Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

A Literature Review On Understanding, Solidifying, And Expanding The Role Of Art Therapy In Death And Dying, Deborah D. Clark

University Honors Theses

The purpose of this literature review is to weave together an understanding of what research exists around art therapy in death and dying, what the role of art therapy is in end-of-life care and education, and determine what gaps exist for further study. When it comes to the topic of death and dying, most of us would agree that end-of-life care is extremely important, though this agreement often falls apart regarding what that care looks like, and how we do (or don't) talk and learn about death and dying. This review argues for an integrated holistic model of care concerning …

The Value Of Therapeutic Farming As An Art Therapy Intervention For Emerging Adults: A Literature Review, Neva Callaghan

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This literature review examines the role of place, space, and environment in art therapy and proposes therapeutic farms as alternative mental health care for emerging adults. The writing explores concepts of nature-based art therapy, therapeutic metaphors, and self-determination theory in regard to how these approaches can enhance engagement in the therapeutic process. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on emerging adults’ mental health and feelings of connection to nature. The developmental needs of this population are not met by the current mental health care system, and there is a need to consider alternative forms of treatment. This research …

Exploring The Effects Of Intersectionality On Mental Health And Identity Development With Adolescents Through Culturally Humble Art Therapy, Cal Loiselle

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This study investigated the implementation of culturally humble art therapy directives centered around identity development and social justice with adolescents. Intersectionality theory was applied to examine the ways operating from a culturally humble lens benefits clients and art therapists. Existing research supports the application of cultural humility with various populations as a method of validating client’s experiences and strengthening the therapeutic alliance. A series of art therapy interventions were implemented at a private non-profit children's psychiatric hospital with the adolescent inpatient units. The participants were between the ages of 13-18 and receiving treatment for mental health conditions, short-term stabilization, and …

The Benefits Of Art Therapy On Stress And Anxiety Of Oncology Patients During Treatment, Helen Shiepe

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Within the last ten years research on art therapy and its positive impact on oncology patients’ stress and anxiety during treatment has been minimal. Oncology patients whether they are children or adults when diagnosed experience similar reactions due to their diagnosis, treatment, and in some cases end of life care. The current question is whether or not art therapy does have a positive impact on decreasing the stress and anxiety with oncology patients while undergoing treatment. Deane, Fitch & Carmen (2000), discussed art therapy as a healing art that is “intended to integrate physical, emotional, and spiritual care by facilitating …

Postpartum Depression: Healing Through Archetypes And The Expressive Arts Therapies, Macushla Roulleau

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis is a literature review investigating treating postpartum depression through the expressive arts therapies and feminine archetypes. The expressive arts therapies explored for treatment are dance, music, art, and drama. Meditation, mindfulness, and writing are also included. The importance of expressive arts therapies in treating postpartum depression is of interest now because of the increasing number of mothers who experience postpartum depression who are looking for alternatives to treatment beyond, or complementing, traditional talk therapy and medication. A search for literature on treating postpartum depression with expressive arts therapies and archetypes was conducted on-line using the Lesley University database. …

Art Therapy As A Comprehensive Complementary Treatment For Parkinson’S Disease, Tom Ettinger, Marygrace Berberian, Ikuko Acosta, Alberto Cucca, Andrew Feigin, Danilo Genovese, Travis Pollen, Julianne Reiders, Rohita Kilachand, Clara Gomez, Milton Biagioni, Alessandro Di Rocco, Felice M. Ghilardi, John-Ross Rizzo

Department of Exercise Science Faculty Papers

Introduction: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease. Complementary and alternative therapies are increasingly utilized to address its complex multisystem symptomatology. Art therapy involves motoric action and visuospatial processing while promoting broad biopsychosocial wellness. The process involves hedonic absorption, which provides an escape from otherwise persistent and cumulative PD symptoms, refreshing internal resources. It involves the expression in nonverbal form of multilayered psychological and somatic phenomena; once these are externalized in a symbolic arts medium, they can be explored, understood, integrated, and reorganized through verbal dialogue, effecting relief and positive change.

