Doctor of Psychology (PsyD), Wright State University, 2013, School of Professional Psychology

In response to an identified need in the psychological literature for research on minority religion, especially earth-centered religion, this dissertation was developed to 1) present an overview of the three main branches of contemporary earth religion, 2) illuminate the realities of minority religious identity in the United States of America, 3) collect data regarding the demographic and identity variables of devotees of earth centered religion, and 4) solicit feedback from the earth religious community regarding its understanding of psychological distress, preferred ways of coping with distress, and perceptions and experiences of professional mental health services. A total of 64 self-identified devotees of earth-centered faith completed an online questionnaire about their identity variables, experiences of psychological distress, ways of understanding distress, and experiences, perceptions, and fears pertaining to mental health services. The questionnaire was developed by the researcher based upon a literature review and consultation of the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology's developmental achievement levels in diversity. Descriptive and statistical findings pertaining to this religious population are detailed. Additionally, clinical and research implications of the results, as well as limitations and strengths of the current study are identified and discussed.

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2006, Allied Health Sciences : Genetic Counseling

This cross-sectional analysis of 43 prenatal patients and 103 pediatric patient caretakers, describes patients' perceived relevance and comfort level in discussing spirituality in genetics clinic. The 21-question study questionnaire, distributed at three midwestern genetics clinics over a 2-month period, obtained demographic and study information. 77.5% of patients had low perceived relevance of spirituality to genetics clinic. 22.5% with high-perceived relevance were significantly more likely to want providers to ask about spirituality during a visit and to want provider-patient beliefs to be similar. The best predictor of relevance and comfort was the patients' self-proclamation of spiritual or non-spiritual. The spiritual group was significantly more comfortable discussing spirituality than the non-spiritual group. Spirituality is important to a subset of patients, which we suggest warrants the addition of one question to genetics intake forms (“Are you a spiritual person?”) that would give providers insight into patients' spiritual needs prior to the visit.

EdD, University of Cincinnati, 2004, Education : Counselor Education

This study examined the extent that counselors receiving supervision are encouraged to discuss spiritual or religious issues. Information was gathered using quantitative and qualitative methods to determine the extent to which counselors and supervisors discuss spiritual or religious beliefs during supervision sessions. The study questioned whether counselors may not be discussing religious and spiritual concerns due to counselor competency, possible ethical concerns, and counselors' relationship with supervisors.Counselors receiving supervision and supervisors providing clinical supervision received a quantitative questionnaire to identify topics discussed during supervision. Following the completion of the questionnaire, six counselors and six supervisors were involved in structured interviews. In the process of these interviews, emphasis was placed on the potential barriers preventing counselors or supervisors from discussing issues of values, religion, and spirituality. There were significant differences in counselors' and supervisors' perceptions of the extent that values were discussed in supervision: 68% of supervisors and 30% of counselors reported discussing values. Furthermore, in the interview process, all the supervisors reported discussing values and only some counselors reported likewise. There were also statistical significant differences in the perceptions of counselors and supervisors regarding the presence of religious discussions: 33% of supervisors and 5% of counselors indicating religion was addressed. Similarly, in the interviewing process, all supervisors stated religion was addressed, and only two counselors indicated the same. There were no statistical significant differences relating to supervisors' and counselors' perceptions of potential discussions of spirituality: 37% of supervisors and 25% of counselors reporting spirituality was addressed. Nonetheless, in the qualitative analyses, all supervisors reported the discussion of spiritualit (open full item for complete abstract)

Bachelor of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2023, Sociology

Alternative spiritualities, or spiritual practices that fall outside of traditional organized religions, have long been viewed as deviant. But with growing religious discontent in the world, more people have begun turning to these alternatives. This thesis explores the lived experience, identity, and community of Americans who practice alternative spiritualities. Interviews were conducted with seven Spiritualist church attendees and three Witchcraft practitioners to further understand the impacts of spirituality on their daily lives and display the present need for these alternatives within society. Participants' lived experiences revealed that religious upbringings and discontent with organized religions directly influenced their motivations for seeking out spiritual alternatives. Moreover, their current spiritual practices actively shape continued motivations to maintain their spiritual beliefs. Spirituality is a critical piece of identity; however, it remains a factor in which people are conscious over due to the negative associations that are inherently attached onto the notion of alternative spirituality. Community remains a central component of alternative spiritualities, as it is a key factor in sustaining one's spirituality. Each of these elements convey that people are seeking out alternative spiritualities due to a present need for religious alternatives separate from traditional organized religions, which provide community and allow individuality, personal spiritual constructions, beliefs, and practices.

