Education Commons^™

Using Drama Therapy To Foster Peer Support Among Nurse Leaders, Chyela Rowe

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study explored the use of drama therapy to support the social-emotional experiences of nurse leaders at a mid-sized regional hospital system in the Southeastern United States. Nurse leaders have experienced profound changes to their work environments in recent years and burnout has been at an all-time high among healthcare workers globally. Organizational supports for nurses and nurse leaders are both inadequate to meet the needs and under-resourced. The research questions explored 1) whether the drama therapy peer support initiative improved outcomes and 2) whether there was a significant relationship between measures, and 3) what nurse leaders described as facilitators …

How Art Therapy Can Be Used To Teach Queer Inclusive Sex Education To Queer Youth: A Literature Review, Olivia Souza

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This literature review examines the potential of art-making as a tool to educate and inform queer youth about queer sexual experiences. Many queer individuals lack information about safe and healthy sex due to the exclusion of queer experiences in sex education programs. Current sex programs solely focus on abstinence and heterosexual experiences, leaving queer youth in the dark about what to expect from future sexual experiences they may have and how to practice safe queer sex. Through a search of the literature, it was discovered that there is a gap in research using art therapy in this specific context. Through …

Exploring Physician Assistant Students' Perceptions Of Stress And Help Seeking Behavior, Kayla Cetrone

Educational Studies Dissertations

Physician Assistant (PA) students, similar to other students enrolled in medical education, experience a variety of stressors throughout their education and training that can inhibit their academic and clinical success and affect patient care outcomes. The purpose of this mixed-methods research study was to explore PA students' and alumni's perceived stressors, their experiences of the stressors, and the help-seeking behaviors they employ and perceive as useful to address them. Following an explanatory sequential design, all PA students and alumni (n = 288) from one program in the northeast were invited to complete an anonymous online survey assessing their perceptions and …

Enhancing The Quality Of Life For Senior Citizens: A Facilitator’S Guidebook For Mindful Music And Movement, Shannon Sexton

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Music appreciation and enjoyment enhance well-being throughout the lifespan. The challenges and constraints that people experience as they age can lead to lack of access to music, decreased physical activity, and fewer avenues for creative expression. Group music and movement interventions created for older populations offer opportunities for social connection and improved quality of life. Mindful practices add further benefit when combined with these interventions. Current available programs are scarce and most often do not encompass mixed modalities. In addition, the benefits of these programs do not show long-term sustainability. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the effects …

A Mixed Methods Approach To Understanding Common Factors Association With Pain And Functional Outcomes In Musculoskeletal Pain Conditions, Mary Beth Holmes

Educational Studies Dissertations

Healthcare costs continue to rise the provision of value-based care with evidence to support improvement in patient outcomes is essential for service coverage. While physical therapy has proven to be effective for the treatment of painful musculoskeletal conditions ostensibly different treatment approaches have yielded similar results. These findings have led to an exploration of the influence of the features present across all interventions, variables known as the “common factors”, on physical therapy outcomes. Research pertaining to common factors remains in the early stages in physical therapy literature, with studies primarily aimed at defining and exploring singular concepts. Using Wampold’s Contextual …

A Qualitative Study On Nurse Facilitators Of Mind-Body Skills Groups, Paula D. Blake-Beckford

Mindfulness Studies Theses

The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM), founded by Dr. James Gordon, provides communities with evidence-based Mind-Body Skills Groups (MBSGs) that foster self-care, self-awareness, and self-expression. MBSGs range from 8 to 12-week series on various mind-body practices wherein group members meet, practice, and reflect on the impact of mind-body skills in their lives. Research has demonstrated that participants in MBSGs have positive outcomes. Healthcare professionals (HCPs), especially nurses, gain resiliency from MBSGs. As facilitators of MBSGs, nurses develop essential skills transferable to clinical and educational settings. MBSGs are therapeutic for adult participants with chronic stress. Prior to this thesis, only one …

How Geek Therapy Plays Into Expressive Arts Therapy: A Literature Review, Caroline Bryan

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Within this paper, I explore how geek therapy plays well with the methods of expressive arts therapy. The combination of geek therapy and expressive arts therapy can assist clinicians in immediately connecting with their clients and identifying strength-oriented narratives that honor the client’s preferences, modes of expression, and pop culture affinities. This engagement with expressive approaches utilizing affinity-based interventions can lead to a deeper sense of understanding of the client’s intra-, inter-, and extra-personal relationships. Through this literature review of expressive arts therapy and geek therapy, primarily focusing on video games in therapy, clinicians from all walks of life can …

Drama Therapy Interventions That Support Students With Asd During Covid-19, Olivia Reyes

