Other Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Animation As Therapy For Mental Health Treatment Across Diverse Populations And Contexts, A Literature Review, Daneile Tabana

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Scientific research has explored and identified the beneficial relationship between health and creative expression, recognizing art therapy as a source of healing. Animation has been newly recognized as an art therapy medium with potential for therapeutic healing and increased psychological well-being. This review of the literature on animation therapy explores the history of the modality’s interaction with the population observed and the effects of animation on the cognitive processes, discusses current theoretical orientations and treatment options for treating a range of conditions that affect mood, thinking, and behavior with animation therapy, and considers culturally informed and client-centered practices alongside traditional …

A Trauma-Informed Socially Just Approach To Working With Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth Utilizing Expressive Arts Therapy, Ciara Carr

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Youth involved with the juvenile justice system often have a history of trauma and oppression resulting from their positionality and circumstances. Most juvenile justice-involved youth are boys, youth of color, low-income, LGBTQIA2S+, disabled, and traumatized. This literature review explores the history of the juvenile justice system, issues with the present-day model, and trauma-informed and transformative justice approaches to practice. The implementation of socially just, trauma-informed expressive arts therapy programs is proposed as a more equitable practice to replace commonly used punitive practices across the United States. More research is needed to understand the impact of such programs on this population …

Playing With International Students From Asia: An Exploration Of Cultural Commonalities And Differences In Developmental Transformations (Dvt), Hazuki Okamoto

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Asian international students in the United States face a multitude of challenges such as language barriers, differences in cultural norms and behaviors, and identity confusion while navigating a foreign landscape. Developmental Transformations (DvT), a form of drama therapy, may apply to these challenges by enabling participants to explore different identities and express themselves creatively beyond the language barrier. This community engagement project was designed for Asian international students to be seen and heard by utilizing DvT. Within an in-person workshop, five participants played with their shared stories, and explored international and cultural roles in group DvT. Key takeaways from the …

Method Acting As A Therapeutic Intervention For Trauma Recovery, Remi Moses

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

While considered controversial by some, Method acting as popularized by Lee Strasberg is a technique that elicits powerful and authentic results on stage and screen. The foundational Method acting techniques, the Relaxation Exercise (RE) and the Sense Memory Exercise (SME), share similarities to bottom-up therapeutic processes like Somatic Experiencing and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. By implementing a trauma-informed drama therapy framework with these two exercises, the RE and SME were restructured as a therapeutic intervention for people in trauma recovery. The author implemented a study of three consecutive group therapy sessions for people healing from trauma where clients participated …

The Anatomical Embodiment Of Morning Routines In The Reduction Of Anxiety: An Intervention, Natalie Wright

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The topic under investigation is whether physically embodying a morning routine that was designed through the lens of Laban Bartenieff Movement Analysis (LBMA) will reduce daily symptoms of individuals diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Since morning routines play a significant part in one’s preparation for the day, I created an individualized LBMA morning routine for a specific client to embody. In addition to the routine, the client documented the process of their anxiety levels on a weekly basis. This client was a white, female, 19-year-old, lesbian college student who was previously diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The movement analysis …

Expressive Arts Therapy To Support Positive Experiences Of Embodiment Among Rural Lgbtq+ Adults: A Literature Review, Ann Stromgren

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper investigates the use of expressive arts therapy to support LGBTQ+ adult clients in rural communities. Caring professionals in rural areas often lack training on how to work with LGBTQ+ clients, and best practices for clinical mental health counseling with rural LGBTQ+ clients have yet to be defined. Some evidence suggests that using “metronormative” best practices with rural clients may be irrelevant or cause harm (Giano et al., 2020). Although some recommendations exist for using expressive therapies with LGBTQ+ clients, they are rarely evidence-based, as very few empirical studies exist evaluating the effectiveness of expressive therapy interventions with LGBTQ+ …

Overcoming The Inner Critic: The Therapeutic Use Of Self-Portraits With Older Adults, Brenda Echeverry

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Older adults are a growing and vulnerable population who experience discriminatory practices that impact their access to equitable housing, employment, and healthcare which was made even more obvious during the Coronavirus pandemic in the United States. A community engagement project was developed and facilitated by the writer to support older adults with the psychological effects of surviving the pandemic. This project also helped to increase accessibility to expressive arts therapy in the writer’s local community. Expressive arts therapy is an effective and accessible method to support mental health and wellness for people of all ages. Engagement with the arts helps …

