Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Neuroqueering Art Therapy: Bringing Neurodivergent Gender Diversity Into The Creative Arts Therapy Room: A Literature Review, Avital Eisen

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Recent research across disciplines has established the significance of the overlap between neurodivergence and gender diversity, a truth long espoused by the community. Acting on this research, some mental health disciplines have begun addressing neurodivergent transgender and gender diverse people as a unified population in their research, but the field of art therapy has not yet followed suit. Theoretical frameworks of intersectionality, queer theory, and disability justice highlight the importance of centering the unique experiences and needs of neurodivergent gender diversity. Using these frameworks, this literature review synthesizes community knowledge with art therapy research on both neurodivergence and gender diversity, …

Fantasia On A Theme Of Purpose: Using A Music-Guided Scribble Technique To Support Meaning-Making In Older Adult Retiree Musicians, Sophia R. Smith

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

Within the population of older adults, overall well-being corresponds with the ability to self-actualize and seek meaning, but age-related changes combined with ageism and isolation can negatively impact this capacity to maintain a sense of purpose, especially following retirement. It may be that retired musicians are especially vulnerable to this experience later in life due to a loss of the primary method of creative engagement and community that is facilitated by musical performance in a group setting. Integrating phenomenological and ethnographic approaches, this study utilized a qualitative design to understand how music-guided art-making incorporating the scribble technique could support a …

A Literature Review On Understanding, Solidifying, And Expanding The Role Of Art Therapy In Death And Dying, Deborah D. Clark

University Honors Theses

The purpose of this literature review is to weave together an understanding of what research exists around art therapy in death and dying, what the role of art therapy is in end-of-life care and education, and determine what gaps exist for further study. When it comes to the topic of death and dying, most of us would agree that end-of-life care is extremely important, though this agreement often falls apart regarding what that care looks like, and how we do (or don't) talk and learn about death and dying. This review argues for an integrated holistic model of care concerning …

Postpartum Depression: Healing Through Archetypes And The Expressive Arts Therapies, Macushla Roulleau

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis is a literature review investigating treating postpartum depression through the expressive arts therapies and feminine archetypes. The expressive arts therapies explored for treatment are dance, music, art, and drama. Meditation, mindfulness, and writing are also included. The importance of expressive arts therapies in treating postpartum depression is of interest now because of the increasing number of mothers who experience postpartum depression who are looking for alternatives to treatment beyond, or complementing, traditional talk therapy and medication. A search for literature on treating postpartum depression with expressive arts therapies and archetypes was conducted on-line using the Lesley University database. …

The Value Of Therapeutic Farming As An Art Therapy Intervention For Emerging Adults: A Literature Review, Neva Callaghan

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This literature review examines the role of place, space, and environment in art therapy and proposes therapeutic farms as alternative mental health care for emerging adults. The writing explores concepts of nature-based art therapy, therapeutic metaphors, and self-determination theory in regard to how these approaches can enhance engagement in the therapeutic process. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on emerging adults’ mental health and feelings of connection to nature. The developmental needs of this population are not met by the current mental health care system, and there is a need to consider alternative forms of treatment. This research …

Exploring The Effects Of Intersectionality On Mental Health And Identity Development With Adolescents Through Culturally Humble Art Therapy, Cal Loiselle

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This study investigated the implementation of culturally humble art therapy directives centered around identity development and social justice with adolescents. Intersectionality theory was applied to examine the ways operating from a culturally humble lens benefits clients and art therapists. Existing research supports the application of cultural humility with various populations as a method of validating client’s experiences and strengthening the therapeutic alliance. A series of art therapy interventions were implemented at a private non-profit children's psychiatric hospital with the adolescent inpatient units. The participants were between the ages of 13-18 and receiving treatment for mental health conditions, short-term stabilization, and …

Covid, Creativity, And Connecting Through Change: Reviewing The Literature On How Art Therapy Can Help Children And Adolescents Cope With Pandemic-Related Grief, Lydia Speicher

