Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Talk Box In Music Therapy With Speech And Language Impairments Resulting From Tracheostomy: A Critical Review Of The Literature, Jonathan Kang

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Tracheostomy patients struggle with one of the most significant and essential components to the human identity, that is, communication. When a person’s communication is obstructed, access to their intangible, inner world is also severed – leaving their thoughts, feelings, and memories, all of which are core to the human experience, unshared. Speech assistance for tracheostomy patients currently includes above cuff vocalization efforts using one-way speaking valves, augmentative and alternative communication methods such as speech generating devices and the electrolarynx. This thesis will introduce and discuss a musical instrument effect called the talk box as an integration of music therapy techniques …

Compassion In The Stem Curriculum: Integrating Emotional Peer Support Within Undergraduates’ Classroom Work, Jared Berezin

Educational Studies Dissertations

Students’ academic success and wellbeing are interconnected, yet university classrooms rarely promote mental health. To bridge the divide between academic and social-emotional learning, I introduced a classroom intervention titled the Care Bear Connection, during which students were required to post a message in Slack offering support to their classmates. In this mixed methods study, quantitative data were collected from first-year undergraduates (N = 36) in two team-based engineering courses (intervention group n = 24; comparison group n = 12). A pre- and post-intervention survey assessed students’ beliefs and experiences in their respective course concerning six compassion-related variables: social connectedness, …

Group Singing As A Tool To Bridge Communication Between People With Aphasia And Their Caregivers: A Literature Review, Allison Whiteside Pollard

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Aphasia is a devastating language disorder induced by stroke that is typically treated using Speech-Language therapy. Given aphasia’s adverse effects on an individual’s mental health status, familial structure, relationships, community involvement and general sense of self, the available treatment options should encompass interventions that target all of these areas. Music therapy is a convenient and easily accessible form of treatment for aphasia, ranging in individual and group applications. While the existing literature surrounding aphasia and music therapy is limited, conclusions can be made about its application in treating the aphasic patient as a whole, and not just their speech and …

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 – …

Using A New Tea And Dialogue Mindfulness Practice (T&D) To Combat Community Dwelling Older Adults' Risks From Social Isolation, Kathleen Fink

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Much sound research indicates that the significant negative health impacts associated with social isolation affect increasing numbers of older adults. Thus, addressing their social isolation could be an effective means to support older adults’ wellbeing while reducing demands on limited healthcare resources. The relative effectiveness of various interventions to address older adults’ social isolation is not clear. This thesis proposes using a new relational mindfulness practice, Tea and Dialogue (T&D), that combines elements of Japanese tea ceremony and Insight Dialogue developed by Gregory Kramer. Videos of older adults engaging in variations of T&D show trusting connection indicated by nonverbal social …

Hands On: Sexual Satisfaction, Communication, And Clay-Work, Courtney Kim Morgan

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The topics of sexual satisfaction, communication, and behaving communally towards each other piques the interest of lay people and academics alike. Yet, what is less researched is the potential of art making with clay to influence sexual communication and satisfaction. The innate physicality of (co-) creating has the potential to increase our attunement with our own and each other’s bodies. This in turn has the possibility to directly affect sexual satisfaction and communication. Through the creation of a method and its implementation with three couples and one individual, presented as case studies, this thesis investigates clay-work’s ability to influence sexual …

Collage Therapy With Elders: Group Socialization And Communication Beyond Words, Cassandra Knowles-True

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Abstract

Dementia is a cognitive disease which impacts a person’s ability to verbally communicate and to emotionally socialize due to degeneration of the brain. Nonpharmacological approaches to dementia care have become more common as we look for more holistic approaches to caring for the entire person, and not just the brain functions and limitations. A new focus on the social and emotional needs of individuals with dementia has led to the use of expressive arts therapies, as therapeutic interventions in dementia care, in many nursing homes and senior centers. Collage therapy is particularly accessible, as an arts-based intervention, as the …

Meeting Point: Partner Dancing As Couple's Therapy, Rami Eckhaus

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This dissertation research explored the experience of partner dancing as a therapeutic process that reflects upon the dynamics and interactions of couples who are in the process of couple's therapy. The research also aimed to gain insight on the ways in which the experience of partner dancing can support these couples' therapeutic processes. Partner dancing is a dance-form that is based on the interaction between two individuals. Such interaction requires the dancing couples to communicate on many levels that may uncover layers of their relational dynamics. In this research, five couples who were undergoing couple's therapy were asked to participate …

Beyond A Checklist: Development Of A Music Therapy Method For Use With A Population With Developmental Delays And Physical Disabilities, Andria Thomas

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Music therapy has long been used within school settings, particularly within special needs populations. Until the late 1970s students with special needs were usually institutionalized with the belief that they were incapable of continued learning. Since then, music therapy has become a useful clinical medium to assess and aid in treating speech deficits, various cognitive impairments, and physical rehabilitation. This capstone thesis centered on how individuals with significant cognitive and physical impairment interact, communicate, and participate in everyday situations, specifically within a music therapy group setting. Overall, the observations show the usefulness of assessment as a music therapy tool as …