthed the…

This study describes an interrelational, embodied perspective of death and dying that challenges existing understandings of mortality. For example, some depth psychological and existential phenomenological thinkers frame death as a dynamic reality at the center of existence. Under this perspective, death is related to dying, but the two are conceptualized as distinctly different. In contrast,…

Conversations connected to pleasure, consent, safety, access to clean water, land, and quality medical-care are all subjects inherently connected to bodily autonomy and sexuality, making the comprehensive sex-ed classroom a powerful space for liberatory learning. This critical qualitative study conducted with experienced intersectional comprehensive sexuality and relationship education (ICSRE) providers attempts to understand their perceptions…

This archetypal astrological and hermeneutic study explores Carl Gustav Jung’s The Black Books 1913-1932: Notebooks of Transformation, a collection of his private journals published in 2020, comprising his visions (or “active imaginations”) from 1913 to 1932. The journals detail Jung’s encounter with the depths of his psyche, initiated by a personal crisis, in which he…

“Munchausen syndrome by proxy” (MSbP), still functionally exists as a descriptor of the parental fabrication or infliction of symptoms of illness or injury upon a child, though now renamed as “factitious disorder imposed on another” (FDIA) by the American Psychiatric Association in its 2013 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.…

Since 1879, Okinawans have been subjected to cultural genocide, forced migration, physical violence, a profound loss of their connection with ancestral spirits, wisdom and languages, land rights, identities, sustainable economic and peaceful cultural exchanges, and traditional community rituals and reparative processes. As an Okinawan researcher, I used an autoethnographic research in conjunction with cross-generational interviews…

Holotropic Breathwork, as a relatively new technique that has yet to be the subject of extensive rigorous research, currently stands on the fringes of the available methods for healing trauma—including Adult Children of Alcoholics. Following Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Traditions (IPA; Smith & Shinebourne, 2012), six women who have grown up in homes where alcohol was…

Though the image of a modern drummer might conjure the form of a male, there is much evidence to support that the drummers of antiquity were more commonly female. This study explores the rich, robust history of the frame drum and the ancient women drummers of the Mediterranean region. Because the drums of ancient times…

This purpose of this study was to discover whether storytellers experience transformation while telling a nonpersonal story in front of an audience. This study shows that important psychological shifts emerged in the process of telling stories. Six storytellers were interviewed regarding a transformational experience that occurred before, during, or after telling a nonpersonal story. The…

This hermeneutic dissertation explores how depth-oriented psychotherapy can be viewed as a process of personal myth discovery toward individuation. The study investigates the healing function of story and narrative and discusses the difference between story/narrative and the special kind of story/narrative that is myth. Myth connects one to the archetypal layer of the psyche’s unconscious,…