Dissertation Oral Defenses
This dissertation argues that stories co-create culture and gird cultural mythology, the storied spell cast over groups to enable cooperation: the superpower of humanity. The current mythological foundation is casting a curse of division that harms everyone, individually and communally, regardless of gender, as each person requires the gifts of both the archetypal masculine and…
The purpose of this research was to examine available texts to discover the African American, former slave Sojourner Truth’s prophetic voice in depth psychology. A hermeneutic approach to the categories of Sojourner Truth’s religious dimension of the psyche, Sojourner Truth and individuation, and aligning Sojourner Truth with depth psychology were used in this qualitative study.…
The contemporary Southern California cityscape is characterized by urban sprawl, an ever-expanding and homogenized pattern of development where one subdivision looks just like the next and where suburban strip malls are surrounded by seas of asphalt parking lots. Complicating matters, (over)regulated standards for form, function, and uniformity lack respect for the landscape’s genius loci, or…
Upon separation from service, many military veterans experience high levels of stress as they lose their connection to the tightly bonded, and intentionally collective, military culture. This psychological stress may manifest in symptoms leading to diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, or anxiety, and often includes comorbid somatic symptoms, such as chronic pain. This…
The progressive escalation in military suicides, along with a substantial increase in posttraumatic stress diagnosis among active military personnel and veterans, has become a significant humanitarian, societal, and cultural concern. Such a defining moment illuminates the need for timely and innovative treatment approaches for combat-related posttraumatic stress. This research explored depth psychological practices within short-term,…
In this dissertation I bring into conversation the different understandings of the origin of religion put forward by Jane Harrison in her Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion, with those of foundational figures in the simultaneously emerging field of depth psychology: Sigmund Freud and C. G. Jung. Harrison and depth psychologists sought not only…
Adolescents are sent to therapeutic boarding school as an intervention for various behaviors that illicit concern from parents with the primary focus being removal from their immediate environment and forced to comply to new rules and expectations to correct behavior. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, the experiences of six women were explored to understand the psychological…
The human/dog bond extends from prehistoric times up to the present, shaped by myriad spheres and an intwined destiny. This work utilizes three disciplines, comparative mythology, psychology, and dog ethology, to explore aspects of this bond. In addition, this study considers how dog archetypal images of guide, guard, and healer inform the human/dog bond within…
For millennia, women who experienced infertility or couples unable to carry a pregnancy to term were denied genetic parenthood. Recent 20th century advances in medical and reproductive technologies, the creation of in-vitro fertilization, and gestational surrogacy have provided infertile women, men, and their partners the once unfathomable ability to parent children born of their own…
One can argue that European colonial consciousness and its actions have caused more harm in the world than any other collective psychology. Grounded in the psychology of C. G. Jung, this research investigates the cultural complexes of white colonial consciousness and the possibility of finding healing for its dysfunctions through the tending of its psychological…
Physical touch is a universal experience that is vital for one’s life, however it has only gained research recognition over the past few decades. Three areas of touch research continue to be neglected: what happens beyond the obvious physical stimulation, the inherent bidirectional attribute of touch, and the embodied experience of those who utilize touch…
Few science fiction or fantasy franchises have seen the popular reception that Dragon Ball and its sequels has had and yet, its appearance in academic discourse has been left wanting. This dissertation attempts an initial in-depth analysis of the story of Dragon Ball and its sequels through a variety of lenses. It addresses the significance…
Patriarchal relationships characterize academic institutions even today. Women who have attained professional success in academia often yield to their male colleagues. This dissertation explored repression of femininity and the role femininity played in relationships among women scientists in an academic setting. The research proposed a unique methodology termed the Integrated Method which was a synthesis…
Music is pervasive in every culture. Nearly everybody listens to music everyday. Music helps people connect to their emotions. In this qualitative phenomenological study, the researcher explores the insights of people of different cultures, ages, and gender to discover how music can change mood. People connect events to emotion, which is easily extracted with the…
This five-week study compared somatic versus cognitive behavioral (CBT) interventions for (a) decreasing music performance anxiety (MPA) and (b) enhancing musical artistry. The study utilized a mixed-method design introducing a new somatic intervention designed to help musicians create an emotional, embodied connection to the music being performed and to encourage musical communication. The CBT intervention…
This arts-based alchemical hermeneutical research used a depth psychological lens as an attempt to listen with the heart, to see through hearing and deafness into the archetypal resonance of personal narrative and shared story by engaging arts-based methods to serve as an alchemical vessel for transformation of the psyche. Multiple worlds (personal, interpersonal, cultural, digital)…
The purpose of this research study is to examine a population of former foster youth who successfully attained a post-secondary education after having aged-out of the child welfare system (CWS). The goal of this study is to determine whether a deeper understanding of this specific population may lead to better educational outcomes. C. G. Jung…
This hermeneutic study was an exploration of the fecund relationship between Jungian depth psychology and phenomena experienced in flotation tank therapy, establishing an explicit bridge between these fields to answer the question: What are the archetypal themes, patterns, and motifs (implicit or explicit) in float therapy experiences, ranging from the terrifying to the paradisiacal? The…
Women’s voices have historically been marginalized within patriarchal culture, and there is an ongoing need to engage women within research, including in psychology (Eagly & Riger, 2014; Johnston & Johnson, 2018). This study explored the role of visual artmaking in individuation for five woman identified artists. Drawing from C.G. Jung (1950/1975b), Stein (2006), Douglas (2000),…
The purpose of this study is to analyze data from the Latinx population from two separate election eras. This study aims to investigate if there is a difference between stress symptoms, as identified in the Beck inventories and PTSD assessments, during President Barack Obama’s term versus President Donald J. Trump’s term by investigating assessments taken…
