MA Abstracts

Building Bridges:  Between Somatic and More Traditional Psychotherapies for Treating Residential Adolescent Populations
Elizabeth Fluck, MA, Clinical Psychology (Specialization in SOM), 2004

This project will format a training session for traditionally trained therapists and present information on neurological research on trauma, somatic psychotherapy theory in relation to trauma and include a discussion on vicarious traumatization.  Throughout five years of employment in a residential psychiatric facility for adolescents who have been severely emotionally abused and many who have been traumatized, I have viewed a system that is lacking appropriate resources to adequately serve the population it treats. In addition, there is also a body of research and therapeutic approach that exists which may expand upon the resources that are currently available to the professionals that work with this population of clients.  The training session will address these issues and create an environment for the participants to explore the information presented. 

Self-Regulation of Addictive Behavior Through Body-Initiated Mindfulness: A Pilot Study to Test the Effectiveness of a 12-Week Skill-Building Support Group Designed to Assist Work-Addicted Women in Gaining Self Awareness and Increasing Choice
Susan L. Bernstein MA, Clinical Psychology (Specialization in SOM), 2004

Work addiction, or workaholism, is all too often glorified within our career-centered American culture.  Yet, for the work addict, the cultural milieu makes it all the more difficult to escape from this automatic behavior that rips at personal ties and drains emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual energy.  This document describes a pilot program designed to test the notion that in order to effectively self-regulate, the work addict (workaholic) can benefit from shifting her consciousness from an automatic state to one of present moment consciousness.  The premise of this program is that when an emotional trigger is activated, the work addict feels uncontrollably drawn into working, feeling that it controls her, rather than the other way around.  Thus, rather than utilizing effective self-regulating behaviors that would allow her to exercise self-awareness in the present moment and make choices that would allow for greater self-esteem and enhanced relationships, the work addict feels drawn into habitual patterns of working when she is emotionally triggered.  This pilot program, initially geared for women, cultivates mindfulness through body awareness, Sensory Awareness practice, movement, breathing, and other activities that help the work addict feel her body, learn her patterns, increase her emotional vocabulary, and increase choice.  Although some treatment is available, it tends to be rationally-based, and while protocols may recommend that the work addict slows down, they generally do not teach how to achieve that difficult change in tempo.  Thus, this program addresses a void in the treatment of workaholism by recognizing the role of body awareness in treating this potent addiction.

Coping with Prenatal Stress and Reinforcing Bonding Between Mothers and Their Unborn Children in the Latino Community
Yaara Benitzhak, MA, Clinical Psychology (Specialization in PPN), 2005

Research has shown that there are a variety of stressors during pregnancy. Women from the Latino community cope with higher levels of stress due to economic difficulties, violence in the family and exposure to sexual abuse. The purpose of this project is to reduce stress and reinforce bonding between pregnant women in the Latino community and their unborn babies. The program will be delivered via support groups. It will be based on the unique sources of stress that Latino women are typically exposed to.

Research into the unique challenges of perinatal loss and subsequent pregnancy has grown over the past 25 years (Armstrong, 2001; Brost, 1992; Brown, 1993; Cote-Arsenault & Mahlangu, 1999; Cote-Arsenault, Bidlack & Humm, 2001; Zeanah, 1989). It is now recognized that women who have suffered a perinatal loss often experience intense grief regardless of the gestational age of the fetus, (Brost & Kenney, 1992; Peppers & Knapp, 1980; Wallerstedt, 2003), that perinatal loss is a life-altering event, and that subsequent pregnancy is stressful and anxiety-provoking (Cote-Arsenault, 2001; Robertson & Kavanaugh, 1998; Wallerstedt, 2003). Although it is recognized that increased stress can negatively impact the health of the pregnant woman, the course of her pregnancy (Burkhammer, Anderson & Chiu, 2003; Cote-Arsenault & Freije, 2004),and parenting behaviors, standardized interventions are not evident in the literature (Armstrong 2004; Cote-Arsenault & Freije, 2004; Wallerstedt, 2003).

Care providers, be they health care practitioners or parent educators, have a key role to play in the lives of these women at this time, and yet studies indicate that professionals are often perceived as being less than sensitive to the issues involved (Armstrong 2004; Brier, 1999; Cote-Arsenault 2001; Cote-Arsenault & Mahlangu, 1999).

Care providers must educate themselves about the impact perinatal loss has on women at the time of the loss and during subsequent pregnancies in order to understand the unique challenges of this population and provide sensitive and therapeutic care (Armstrong, 2004; Cote-Arsenault & Mahlangu, 1999).

This paper reviews selected nursing, psychology, and bereavement literature on the impact of perinatal loss on women, especially those who are expecting another child. Clinical implications are explored as a means of educating care providers about supportive and therapeutic interventions, both at the time of loss and during subsequent pregnancies.

Sending And Receiving:  Biochemical Communication af Emotions Between Prenate and Mother: A Call for Early Intervention
Frances McCulloch Doughty, MA, Clinical Psychology (Specialization in Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology), 2006

This master’s project presents evidence for prenatal biochemical communication involving the mother, the placenta, and the prenate, and calls for prenatal intervention for at-risk mother-infant dyads.  The literature review provides an overview indicating that the development of the self starts prenatally and is continuous and incremental.  The study of prenatal programming has led to an understanding that the prenate and mother reciprocally influence each other via the placenta, which also provides many of its own contributions to the biochemistry of pregnancy, and that these effects may have long-range consequences in determining the course of adult health.  Recent research has expanded this understanding to include the biochemicals associated with emotions and their transmission between the prenate and the mother, mediated by the placenta.  After briefly touching on prenatal stress, which has been extensively studied, the review focuses on recent studies of maternal depression and PTSD.  Hyperactivity, which may be a generic marker of prenatal stress response, is also briefly considered.  The review concludes with a call for prenatal intervention for at risk mother-prenate dyads.
The community project consists of a PowerPoint™ presentation aimed at high-risk adults, such as substance abusers, and the mental-health and social-work professionals involved in caring for them.  The presentation gives information on prenatal transmission of emotional predispositions so as to empower clients and their caregivers to better understand that their problems are not solely the result of individual pathology and to enable them to treat these problems in a way that addresses their intergenerational nature.  The presentation is modularly designed to allow the core information to be placed in a context appropriate to the target audience.

Building A Case For Conscious Conception: A Literature Review and Workbook
Ellen Goldstein, MA (pending), Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology, 2006

Many individuals and couples lack holistic information and sound practices to prepare for a conscious conception. The majority of standard preconceptive care has been built upon a perspective of prevention of biological disease with less emphasis on a psychological and emotional readiness to conceive.  The purpose of this review of literature is to begin to integrate the current medical model of preconception care with a more holistic perspective for conscious conception.  I believe that a new system of preconception preparation is needed which offers parents to be preparation practices for mind and body as well as acknowledging spiritual growth as an integral and momentous aspect of the process toward becoming pregnant.  This review spans the spectrum from the earliest idea or intention to conceive through the exploration of the critical developmental periods occurring at conception, in-utero and birth, including a further elucidation of the interdependent and influential nature of biology and the environment on the developing embryo and fetus. This thesis was created in an effort to educate professionals who serve reproductive-age men and women and to provide couples before they become pregnant with essential information for conscious conception preparation.  The second portion of this thesis is an experiential workbook for couples who intend to become pregnant.  This workbook guides couples to achieve greater physical, mental and spiritual health through exercises that provide a structure for self-exploration and insight. By seriously undertaking the practices in the workbook, one is able to invite the divine mysteries into daily life, where spirit matters, through ritual, prayer and meditation.