Saybrook Student Research Blog
The Saybrook University Department of Research Student Research Blog offers an inside look at the research interests of doctoral students from across the university.
Featured Student Researcher: Grace Mauzy, Ph.D. Mind Body Medicine
Grace "Fruit" Mauzy, PhD Student in Mind Body Medicine
A lifetime of wellness and a lifetime of happiness sum me up. I have devoted my life to creating wellness for myself, my children, my friends, and the many thousands of people I engage with personally and professionally. Through my quirky lifestyle and my exuberant energy, I love sharing information, insights, and skills. As a mom and a professional, I continually strive to enhance my intuition through education. I am currently working on my Ph.D. in Mind-Body Medicine. I hold a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology. I am a certified ski instructor, personal fitness trainer, nutrition specialist, Reiki practitioner, yoga instructor, essential oil specialist, and child specialist ski instructor. My approach simplifies, provides specific directions, and equips individuals with skills to enhance wellness, positive life skills, and happiness.
The mind-body connection is dynamic. How I think, what I eat, who I hang out with, how I move, and my belief in positive energy are all integral to being me. The mind and body are inseparable, enabling me to live in the present and enjoy the journey.
That is why I base everything on the whole person. Mindset, nutrition, physical activity, social interactions, and spirituality combine to create each of us. I am passionate about humanistic and positive psychology, and I develop functional and integrative, person-centered programs. Treating your mind and body to the best of your ability puts you in a position to be your own personal best.
Tell us about your dissertation research.
My dissertation research is a feasibility pretest-posttest single-arm mixed-methods research design that aims to examine whether an eight-week mind-body therapy intervention affects TBI-FC dyads' depression, self-esteem, and quality of life. Mind-body therapies have improved the quality of life for TBI survivors (Barreto et al., 2022). The Beck Depression Inventory (Beck et al., 1961) will be used to measure depression. The Traumatic Brain Injury–Quality of Life (TBI-QOL) measurement system will be used to assess the quality of life for TBI survivors (Tulskey et al., 2019). The TBI-CareQOL Family Disruption scale will be used to measure the quality of life for family caregivers (Carlozzi et al., 2020). Self-esteem will be measured with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (1965). Rigorous quantitative research is
necessary to fill the gaps left by previous studies (Acabchuk et al., 2021). The data will be analyzed using Hedges’ G, and the sample size will be a minimum of 8 dyad participants. Qualitative data will be collected with simple open-ended questions after each intervention session. Qualitative data allows a more in-depth understanding of the participants’ reactions to the intervention. The data will be both empirical and person-centered.
How did you become interested in this topic?
I have a profound personal interest in the effects of mind-body therapies in conjunction with TBI-FC dyads recovering from TBI. First, I have been a practitioner and professional leader of mind-body therapies for decades. As an undergraduate, I participated in mind-body therapies at UMass Amherst from 1977 to 1981. Throughout my personal experiences and professional career, I have combined complementary mind-body therapies with Western medicine to achieve optimal overall well-being results. I was a pioneer in integrating psychological, social, nutritional, physical, nature-based, and spiritual components to develop a holistic approach to decreasing depression, increasing self-esteem, and living a higher quality of life.
I believed, without any objective evidence, that there must be some form of brain adaptability. I believed brain adaptability was a key to overcoming psychological and physical challenges. I saw people who were supposed to have life-altering TBIs figure out how to rebuild and regain a satisfying and full life. It was common to believe that once brain cells died, there was no recovery and that those who had a TBI were doomed forever.
The concept of neuroplasticity developed from brain research. The timing of this knowledge coincided with my daughter suffering a severe TBI. She was diagnosed with a 3rd degree diffuse axonal injury, three on the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scale, and dependent on others for the rest of her life. I utilized my academic, professional, and personal knowledge to integrate a holistic approach incorporating mind-body therapies into her healing. At the same time, I also understood that my own health and wellness were in jeopardy due to the extreme stress I was living with. Together, with other family members and friends, we utilized mind-body therapies in conjunction with traditional therapies, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech/cognitive therapy.
