Rael Morley

Mindful awareness is characterized by a nonjudgmental focus on one's internal and external conscious experiences. Research studies investigating mindfulness have shown that they directly affect mind-body interactions (1). This presentation will discuss the impact of trait mindfulness on key behavioral, neurological, and psychological measures associated with disruptions in mind-body interconnections. This research is important since mind-body disequilibrium can be linked to increased stress and suffering (1). More specifically, this presentation will discuss a study exploring the link between trait mindfulness, neuro-electrophysiology, measures of gender dysphoria related stress, and alcohol craving among Transgender compared to Cisgender people residing in the state of Texas, USA. Gender Dysphoria or gender incongruence refers to a state where an individual experiences distress stemming from a disruption in the mind-body connection linked to their internal experience of gender being in direct contrast to their embodied and socialized experience of gender (2). Gender dysphoria has been linked to impaired mental health, substance abuse, and suicide (2). While individuals may alleviate suffering by aligning a person’s external body with their internal experience, they may still face intense societal prejudice (2). Developing interventions that improve mental health and reduce substance abuse related cravings would be valuable to members of our society suffering from dysphoria and prejudice. This presentation will discuss an exploratory study (conducted 2022 to 2026) which investigated the impact of mindfulness, Gamma activity, and pronoun exposure in a virtual reality supermarket (where subjects were exposed to various pronouns) on gender related stress and alcohol craving in a sample of transgender participants and a cisgender (non-transgender) control. The results of this study found that transgender participants reported less stress and alcohol craving after exposure to various pronouns in the VR setting. The cisgender participants reported greater gender related stress and alcohol craving. Mindfulness was found to be correlated with changes in alcohol craving in the control group and trending towards a significant correlation with the transgender group, as well as correlated with all the participants' gamma activity and gamma power. When controlling for high gamma synchrony, increases in alcohol craving and the relationship between mindfulness and alcohol craving were all non-significant. The results, limitations, and future directions were also discussed. References: 1. Pintado, S. (2019). Changes in body awareness and self-compassion in clinical psychology trainees through a mindfulness program. Complementary therapies in clinical practice, 34, 229-234. 2. F. Beek, T., Cohen-Kettenis, P. T., & Kreukels, B. P. (2016). Gender incongruence/gender dysphoria and its classification history. International Review of Psychiatry, 28(1), 5-12.

Dr. Rael Hypatia Morley holds a Doctorate in Educational Psychology with an emphasis on Culture, Human Development, and Learning from the University of Texas. Dr. Morley’s research focuses on compassionate interventions to alleviate violence. More specifically their research relates to the impact of mindfulness meditation on criminality, aggression, antisocial behavior, and brain networks associated with violence. Dr. Morley has published multiple articles and has spoken at a variety of professional conferences concerning the intersection of violence, criminality, brain networks, mindfulness, and self-compassion. Also, Dr. Morley has conducted professional talks on several related topics including mindfulness, mental health, religiosity, self-compassion, and antisocial personality disorder. Dr. Morley was awarded multiple grants to explore the intersections of violence, mindfulness, and large-scale brain networks. Moreover, they received the Texas State College Achievement Award for Scholarly/Creative Activity in the Fall of 2015 and 2025. Dr. Morley has a published TED talk titled “Compassion as an Antidote for Violence” at TEDxTexasState.

Dr. Morley arrived in the Austin area after they graduated with their Bachelor’s degree in Corrections from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Soon after their arrival in the Austin area, they went to work as a Parole Officer for the Parole Division of Texas Department of Criminal Justice.  They left working for the Parole Division to pursue their master’s degree in human resource development at Texas State University. Following graduation, Dr. Morley became a placement specialist at Goodwill Industries of Central Texas where they helped former inmates find jobs. They transitioned into part-time employment to pursue a Ph.D. Also, they served as Chair of the Evidence Base Practice Subcommittee of Travis County Reentry Roundtable.