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Masters Theses

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 2022 2022

Investigating the Potential Upslope Migration of Magnolia fraseri in Response to Climate Change, John M. Berryhill

This Lawn is Not My Lawn, Sarah Konner, Austin Selden, and Lance Schnorenberg

Now Again Becoming Now Again, Chrissy Martin

Cusp, Laura Osterhaus Rosenstone

Masters Theses from 2020 2020

Life sentence : a play in two acts, Mary Beth Brooker

Whole-genome sequencing and circadian gene analysis of the Polynesian tiger mosquito Aedes polynesiensis, Renna Bushko

Closer to home : the influence of parenthood on child trauma therapists' countertransference, Lisa Kennedy

Masters Theses from 2019 2019

Culture, gender, and the social construction of borderline personality disorder, Allegra L. Comas

Mixed matter, Michelle Renée Erard

Solidus, Lucille H. Jun

Light | time | space | dust, Nikki Lee

Good grief, Anna M. Maynard

Masters Theses from 2018 2018

The ethics of dying : an exploration of the right to suicide and clinician response to self-determination and suicidal ideation among adults who struggle with mental illness, Shelley Bair

Living well in the lives of African American women with chronic illness, Gabrilla Ballard

Program evaluation of a transitional age youth program : a project based upon an investigation at ServiceNet, Northampton, Massachusetts, Andrea Carnegie Chester

Veterans' stories of substance use, recovery, and moral injury : an exploratory study, Chelsea Faria

A hieroglyphics of the flesh, Shayla-Vie Jenkins

I'll hang around as long as you will let me : hard country music, the white working class, and the experience of loss in the American neoliberal context, Nicholas Johnston

A condition of we, Sarah Elizabeth Lass

Mental health interventions for homeless young children through an attachment theory lens : a review and analysis of the literature, Kimberly McKittrick

In the wake of vicarious traumatization : making meaning through Jungian theory and engaged Buddhism, Angel Haydn Reed

Socioeconomic status and autism spectrum disorder : caregivers' solutions to overcoming service barriers, Rachel Rodriguez

A way out, Sarah Seder

Exploring the implementation of restorative practices in Bay Area schools, Vanessa Shea

Caregiver experiences of a therapeutic nursery program : an exploratory study, Jaimie Tyler

Masters Theses from 2017 2017

A mixed-method study examining the intersection of race and sexual violence among LGBTQ prisoners, Sarah J. Aftab

Natural Lifemanship trauma-focused equine assisted psychotherapy model : is there a change in children's feelings and behaviors over time?, Julia M. Alexander

The impact of Islamophobia on the Muslim American community : accounts of psychological suffering, identity negotiation, and collective trauma, Areeza Ali

(Act of) contrition, Emily Helen Atkinson

Two-sided healing : an exploration of Jewish women psychotherapists' experience, Aviva Bellman

"As if" : an exploration of the relationship between clincians' theoretical orientations and their conceptualizations of patient-generated metaphors in psychotherapy, Joe Berlin

Exploring clinical best practices for working with the co-occurrence of psychosis and a trauma history, Sierra Leah Black

Gestalt therapists' perspectives on gender in the therapeutic relationship : implications for anti-oppressive practice, Benjamin Philip Borkan

Experiences of first generation college students, Eleanor Grace Stulting Bradley

A qualitative study to explore Puerto Rican caregiver needs and supports to better feed their children, Nelly E. Carmona

Queer women's sexual experiences after sexual violence in a non-heterosexual relationship, Amee Catalano

Exploring refugees' sense of belonging in Chittenden County, Vermont : retrospective accounts of the resettlement process, Sam Chalfin

An exploration of the relationship between religion and spirituality and acculturation stress among international students in the western Massachusetts, Mun Ying Kennis Cheng

Exogenous oxytocin in the central nucleus of the amygdala of female meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) attenuates peer bond formation, Jennifer D. Christensen

From social work to sex therapy : increasing clinicians' sexual intervention self-efficacy beliefs, Kijao Corbett

Educator perceptions of student mental health services in high-performing charter schools, Gabriel Friedl Corens

Kinship diversion : exploring experiences of relative probate guardianship in Los Angeles, CA., Alison Davies

Do characteristics of children and families influence reported caregiver burden? : a secondary data analysis of the 2009-2010 national survey of children with special health care needs, Chelsea Davies

Patient perspectives on mental health therapy for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and chronic fatique syndrome (CFS), Brooke Denmark

The problem of evidence : philosophy of science and evidence based practice in clinical social work, Bronwyn Deprés

Provider perceptions of people who inject drugs and harm reduction approaches, Ciara DeVozza

It lies in the seams, Nicole DeWolfe

The voices of survivors of suicide : experiences with forms of support after a suicide loss, Nicole Dietze

The celebration of Black beauty in online spaces as a form of social and political resistance, Sabriya Dillard

Perinatal depression screening : using antenatal depression screens and patient demographics to predict risk for postpartum depression :, Jackson Doyle

Found in translation : how social work education can support student practice with language-discordant client systems, Martha Ann Early

Barriers to mental health treatment for refugees in Maine : an exploratory study, Hayley Fitzgerald

Navigating romantic relationships among individuals aging out of foster care, Margaux E. Flood

Mapping the sexuality-health-technology nexus : an arts based exploration, Adam Joseph Gaubinger

"They don't say it up front" : immigrant-origin high school students' experiences of disrespect and racial microaggressions by teachers : a project based upon a group research investigation, Leah A. Gold

