Dissertation Oral Defenses
In the face of the rekindling of scientific research on the use of psychedelics as adjuncts to psychotherapy, questions arise on the risks and benefits of this novel hybrid form of therapy. In particular, psychedelics are known for their capacity to elicit non-ordinary states of consciousness and allow access to unconscious, archetypal or numinous psychological…
This dissertation explores the concept of personal identities in relation to social identities and social constructs. The research brings into focus long-standing patterns of identity suppression while analyzing these patterns through a multidisciplinary approach. Moreover, it validates the intersectionality of identity and the space of in-betweenness while recognizing that identity is in constant motion and…
The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential synergy between counter-trafficking programs and sustainable development by examining the impact of an existing solar energy program with groups of isolated girls and women in rural Nepal. Through a case study methodology, the intention was to understand the effect on participants’ quality of life, mental…
This hermeneutical study explores the lived experience of embodied transition through the middle years into the second half of life, by engaging with depth psychological, somatic, and imaginal research approaches. By interacting with the literature and the literary imaginals through the depth psychological process of active imagination, supported by three somatic practices of Focusing®, embodied…
The myriad social and emotional challenges of midlife in contemporary American society are well documented both empirically and anecdotally. With more middle-aged individuals now confronting the complications involved in the extended lifespan of their parents’ generation, another question has become salient: How does caring for a declining parent enhance, detract from, or otherwise affect one’s…
Concerned with the unheard, unconscious, embodied experience of mothers impacted by circumcision, this research takes a depth psychological, somatic approach to examining American mothers faced with the circumcision decision for their sons. In an attempt to understand the lived experience of these mothers, this study explores the archetypal, patriarchal, thematic material constellating in the dynamics…
People who believe in a higher power or deity tend to place their trust in these spirits, idols, the church, and those who are “called” to pastor or be the voice of God. These individuals are typically looked upon and reverenced in the eye of the people who follow their leadership (Fosshage & Hershberg, 2014).…
This study is a depth psychological exploration of the climate crisis using hermeneutics. The climate crisis is defined here as the catastrophic changes of anthropogenic origin to the ecosystems of the Earth. The study draws on a fractal epistemology recently proposed by Terry Marks-Tarlow, Yakov Shapiro, Katthe P. Wolf, and Harris Friedman to interpret the…
After experiencing shattering heartbreak, the author turned to bathing for comfort and restoration. The restorative outcome led to an intimate relationship with water and a curiosity about the depth of our relationship with water. Guided by the author’s both literal and metaphorical experiences of being in water, this autoethnographic dissertation seeks to understand the deeper…
This qualitative study explored the impact of social media discourse of political campaigns on Latino voters’ political views using an interpretative phenomenological design. The research questions were designed to draw out participants’ lived experiences as voters who are part of the Latino population related to the impact of social media discourse of political campaigns on…
This community psychology project consisted of two virtual storytelling groups gathered to examine the impact of storytelling during a global pandemic. It used the public narrative methodology of Marshall Ganz placed within the context of community mental health. Each storytelling group met weekly for 8 weeks. The Sunday group had seven members drawn from Desert…
Carl G. Jung theorized an underlying unified reality from which everything emerges and to which everything returns. He called this theory of a one-world reality Unus Mundus. Accordingly, the archetypal symbol formation he hypothesized would extend beyond the human psyche to the natural and technological worlds. With the ever-expanding reach of technological advancements and dependence…
This study considers the dancer’s lived experience of work-life transition out of performance. Any passage out of the performing arts necessitates a shift in world-view resulting in unique identity challenges. The present inquiry creates a context for understanding and communicating the nature of the tensions that render this professional identity shift an existential challenge. Integrated…
Climate change has reached the point of a global crisis. The need for new paradigms of thinking and conceptualizing the problems is more evident than ever. This dissertation takes a decolonial paradigm of thinking and prioritizes the experiences of indigenous women of Saman, Iran of climate change through their environmental knowledge systems. This study is…
Contained in the earliest human stories and into present day exist multiple references to hearing the “voice” of nature, usually expressed musically and/or through feeling, motion, or presence. Recent research shows that these experiences are quite common and only rarely associated with pathology. This dissertation asks what is at the core of these auditory experiences…
This research illuminates legacies of relational ontologies and ethics of care through the experiences of women and queer folks from the South West Asian, North African (SWANA) diaspora and living in settler environments. Through performative ethnography, arts-based, and indigenous methodologies, the study will center their lived experiences and ancestral memory as expressed through ritual, relationality,…
Mother Earth and humans’ relationship to her have been revered and widely recognized throughout time and across cultures. However, she and our relationship with her gradually became shrouded by reductionistic thinking and narrow mechanistic mindsets. C. G. Jung esteemed the natural world—deeply convinced of the psyche–nature kinship and its essentiality to individuation—yet he withheld asserting…
Hate speech, verbal abuse, and verbal microaggressions have wide reaching and long-lasting traumatic biopsychosocial impact. This research examined a facilitated embodied artistic exploration of word woundings, the negative felt sense of a word. It drew primarily on the fields of somatic studies, depth psychology, and expressive arts therapy to explore how the words of others—from…
The Sola Busca tarot, composed of mostly male images, is based on thousands of years of Western androcentric philosophy and mythology. This has resulted in the tarot journey being viewed as a spiritual journey of individuation and transcendence for men, with females as the guides to men. Furthermore, the female figures found in most traditional…
This qualitative study examined the effects of being raised in a cult or closed, high-demand community on an individual’s innate sense of purpose, character, and calling. The exploration was guided metaphorically by the ancient Greek concept of the daimon—referred to by James Hillman (1996) as a “soul-companion” or “carrier of [one’s] destiny.” Second-generation former cult…