Examining The Use Of Expressive Arts Therapies In Neurorehabilitation Treatment Planning, Rebecca J. Horner

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Those undergoing neurorehabilitation after stroke and traumatic brain injury report a diminished sense of overall wellness. This paper examines the conceivable benefits of introducing expressive arts therapies, which is the therapeutic use and combination of the visual arts, movement, drama, music, writing and other intermodal creative processes, into physical therapy and neurorehabilitation treatment planning. Expressive arts therapies have the capacity to engage with an individual’s physical, emotional, social and spiritual states concurrently. They simultaneously offer the ability to promote an increased sense of well-being, address mind-body disconnects, and process trauma non-verbally.

The sections of this narrative literature review focus on …

Dance/Movement Therapy Used As An Intervention To Heal Racial Trauma Within The Black Community: A Literature Review, Jennifer Noboise

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The history of dance within the black community has served an important role while living through a racist and discriminatory society. Dance has been used to express anger, grief, and joy during hardships and moments of rejoicing from the black experience. African American people have endured years of trauma and abuse from oppressive systems. Research has been conducted to demonstrate that dance/movement therapy has been effective in treating those who have experienced a form of trauma since the trauma is stored in the body. Examining trauma symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and substance use, the research found these symptoms diminished …

Prescribing Music To Forensic Settings: A Literature Review, Sydney A. Bouchard

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Though prison is inherently musical, evidence-based forensic music therapy is rather understudied. This thesis critically reviews musical experiences in forensic environments and synthesizes its intersection with inmates' psychological distress. Additionally, the literature explores how forensic music therapy can act as a health and social resource for the incarcerated and their communities. Engaging in this work is vital because healthier correctional systems mean healthier communities (Hopwood, 2021). This review synthesizes relevant literature to inform better practices in music therapy, counseling, and healthcare and seeks to popularize discussion around an otherwise unpopular population, incarcerated folx. Emerging themes include (1) incarceration breeds negative …

Playing With Policy: What Insights Arise From Transgender Adults After Participating In A Legislative Theatre Exercise, Skylar A. Stratemeyer

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The transgender community is underrepresented in the current body of academic research, underserved in the current clinical model of healthcare services, and legislatively oppressed on a state and federal level in the United States. As of March 2023, more than 400 anti-LGBTQI laws have been introduced on a state level in 2023 alone (ACLU, 2023). In response to the hostile Western sociopolitical climate, this thesis will focus on what insights arise from transgender adults and cisgender allies (N = 12) after participating in a dramatherapeutic group therapy session that explored current anti-trans legislation and highlighted the legal needs of …

Connecting With Our Roles Through Post Traumatic Growth After Experiencing Medical Trauma, Marie Angier

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper explores the combination of drama therapist, Robert Landy’s (1993), Role Theory and the psychological concept of Post Traumatic Growth (Tedeschi, 2018). The author created a protocol that involved psychoeducation surrounding the five domains of Post Traumatic Growth and a role card sort involving the drama therapeutic process of role theory. A young adult client experiencing significant medical trauma participated in these processes during a three session intervention. Results indicated that the client viewed negative experiences as potentials for growth toward furthered resilience and future hope and optimism. The sample size was limited to one person and further search …

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 …

Making Room: Addressing The Counter-Therapeutic Nature Of Psychiatric Hospitalization Through Containment- Based Group Expressive Therapy, Max Sandor Copans

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The process of hospitalization and the environment of a typical psychiatric hospital is often counter-therapeutic. To challenge this problem, clinicians may introduce the concept of psychological containment. To elaborate, being hospitalized anywhere can be disorienting, frightening and even traumatic. This problem is only further exacerbated in psychiatric hospitals where patients may be disorganized, manic, or struggling with psychosis. Furthermore, psychological containment is essentially the ability for psychiatric patients to prevent their intense emotions from effecting others negatively, and to act with resiliency when other patients are unable to contain their own disruptive behaviors. This paper utilizes both an initial literature …

Language As The Medium: A Literature Review. Harnessing The Prolific Power Of Dramatic Language As A Therapeutic Tool In Drama Therapy, Edward Freeman

