Empathic reflections by themselves are not effective: Meta-analysis and qualitative synthesis

Objective: We present a mixed methods systematic review of the effectiveness of therapist empathic reflections, which have been adopted by a range of approaches to communicate an understanding of client communications and experiences. Methods: We begin with definitions and subtypes of empathic reflection, drawing on relevant research and theory, including conversation analysis. We distinguish between empathic reflections, reviewed here, and the relational quality of empathy (reviewed in previous meta-analyses). We look at how empathic reflections are assessed and present examples of successful and unsuccessful empathic reflections, also providing a framework of the different criteria used to assess their effectiveness (e.g., association with session or treatment outcome, or client next-turn good process). Results: In our meta-analysis of 43 samples, we found virtually no relation between presence/absence of empathic reflection and effectiveness, both overall and separately within-session, post-session and post-treatment. Although not statistically significant, we did find weak support for reflections of change talk and summary reflections. Conclusions: We argue for research looking more carefully at the quality of empathy sequences in which empathic reflections are ideally calibrated in response to empathic opportunities offered by clients and sensitively adjusted in response to client confirmation/disconfirmation. We conclude with training implications and recommended therapeutic practices

SOVIA: Sonification of Visual Interactive Art

Therapeutic Computational Creativity is an emerging domain that challenges us to explore applications of Computational Creativity systems to mental health and wellness. This work presents SOVIA, an interactive system that endows Claude Monet’s art with responsive auditory experiences. SOVIA uses computer vision trained on Monet’s artwork to take the user “into the painting.\u27\u27 When the user interacts with a digital version of Monet\u27s landscapes, their mouse positions are mapped to sounds that artistically represent the objects that the user is currently exploring in the art. These interactive musical journeys have the potential to make classical art more captivating for modern audiences. We further assess the SOVIA’s potential in a therapeutic context, conducting a user study followed by thematic analysis to ascertain SOVIA\u27s value for mental well-being. Results show SOVIA’s promise as an aid for mental wellness

Dominican Republic Greenhouse Automation

The development process involved meticulous engineering and integration of the electrical components, ensuring seamless functionality and performance. The AGS was designed to be affordable, scalable, and easily replicable, with the intention of expanding its implementation beyond the DR to other underserved communities globally. By optimizing resource management, conserving energy, and minimizing the carbon footprint, the AGS promotes environmental sustainability in food production. Overall, this senior design capstone project successfully developed a cost-effective and user-friendly Automated Greenhouse System, addressing food insecurity challenges in the DR. The project demonstrated professional excellence, fulfilled the mission of SCU\u27s School of Engineering, and strengthened the partnership between SCU and LU. The scalable and replicable nature of the AGS opens doors for potential global impact, with the project serving as a foundation for further refinement and expansion to other regions facing food insecurity

Theia: The Handheld Eye-tracking Interface for All

Eye tracking is a burgeoning technology that has found applications in market research, accessibility, and as an add-on to games. However, this technology still has room to grow in the consumer space, where touchscreens, keyboards, and mice dominate our interactions with technology. Interfaces that are primarily controlled using eye tracking are less common, and are not found in a handheld form factor. This paper explores the possibility of creating a handheld device that is primarily controlled using eye tracking. Our proposed system performs real-time filtering on eye tracking inputs in order to improve the accuracy and usability of the device. This filtering leverages content-awareness by identifying the interactive elements on the GUI and gravitating the gaze input to those elements. In our single-element speed test, we saw an +11.77% and +11.11% change in speed and accuracy over unfiltered eye tracking, respectively. In our many-element matrix test, we saw a +27.85% and -4.48% change in speed and accuracy over unfiltered eye tracking, respectively. For both tests, eye tracking performed worse in both speed and accuracy than touchscreen or mouse input, both before and after filters were applied. We expect that this disparity could be reduced in the future with better optimization of the system parameters and with more experience using eye tracking as an input