Race and the internet : ǂb social media and multiracial identity development, Pilar Hailé-Damato

The role of spirituality in the reconstruction of identity in older women, Elin Hardenberg

How our service systems impact resiliency and recovery of domestic violence survivors : clinical perspectives, Emily Riddle Jacobs

"We were all kind of learning together" : the emergence of LGBTQ affirmative psychotherapy & social services, 1960-1987: oral history study, Boston, MA, Sarah Blair Jenkins

"if you lived in your body, you'd be home by now" : clincians' perspectives on somatic practices in psychotherapy, Natasha Sunil Jeswani

Advantages for Elaeagnus umbellata : implications for expanded invasion in response to increasing environmental and anthropological pressures, Windy Joanne Kelley

The impact on college students of sexual assault disclosure by a peer : an exploratory study, Margaret Klein

Substance abuse and recovery : does peer recovery coaching reduce frequency of crisis, relapse, hospitalization, incarceration, DCF involvement, and other public services use in substance abusers? : a project based upon an agency-based investigation, Stephanie Koenig

Compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and mindfulness among social workers and graduate-level social work interns, Brian Kornobis

"Translating the language of the body" : engaging individuals who self-harm in psychodynamic psychotherapy, Dani Kowalski

Looking for ghosts everywhere : the effects of vicarious traumatization on mental health interpreters who work with refugees, Sophie Anna Lembeck

Working with trauma : a qualitative and retrospective exploration of the experiences of clinicians who work with trauma, Allyson Rebecca Lent

Benefits and challenges of offering peer support to student survivors of campus sexual violence, Zoe Amanda Levenson

Exploring the impact of mental health on infant growth in urban West Bengal, India :: a retrospective cohort study exploring the association of mental health status of parents with a deterioration in weight for age z score (as an indicator of under-nutrition) of children under the age of 4 in a cohort living in an impoverished urban community in West Bengal, India, Noah E.C. Levinson

Reimagining the past, present, & future: science fiction, fantasy, and Afrofuturism as modes of healing for communities of color, Kai Teresa Atacador Lynch

Gender identity and childhood experiences : an introductory quantitative study of the relationship between gender identity and adverse childhood experiences, Liam P. Malone

Clinicians' perspectives on somatic interventions in the treatment of trauma, Margaret Rose Malone

Understanding and negotiating access to preventative sexual health care biotechnology in online communities : a thematic analysis of the Facebook group ""PrEP Facts: rethinking HIV prevention and sex, Dorothy Manley

Social climate in social work training : the influence of the learning environment on the emerging social worker's professional identity as an agent of social justice, Tatiana Martínez

And fetus makes three :a theoretical exploration of clinician pregnancy in psychoanalytic and relational frameworks, Christian Anne McCarroll

Have ladder afraid of heights, Troy David Mercier

Alexithymia and comparison of alternative treatments to talk therapy for people who have a mental health diagnosis, Rebekah Milhoan

Classism in the therapeutic alliance : implications for clinical social work practice, Taylor Millard

The retrospective narratives of young adults with ADHD : how self-concept development impacts psychosocial functioning, Malcolm B. Miller

A correlative analysis of mystical experiences and lasting symptom improvement from MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for treatment-resistant PTSD : a project based upon an investigation sponsored by Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), Michiko A. Mitsunaga-Whitten

From yellow peril to model minority : ǂb deconstruction of the model minority myth and implications for the invisibility of Asian American mental health needs, Lynda Anne Moy

Playing together : a clinician's perspective on the use and value of play in therapy with couples, Teresa Musick

Examining therapist attachment style in clinical work : an exploratory study, Mallory Nesburg

The translation of anti-racism values from the professional into the personal for white social workers who have lived in north or west Philadelphia, Lauren Hope Newman

Innocent until proven guilty : ǂb not for the families vicarious incarceration within a county jail, Molly O'Connor

An examination of gratitude among the elderly : a qualitative research project based upon an independent investigation, Jaymie E. Oppenheim

Anti-racist and trauma-informed institutional change : a process evaluation of professional learning communities at one charter high school : a project based on an investigation at a charter high school, Zoë Page

An exploration of the relationship of obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms and traumatic experiences in adult clients, Sasha Pansovoy

Exploring experiences of, and responses to, microaggressions as disrespect from teachers in high school classrooms : a person-centered approach, Emily Ann Peck

Clinician vulnerability : openness to influence in relational therapy, Christine Powers

Mass-Health (Medicaid) clinicians' perceptions of training and preparedness for practicing in-home therapy with children and families, Tiffany Renée Privat

You don't know how strong you are until being strong is your only option : examining resiliency in survivors of a parent or caregiver's suicide, Haley A. Rice

The paradox of play : an exploration of clinicians' experiences of play in the workplace, Nina Rossello

Sightlines, Rowan Salem

Feedback informed care : co-creating treatment success, Eve Sandler

Identified social supports for women previously incarcerated and avoiding recidivism, Isabelle Scott

Psychedelic psychotherapy : existential and neuroscience perspectives on the therapeutic journey, Arthur W. Seelig

An exploration of the relationship between vicarious racism, police videos, and their impact on the Facebook consumer, Daniel Segundo

Workout your burnout : an exploratory look at the role of perceived barriers and benefits to physical activity in social workers, Samuel Shapiro

Social anxiety online : ǂb can attachment explain problem internet use? :, Julia Christine Sisson