Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Enhance Inner Resilience And Self-Esteem: An Exploration Utilizing Expressive Arts Therapy In A Curriculum-Based Approach With Asian Immigrant Adolescents, Kevin Lin

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Asian and new immigrant adolescents often encounter difficulty transitioning to a new culture and environment foreign to their previous understandings. The clash between individualism and collectivism can impact their ability to adjust into the host culture, leading to limited coping skills when faced with acculturation difficulties. This capstone thesis utilized the integration of expressive arts therapy as part of a curriculum designed to help Asian immigrant adolescents build inner resilience and self-esteem to cope with immigration. Through further research on immigration, collectivism, individualism, creative expression, improvisational performance, art-based interventions, and expressive arts therapy, a curriculum-based approach was implemented in the …

Embodied Integration: How Expressive Arts Therapy Supports Self-Regulation In Adults With Complex Ptsd (A Literature Review), Alexandra Orgera

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder presents a unique challenge in healing due to the absence of a foundation of safety and self-regulation that results from repeated exposure to traumatic stress. This narrative literature review explores the current research on establishing this foundation as a crucial first step in complex PTSD treatment and examines how engaging in expressive arts therapy can foster self-regulation and create new, positive experiences for these clients. Drawing on clinical experience and neurobiological research, the author proposes a model conceptualizing self-regulation as an embodied, holistic process that results from left and right brain integration at multiple levels of …

Expressive Therapies And Resiliency – Resistance In Mental Health: A Literature Review, Gabrielle Lopez

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This review evaluates the current literature on psychological resistance amongst human service professionals experiencing burnout and the effect of Expressive Arts interventions on resiliency. Concepts include identifying the main symptoms, risk factors, causes, and treatments for burnout in education faculty, medical staff, and clinicians. Qualitative, quantitative, and meta-analysis studies are included to identify the most prevalent intervention frameworks for reducing stress including Arts-Based and Mindfulness-compassion based techniques. The effectiveness of Arts-based tools on strengthening identity, self-esteem, emotional regulation, and meaning-making in combating burnout is presented. Based on analysis of the literature, the author proposes a three-step intervention framework for utilizing …

Coming Out, Letting Go, Getting Naked: A Community Engagement Arts Based Project, Tim Aumiller

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Creating a healthy sexual minority identity remains a challenge in the 21^st century, despite significant advances in social acceptance and civil rights. Sexual minorities are more likely than cis gender heterosexuals to be exposed to traumatic events, and experience shame and mental and physical health symptoms as a result. Despite this, sexual minorities do overcome obstacles to develop resilience. While the coming out process looks different depending on the background of the individual, many gay men find connection and build community through this often difficult process where even rejection may play a part. The author found connection and community …

From Dread To Aliveness — Bottom-Up Creative Arts Therapies For Resilience In The Face Of Existential Stress: A Literature Review, Anna Olinova

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Existential stress results from persistent, uncontrollable personal circumstances or broader systemic factors. Such prolonged stressors constitute “little-t trauma” and take a toll on the body, mind, and spirit. As such, approaches for building resilience against such stressors should be integrative. Because stress implicates the nervous system, bottom-up therapies are foundational in support of building a felt sense of safety. Thereafter, top-down methods for increasing one’s subjective sense of meaning and aliveness can follow. However, traditional psychotherapy approaches to resilience—including those utilized in positive psychology—are often cognitive in nature and disregard the body and nervous system. Literature on bottom-up therapies commonly …

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 …

Sand Tray And Play Therapy With Homeless Families: Strengthening Caretaker Bonds, Development Of A Method, Regina Sayers

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper looks at a new way of using sand tray and play therapy, in family therapy to support a secure bond between parents and their children. The literature on adverse childhood experiences, benevolent childhood experiences, and the extensive body of literature on sand tray and play therapy suggest that this method could help the families at the shelter the author interned in this past year. Supported by Jungian and Adlerian therapists, sand tray and play therapy are safe, the sand and figurines and toys are easy to manipulate and accessible for those who are less verbal to play and …

How Art Therapy Promotes Resiliency In Individuals With Chronic Pain: A Literature Review, Margaret Lukas

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Chronic pain is one of the most prominent physical health challenges in the United States. It is a health condition where people have not only debilitating physical pain but also mental health distress. With this combination of physical and mental symptoms, people with chronic pain must get good quality care. To properly support those with chronic pain, healthcare practitioners must be educated in caring for patients to better treat and understand them. This thesis searched for literature on chronic pain and art therapy to determine the benefits of art therapy for people with chronic pain. This search was conducted online …