Doctor of Ministry , Ashland University, 2020, Doctor of Ministry Program

The purpose of this project was to create a resource for Christian Caregivers that would educate them concerning formative practices for children. A group of sixteen experts in the three fields of ministry, psychology, and education were asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the resource through the completion of a survey. The response indicated that the resource was successful in educating Christian Caregivers concerning formative practices for children. The qualitative section of the survey also revealed that most respondents, though unfamiliar with the practices, were eager to implement them in their lives and the lives of those in their care.

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2019, Theatre

Rituals have been used throughout history as a way to process change and emotion. In the modern day, people are beginning to turn away from organized religion and to take on more personalized rituals and spirituality. As such, identifying as a witch is a growing phenomenon that serves to empower many personally, politically, and spiritually. This creative thesis takes an autobiographical approach to explore how ritual and the identity of the witch can be used as tools of empowerment, tracing the artist's own journey from Catholicism to a more fluid spiritual life. On February 22nd, 2019, Ceremonials: A Ritual Play opened as part of Miami University's Independent Artist Series. The play was devised with a student ensemble over a period of five months and stands as the culmination of a series of performance projects that sought to combine ritual and theatre. This portfolio spans the breadth of that practice-based research and includes examples from performance experiments and the devising process, as well as reflections on how ritual and devised theatre can help to empower the individual and the artist.

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education, Cleveland State University, 2015, College of Education and Human Services

The aim of this qualitative study was to examine contextualized experiences of African-American Third Agers (AATA). Current literature conceptualizes Third Agers as individuals who are societally positioned to experience meaningful and purposeful periods of self-discovery and adult development later in life. However, among Third Age theorists, adult educators, educational gerontologists (a sub-field of adult education), psychologists, sociologists, and diversity theorists, there are comparatively few research studies of the experiences of AATA. As a result, we do not know much about AATA; this poses a significant problem. Therefore, this investigation of AATA's experiences simultaneously reduced the related literature gap, added to the academic body of knowledge on older adults, and strengthened the emerging study of the third age. The goals of the study were to understand who these individuals are, what their experiences were as adult learners, and what learning meant to them at this stage in life. The overarching research question that guided this inquiry are the following: what does it mean to be an AATA adult learner? Within this question are two related questions: (1) What is the experience of lifelong learning as narrated by AATA, (2) What meaning do AATA give to this phase of life as it relates to lifelong learning? Narrative research was used to capture the stories of a small group of participants, with the intent of collecting rich, in-depth narratives on the topic. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was guided by the narrative inquiry approach. This study produced an understanding of how AATA perceive of themselves as learners and investigated their attitudes towards lifelong learning for assisting institutions in the delivery of quality educational experiences for an aging population.

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2014, Educational Leadership

This narrative inquiry examines the role of spirituality in the professional practices of African American women in academia. Specifically, I conceptualize the tensions between intellectualism and spirituality as African American female faculty working in predominately-White universities negotiate them. Although there has been an increase in scholarship concerning spirituality and education in recent years, rarely have scholars looked at the ways in which African American faculty might use spirituality to address epistemic violence in the academy. The topic brings to bear a worthy discussion of the historical relationship between spirituality and intellectualism in the lives of African Americans as well as the intellectual warfare waged upon Black epistemologies in American educational institutions. African American women in particular, face a perpetuation of negative racial constructions through curricular, pedagogical, and administrative practices that has led many to believe that they had to choose between culture and intellectualism (Crane, 1994; Burrell, 2010). The narratives of the women in this study provide insights on how certain women navigate such choices. The purpose of this study is to explore how African American women faculty use spirituality to negotiate their relationship to knowledge in ways that transcend the negative effects of racism. The research question that guides this study is how do African American women use spirituality to navigate academia? This study is significant because it examines and analyzes a form of resistance that is important to educational struggles about what constitutes knowledge and how particular knowledge is used in oppressive ways. The narratives of these scholars substantiate the importance of spirituality in the lives of women and provide insights on how African American spirituality affects the intellectual strivings of Black women educators.