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most significant global events in the past century, both resulting in massive casualties and significant mental health outcomes across the world. Some of the most impacted populations are children and adolescents whose lives have been interrupted during their formative years. The purpose of this literature review is to explore how art therapy has been used during the COVID-19 pandemic to address the grief experienced by children and adolescents through their losses of stability and peer support surrounded by uncertainty. This literature review seeks to understand exactly how the pandemic has affected the …

Adverse Effects Of Early Exposure To Pornography And The Utilization Of Art Therapy, Meghan Potts

Art Therapy Counseling Final Research Projects

Pornography is not a new phenomenon in our culture or world. With the expansion of the affordability, accessibility, and anonymity of pornography, demand and consumption rates have also escalated, along with the adverse impact associated with this growth (Coopersmith, 2006 as cited by Dines, 2017). This two-year grant proposal seeks to focus its efforts on serving children, the population being exposed to this widespread phenomenon (Wright, Paul, et al., 2021). The full-time art therapist will carry out trauma-informed prevention and intervention methods to advocate for the mental and physical health of children in individual, relational, and community contexts. This will …

Art Bibliotherapy: An Integrative Approach To Art Therapy And Bibliotherapy, Haven Wright

Art Therapy Counseling Final Research Projects

Art Therapy and Bibliotherapy are both subfields in the creative/expressive arts world of therapeutic practice. Individually, art therapy and bibliotherapy have unique attributes that have the potential to improve a client’s overall therapeutic outcome. However, in pursuit of evidence-based practice, art therapy and bibliotherapy could benefit from further high-quality replicable studies. An exploration of the current research and emergent shared themes were undertaken. A single participant case study demonstrated Art Bibliotherapy in practice. Participant outcomes were increased emotional regulation, increased positive experience in therapy sessions, and increased positive self-esteem.

Inner Portraits, Bethany Salisbury

Graduate Theses

This paper investigates the many interconnected layers of women’s mental health through portraiture and how animal and plant symbolism can represent the way women's hormones and bodily health affect their mental health. I reveal how the artwork created presents these connections and inner mental health narratives to the viewer, creating a space of empathy, destigmatization, and self-reflection. This body of portraiture art connects five women through a series of both two-and three-dimensional portraits based on interviews using my own adaptation of Sara Lawrence-Lightfoots’ (1983) portrait methodology.

Women and non-binary individuals have always dealt with difficult interactions of bodily and mental …

Traditional Cultural Artmaking Practices And Their Impact On Wellness, Rochelle Le Heux, Isabel Maddahi, Christina Mccue, Lala Minassian, Martha Orozco, Devika Parmar, Vivian Rodriguez, Ruth Sze, Shannon Thomas

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the impact that traditional artmaking can have on the wellness of individuals who continue to practice their traditional crafts. Limited research has explored how culturally adapted art therapy practices and culturally relevant materials can promote wellness and alleviate emotional and acculturation challenges for multicultural populations. This research included a case study approach that invited five participants who regularly engaged in a traditional artmaking practice to continue their practice for four consecutive weeks and reflect on their sense of wellness after each traditional artmaking engagement. Over the four weeks, participants completed an initial survey to assess their baseline …

The Course Of Covid: How Has The Pandemic Changed The Ways Therapists Use Art In Their Therapeutic Practice?, Deborah Sharpe

Art Therapy | Doctoral Dissertations

In 2020, the global pandemic fundamentally changed our everyday lives personally and professionally. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the art therapy profession: the challenges of shifting to telehealth, managing work/life balance, confronting new realities around notions of privacy and confidentiality, and adapting the materials used in sessions. The necessary innovations and adjustments also revealed the unexpected benefits the pandemic and online therapy platforms provided. The researcher was interested in exploring the challenges and benefits of telehealth, the changes to the practical and essential qualities of the art therapy session, the therapeutic relationship, …

Clay Use As Mindfulness For Women In Early Substance Use Recovery, Cheryl Feldman