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that began in December 2019, many people experienced traumatic losses, environmental stressors, and overall daily challenges. One of the populations most at risk during this time were those with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Those with mental health illness and developmental differences are experiencing the pandemic in different ways. Individuals with ASD tend to have both developmental differences and mental health challenges that motivate individuals to seek medicinal and therapeutic help, along with other services to support their daily needs. This literature review addresses the negative and positive impacts COVID-19 has had on the …

Where I’M From: Internal Manifestations Among Cambodian Women Using The Expressive Arts A Literature Review, Noeun Chhim

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Chronic mental illness has affected many Cambodian people, but, culturally, Cambodians aren’t accustomed to opening up and discussing their feelings, rather defining mental illness to craziness and seeking help is presumed taboo. Thus, Cambodians are often reluctant to talk about their experiences and/or their related illnesses. Though Cambodians have experienced inconceivable suffering and violence during the Khmer Rouge era, for the purpose of this thesis, I will be discussing the role of Cambodian women and investigate the extent of what they’ve witnessed and experienced. Cambodian women have suffered through many years of trauma and grief, during and after the Khmer …

Exploring Tactile Art-Making With Deafblind Students And Their Families: An Opportunity For Creative Play, Alice Rodgers

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The impact of a deafblind diagnosis on an individual’s mental health and the well-being of the family involved can be profound. However, current research and available literature for the mental health treatment and therapy practices of deafblind persons and their families is limited (Kyzar et al., 2016; “WFDB Global Report 2018,” n.d.). This thesis used the Leeds Family Psychology and Therapy Service principles (Leeds FPTS) and the Expressive Therapies Continuum with established deafblind teaching strategies to facilitate an original arts-based community project entitled: “Things We Like.” This project provided an opportunity for deafblind students (ages three to 22) and their …

Exploring The Usefulness Of Mindfulness Practices Through Zoom Meetings In Reducing Anxiety And/Or Stress Of Adults With Learning And Developmental Disabilities During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Thatiane Abra

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis explored which mindfulness meditations or mindfulness practices could be beneficial in the online sessions, the extent to which adults with learning and developmental disabilities could learn the practices remotely, and how stress and anxiety disorders could be reduced through online mindfulness interventions. Furthermore, it was also necessary to address the online sessions as the only mental health treatment possibility during the Coronavirus pandemic for the clients observed and the benefits and limitations of these interventions. Additionally, the importance of structure and routine for this population, the multi-modal structure of the interventions, and how attunement plays an important role …

The Imagery Experience Of Korean Gim Therapists' Reactions Toward Their Clients' Resistance, Jung Pyo Moon

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to understand how Korean professional therapists who practice the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) understand their clients’ resistance through the imagery experience.

Participants in this study were six Korean GIM therapists living and working in South Korea. Two more Korean GIM therapists were recruited to take charge of guiding a total of six participants to examine this inquiry. Each GIM guide helped three participants. All six participants and two GIM therapists were regular members of the Association for Music and Imagery and the Korean Association for Music and Imagery. The researcher …

Four-Week Foundational Mindfulness Curriculum For Small Businesses, Madeleine Pizey

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Abstract

This creative thesis is for trained mindfulness instructors and facilitators to offer small businesses a curriculum to reduce burnout among their employees and strengthen their inner-resilience through a four-week mindfulness training in the workplace or virtually. This thesis contains a rationale paper which includes a literature review. The focus of this thesis is on offering a four-week foundational mindfulness training for small businesses of twenty-five or fewer employees. It will include the purpose of having this type of training and how it will be of service, the benefits of this type of training, the current epidemic of burnout occurring …

Student Wellbeing And Open Studio Process In The School Curriculum, Maria Kim

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study aimed to explore whether Open Studio Process (OSP) increased wellbeing of middle and high school students when facilitated by teachers as a part of the regular art curriculum. It was hypothesized that OSP might increase the sense of wellbeing among middle and high school students as well as facilitating teachers. The research was conducted as a mixed methods study in South Korea where students need preventative interventions for their wellbeing. The researcher trained eight teachers to facilitate OSP and five of them implemented it with their classes for seven sessions. Quantitative data (K-YSR; pre- and posttest) were collected …

Creative Arts-Based Parents Training Program For Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Jung Eun Park

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study evaluated the impact of the Creative Arts-based Parents’ Training (CAPT) program. The 6-week long, creative arts therapy-based program and its impact on parental stress and sense of competence for parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) was examined. Korean Parenting Stress Index Short-Form (K-PSI-SF) and Korean-Parenting Efficacy Test (K-PET) were used as quantitative measurements. Qualitative data were also collected for the experimental group (n = 17) using questionnaires, art journaling, and a 30 min focus group interview. The control group (n = 15) only participated in quantitative measurements. There was no difference in age between …