Methods: 42 participants with mild to …

Adverse Effects Of Early Exposure To Pornography And The Utilization Of Art Therapy, Meghan Potts

Art Therapy Counseling Final Research Projects

Pornography is not a new phenomenon in our culture or world. With the expansion of the affordability, accessibility, and anonymity of pornography, demand and consumption rates have also escalated, along with the adverse impact associated with this growth (Coopersmith, 2006 as cited by Dines, 2017). This two-year grant proposal seeks to focus its efforts on serving children, the population being exposed to this widespread phenomenon (Wright, Paul, et al., 2021). The full-time art therapist will carry out trauma-informed prevention and intervention methods to advocate for the mental and physical health of children in individual, relational, and community contexts. This will …

How Art Therapy Can Be Used To Teach Queer Inclusive Sex Education To Queer Youth: A Literature Review, Olivia Souza

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This literature review examines the potential of art-making as a tool to educate and inform queer youth about queer sexual experiences. Many queer individuals lack information about safe and healthy sex due to the exclusion of queer experiences in sex education programs. Current sex programs solely focus on abstinence and heterosexual experiences, leaving queer youth in the dark about what to expect from future sexual experiences they may have and how to practice safe queer sex. Through a search of the literature, it was discovered that there is a gap in research using art therapy in this specific context. Through …

Covid, Creativity, And Connecting Through Change: Reviewing The Literature On How Art Therapy Can Help Children And Adolescents Cope With Pandemic-Related Grief, Lydia Speicher

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most significant global events in the past century, both resulting in massive casualties and significant mental health outcomes across the world. Some of the most impacted populations are children and adolescents whose lives have been interrupted during their formative years. The purpose of this literature review is to explore how art therapy has been used during the COVID-19 pandemic to address the grief experienced by children and adolescents through their losses of stability and peer support surrounded by uncertainty. This literature review seeks to understand exactly how the pandemic has affected the …

Art Bibliotherapy: An Integrative Approach To Art Therapy And Bibliotherapy, Haven Wright

Art Therapy Counseling Final Research Projects

Art Therapy and Bibliotherapy are both subfields in the creative/expressive arts world of therapeutic practice. Individually, art therapy and bibliotherapy have unique attributes that have the potential to improve a client’s overall therapeutic outcome. However, in pursuit of evidence-based practice, art therapy and bibliotherapy could benefit from further high-quality replicable studies. An exploration of the current research and emergent shared themes were undertaken. A single participant case study demonstrated Art Bibliotherapy in practice. Participant outcomes were increased emotional regulation, increased positive experience in therapy sessions, and increased positive self-esteem.

Redefining Anger For Sexual And Gender Minorities Using Art As A Visual Voice, Kirsten Ranheim

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Art therapy is an increasingly popular approach for addressing trauma and anger in clinical settings. This literature review explores the connections between art therapy, trauma, gender, and anger, drawing on a range of studies and theoretical perspectives. Background is provided on the history of anger within the context of societal institutions, interpersonal power dynamics, psychiatric nosology, and social justice movements. The review concludes that art therapy is ideally suited as a trauma-informed approach to addressing anger in the therapeutic setting. This is due to the unique opportunities that art making provides for helping individuals express and process their emotions nonverbally, …

Inner Portraits, Bethany Salisbury

Graduate Theses

This paper investigates the many interconnected layers of women’s mental health through portraiture and how animal and plant symbolism can represent the way women's hormones and bodily health affect their mental health. I reveal how the artwork created presents these connections and inner mental health narratives to the viewer, creating a space of empathy, destigmatization, and self-reflection. This body of portraiture art connects five women through a series of both two-and three-dimensional portraits based on interviews using my own adaptation of Sara Lawrence-Lightfoots’ (1983) portrait methodology.

Women and non-binary individuals have always dealt with difficult interactions of bodily and mental …

The Effects Of School-Based Art Therapy On Depressed Adolescents, Jasmine Nicolas

Nursing | Student Research Posters

Depression in adolescents is associated with deficient behavioral and health outcomes (Fletcher, 2019). Art therapy has been shown to be effective in treating mental health condition such as depression. A student’s academic success heavily depends on treating their depression. Community health nurses can play a vital role in advocating for adequate mental health support to improve a student’s overall well-being and academic success. The literature review contains six articles on the prevalence and impact of depression among adolescents, art therapy as an intervention for improving psychological outcomes and resilience among adolescents, and experiences of adolescent clients in art therapy within …

Traditional Cultural Artmaking Practices And Their Impact On Wellness, Rochelle Le Heux, Isabel Maddahi, Christina Mccue, Lala Minassian, Martha Orozco, Devika Parmar, Vivian Rodriguez, Ruth Sze, Shannon Thomas

