Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling Commons^™

Online Friendships And The Bird’S Nest Drawing In The Age Of The Internet, Ian Wong

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This study was a qualitative exploration of friendships facilitated through the internet and online video games. The goal was to investigate how online friendships compare to in-person friendships in terms of quality. Three English-speaking participants who played an online video game and had an online friendship provided unique case studies describing the differences between an online and in-person friendship. The Bird Nest Drawing art assessment by Kaiser (1996; 2016) revealed themes of attachment security which helped explain the variations in the friendships. The findings of this study opened the topic of online friendships for further exploration in the field of …

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 …

Mindfulness And Self-Compassion: Attuning Skills In Self-Awareness To Promote Self-Care For Art Therapy Practitioners A Mixed-Methods Study Using A Mandala Art Directive And Acceptance Commitment Therapy (Act), Janeth Arcila Padilla

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This study attempts to examine people in the mental health field, specifically, Art Therapists and graduate trainees who undergo many stressors in and out of the therapy space. Stressors like emotionally demanding situations with clients, to the demands of keeping up with proper work-related procedures, and needed educational requirements for practicing in the field can lead to burnout for practitioners and students in the field. Stress, burnout, and professional impairment are prevalent among mental health professionals and can have a negative impact on their clinical work, while engagement in self-care can help promote therapist well-being (Posluns & Gall, 2020). Research …

Chosen Family In Lgbtq+ Community: Creating Feeling Of Safety Through Collage In Art Therapy, Zaina Berger

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This student research study investigates how collage demonstrates feelings of safety with chosen family within the LGBTQ+ community as a minority group who has undergone much discrimination and exclusion from their biological family and society at large. Currently, within the field of art therapy, there is minimal research on LGBTQ+ community, especially in regards to kinship and family. The only research about chosen family was conducted by anthropologist, Kath Weston, in the 1990’s.The student researcher defines chosen family and discusses different alternative kinship theories and practices in the last three decades. The review discusses how queer people have created meaningful …

Exploring Whether A Collage Art Intervention Enhances Levels Of Resilience In Asian Americans Who Have Experienced Emotional Suppression, Casey Galaura

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

Emerging research has shown cross-cultural differences when coping with negative emotions (Yoshie & Sauter, 2020). The Asian American population uniquely experiences both western and eastern cultures, which have different ideologies around expressing negative emotions. In Eastern Cultures, it is common to suppress negative emotions, while Western cultures find it more accepting. Suppressing emotions is a form of emotional dysregulation and can cause a negative effect on one’s psychopathology. This mix-methods study explores whether collage art-based intervention enhances levels of resilience with Asian Americans who have experienced emotional suppression. The theoretical orientation, Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), was used as a guide …

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 …

Exploring The Connection Between Social Media & Body-Image And The Impact Of Art Therapy Interventions On A Woman’S Self-Esteem, Courtney Engelhardt

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This current study desired to illuminate the connection between social media and body image, as well as determining if art therapy interventions may impact a woman’s self-esteem. An individual’s body-image and self-esteem are very much correlated, as both concepts directly influence one another. Fourteen participants were recruited through social media after meeting the qualifications: being eighteen years old and/or older, identifying as a woman, and being active on social media. A mixed-methods research design was utilized for this research using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Qualitative data was obtained through semi structured interviews, participant’s artwork, and reflections on their art. …

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 …

Evoking The Art Of Nature, Tessa R. Evans Keime

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This international study aimed to investigate the therapeutic potential of nature-based art therapy, an innovative approach that combines artmaking with the healing power of nature. The research aimed to examine the synergistic effects of nature and artmaking, as well as the impact of the eco-art experience on adult individuals' connectedness to nature, emotional well-being, and existential understanding, while addressing gaps in literature.

Employing an arts-based research design, participants took part in a nature-art-making session, and their experiences were evaluated through pre- and post-art questionnaires, as well as an analysis of their artistic creations by trained inter-raters. The nature art-based experience …

Cultural Identity Of And Implications For Later Generational Hispanic And Latino Populations In The United States, Tara Bustamante

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This study explores the Hispanic and Latino/x/e cultures within the United States, with a particular focus on the concept of identity within these communities and its implications for third and later generations. Data were collected during the pandemic via an online survey and art directive. The student researcher used the Identity Denial Scale (Albuja et al., 2019) to measure how often the participants’ identity is denied within the United States and then used an art therapy prompt to invite participants to create their own self-portrait in conjunction with their authentic self and self-image. Qualitative data were also used in response …

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 …

Does Attachment Predict Coping Strategies? An In-Depth Look At Millennials During Covid-19, Clinton Johnson

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

Individuals form attachments during the early stages of their lives, with the caregiver serving as their first attachment figure. An individual's attachment style may predict how an individual will react to challenges in life. Responses to challenges may be either adaptive (solution-focused) or maladaptive (solution-avoidant). The objective of this study was to examine how millennial adults demonstrate adaptive coping skills across attachment styles. This unique study explored the relationship between attachment style and coping strategies among five millennial adults. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling via social media and were included if they met the criteria of being a millennial …

Illuminating The Increase Of Intentional Dating In The Covid-19 Pandemic And Its Connection To Relationship Satisfaction Through The Lens Of Photography., Caitlin Carnegie

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

In this study, the researcher examined if the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted individuals to reprioritize their emotional needs in intimate relationships. As a result of reprioritizing intimate relationship needs, the researcher also examined whether intentional dating increased within an individual. Furthermore, the researcher explored the use of photography to illuminate an individual's relationship satisfaction and motivation for dating. Asking these questions can help to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted intimate dating relationships and how dating trends may have shifted. It further explores how photography can also be used as a research tool as well as a …