Doctor of Education, Miami University, 2010, Educational Psychology

This qualitative dissertation study investigated the success of an African-America religious school located in a Midwestern low SES neighborhood. There are inequities in educational opportunities. Schools, as mandated by the local and state agencies, have a history of not fulfilling the stated mission of educating all children especially African American students. This school developed in response to the historic denial of unequal opportunities. The prophetic mission and call to achieve equity gave rise to the founding of this school by the membership of the Messiah Christian Alliance Fellowship Church. The foundation of this educational facility was essential in the building of healthy African American students. Historical data shows that children who are members of lower socio-economic (SES) groups achieve at lower rates than middle class white students and students from wealthier homes. Yet for many of these students the reality of obtaining a quality is in fact another deferred. This qualitative study investigated the success of at a school located in an urban community. Through the theory base of Black Liberation Theology, the pastor and followers answered the call of providing excellent education to the children attending this school.

Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, 2012, Theological Studies

This thesis explores the sacrament of reconciliation as a source of priestly spirituality, which informs ministerial identity. The significance and purpose of this thesis is to propose a sacramental model of spirituality that promotes respectful collaboration between priests and lay ecclesial ministers, which is called for by the United States' Bishops in Called and Gifted for the Third Millenium. This thesis outlines basic foundations of ministerial identity as understood in the Roman Catholic priesthood. It then examines spirituality as the component of ministerial identity where belief and practice converge. Finally, it provides a detailed analysis of two forms of the sacrament of penance, during which the rites are examined for spiritual dispositions and virtues that promote effective collaboration and mutual respect between priests and lay ecclesial ministers.

Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), Xavier University, 2025, Psychology

LGB+ individuals may tolerate prejudice from religious/spiritual (R/S) institutions in hopes of deriving some potential benefits or comfort from these institutions. When LGB+ individuals encounter sexual prejudice in R/S settings, they may experience difficulty developing and maintaining a healthy sexual and R/S identity. Additionally, if LGB+ individuals internalize the negative messages about their sexual identity from R/S sources, they may experience significant discord and distress further challenging their ability to develop a healthy sexual and R/S identity. Consequently, the purpose of the current study was to examine if unsupportive R/S experiences predict greater identity self-discrepancies (i.e., actual-ideal and actual-ought) among LGB+ individuals who have heightened internalized homonegativity. Two hundred LGB+ individuals ages 18–76 completed measures to assess the conflict or comfort they derive from R/S sources, the discrepancies between their actual, ideal, and ought sexual and R/S identities, and their levels of internalized homonegativity. Results revealed that the more LGB+ individuals experienced religion/spirituality as a source of conflict, the greater their actual-ideal self-discrepancy. Additionally, the more LGB+ individuals experienced religion/spirituality as a source of comfort, the smaller their actual-ideal and actual-ought self-discrepancies—with these associations particularly strong when LGB+ individuals internalized negative messages about their sexual identity. Thus, especially for LGB+ individuals who have internalized negative messages about their sexual identity, experiencing religion/spirituality as a source of comfort may help reduce identity challenges (and work toward identity integration).

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Nursing: Nursing - Doctoral Program

Background: Due to the complexity of medical conditions in the intensive care unit (ICU), mortality rates are typically high in most hospitals. End-of-life care (EOLC) begins when curative treatments are no longer beneficial, shifting the focus to comfort and quality of life for patients and families. Despite EOLC being a standard part of ICU management, healthcare professionals encounter complexities and uncertainties when transitioning from life-saving treatments to comfort-focused care. Additionally, EOLC in the ICU is influenced by the cultural backgrounds of both nurses and patients. The nursing culture in Saudi Arabia reflects a diverse workforce, with a significant reliance on expatriate nurses from various countries, leading to cultural and language differences that can influence EOLC. Objectives: To explore the perceived barriers and facilitators of critical care nurses in providing EOLC in intensive care units, how cultural variations between nurses and patients impact care, and how nurses address and meet the cultural needs of dying patients. Method: The study employed a qualitative descriptive method, utilizing semi-structured interviews that were conducted virtually through Zoom. Purposeful sampling techniques and a homogeneous sampling approach were used to recruit participants. Open-ended questions were used from an interview guide to prompt the critical care nurses to share their viewpoints and experiences. Results: The exploration of the perceived barriers and facilitators of critical care nurses during EOLC for terminally ill patients in the ICU revealed three main themes: (a) EOLC barriers, (b) EOLC facilitators, and (c) suggestions to improve the EOLC and overcome barriers. The exploration of how cultural variations between nurses and patients impact care, and how nurses address and meet the cultural needs of dying patients revealed five main themes: (a) cultural practices and traditions of patients & families, (b) cultural competence during EOLC (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Educational Studies