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the impact that traditional artmaking can have on the wellness of individuals who continue to practice their traditional crafts. Limited research has explored how culturally adapted art therapy practices and culturally relevant materials can promote wellness and alleviate emotional and acculturation challenges for multicultural populations. This research included a case study approach that invited five participants who regularly engaged in a traditional artmaking practice to continue their practice for four consecutive weeks and reflect on their sense of wellness after each traditional artmaking engagement. Over the four weeks, participants completed an initial survey to assess their baseline …

Cultural Wounds Find Release: Art Therapy And First Generation Immigrants’ Mental Health, Crystal Soojung Yi, Dennis Chavez Calderon

Nursing | Student Research Posters

No abstract provided.

The Course Of Covid: How Has The Pandemic Changed The Ways Therapists Use Art In Their Therapeutic Practice?, Deborah Sharpe

Art Therapy | Doctoral Dissertations

In 2020, the global pandemic fundamentally changed our everyday lives personally and professionally. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the art therapy profession: the challenges of shifting to telehealth, managing work/life balance, confronting new realities around notions of privacy and confidentiality, and adapting the materials used in sessions. The necessary innovations and adjustments also revealed the unexpected benefits the pandemic and online therapy platforms provided. The researcher was interested in exploring the challenges and benefits of telehealth, the changes to the practical and essential qualities of the art therapy session, the therapeutic relationship, …

Clay Use As Mindfulness For Women In Early Substance Use Recovery, Cheryl Feldman

Art Therapy | Doctoral Dissertations

Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) are an epidemic in the United States comprising 4.4 million women, including high rates of recidivism, and often accompanied by comorbid mental health issues. Recognizing the need for effective tools to support women in recovery, this research aligns the key tenets of present focus and personal control within Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) with various established mindfulness-based therapies, while using a Positive Psychology framework to conceptualize strategies to help enhance mindfulness in women in early recovery. Although engaging in clay work has been linked to mindfulness for its capacity to foster a state of presence and self-centering, scant …

The Effects Of School-Based Art Therapy On Depressed Adolescents, Jasmine Nicolas

Nursing | Senior Theses

Depression in adolescents is associated with deficient behavioral and health outcomes (Fletcher, 2019). Art therapy has been shown to be effective in treating mental health condition such as depression. A student’s academic success heavily depends on treating their depression. Community health nurses can play a vital role in advocating for adequate mental health support to improve a student’s overall well-being and academic success. The literature review contains six articles on the prevalence and impact of depression among adolescents, art therapy as an intervention for improving psychological outcomes and resilience among adolescents, and experiences of adolescent clients in art therapy within …

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 …

Complex Narratives Of Individuals Living With Alpha-Gal Syndrome (Ags). A Mixed-Methods Investigation: Examined Through Self-Reported Data, In-Person Interviews, And A Group Body Mapping Art Therapy Intervention, Sylvan Streightiff

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

Alpha-gal (galactose-α-1,3-galactose) Syndrome or AGS is an under-recognized chronic condition which coincides with tick-bite exposure, resulting in a unique allergy to non-primate mammalian products and byproducts (in addition to other items caring the α-gal epitope such as carrageenan, agar-agar, and nori). This paper explores the experiences of individuals with this illness, establishing psychological context for expressed symptomatology, while emphasizing the complex trauma rooted in the population’s experiences of the life-altering and life-threatening contexts associated with managing AGS. This research is structured with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) theory and utilizes a mixed-methods approach to arts-based research with the goal of …

Building Social & Emotional Competence In Early Education Classrooms Through Art Therapy, Amber Bliss, Melissa Halici, Nadia Herman, Camille Jessie, Madeline Madison, Melissa Washington Cross, Gaea Ray, Melanie Zarrow

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

This research project qualitatively explores how teachers address social-emotional learning and how educators understand and implement SEL and art therapy in early education. This research aimed to explore how art therapy theories can support teachers in their efforts to create socially and emotionally competent early education classrooms. Data collected included anonymous surveys from current kindergarten through third-grade teachers. Through data analysis, several findings suggest that art therapists, mental health practitioners, and teachers can benefit from collaboration in increasing access and training with SEL practices. These findings open new doors for further inquiry into art therapy and SEL.

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 …