Picturing Health; Picturing Life: Visual Illness Narratives Of Women With Type 2 Diabetes, Sarah Gurley-Green

Educational Studies Dissertations

The prevalence of diabetes in the U.S. reached 23 million people between 2012 and 2017 and consumed one-quarter of the overall healthcare dollars. Remembering the suffering and pain of individuals behind these numbers becomes difficult and incalculable. Black American women are the most affected by type 2 diabetes (T2D), compared to their white counterparts, as well as twice as likely to be diagnosed with T2D and 2.5 times more likely to die from T2D. Therefore, understanding the problem requires the fundamental consideration of how these women cope daily with this complex illness while often struggling with complex lives. This narrative …

Promoting Resilience In Economically Disadvantaged Adolescents Through School-Based Expressive Arts Groups, Bailey Knox

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Since 2013, the majority of students served by the public school system in the United States have been considered “low-income” by the federal government. The stressors associated with low socioeconomic status significantly increase risk for social, emotional and behavioral challenges at all age levels, but can be particularly damaging to adolescents coping with heightened stress levels related to the intense multi-dimensional changes that define this developmental period. As the correlation between economic disadvantage and negative socio-emotional and academic outcomes is increasingly evidenced, schools have begun to recognize their responsibility for providing preventative mental health care to high-risk students. Over the …

Mutual Vulnerability And Intergenerational Healing: Black Women Hbcu Students Writing Memoir, Zelda Lockhart

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study sought to gain insight into the unique experiences of Black women students who were writing memoir toward the goal of self-definition in a Black feminist learning environment at a Historically Black College/University (HBCU). Two teaching methods included personal plot (an extension of expressive writing that offers writing prompts for emotional closure), and biblio-fusion (a combination of expressive writing and bibliotherapy) (Lockhart, 2017a; 2017b). Interviews were conducted with six Black women participants and triangulated against their personal essays and online journal responses. Personal plot, a form of narrative analysis was used to construct paragraphs on what each …

Promoting Cultural Identity Through Dance/Movement Therapy With Immigrant Children, Karen Alejandra Salazar

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The present research project focuses on exploring how culture influences identity and how the development of a bicultural identity affects bicultural individuals. Having a multicultural or multiethnic identity could be a source of strength and/or confusion, bicultural individuals may have difficulties in identifying and sorting their group membership status and their cultural attitudes, values, perspectives, and behaviors (Navarrete & Jenkins, 2011). The present research proposes that dance movement therapy and the Expressive Therapies could serve as a means to allow individuals to explore and strengthen their cultural identity. A cultural identity workshop was implemented with second grade, English language learner, …

Integrating Expressive Therapies And Visual Literacy Skills In An Exceptional Children Classroom, Natalia Torres Del Valle

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The method conducted in this thesis integrated museum education, exceptional children education, and expressive arts therapy practices. Objectives for implementing the method were to learn how to effectively address the unique needs within the exceptional children classroom, as well as to collaborate with the teacher to address those needs through expressive arts therapy and visual literacy approaches. In so doing, I wanted to examine the differences and similarities between museum education and expressive arts therapy and how they can work together to meet therapeutic goals. The method took place over four sessions; each session focused on a work of art …

Men In A Female-Dominated Profession: The Lived Experiences Of Ghanaian Male Nurses In The United States, Daniel Kwadjo Frimpong

Educational Studies Dissertations

Minority men are less than two percent of the total nursing workforce in the United States. The small presence of minority men in the nursing profession presents a challenge to healthcare providers as patients are much more responsive and open-minded to healthcare providers of the same cultural and ethnic backgrounds. This qualitative study was designed to explore the lived professional experiences of Ghanaian male nurses in the United States to shed light on the barriers minority men encounter in the nursing profession in order to make suggestions relating to strategies to appropriately support minority men in their nursing practice. This …

Justice And Care: Decision Making Of Medical School Student Promotions Committees, Emily Paige Green

Educational Studies Dissertations

Accreditation standards for allopathic medical schools in the United States require that each institution have in place a mechanism by which student progress through the curriculum is monitored. These entities, referred to here as promotions committees, make important decisions in a high stakes medical education environment. Yet little is currently known about how promotions committee members make decisions about students who experience academic failures and lapses in professional behavior. Using the work of Lawrence Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan on moral development as a theoretical basis, the purpose of this study was to elucidate committee members’ perceptions of the role of …

Relationship Between Individuals With A Brain Injury And Their Paid Caregivers: A Grounded Theory, Barbara Nadeau