Historically, religion has been an understudied topic in higher education research, and Hindu students in particular have received insufficient attention. This qualitative study helps fill this knowledge gap by investigating how some Hindu students experience belonging at a large, public, Midwestern university. Using an emic/etic approach, I conduct a thematic analysis informed by descriptive phenomenology followed by a theoretical analysis using critical religious pluralism theory to understand how three Hindu students experience belonging on their university campus. The data collection methods used were semi-structured interviews and photo-elicitation. The four main themes which emerged from the data were religious and cultural identities, religious literacy, the importance of community, and individual spirituality. The critical religious pluralism theory-based analysis focused on religious literacy as a justice issue, the way neutrality perpetuates privilege, and the role of Christian privilege, drawing insights from these content areas about students' experiences of belonging. Overall, this study demonstrates the importance of providing both neutral and sectarian safe spaces on campus for Hindu students; building religious literacy into training and programming for faculty, staff, and students; and giving attention to Hindu students' spiritual development to support Hindu students' sense of belonging. This study also demonstrates how critical it is to analyze religion separately from culture.

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2007, Graduate School

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2024, English: Composition and Rhetoric

This thesis explores the meaning and manifestation of mind-body-spirit connection in teaching and learning within the composition classroom. I advocate for a more inclusive and polyvocal pedagogy, arguing that the prevalent disconnect among mind, body, and spirit reinforces mind-centric, colonizing, and imbalanced teaching. Findings from interviews with composition instructors and autoethnographic data are used to understand how teachers define and implement holistic connection in their teaching practices, focusing especially on understandings of spirituality, power and freedom, and storytelling. Additionally, I detail a personal journaling heuristic including means for multimodal remediation that encourages students and teachers to exercise reflective agency regarding their holistic wellbeing within a compositional context. I conclude by suggesting that an instructor's understanding of the mind-body-spirit connection and holistic wellbeing can lead to healing, balanced relationships with students and self, making way for reflective and compassionate practices that enhance teaching and learning.

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2024, English/Literature

This thesis puts into conversation the work of four influential late medieval writers whose lives or writings skirted the fringes of Christian orthodoxy - Margery Kempe, Julian of Norwich, John of Morigny, and Marguerite Porete - in order to explore the way "autobiographical" theological and/or mystical writers asserted spiritual authority and subjectivity under the constraints of both the threat of condemnation for heresy and the inherent inexpressibility of mystical or visionary experiences. Beginning with Marguerite Porete and reverberating out, the performance-based rhetorical strategies in storytelling, in self-narrativization, in discernment, and in revision employed by writers in response to the dynamic, complex, and in many ways increasingly hostile social and religious environments of the long fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries in France and England provide an important window into the relationship between these writers' ideas and the environment which shaped them. Each of these writers struggles with the limitations of the written word to express the truth of their spiritual experiences, and each engages in an experiential and bodily performative, rhetorical, and/or apophatic discourse in order to understand, assert, or make real their encounters with and understanding of themselves, the divine, and the relationship between the two.