The Effectiveness Of Music Therapy With Children Who Have Experienced Trauma Using The Neurosequential Model Of Therapeutics (Nmt): A Literature Review, Brianna Lambert-Jenkins

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper initiates filling the gap in the literature by utilizing NMT, which addresses trauma through understanding and assessing how it has impacted a child neurodevelopmentally with music therapy. Children in intensive residential care are referred to treatment with a unique range of challenges resulting from their traumatic experiences. Of these challenges, included are a wide range of traumatic experiences such as physical/emotional abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, homelessness, witnessing violence or domestic abuse, adjustment issues, attachment issues, or trauma while in utero. The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) is a newer framework for working with developmental trauma. Current research around …

Examining Resilience In Women Living With Hiv/Aids Through A Photo Narrative Lens, Mary Bell

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Women living with HIV/AIDS (WLH) and poverty face numerous challenges to survival. Typically, WLH in the United States have been exposed to more than just a deadly virus; they have often experienced or witnessed drug addiction, poverty, abuse, mental health disorders, homelessness, abandonment, involvement in the sex industry, racism, sexism, prejudice, social injustice, chronic hunger, generational trauma, and violence – community, domestic, cultural, police enforced, etc. The literature reviewed suggests that treating HIV/AIDS requires a holistic approach that pays close attention to the biopsychosocial needs of the individual. In addition to the physical and economic toll the disease takes on …

Healing Collective Generational Trauma And Building Resilience Through Art Therapy, Ruzanna Carter

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Current research is limited in the transmission of transgenerational trauma. Most

of the research available on the topic was specific to the survivors of the

Holocaust. The focus in this thesis is on the Armenian population and how the

trauma of the wars and the Genocide has transmitted to future generations and

continues to impact the population today. The literature reviewed for this topic

explored how trauma transcends these generations but also how the resilience

transcends. My goal was to help build resilience through the artmaking

process more in the style of Jungian art therapy in a semi-open studio structure. …

Exploring Identity Development Through The Expressive Arts Among Immigrant Youth, A Literature Review, Jessika De Castro

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

According to the APA’s Presidential Task Force on Immigration (2012), the immigrant population within the US increases every year. Immigration to a new country increases risk factors for young immigrants, resulting in a negative impact on their mental health. It has been shown in the literature that arts-based approaches can be extremely helpful in the treatment of mental health issues brought on by the stressors of immigration and when people are dealing with a sense of loss towards their country of origin. For first generation immigrants, coming to the US during their adolescence, as young adults, means that they are …

Exploring The Circle Of Courage Through Art Therapy: A Literature Review, Kendra Denny Arey

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The Circle of Courage is a framework based on Native principles of childrearing that identifies four major components of healthy human development. When fulfilled, these areas of development provide a strong foundation of resilience to life challenges. However, with youth of today these basic developmental needs are often unmet, leaving them at risk for maladaptive coping strategies, behavioral problems, and other challenges as they transition into adulthood. Although extensive work has been done to adapt the Circle of Courage framework to clinical settings, there is little information on how to help youth engage in a process of self-reflection within this …

Trauma Effects, Empathy, And Dance/Movement Therapy: A Literature Review, Jenna Soldati

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Trauma exists at many levels, affecting people in various ways biologically and emotionally. Trauma and adverse experiences have been researched, suggesting effects on the whole individual including their psychological, physical, and social wellness (Cristobal, 2018; Greenberg, Baron-Cohen, Rosenberg, Fonagy, & Rentfrow, 2018; Levy, Goldstein, & Feldman, 2019; Olofsson, Iddli, Hoffart, Eielsen, & Vrabel, 2020). Similarly, empathy and empathic behaviors exist on a varying scale as well. Investigating the effects of trauma on empathy, themes of resilience emerge in survivors of trauma and provide insight into alternative healing modalities. Dance/movement therapy and other mindfulness-based treatments provide a method of trauma-informed care …

Promoting Resilience Practice In Childen Using Improvisational Play, Jordan Kaufman

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper presents an expressive arts therapy method using interventions based in improvisational play to promote resilience-building in school-aged children. A review of current literature on resilience, developmental theory, creative psychotherapeutic interventions, and drama therapy interventions with this population is included. A method using a dramatic playspace to promote embodied interaction with interventions centered in active coping, cognitive flexibility, and social support was used in group therapy work with seven students (N = 7) enrolled in a therapeutic day school. Clinical observations support the effectiveness of embodied improvisational play therapy outlined in the literature review and suggest possible accessible avenues …

A Critical Approach To Resilience And The Need For Community: Anti-Oppressive Music Therapy At A Homeless Shelter During Covid-19, Corrine Mina

