Doctor of Psychology (PsyD), Wright State University, 2014, School of Professional Psychology

There is a gap in the current literature concerning the study of university students with mental illness. Particularly, very few qualitative studies have been conducted in which interviews with university students with mental illness have yielded knowledge about the population's experiences and needs. The present study, employing a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach, was designed to promote a more accurate perception of the lives of university students with mental illness by allowing the voices of members of this group to be heard. Eight matriculating university students who self-identified with mental illness participated in this exploratory PAR initiative. The study involved open-ended questioning of participants through mixed methods including a demographics sheet, self-administered questionnaire, and focus group interviews. Results reflected numerous salient themes based on both written and verbal interactions with participants. For instance, potential barriers to success and suggestions for ways to best serve university students with mental illness were revealed. Also, mental health stigma and disability issues were addressed. Implications for future research and action are discussed.

Committee: Julie Williams Psy.D., CRC, ABPP (Committee Chair); Robert Rando Ph.D., ABPP (Committee Member); Erendira Lopez-Garcia Psy.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Clinical Psychology; Continuing Education; Counseling Psychology; Developmental Psychology; Education; Educational Psychology; Health Care; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; Mental Health; Psychology; Public Health

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD), Wright State University, 2014, School of Professional Psychology

The study of facilitators of treatment seeking and compliance in people with severe mental illness represents a significant gap in the current literature. The present study, using a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach, attempted to identify facilitators to treatment seeking and compliance through the lived experiences of people living with severe mental illness. Interviews were used to gather information about the experience of people with severe mental illness regarding disability identity development, recovery, interactions with treatment and treatment providers, the experience of being diagnosed with a severe mental illness, and the impact of psychiatric disability on family, friends, and functioning. Results reflected the importance of religion and spirituality, trust, coping and self-care, disability identity, and social and family support as key facilitators to treatment seeking and compliance in people with severe mental illness. Implications for the provision of services to people with severe mental illness and for future research are discussed.

Committee: Julie Williams Psy.D., ABPP (Committee Chair); Michelle Schultz Psy.D. (Committee Member); Irma Johnston Psy.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, English

“Psychiatric Disability and Rhetoricity: Refiguring Rhetoric and Composition Studies in the 21st Century” examines the ways in which mental health activists in the consumer/survivor/ex-patient (c/s/x) movement reframe medical models of mental illness by asserting their lived experience as valuable ontology. In Chapter 1, “Naming Psychiatric Disability and Moving Beyond the Ethos Problem,” I contextualize the absence of psychiatric disabled perspectives in the history of rhetoric. By demonstrating that the logic of psychiatric-disability-as-an-ethos-problem functions as an enthymeme that warrants re-examination, I denaturalize discourses that assume psychiatrically disabled rhetors have ethos problems. An interchapter follows Chapter 1, and provides an overview of Chapters 2-5 and my mixed, emergent qualitative research methodology. In my second chapter, “Interactivity and Rhetorical Ownership: The Icarus Project Discussion Board Posts,” I analyze the collaborative creation of a “mad vocabulary” taking place on an active discussion forum within a c/s/x community called the Icarus Project. Using grounded theory methods, I coded over 2,000 discussion board posts written over a span of ten years. Using this data, I demonstrate how individuals participating in the Icarus Project online draw on lived experience to claim “rhetorical ownership” over labels (Sontag 93). Chapter 3, “Vernacular Videos as Performances of Recovery: MindFreedom International's I Got Better Project,” forges new ways of including psychiatrically disabled people in rhetoric and composition, and it does so by analyzing critical incidents within a collection of personal stories titled I Got Better that discuss recovery from psychiatric disabilities. I theorize stories from within the c/s/x movement function as performances of recovery, which contribute situated knowledge to the public discussion of mental health treatment and encourage identification with various audiences. In Chapter 4, (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Brenda Brueggemann (Committee Chair); Cynthia Selfe (Committee Member); Maurice Stevens (Committee Member) Subjects: Composition; Rhetoric

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD), Wright State University, 2014, School of Professional Psychology

Psychiatric disorders are common in individuals with intellectual disability (ID), but the accurate diagnosis of psychopathology in this population is problematic for a number of reasons, including but not limited to linguistic barriers, difficulty separating symptoms of mental illness from long-term consequences of abnormal brain development, institutionalization, and learned behaviors. In addition, many assessment tools used to diagnose psychopathology in individuals with ID lack reliability or validity for use with this population. The Diagnostic Manual -Intellectual Disability (DM-ID): A Clinical Guide for Diagnosis of Mental Disorders in Persons with Intellectual Disability (Fletcher, Loschen, Stavrakaki, & First, 2007a) is a diagnostic system grounded in evidence-based methods, and supported by expert consensus, that reflects the current best clinical practice to diagnose psychiatric disabilities in persons with an ID. This study converted the behavioral observations found in the DM-ID indicative of psychopathology in individuals with ID with the aim to create a diagnostic screening tool that leads to a more accurate diagnosis of psychiatric disorders in this population. This study describes the development of the items of the Screen for Symptoms of Psychopathology for Individuals with Intellectual Disability (SSP-ID), including critiques by experts in the field. The SSP-ID developed in this study requires further empirical testing to evaluate its validity and reliability. However, once reliability and validity have been established, this tool will make a valuable addition to the DM-ID because it ensures that all possible symptoms of psychopathology specific to ID are not overlooked or misinterpreted, that all relevant diagnostic options are considered, and that the adapted diagnostic criteria in the DM-ID are reviewed prior to making a diagnosis. By taking into consideration the fact that the symptom presentation and manifestation of a psychiatric disorder ma (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Leon VandeCreek Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Jeffery Allen Ph.D. (Committee Member); Martin Moss Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2009, Counselor Education (Education)

Research indicates that people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder have a high rate of unemployment. This qualitative phenomenological study was designed to explore the perceptions of eight individuals with either disorder who have secured employment after diagnosis. The rationale for this study arises from the researcher‘s desire to find the process which was used by individuals with either disorder to become employed. It was the researcher‘s assumption that uncovering such a process could lead to implementation of employment as a therapeutic goal of treatment with such individuals.The purposefully selected sample consisted of eight individuals from a Midwestern state who have been diagnosed with either disorder. The primary method of data collection was three in-depth interviews. The data were organized according to the research and field-developed questions asked of participants. Analysis and interpretation of findings were completed using the van Kaam method of qualitative data processing. The research revealed that participants in the study interpreted recovery as living in asmuch of a perceived degree of normalcy as possible. Recovery was found to be a developmental concept among participants. The six following categories were developed from the data: self-help; employment; assistance with employment; benefits of employment; functioning at a perceived normal level while living as full a life as possible with the illness; and recovery to employment. Five themes were found: self-care; supports; issues of employment; rewards of employment; and recovery process. Fourteen sub-themes emerged from the analysis of data. They were as follows: medication compliance; stress reduction; approaching employment gradually and carefully; stigma; disclosure of condition; formal accommodations; change of employers due to problems of disability; lack of failure; family and friends; governmental support; private supports; intrinsic rewards of employment; extrinsic rewar (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Tracy C. Leinbaugh PhD (Committee Chair); Jerry Olsheski PhD (Committee Member); Patricia Beamish PhD (Committee Member); Gregory Janson PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Rehabilitation