Art Therapy | Doctoral Dissertations

Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) are an epidemic in the United States comprising 4.4 million women, including high rates of recidivism, and often accompanied by comorbid mental health issues. Recognizing the need for effective tools to support women in recovery, this research aligns the key tenets of present focus and personal control within Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) with various established mindfulness-based therapies, while using a Positive Psychology framework to conceptualize strategies to help enhance mindfulness in women in early recovery. Although engaging in clay work has been linked to mindfulness for its capacity to foster a state of presence and self-centering, scant …

Memes To Cope And Communicate, Priscilla (Nox) Ngo

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

The study’s objective was to observe the benefits of creating meme imagery around the participant’s stressors and how it affected the participants’ mood. This mixed-method study also looked into the meme’s ability to communicate their experience of their stressor to others to test whether it would be useful in a therapeutic setting. In order to measure affect change, the researcher utilized the PANAS (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule) before and after the meme creation process. The researcher tested communication through utilization of inter-raters to observe the created meme and respond upon what they believed the participant was going through. This …

Complex Narratives Of Individuals Living With Alpha-Gal Syndrome (Ags). A Mixed-Methods Investigation: Examined Through Self-Reported Data, In-Person Interviews, And A Group Body Mapping Art Therapy Intervention, Sylvan Streightiff

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

Alpha-gal (galactose-α-1,3-galactose) Syndrome or AGS is an under-recognized chronic condition which coincides with tick-bite exposure, resulting in a unique allergy to non-primate mammalian products and byproducts (in addition to other items caring the α-gal epitope such as carrageenan, agar-agar, and nori). This paper explores the experiences of individuals with this illness, establishing psychological context for expressed symptomatology, while emphasizing the complex trauma rooted in the population’s experiences of the life-altering and life-threatening contexts associated with managing AGS. This research is structured with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) theory and utilizes a mixed-methods approach to arts-based research with the goal of …

Altered Stories, Altered Lives: An Exploration Of Post Traumatic Growth From A Narrative Perspective With A Strengths Based Focus, Andrea Jones

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

Complex trauma is prevalent, underrecognized, and difficult to treat. Left untreated, the ongoing negative consequences impact individuals, families and society. Literature indicates traditional modes of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder have high attrition rates and are ineffective for approximately 30% of clients (Schouten et al., 2018). Art Therapy provides the opportunity to offer effective, well tolerated treatment for ongoing adverse consequences of trauma symptoms and recontextualization of the trauma due to the highly nonverbal nature of trauma memory (Hass-Cohen et al., 2014). A nested mixed methods design (Neubauer et al., 2019) combining arts-based research with pre and posttest survey analysis …

Building Social & Emotional Competence In Early Education Classrooms Through Art Therapy, Amber Bliss, Melissa Halici, Nadia Herman, Camille Jessie, Madeline Madison, Melissa Washington Cross, Gaea Ray, Melanie Zarrow

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

This research project qualitatively explores how teachers address social-emotional learning and how educators understand and implement SEL and art therapy in early education. This research aimed to explore how art therapy theories can support teachers in their efforts to create socially and emotionally competent early education classrooms. Data collected included anonymous surveys from current kindergarten through third-grade teachers. Through data analysis, several findings suggest that art therapists, mental health practitioners, and teachers can benefit from collaboration in increasing access and training with SEL practices. These findings open new doors for further inquiry into art therapy and SEL.

Literature Review: The Relationship Between Art And Anxiety, Madeline R. Armendariz Sullivan

University Honors Theses

In this literature review, several articles and studies are discussed to address the question: What is the relationship between making art and anxiety? Within the literature discussed, three themes are reviewed: the effects of making art on anxiety, the long-term impacts of making art, and making art and other psychological conditions. The literature reviewed suggested that making art significantly improves the symptoms of anxiety, helps participants achieve meditative, or flow, states, improves the participants' emotional regulation and quality of life, and that making art helps with comorbidity and even other psychological conditions besides anxiety disorders.