MA, Kent State University, 2024, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of History

My thesis discusses the history of gender and sexuality politics in postcolonial Zimbabwe. It utilizes the convening of Christianity and politics to explore how these areas of public life combined to influence different perceptions towards gender and sexuality identities. The background appraises the impact of African Traditional Religion (ATR) during the colonial period and the changes ushered in by Western Christianity. During this time of colonial conquest, ATR was the cornerstone of all the sectors of life including politics. This included the worshiping of God through nature and ancestral spirits. Reincarnation was a very prominent practice of the colonial Zimbabwe ATR, also known as the Mwari cult. The concept of reincarnation was considered an effective way of communicating with the dead through the Masvikiro (spirit mediums) who transmitted information, requests for rains, or prayers for healing and harvest to Mwari or Unkulunkulu (God). Masvikiro gained popularity as the quest for nationalism continuously shaped every aspect of colonial Zimbabwe especially in the anti-colonial protest of 1896-97 Chimurenga (war of independence). Although there was transition in religion since the precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial period where ATR's prominence began to diminish due to the absorption of western doctrines, all the three historic phases elaborate how religion was shaped by the prevailing situations until it became a chief cornerstone of every aspect of the postcolonial economy. As a result of colonialism, a significant number of people converted to Christianity. My thesis, therefore, serves to confirm the existence of a continued influence of religion in politics. It reexamines the various ways in which a combination of religion and politics affected the perceptions of gender and sexuality identities. This pinpoints dimensions in which gender identities were understood and perceived in independent Zimbabwe and most significantly how these changed through (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Social Work

Spirituality has been popularized as a support for those in addiction recovery. Millions of individuals have transitioned from active addiction to addiction recovery through interventions informed by spiritual and religious principles. However, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that relapse rates within the United States remain high. This data may indicate a potential discrepancy between the present utility of spirituality and its practical implementation. Many researchers have attempted to find solutions and pathways that utilize spiritual components that would benefit those in addiction recovery. Theories and definitions abound for spirituality in addiction recovery, yet the operational and developmental nature of spirituality remains clouded. These limitations frustrate plans to reduce relapse rates by effectively implementing spiritually or religiously aligned program elements. Therefore, this project proposes three papers aimed at addressing this substantial gap: Chapter 2 is an inductive scoping review of empirically-focused peer-reviewed articles exploring how spirituality is defined and measured within addiction recovery literature. This chapter aims to assess how spirituality is presently defined within the context of addiction recovery literature and will consider definitions, components, indicators of health, and measurement as elements of how spirituality is structured. Chapter 3 is a deductive qualitative content analysis that explores how a synthesis of Canda's operational model of spirituality and Worden's Tasks of Grief align with the operational principles of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). AA has helped millions transition from active addiction to addiction recovery through a practical spiritual process. The content analysis study will explore the operational literature of AA, explicitly examining the content for components of spirituality and spiritual change. Doing so rigorously will bring additional insight to future work and (open full item for complete abstract)

MA, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Counseling, Mental Health

Within counseling and other mental health disciplines, the queer community as a whole has been widely under recognized and othered within our western spaces. Within many of the structures that western culture has curated to benefit that of the general population, there has been and still continues to be active internal erasure as well as purposeful othering within many religious and spiritual spaces. The current study is based on the work of Wood & Conley 2014 who made note of the disparities between those who uphold a queer identity and either hide their queerness and/or renounce themselves from a religious/spiritual affiliation. Using the Interpretative Phenomenological Approach, and previous research, I have been able to dive into the lives of queer perspectives and understand whether it is possible to integrate, instead of harm, queer identities among being religious and/or spiritual. Findings indicated that there is a process of deconversion that includes education alongside increasing self-esteem and mental health, as well as feelings of internalized queerphobia and difficulties navigating both R/S and queer spaces. Counseling implications and areas for future research are discussed.

Master of Arts, Case Western Reserve University, 2024, Psychology

While research examining common struggles of religious deidentification is growing, there is little research examining process variables of psychological adjustment. Individuals who deidentify from high-cost religions often experience anger or other negative emotions toward God, themselves, other individuals in the religion of origin, or the entire religion of origin. What role might forgiveness play in relation to these deidentification experiences? Event-specific forgiveness toward the self, God, specific others, and the entire community of origin was explored among 293 individuals who pulled away from ultra-Orthodox Judaism. Several factors accounted for unique variance in different types of forgiveness, which in turn had implications for mental health. In a few cases, levels of spiritual harm and abuse moderated the relationship between specific forgiveness and wellbeing outcomes. Overall, situation-specific forgiveness toward multiple transgressors may be an important factor when considering the psychological adjustment of those who pull away from high-cost religions.