2007 - present
Smith College offers graduate work leading to the degrees of master of arts, master of arts in teaching, master of fine arts, master of education, master of education of the deaf, master of science in exercise and sport studies and master of Social Work. Each student is required to archive his or her thesis in Smith ScholarWorks for access and preservation.
Please note that access to some theses is restricted for a period of time as requested by the author. For example, a thesis may be submitted in May 2015, but not open access until May 2020.
- On Campus Access: limited to the Smith College community and researchers on campus
- Off Campus Access: limited to the Smith College community via Smith College log-in. Off Campus researchers may request a loan through Interlibrary Loan at their own library
Masters Theses from 2009
Inextricably intertwined : identity development in adults with a disabled sibling, Sarah M. Rigney
An exploration of diferences in childhood maltreatment between violent and non-violent male juvenile delinquents, and, Childhood maltreatment and its effects on male delinquent crime : physical neglect trumps all, Caroline Irene Robertson
Social workers helping to put out the fire : how do combination fire department employees work through occupational stress?, Lisa Anne Rudge
"Like straight people do" : an exploration of issues lesbian women encounter during their coming out process, Emily Brennan Russell
Acting on grief in the aftermath of violent loss : the efficacy of social action as a mechanism for psychic healing, Miriam Shoshana Sadinsky
Impulsive and antisocial personality characteristics amongst male adolescent sexual offenders :, Amanda Raquel Santiago
A priest, a rabbi, and a clinical social worker walk into an inpatient psychiatry unit : clinical social workers uses of humor on an inpatient psychiatry unit, Sarah Elizabeth Santoro
"This so clearly needs to be marked" : an exploration of memorial tattoos and their functions for the bereaved, Elizabeth Schiffrin
Transgender individuals' experiences in therapy and perception of the treatment experience, Jeannette Marie. Sheerin
The effects of joint physical custody on fathers and the father/child relationship, Evan Shopper
Exploring intimate partner violence through the lens of modern attachment theory, Lisa Marie Smeltzer
The theoretical foundations of wilderness therapy, Sara Smithson
Gaps in the provision of psychosocial services to cancer patients in a multidisciplinary setting : a social work perspective, Billie Ann Starks
Family therapists' responses to monopolizing, blaming, critical and unempathic behavior in parents, Andrew David Sussman
Standards of care : transgender/genderqueer clients' experiences with mental health workers, Hunter Greenwood Swanson
Race and diagnosis : an assesment of clinician detection of eating disorder symtomatology in Asian, African-American, and White women, Kristin Swenson
Boundary constructions in treatment relationships between service providers and homeless youth, Allison May Terbieten
Repeat pregnancies during adolescence : factors that influence teens' decisions to have more than one child, Kimberly J. Therrien
Gettin' good with ourselves : White caucus groups as emergent anti-racism pedagogy, Nathalie Rachelle Torrens
Feeling your way : affect in psychotherapy and creative writing from the perspective of the client-writer, Andrea Jean Torres
Do the Pikler and RIE methods promote infant-parent attachment?, Mary Triulzi
What is the efficacy of evidence-based practice in mental health treatment of diverse ethnic minorities?, Claire Denise Villegas
An exploration of White mental health clinicians' provision of Spanish language services to Latino/a clients, Sara Esther Walker
Social workers' perceptions on community violence and resilience : the impact of assessment and treatment when working with children and adolescents, Matthew J. Warford
How social workers resolve the ethical dilemmas that arise when working with women experiencing domestic violence, Jennifer F. Wiech
Sugar and spice : the hidden world of pre-adolescent female aggression, Sarah Crofton Winsor
What are the mental health seeking behaviors of female sex workers?, Serena Wong
Why horses? Why not horses? : equine-facilitated therapy as it applies to mental health, Katie Ann Worms
School counselor perspectives on bullying behavior in urban middle school settings, Elizabeth Jean Zacher
Masters Theses from 2008
Social work practice with Latino Pentecostals : applying femininst family theory and object relations theory, Angela Marie Baczewski Hakkila
Taking the bait : countertransference among female clinicians who work with men who batter, Georgia Louise Banks
"Enough about you, let's talk about me : clinicians' use of self-disclosure and (un)conscious awareness of race, sexuality, and gender, Sarah R. Barnett-Parker
Meaning making for survivors of suicide : an exploratory study of a complicated process, LaVange Elizabeth Barth
Applying and adapting testimonial psychotherapy to address the effects of race-based traumatic stress on people of color in the United States, Amy Beth Basford
The living and spiritual experiences of gay men with AIDS : an exploratory study, Jerry Dale Beene
Three studies of sexual offenders : female perpetrated sexual victimization, comparison of male and female perpetrated sexual victimization, and escalation histories, Sarah Guillaume Belanger
"Do I pull the race card?" : middle-class African American parental perceptions of racism in their children's public schools, Tamika M. Brock
"They were neither typical..nor unique" : an exploratory study of enlistment decisions of American veterans from past to present, Kelly Alexis Brogden
Understanding male juvenile sexual offenders : an investigation of experiences and internalized masculinity, Adam Brown
Emotions in the classroom, Elizabeth D. Burris
Sexual expression among Black women in relationships with men from different minority racial groups, Sara Tildon Burton
Male obesity : a qualitative study of clinical attitudes and perspectives, Michael Joseph Carter
Interracial relationships from the perspective of Cambodians in western Massachusetts, Vuthy Chhum
