CityU Scholarly Work (Restricted)
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Contains access-restricted scholarly work from City University of Seattle students, faculty, and staff.
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Item In Step Together: A Relational Model for Integrating Therapy Dogs into Nature-Based Walk-and-Talk Therapy(2025-05-22) Stewart, SoniaThis capstone explores the therapeutic possibilities of integrating walk-and-talk therapy with canine-assisted interventions, grounded in trauma-informed, relational, and nature-based approaches to care. Drawing from current literature, practice-based insights, and interdisciplinary theory, the capstone examines how movement, animal presence, and outdoor environments can support emotional regulation, therapeutic engagement, and accessibility across diverse populations. The literature review identifies core themes within walk-and-talk therapy and therapy dog interventions, emphasizing how each supports nervous system regulation, relational safety, and client-centred practice. Although both modalities show promise on their own, research on their combined use remains limited. In response, this capstone introduces the In Step Together model, a flexible and ethically grounded framework for integrating therapy dogs into outdoor, movement-based sessions. The model is organized into four phases: preparation, grounding, walking dialogue, and integration. Each phase centres on co-regulation, consent, and responsiveness to both clients' and canines' needs. The project concludes with reflections on ethical considerations, therapist training, and future directions for research and practice. It advocates for mental health care that is more inclusive and culturally responsive and that honours the healing potential of relationship, environment, and interspecies connection.Item Living with a Label: An Exploration About Why We Categorize and the Need to Understand the Experience of Children with a Psychological Label(2025-09-30) Makowecki, HeatherHuman beings have arrived in our modern world through a rich evolutionary history spanning millions of years. Using an evolutionary psychological lens, humans categorize our world and fellow humans due to our need to survive in cooperative groups. Since the Industrial Revolution, the human world has changed dramatically. Instead of living in smaller groups, we now exist together in an integrated global economy built on the need for constant economic growth and technological progression. This manuscript builds on these two concepts and explores the nature of mental illness from the perspective that "normal" and "abnormal" behaviour are not proven truths but are defined by the values and goals of the societies in which they occur. In addition, our scientific ways of understanding human behaviour are inescapably enmeshed in these values. This means that it is impossible to analyze and categorize human behaviour objectively. The labels we assign to other humans are not scientific truths, but interpretations of humanity based on the social constructs of the modern world. Knowing this, we must seek to understand how psychological labels affect people’s sense of who they are and consider not only if we can apply a label to another person, but whether we should.Item Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Police Officers: Impacts on Work Performance and Implications for Clinicians and Police Agencies(2025-05) Saeed, MishalPost-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) presents a critical occupational health issue for police officers, who are routinely exposed to traumatic incidents. This paper examines PTSD in the policing context, outlining the key risk factors that heighten officers' susceptibility to the disorder. It delves into how PTSD can compromise work performance, particularly by impairing cognitive processes, affecting judgement, and contributing to harmful behaviours on the job. Additionally, the influence of police culture, especially the stigma surrounding mental health, is discussed as a major barrier to help-seeking. This paper reviews evidence-based strategies for addressing these challenges, emphasizing trauma-informed practices and peer-driven support systems. In exploring the link between psychological well-being and professional functioning, this paper underscores the need for proactive intervention, cultural change, and systemic support in promoting the well-being of police officers. This capstone project introduces a psychoeducational presentation that can be provided to police officers to help increase mental health knowledge among police officers.Item Dismantling Weight-Stigma in Counselling Using the Weight Inclusive Approach and Self-Compassion(2025-04) Cooper-Wall, FeliciaIn our society it is unsafe to be fat. Fat people experience weight-based discrimination on a daily basis from everyone around them – especially from medical and mental health providers. Our hatred of fatness has patriarchal and racist roots; however, people have been wrongly convinced that it is founded in concerns about health. Anti-weight bias is the cause of much physical and mental turmoil for people living in larger bodies, and if these biases go unchecked, they are often perpetuated by mental health practitioners. Despite the growing research that outlines the harms of diet culture and anti-weight bias, there is still a gap in the research and education for counsellors about how to navigate conversations about body size with clients. Further, antiweight bias is an intersectional issue: it has deep historical roots in white-supremacy and sexism. This capstone project aims to speak to the gap in knowledge by offering mental health practitioners tools for practicing in a more weight-inclusive manner. Counsellors educating themselves and their clients about the harms of anti-weight bias and fostering self-compassion has been found to have greater health outcomes for clients than losing weight. This capstone seeks to increase awareness about the harms of the weight-normative approach, and give counsellors a deeper understanding of a way forward that seeks to empower and uplift every body.Item Counselling for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): Addressing Gaps in Care(2025-06) Szeto, LindaAlthough counselling for people with brain injuries is an emerging field, this group continues to receive limited support. An estimated 50 million people globally are affected by TBI, many of whom experience co-occurring psychological conditions such as persistent anxiety, depressive symptoms, trauma-induced psychological distress and a higher likelihood of suicidal ideation or behavior. These challenges can greatly reduce people's overall well-being. This capstone seeks to bridge the gap between current counselling strategies and emerging modalities, including eye movement and desensitization and mindfulness. A comprehensive review of current counselling strategies for the TBI population was conducted, and an analysis of emerging research demonstrated significant statistical outcomes. Findings from this capstone suggest that integrating less common modalities and adaptations for individuals' unique cognitive and emotional needs results in better outcomes. Implications for this capstone highlight the need to expand counselling practices to offer holistic and integrative care.