Partial Hospitalization Programs And Adolescents: The Impact Of Brief Art Therapy Treatment, Andrea Sepe

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper evaluates partial hospitalization programming and art therapy practices with the adolescent population. The adolescent experience is a time of complex biopsychosocial development marking personal identity exploration and independence. Adolescent mental health challenges range from depressive, anxiety, conduct and mood disorders. Partial hospitalization programming is a means of acute integrative care founded in milieu therapy that caters to the unique mental wellness needs of the adolescent population. Among the most impactful psychotherapeutic interventions for adolescent mental health is art therapy, an evidence-based practice incorporating creativity and theory. This paper explores the adolescent developmental experience, current treatment methods of partial …

An Extended Literature Review Exploring How Relational Cultural Therapy And Emotion Recognition Impact The Therapeutic Alliance, Prairie Boschulte

Art Therapy Counseling Final Research Projects

This research explores existing literature involving the role of Relational Cultural Therapy and emotion recognition on the therapeutic alliance. This exploration is accomplished through an extended literature review focusing specifically on emotion recognition, RCT, and the therapeutic alliance, with an additional focus on art therapy. The themes discussed center around emotional expression and recognition, rupture and repair in the therapeutic relationship, and connection, disconnection, and mutual empathy through a relational-cultural lens. Themes and patterns were identified within this area of study and how this field of research has developed over time. This study found support for therapist emotion recognition abilities …

Exploring Challenges And Triumphs Within The Transgender Community Through Comics-Based Research, Carly Caldwell

Art Therapy Counseling Final Research Projects

Transgender people are marginalized and pathologized within our society, which leaves transgender individuals vulnerable to numerous negative outcomes. The minority stress model describes the factors experienced by marginalized communities contribute to adverse outcomes (Meyer, 2015). Health care professionals are often not properly equipped to serve the needs of transgender individuals due to marginalization and pathologization. Used to challenge harmful stereotypes, as a form of cultural resistance, and to incite social change comic books and zines have been used as forms of expression for individuals with marginalized identities. Through the creation of a comic book, I aimed to educate others, encourage …

Art Therapy With Juvenile Offenders-Building On Community, Strengths And Self-Esteem: A Literature Review, Rylee Donovan

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The Juvenile Justice System differentiates itself from the adult criminal justice system by running on a rehabilitative model for youth offenders as opposed to a punishment and deterrence model. It is not uncommon that the youth placed in these facilities suffer from many mental health issues and have extensive trauma backgrounds leading to their delinquent behavior and crimes. Juvenile offenders are a population who are labeled as deviant and isolated from the world due to their behaviors often stemming from unhealed trauma. If left without care, these mental health concerns and unhealthy trauma responses may only perpetuate into their adult …

An Exploration Of Art Therapy Services Offered To University Community Members During Transition, Julia Arias, Marissa Gonzales, Melissa Gonzalez, Raegen Valdes

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study examined art therapy services offered by Loyola Marymount University's Helen B. Landgarten Art Therapy Clinic to university students and staff amidst the transition back to in-person services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of interventions and clinical themes that emerged as a result of the services offered to members of the university as they transitioned back to in-person services. Two focus groups were held to gather data from participants and facilitators of the workshops. The analysis of this data led researchers to find that the art therapy services …

Developing Cultural Humility Using Art-Based Group Practices: A Collaborative Autoethnography, Dani De Herrera, Amanda Ramirez, Vivien Chia, Yu Liu, Vanessa Perez, Victoria Mason

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

As the state of the world continues to evolve through means of social justice and technology, the discussion of cultural humility as the evolution of cultural competence is a growing topic in the field of mental health and the art therapy community. The following mixed- method research explores the impact of art materials, group processes, and creative practices in the development of cultural humility. Six graduate students from the Marital and Family Art Therapy Program at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) designed the following collaborative ethnography. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data to answer the question: How can group art-based practices …

Contemporary Art Therapists: Study Of Identity Within Artmaking, Chelsea Cota, Essayan Hart, Jamie Lombrana, Ivan Lopez, Liz Sizemore, Susana Valdez