Mothering the mother : can a postpartum doula enhance maternal self confidence and maternal empathy in a primiparous mother?, Binda Colebrook
Exploring the experiences of clinicians treating Latino clients who utilize folk healing practices, Luz Eneida Cotto
Therapists' descriptions of their beliefs and practices regarding engaging resistant caregivers of children and adolescents, Sarah Becker Crane
Difference in perception of campus climate between White students and Black and Latino students at one New England independent school, Nola-rae Cronan
Attachment style and identity construction : the choice of profession as one method of culturally mediating, locating and fulfilling attachment needs both interpersonally and societally, Gwendolyn Cutting Wishard
Embodying the therapeutic alliance : an exploration of the working alliance in the personal trainer-client relationship, Lindsay L. Davison
The impact on the self of growing up with a sibling with autism spectrum : an exploratory study, Margaret M. Dickey
Religion, spirituality, and social work : a quantitative study on the behaviors of social workers in conducting individual therapy, Meghan Maureen Dwyer
Negotiating agency and personal narrative in clinical social work practice : a qualitative study investigating how clinicians' experiences of multiple narratives influence their clinical work, Emily Rebecca Fischer
The use of psychoeducation in the treatment of PTSD with military personnel and their family members : an exploratory study from a clinician's perspective, Mary Elizabeth Fisher
Mothers' experience of having a child diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, Amanda Gane
Determining outcomes and improving effectiveness : an outcome study of the East Bay Agency for Children's Therapeutic Nursery School, Elise Geltman
The intersection of religion, spirituality and social work : implications for clinical practice, Andrea Leigh Giese-Sweat
Resilience and street level prostitution : a collective case study, Megan Glennon
What are the factors that influence whether a clinician discusses race in the crossracial therapeutic encounter?, Anna Cristina Goett
The strength of Muslim American couples in the face of heightened discrimination from September 11th and the Iraq War, Brianne Goodman, Brianne Goodman Carter, and Brianne Goodman Carter
Together or separate : implications for expressing progressive social justice and spiritual practices, Enroue Halfkenny
An exploratory study of mental health providers' awareness of internalized oppression of women who experience same-sex intimate partner violence, Sharon E. Harp
A slight schooling on deaf education, Kathryn L. Hayden
Implications of frequent online social network use for adolescent and emerging adult social experiences, Nora Anne Heins
The way we speak affects our reality : why speaking from the values of racial justice begins the creation of a racially just world, Katherine Alice Hornowski
"What do you mean, 'separate identity'? : an exploration of separation and individuation for second generation Korean American adolescents, Catherine C, Huh
The role of psychotherapy in the age of medication : a theoretical analysis of biological and psychodynamic perspectives on the etiology and treatment of schizophrenia, Tessa Leona Hutchinson
An exploration of the influence of media, advertising, and popular culture on the self esteem, identity, and body image in adolescent girls, Jennifer A. Irving
Transitional objects in adult treatment : case studies, Sheela Madhukar Joshi
Weighing in : an analysis of the NASW's web-based content regarding theoretical issues and practice recommendations for social workers working with overweight and obese individuals, M. Elizabeth Kanard
The importance of racial concordance and the childhood experiences of Black students and practicing clinicians in the field of social work, Candice Tara Karber
Parental death : grieving loss of life while sustaining a relationship, Maisie Lasher Ketron
No place like home : trans-individuals' search for belonging in a binary gendered world, Leslie Catherine Kilpatrick
How clinicians' use of narrative therapy can assist elders in late-life transition, Glenna Sue Klein
The impact of race on the decision-making process for interracial lesbian couples opting to conceive through donor insemination, Kendra Marie Koeplin
Examining our worst fears, Jennifer Elmassian Leszkiewicz
How home-based clinicians assess and assist parent(s) who experience changes in family dynamics post discharge of their pre-latency/latency age child's first psychiatric hospitalization, Ashley Shannon Logee
What is culture? What is compentency? What is Latino? : an exploratory study of clinicians' perceptions and practice of cultural competency with Latino clients, Saralyn Marie Masselink
An exploration of factors associated with reentry adjustment of U.S. foreign service spouses, Sharon M. Maybarduk
An investigation into what "best practice" entails with adolescent survivors of prolonged child abuse, Lauren P. McEvoy
What if they think I'm crazy : clinical interventions to help adolescents manage stigma following a psychiatric hospitalization, Megan L. McKenna
A survey of clinicians' use of touch and body awareness in psychotherapy, Anastasia D. McRae
Deconstructing white privilege : social variables that may affect white males' race identity development, Karen Christine Nelson
Embodied practice : do social work therapists explore client strengths as expressed in the lived experience of the body?, Duncan Nichols
Strengthening the capacity of helping professionals to provide psychosocial support to communities affected by armed conflict : the evaluation of one program, Arden Elise O'Donnell
Elementary school teachers' perceptions of the foster care system and the children in its care, Irja Carol. Peck
Forget me not : a retrospective, exploratory study of daughters caring for a mother with Alzheimer's disease, Pamela Sloane Rich
Buddhist philosophy and practices as applied to unlearning racism, Chara Joy Riegel
Wilderness therapy and spirituality, Lauren Elizabeth Rothwell
"Bearing the weight of a mother's mood" : does a history of depression influence a woman's attitudes about having children?, Beth Sadavoy