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected death and infection rates of racial and ethnic minorities, the elderly, immigrants and refugees, and those experiencing poverty, amplifying the racial, socio-economic, and systemic inequalities that already existed in the United States of America. People experiencing homelessness often do not have the privilege to shelter-in-place or work from home; the same goes for essential workers who must work in-person to provide social services. This community engagement project challenges the notion of individual resilience through the lens of critical race theory and a systems approach to oppression observed in an emergency homeless shelter serving …

Exploring Post-Genocide Chinese-Indonesian Identity From The Perspective Of The Secondary Witness: Dance/Movement Therapy Approach, Iyit Benusia

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The Chinese-Indonesian population is a bicultural and biethnic population with an extensive history of racism and discrimination in Indonesia since the colonial era. This situation has caused confusion on their ethnic-racial identity. Ethnic-racial identity is a social construct that defined one's sense of self within society. The lack of sense of self may negatively impact one's perception towards self and others. This project addresses this issue by identifying the current Chinese-Indonesian ethnic-racial identity from the perspective of the secondary witness to the genocide event happening in 1998. The paper will evaluate how the 1998 genocide event has impacted the Chinese-Indonesians' …

Resilience Fostering Music Therapy: Developing A Music Based Method For Children And Adolescents Experiencing Short-Term Psychiatric Hospitalization, Nataly Kruh

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The implementation of music therapy within short-term psychiatric treatment programs for children and adolescents is in its beginning stages. In an attempt to develop a method which informed the profession and remained authentic to this writer’s approach as a clinician and emerging researcher, a two-part intervention protocol was developed within a resilience fostering framework, and through a culturally sensitive and trauma informed lens. Fostering resilience was defined in terms of increasing distress tolerance, increasing insight, and the use of coping skills. The implementation of the group on-site protocol intervention showed promising results specifically in promoting music as a coping skill …

Mitigating Loss, Discrimination, And Acculturation: Supporting Long-Term Immigrants Through Dance/Movement Therapy, A Literature Review, Sabrina Mijares

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

With a growing population of immigrants and a rise in anti-immigration policies and sentiments that have longstanding mental health consequences, it is imperative that the field of dance/movement therapy meets the growing needs of long-term immigrants in the U.S. This literature review addressed the gap in dance/movement therapy research on the use of dance/movement therapy to support the post-migration, long-term mental health needs of immigrants residing in the U.S. Themes of loss, discrimination, and acculturation and identity as the prevailing long-term effects of the post-migration experience in the U.S. were explored. In addition, literature on multicultural and anti-oppressive uses of …

Fostering Creativity For Healing: A Literature Review On The Use Of Art Therapy And Mindfulness With Traumatized Adults, Kathryn Kost

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Art therapy and mindfulness have often been applied separately in the treatment of traumatized adults, and positive results in research studies and clinical practice have been reported. This thesis explores and evaluates empirical evidence of the effectiveness of both modalities for trauma treatment with adults, considering the effects of trauma and how to appropriately integrate art therapy and mindfulness into a trauma-informed practice. The critical review begins by surveying literature on the neurological impacts of trauma, identifying the stages of trauma treatment and how to utilize a client’s window of tolerance to improve functioning and increase acceptance of difficult emotions. …

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 …

An Exploration Of Whiteness, Resilience, And Dance/Movement Therapy, Sharon Elizabeth Quimbay Nolasco

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This literature review is a thorough investigation on Whiteness, specifically how it is defined within society, embodiment and how to utilize Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT), resilience and how it affects people of color. It will address how Whiteness is a vast and highly researched topic, and this paper aims to build the ground for future work both within counseling professions and Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT). The entirety of this paper discusses whiteness and how it affects various aspects of an individual’s life, as well as the resiliency demonstrated by those who rise up beyond their experienced oppression. When defining Whiteness, careful consideration …

Puerto Rican Cultural Arts And Expressive Arts Therapies: Mental Health And Collective Resilience Post-Hurricane Maria, Stephanie Soler-Martinez

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The research aimed to study how integrating Puerto Rican popular cultural arts with the expressive arts therapies could assist the recovery process post Hurricane Maria. During post-disaster recovery efforts, access to formal psychological services are not always viable to survivors and the services available are usually not enough to cover the demand. The literature review examined the relationship between: mental health in the aftermath of natural disasters; cultural relevancy within the field of psychology in Puerto Rico; resilience in post-disaster communities; and psychosocial community interventions. Findings encouraged for programing for Puerto Rico’s psychosocial recovery from Hurricane Maria, or any future …