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

This paper highlights the design and results of a research study conducted by graduate art therapy students that surveyed professional art therapists and the role that personal and clinical art making has in their practice. The study included a mixed-method approach that involved a survey of 88 graduates from art therapy programs, interviews, the creation of art by art therapists, and the creation of art responses by the graduate researchers. The researchers analyzed the data from the surveys and interviews through thematic coding and identified common themes that reflected the research questions: What is the relationship between personal art making …

Improving Cognitive Decline For Persons Living With Dementia: Art Therapy Assessment And Interventions Based On The Expressive Therapies Continuum (Etc) Framework, Jinnie Jeon

Art Therapy | Doctoral Dissertations

This randomized controlled trial explored the impact of Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC)- based art therapy interventions for older adults with dementia living in a complex care home. The trial examined the efficacy of 10 art therapy intervention sessions over 4 months, comparing results with an active control group that participated in 10 art sessions. Pre- and post-assessments, including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clock Drawing Test (CDT), and the Older People’s Quality of Life (OPQOL-Brief) questionnaires, were conducted. Results demonstrated that participants displayed similar visual expression elements, shared preferences for specific media types, and equivalent ETC-based intervention entry levels. In …

Doodling As Self-Expression: Building Self-Efficacy In Normally Functioning Adults, Journey Coward

Art Therapy | Theses and Dissertations

While previous studies identify doodling as a useful educational tool, this study sought to determine if doodling can build creative or emotional self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in their own capacity to express behaviors necessary to attain specific performance goals. The current study also sought to determine if doodling can be a form of self-care. Research collected was quantitative and qualitative using surveys to measure both creative and emotional self-efficacy along with a doodling activity. Ten participants were recruited through convenience sampling on social media and were included in the study after meeting the inclusion criteria of identifying themselves …

Putting The Pieces Back Together: Using A Kintsugi-Influenced Directive To Promote Self-Forgiveness And Resiliency In Young Adults With Shame And Guilt, Marieev Krista Princer

Art Therapy | Theses and Dissertations

Kintsugi is the ancient Japanese art form of repairing broken pieces with lacquer. It is highly regarded as an art form that represents the beauty of scars and life after destruction. Currently, the field of art therapy has little literature on how destruction of art can be used in the field to aid clients. This study was dedicated to researching a new art directive based on the kintsugi form of art making and its philosophies. To assess the therapeutic value of the destruction of art, the chosen population was millennials, an age group that is misunderstood. This study aims to …

Healing Racial Trauma And Reframing The Miseducation Of U.S. America: Altering Exclusionary Textbooks As A Therapeutic Experiential, Kamaria Erin Wells

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This exploratory mixed-methods, arts-based research investigated the therapeutic impact of fusing art therapy, group therapy, altered book making and alternative therapeutic modalities on self-efficacy, self- awareness, community efficacy and awareness, and reduction of racial trauma symptomology. The intention of the study was to understand the experiences of mental health professional participants (n =5), consequent to four therapeutic group sessions. Participants disclosed experienced symptoms of race-based PTSD pre and post sessions via the University of Connecticut Racial/Ethnic Trauma Survey, in addition to qualitative data. Qualitative data consisted of artwork, written responses, and exit interviews confirming the hypothesis that this radical healing …

The Impact Of Creative Arts On Meaning Reconstruction And Loss Adaptation In Widowed Adults, Dani Baker-Cole

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

In counseling, helping grieving clients find meaning after significant loss is a unique, multidimensional, and lengthy process. This is particularly true in Western societies, where antithetical linear grief models, supported by hegemonic expectations to move on after loss, add exhausting pressure to speed up an individual’s natural grieving process. For that reason, this study examined how creative arts interventions such as using traditional art media and expressive writing, combined with postmodern, nonlinear, culturally sensitive bereavement models, help individuals explore their loss narrative to make meaning and adapt to loss. Specifically, this study examined the impact of a switch from traditional …