Through our work and the traditional therapies, my daughter had a full recovery. She lives an independent life, has a career, and is married. She is not depressed. She has high self-esteem and a wonderful quality of life. The most common response to my daughter’s recovery was how lucky we were that I knew about mind-body therapies and neuroplasticity. I felt that everyone who has a TBI ought to know about options beyond the basics that support decreasing depression, elevating self-esteem, and developing a high quality of life. I also wanted to help the caregivers understand the importance of their role, while also supporting them to learn ways to decrease their own depression, lowered self-esteem, and quality of life. Finally, through my work with my daughter and family, we all benefited from the mind-body therapies we did together. I wanted to validate the benefits of mind-body therapies for TBI survivors and their family caregivers as a dyad.
What research method do you plan to use? How did you determine the research method was the right fit?
Over the past three years, I have evaluated the type of research I want to use. I considered qualitative data, but any qualitative approach alone would overlook the empirical data that I believed was crucial to support this research and inform future research. I considered correlational and quasi-experimental data collection methods. Both of these would require a larger sample size than I can recruit for the study. Empirical data alone do not provide the person-centered insights that qualitative data enables. Through discussions with my dissertation chair/methodologist, I decided to use a feasibility pretest-posttest single-arm mixed-methods research design.
What are the ways your research courses prepared you for your dissertation research?
I am an older student. I am 66 years old. It has been decades since I studied academically. During the first semester at Saysbrook, I began my research courses. I spent every office hour that first semester with my professor reviewing the material we had covered that week. By the end of that semester, I had regained what I had lost to the decades out of academia. With each research course, I took advantage of reaching out to my professors via email and attending their office hours, and I always participated in the Zoom classes. I am still in contact with two professors, who have offered to support me throughout my dissertation, answering any questions that arise. One of these professors helped me to understand how and why I can use a feasibility design.
Each research course also prepared me for my dissertation by having assignments to write the first three chapters of my dissertation. For each course, I became clearer about what I wanted to research. I used parts of each version of the Chapter One assignments from my research courses to create the final version I am currently completing. I will use what I have written as assignments for Chapters 2 and 3 as the basis for those chapters when I write the final versions for my dissertation.
The research courses also prepared me to understand the specific aspects of the peer-reviewed articles I read, particularly regarding their research methods and data analysis. Prior to my research courses at Saybrook, I would gloss over the methods section, glance at the data results, and skip to the discussion and conclusion. Now that I understand the different types of research methodology and data collection, those sections are of great interest and importance.
I am currently enrolled in RES 4010: Grant Writing. Grant writing is essential for covering the expenses of my dissertation research and the programs offered through The MoCrazy Strong Foundation. This course teaches me many aspects of grant writing that I was previously unaware of.
How would you describe the importance of research in your field? In society as a whole?
Research changes wishful thinking into validated conversations, policy changes, and supports further research. Without research, we cannot know with much certainty if what we say and think has a connection to reality. Wishful thinking is believing something because you have always felt that way, or because you want to believe something, or because someone told you something and you think it must be true. Research allows us to understand the world around us on a deeper level.
Through research, we can debunk misconceptions, create new ideas supported by evidence, and uncover deeper meanings and answers to our questions.
Research in the field of mind-body medicine is relatively new. One of the challenges in researching mind-body medicine is the difficulty in demonstrating cause-and-effect relationships. Correlational and quasi-experimental research have been employed on various levels to inform policy changes. Qualitative research has brought the concepts of mind-body therapies to the forefront, supporting the dynamics of how the mind and body interact to influence various aspects of well-being.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
At 66, I hope to still have the energy and stamina to run programs for the MoCrazy Strong Foundation in five years. I want to be a panalist at conventions for TBI survivors, family caregivers, and medical professionals. I plan to continue my research on mind-body therapies and TBI recovery. Through understanding how to procure grants, I hope to enhance the MoCrazy Strong Brain Injury Foundation, both in terms of what we offer and the research we conduct.
Thank you, Grace, for sharing your research journey. To learn more about Grace's work and research, connect with the links below. If you would like to be featured in a future post, email research@saybrook.edu.