Finn Hall Community Spaces Redesign

Carbon emissions negatively impact the environment through climate change, air pollution, and rising sea levels, among many other factors. One large contributor to carbon emissions is industrialization, more specifically, the building sector. Based on Architecture 2030, a non-governmental organization whose primary mission is to build an environment free from carbon emissions, building operations and the construction industry contribute to 40% of carbon emissions (Architecture 2030). As more buildings are being constructed, the need for reducing carbon emissions increases. This senior design project looked at Finn Residence Hall, a dormitory on the premises of Santa Clara University. The current design of Finn Hall consists of mainly engineered wood framing. Although, the use of steel framing, specifically hollow structural sections (HSS) and wide-flange beams, in the community spaces presented a focus for a redesign that would reduce carbon emissions. Since Finn Hall is a relatively new building, the comparison of carbon emissions and redesign costs would be more accurate. Also, the existing plans of Finn Hall were easily accessible as it is owned by the University. Thus, the community spaces were redesigned using cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glue-laminated timber (glulam) beams and columns. The completion of this design required a polished understanding of mass timber. The mass timber manufacturer Structurlam was referenced for mass timber dimensions, fire limitations, deflection limits, etc. This structural redesign included the design of the gravity system with a CLT floor diaphragm, glulam beams, and columns. The project also contains the design of connections of the mass timber redesign and to the existing sections of Finn Hall. Lastly, this project included a comparison of carbon emissions and costs between the existing building and the redesign

Capturing the Social Experience of SCU Campus Housing Options in Virtual Tours

For incoming students at Santa Clara University, it can be challenging and stressful to choose which campus housing to live in. Is it a social dorm or a quiet one? What types of students live here? Will we get along? Will I feel comfortable in the place I’ll call home for the next nine months? Santa Clara University offers very limited resources for choosing campus housing. With the overhead 2D room layouts and the “selfie stick” dorm tours that focus more on the resident director than the rooms, it is hard to discern the sociality of each space which is often a student’s top concern when choosing a residence hall. To fix this, along with portraying each residence hall in an AR/VR tour in which you can walk throughout the dorms, we aim to provide a sense of the unique social character of each residence hall. For example, as you move through the space, you might interact with virtual avatars that give you information about the sociality of the space. Drawing upon surveys and interviews, we will introduce the type of student that fits the social scene of each dorm, letting incoming freshmen up to graduating seniors the opportunity to find the dorm that best fits their needs and interests

TwigeEnglish

TwigeEnglish is an educational platform aimed to teach English in a fun and interactive way. It comprises a mobile application for students and a web application for pre-determined administrators. The mobile application offers three key features which include: a pictionary-like game, a dictionary flash card game, and a user-friendly interface for uploading photos to be used in both games. The web application will primarily focus on providing administrators with an interface to manage the student-photo database. With moderation powers, administrators can seamlessly review and make decisions to approve or deny the inclusion of photos in the active pictionary and dictionary pools. This ensures that the content remains relevant, appropriate, and aligned with the platform\u27s educational goals

Ethical Considerations in Working with Roman Catholic Seminarians and Men and Women in Religious Formation

There are many ethical challenges when mental health professionals work clinically with Roman Catholic seminarians as well as with men and women in religious formation. This article highlights several of the most prominent ethical issues and challenges confronted by mental health professionals working with these clients. These topics include issues of competence in evaluating, treating, and consulting with seminarians, those in religious life, or those applying to enter religious life. Issues of informed consent must also be considered so that seminarians, religious life clients, applicants, and their religious superiors have clarity about the limits of confidentiality and who maintains the privilege of accessing client information. In addition, professional conflicts can arise when Church expectations may seem challenging to satisfy for professionals trained in a predominantly secular environment. Cultural understanding and appreciation are needed to work with clients from different ethnic and racial groups as well as different religious orders and branches within the Catholic Church. Finally, the role of mental health professionals in the determination of acceptance or rejection into religious life and for ordination is discussed