Educational Studies Dissertations

Recent federal rulings have led to an increasing population of individuals with disabilities receiving support services from paid caregivers in their communities rather than in institutions. Paid caregivers are strangers who enter an individual's life and often spend prolonged periods of time in a one to one relationship with an individual. The dynamics between an individual and a paid caregiver are quite different than those between healthcare workers and patients in institutional settings or between an individual and a family caregiver. Constructivist Grounded Theory methodology was used to explore the perceptions of individuals with brain injury and their paid caregivers …

The Bridge Drawing With Path Art-Based Assessment: Measuring Meaningful Life Pathways In Higher Education Students, Olena Darewych

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This cross-sectional study investigated the relationships among the Bridge Drawing with Path (BDP) art-based assessment and two positive psychology instruments: the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ; Steger et al., 2006) and the Adult State Hope Scale (ASHS; Snyder et al., 1996). All three assessments (BDP, MLQ and ASHS) are intended to test for an individual’s goal-related pursuits. Forty-four higher education students studying in Britain and Canada participated in the study. Results indicated that an association exists between BDP written associations and MLQ-presence of meaning sub-scores. Participants who scored high on MLQ – presence of meaning generated more sources of life …

Simulated Patients' Experiences With Verbal Feedback For First Year Medical Students And Residents: A Grounded Theory Study, Carol Fleishman

Educational Studies Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of simulated patients (SPs) with the process of providing verbal feedback for first-year medical students and residents during formative simulation activities. Feedback to medical trainees provides a valuable learning context, effecting communication and interpersonal skills which impact healthcare outcomes and patient safety. This qualitative research study used a grounded theory approach based on data from semi-structured interviews with 17 SPs who were casual employees of a standardized patient program for a large academic medical center in the mid-Atlantic region of the USA. The study analyzed what participants said about their …

Art Therapy For Enhancing Academic Experience Of Male High School Freshmen, Kelvin Antonio Ramirez

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of group art therapy interventions in improving social and emotional issues for male high school freshmen. The Behavioral Assessment System for Children Second Edition (BASC-2) was used to measure academically tracked high school freshman (n = 80) receiving the 12 week intervention in a group setting in comparison to an academically matched control group (n=76). Independent sample t-tests compared participants in the Honor, Average and At Risk Tracks who received art therapy versus participants who did not. The findings indicate that for participants in the honors track, those receiving art …

Examining Multicultural Competency Education In The Creative Arts Therapies, Donna C. Owens

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

In the changing landscape of the United States, the skills and competencies of helping professionals must continue to address the unique needs of its various populations. As a growing field, the creative arts therapies must adopt multicultural values and standards necessary to remain competitive and relevant.

This study addressed the issue of multicultural counseling competency training in the creative arts therapies from three perspectives: the governing association, the training institution, and the student/trainee. Throughout this study the term creative arts therapies includes art, dance/movement, drama, expressive arts, music, poetry, and psychodrama.

Information concerning the associations for each of the seven …

Reflection In Physical Therapy Practice: A Phenomenological Inquiry Into Oral And Written Narratives, Mary S. Knab

Educational Studies Dissertations

In today’s healthcare system, physical therapists treat an increasingly complex and diverse patient population and face rapidly expanding knowledge, technologies, and evidence for the care they provide. They also face demands for increased efficiency and improved outcomes. Reflection, espoused for its ability to help clinicians convert experience into learning and new knowledge, is widely viewed as being critical to sound clinical practice. There is, however, limited research and little consensus regarding what reflection looks like in the day-to-day practice of physical therapists. This phenomenological inquiry aims to identify the essence of reflection as experienced by physical therapists in clinical practice. …

Creative Arts Therapies Students' Professional Development: Mixed Methods Longitudinal Research, Hod Orkibi

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This mixed-methods longitudinal study sought to describe, understand, and explain the professional development (PD) of graduate students during art therapy (AT), dance movement therapy (DMT), and drama therapy (DT) training (N = 51).

Repeated measures of students’ scores in profession-related variables were performed. Quantitative theory testing probed the extent to which students confirm Rønnestad and Skovholt’s (2003) theory of counselors and therapists’ PD as representative of their pre-training and in-training experiences. Qualitative theory derivation generated data-driven concepts to modify and refine the extant theory. Data were collected using My Vocational Situation, Career Commitment Measurement, and questionnaires for each developmental phase. …

Care, Culture, And Education Nursing Students' Perceptions Of Care And Culture: Implications For Practice, Pauline Rita Wright

Educational Studies Dissertations

Today's nurses work and live in a multicultural society where they encounter patients whose backgrounds are different from theirs, and who need care from nurses who are both proficient in their work and knowledgeable about the role that culture plays in patient treatment. In this study, 45 student nurses enrolled in a baccalaureate program at a northeastern urban college completed a survey about their perceptions of care and culture including their relevance and application to the practice of nursing. Findings based on qualitative analyses indicated that parents and family were instrumental in students' learning about care and a combination of …