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Language in and of the theatre, with its palate of variegated writing styles and playwrights from throughout time, has the potential to be harnessed, focused, and systematized for use as a therapeutic tool within drama therapy – the field’s artistic medium. Drama therapy could benefit from having a specific medium germane to its artform which has the potential to provide practitioners with a common resource and means of communication, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning, as well as align the field with other creative arts therapies. Language encompasses all forms of human communication – speaking, writing, signing, gesturing, expressing facially – …

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 …

Kin(A)Esthetic Paper Play: A Community Engagement Project Offering A Therapeutic Experience By Exploring An Emergent Method Of Expressive Arts Therapy With Clinicians Who Studied Expressive Arts, Bed Hermin

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

For this community engagement project, I explored an emergent practice of Kin(a)esthetic Paper Play with expressive arts therapists. This practice aligns with Buddhist philosophy and practice in the West and its benefits can be explained through the theory of Embodied Simulation. The literature on Buddhism and Embodied Simulation highlights the positive benefits of abstract meditative processes done in groups. My goal was to explore the therapeutic elements of K(a)P within a community group setting. When elements of Kin(a)esthetic Paper Play were introduced to a group of alumni from Lesley’s Expressive Arts Therapy graduate program it was received well. I learned …

How Dance And Music Stimulate Therapeutic Change In A Personal Movement Ritual, Cassidy Bingham

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis investigates the therapeutic effects of the researcher’s own arts practice or personal movement ritual, which is based in her tacit knowledge and intuition. The researcher is also the participant of this study. Her personal movement ritual, which was formalized as the method, was conducted before the literature review in order to prioritize tacit knowledge before introducing the influence of other scholars. In the literature review, Ellen Dissanayake’s and other scholars’ rationale for the emotional and cognitive changes that take place during rituals through music and dance are explained. These rationales, or the five constructs of entrainment, “ …

Mental Associations And Music Therapy: Including The History Of Associationism And The Neurology Of Associations, Dianna Rose

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Associations are formed in our minds based upon three elements: sensory experience, emotions, and memories. These associations, unique to each individual, dictate thoughts, beliefs, behaviors, and actions. Some are necessary and supportive, while others can be maladaptive. Established associations can be changed, and new associations can be formed, to align with a client’s goals. The literature presents a strong history of associationism, as well as a body of research that demonstrates the neurological processes of how mental associations are formed. There are also studies showing how music activates the brain. However, there is a lack of research which draws direct …

Expressive Mindfulness: A Trauma-Sensitive Expressive Arts Therapy Group Method, Meghan Daly

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Mindfulness and expressive arts therapy are both supportive of directing attention in a manner that promotes integration and function of a person. In this paper, a trauma-sensitive method was created for use in a day treatment setting for adults with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI). This method utilized expressive movement, visual art making with three different materials, and creative writing to encourage mindful, non-judgmental acceptance of the present moment; a sense of relaxation; and an overall increase in quality of life. During development of the method arts-based research informed the choice of materials, music, and structure of the group. …

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 …

Music Therapy Assisted Childbirth In The United States: A Critical Literature Review, Sydney Mohr

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Music therapy assisted childbirth is an approach of music therapy in which a licensed and credentialed professional utilizes music therapy interventions to address a variety of goals during childbirth. There is a lack of literature and missing knowledge on the topic, associated with an increased rate in traumatic birth cases, mothers with post-traumatic stress disorder, and postpartum anxiety and depression. The literature review provides a summary of the historical context of feminist theory and feminism, as well as brief descriptions of music therapy, guided imagery and music, and familiar music interventions. One of the primary goals of this type of …

Integrating Digital App Technologies Within Traditional Expressive Arts Therapy For Children And Adolescents, Sarah Storjohann

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In recent years, technology in the form of digital applications (apps) has emerged as a fundamental aspect of everyday life as well as a practical, convenient, and inexpensive tool for artistic self-expression, most notably amongst children and adolescents. Ninety-eight percent of U.S. households currently possess some form of mobile device (Rideout, 2017), with an estimated 95% of U.S. teenagers ages 13 to 17 owning a Smartphone (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). As digital natives, children and adolescents are more likely to identify with and connect to these arts-based methods. Clinician perspective concerning digital integration varies across a wide spectrum. Through a …