Counseling Commons^™

One Stitch At A Time: Examining The Self-Care Of Art Therapists And The Potential Of Fiber Arts For Wellbeing, Elaine Chippero

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The goal of this thesis was to understand why art therapists are particularly at risk for burnout, why it is essential for art therapists to engage artmaking for their own self-care, and why fiber crafts are particularly suited for self-care. The literature was collected and organized using reflective journaling and visual–tactile coding and then presented in the following review. The first two sections of the literature review include comprehensive definitions of burnout and self-care and how both concepts have been discussed in literature relating to the helping professions and specifically art therapists. The third section covers the historical context 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 …

Preventative Mental Health Measures For Ministerial Leaders, Claire Phypers

Selected Honors Theses

Pastoral care and responsibilities come with a particular weight that can feel overwhelming at times for those engaged in ministry. In a world where mental health seems to be making all the headlines, there appears to be an overall lack of conversation surrounding the emotional well-being of clergy. This thesis aims to create a more holistic perception of mental health among ministerial leaders and pinpoint preventative measures that can be put in place to protect the hearts and minds of pastors as they fulfill the callings on their lives. In conducting this research, a mixed-method survey was completed by twenty-one …

Burnout Treatment And Prevention Using Multimodal Expressive Arts Therapy In Massachusetts Wellness Programs., Amanda Medas

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Abstract

This capstone thesis will explore the issue of burnout in the field of mental health and the argument for the promotion of using expressive arts as a therapeutic component to decrease and prevent symptoms of burnout. The writer of this thesis will be sharing her personal experiences with burnout while working in the field of mental health. The researcher will review a multimodal expressive arts self-study that she engaged in over the course of one month and will be using the Maslach Burnout Inventory to track symptoms of burnout. Burnout and its prevalence in the field of mental health …

Development Of An Art Therapy Method For The Prevention And Treatment Of Vicarious Trauma, Leanna Pai

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Modern developments in the field of mental health care have greatly increased understanding of vicarious trauma and its impacts on the helping professions. However, the prevalence of vicarious trauma symptoms highlights the need for additional research into prevention and treatment. First responders, critical healthcare workers, and mental health professionals are at particularly high risk for compassion fatigue, burn out, and other symptoms of vicarious trauma as they work closely with traumatized populations. The high incidence of vicarious trauma in individual helping professionals can have immense consequences that ultimately limit quality systems of care available to the general public. This thesis …

Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, Objectivism And Religious Activities/Beliefs In Practitioners, Brenda J. Smith

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

As major stakeholders in the helping profession, counselors and other mental health professionals are prepared to assist clients in coping with intensely painful and traumatic experiences. While assisting their clients in processing traumatic events (e.g., natural disasters, violent crimes, grief, accidents, terrorist attacks), however, some professional helpers may become overwhelmed themselves and thereby experience compassion fatigue and/or burnout. This study will evaluate whether certain personal and professional factors in counselors—including objectivism in decision-making and religious beliefs and activities—are related to their ability to avoid compassion fatigue and/or burnout.