Dissertation Oral Defenses

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…

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,…

This study will investigate the transformational experience brought on by the illness of heroin addiction through the lens of depth psychology. Using a philosophical hermeneutic research methodology, combined with an alchemical hermeneutic method, this study will endeavor to illuminate the soulful nature of the illness that leads to transformation. A philosophical hermeneutic research methodology was…

Stepping has been a practice in the African American community for decades both in communal spaces and on college campuses. The intent behind this study is to put into academic terms the power and lineage stepping has as it is culmination of different African cultures practices. In African cultures, dance is essential for everything from…

Sixties psychedelic music conveys a mythic dimension to the shifting paradigm of the Aquarian age. Deep listening provides a means to access a mythopoetic layer commiserate with psychedelia. Analytical psychology foreshadowed a transformational outlook based on recognizing consciousness as a symbol for the emerging new myth. This dissertation focuses on the role of sound in…

Trauma bonding within intimate partner violence consists of strong, relation-based, emotional ties between an abuser and victim. These ties reinforce powerful paradoxical attachments which leaves victims feeling confused and internally conflicted about deeply caring for someone who is abusive. Trauma bonding thus involves power rather than love. This study explored the experience of trauma bonding…

In this phenomenological qualitative dissertation, the researcher investigated Tavistock-oriented group therapists and professional consultants’ experiences of countertransference activation in groups. The intent of the research was to identify the internal experiences of activation and the external expressions of specific verbal interventions used as strategic responses by group-oriented professionals. Eligibility criteria included individuals with psychoanalytic, psychodynamic,…

Marian Wright Edelman has famously noted “You can’t be what you can’t see,” signifying the great need of representation of strong models for children. My dissertation addresses the mythology surrounding the hero’s journey as it has affected young girls and women while discovering the re-mythologizing of the journey by women and for women. My argument…

Singing potentially opens a portal to experience the Self through connection with the unconscious. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of six female professional singers who have had a numinous encounter with the Self through singing. A Jungian approach with an archetypal lens was used to ask the question: What is the lived experience…