Mental and Social Health Commons^™

Art Therapy For Bereaved Siblings After Pediatric Cancer Death, Daniela Ramirez-Ibarra

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Children and adolescents whose siblings die due to pediatric cancer are at an increased risk for several mental health issues and high risky behavior engagement. There is currently very little literature on the topic of a sibling’s grief despite its potentially critical and persisting consequences. Through qualitative research in analyzing art projects made by bereaved siblings, this is an exploratory study of how an art program may help bereaved or grieving children access their feelings using a non verbal modality of expression. The research study was conducted at a community-based non-profit organization which focuses on supporting families of children with …

Integrating Collective Art Healing Practices Into Contemporary Art Therapy, Taleene Armen, Nicole Aviel, Ej Liao, Brianna Mitjans, Mandy Schuster

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Five graduate students from the Marital and Family Art Therapy Program at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) conducted a research study to explore the characteristics and attributes of collective art practices and how they contribute to healing. A survey including quantitative measures and qualitative responses were administered on the Qualtrics platform, allowing for a wide geographic reach and rapid data collection. The subsequent qualitative analysis involved the creation of visual artworks by the researchers, utilizing the arts as data to identify additional common themes contributing to healing attributes. The data revealed three major themes, or characteristics, of how art contributes to …

Cultivating Resilience In Adolescence: How Educational Environments Can Support Positive Youth Development During Identity Exploration, Heather I. Arndt, Genesis G. Larin, Gladis Abigail Munguia, Henry William Perez, Dianne Preciado

LMU Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence is a critical stage of human development, one that can be especially challenging for teens that are navigating certain vulnerabilities in their identity formation. With the World Health Organization stating that 14% of 10–19 year-olds experience mental health conditions, educational environments are increasingly needed to address mental concerns in their curriculums. This qualitative research project used a combination of art based inquiry and narrative analysis to answer the following question, “How can educational environments promote resilience and positive youth development during adolescent identity exploration?” Findings illuminated several emergent themes that culminated in the following four recommendations for educational environments; …

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 …

Understanding University Support For Suicide Bereavement And Bereaved Experiences: A Phenomenological Study, Kristin May Anderson, Neishamia B. Kayizzi, Brittany M. Lee, Addalee K. Lyon

LMU Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, a multitude of literature have discussed the turbulent nature for young adults to navigate the difficulties of suicide bereavement with lack of support. This experience can be further cumbersome when the bereavement is co-occurring within an academic profession, such as attending university. This study explored three participants experience of suicide bereavement support at a university level, utilizing a phenomenological arts-based approach for inquiry. Data analysis revealed eight common themes that reflect the university students' lived experiences of the phenomenon discussed: Acknowledgment of the communicated loss by faculty, provision of academic support, lack/absence of practice, reluctance, emotional response, …

Navigating Intersectional Identities: Mental Health Challenges And Accessibility To Mental Health Care Among Sub-Saharan Migrant Women In Morocco, Soraya Babahaji

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since the beginning of the 21st century, as Morocco transitions from solely being a transit point to Europe to becoming a destination country for Sub-Saharan migrants, policies have been implemented to improve migrant integration. Morocco launched the National Strategy on Immigration and Asylum in 2015 which strives to ensure accessibility to essential services for migrants, such as education, healthcare, and integration into the workforce. In addition, through the 2013 New Migration Policy framework, King Mohammed VI aims to “include avenues for regularization” to help migrants integrate into Moroccan society.

This paper addresses how intersecting factors of identity can lead to …

Exploring The Effects Of Art Therapy Interventions On Self-Evaluations Of Food Addiction: A Randomized Control Study, Dawn Fiacco

Art Therapy | Doctoral Dissertations

Processed sugar is highly addictive and associated with chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Often, people know that eating processed sugar has negative health consequences but continue to do so, possibly for emotional reasons. The gap between knowledge and behavior makes treating eating issues difficult. Art therapy is a nonverbal modality and could possibly circumvent usual rationalizations, making it an effective way to bridge the cognitive and emotional aspects of problematic eating. This randomized control, mixed methods study was conducted to examine whether a 7-week art directive program could help people with self-identified problematic …

Intuition And Insight In Art Therapy, Samantha Mach

Art Therapy | Doctoral Dissertations

The main goal of this research is to explore the unconscious phenomena of Intuition and Insight in art therapy. I define Intuition as knowledge that has been there all along and Insight as an inner sense of knowing and a space of no-thought. It is my belief that these unconscious processes lay at the heart of art and art-making and may therefore strengthen the therapeutic process. In order to investigate this hypothesis, I turned to the phenomenological analysis of qualitative interviews and found that seven themes emerged from the data collected: Prologue, Untethered, Interrelatedness, Deliverance, Concede, Divulge, Art as Allied, …

Adolescents, Complex Trauma, And Making Meaning Through Art, Teresa N. Grame

Art Therapy | Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study generated new knowledge and deepened understanding of how adolescent survivors make meaning of trauma recovery through art. Narrative inquiry methods applied art making with adolescent survivors of complex trauma who used art to express their experiences of healing. Eleven adolescents, ages 13-18, created three separate pieces of art representing how they see themselves and the world, in the past, present, and future. Narrative themes came alive through art in the form of metanarratives and storylines based on analysis of the formal elements of art and the Expressive Therapies Continuum. Art elements and art materials gave voice to …

Bird’S Nest Drawing: Exploring The Attachment Of Left-Behind Children In China, Ziyi Su

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

To explore the attachment of left-behind children (LBC), this mixed-methods study analyzed the Bird’s Nest Drawings (BND) and narratives from 117 fourth graders from Shaanxi and Gansu, China. Overall, the BND of LBC showed less secure-attachment features. These distinctions can be seen in several pictorial elements, and manifest differently across gender groups and rural versus urban groups. Drawings and narratives revealed eight underlying themes of absence, longing, and support from parent and peer attachment. Children creatively communicated complex emotions and attachment experiences through the metaphor of the bird’s nest, ranging from abandonment, loneliness, and vulnerability, to coping, hope, and resilience. …

Art-Based Autoethnographic Study Of A Senior Professional Woman Of Color's Journey, Raceal Mcwhorter

Art Therapy | Doctoral Dissertations

This proposed dissertation study is a visual autoethnographic qualitative study of the recalled lived experiences of a senior woman of color's journey to become a spiritual art therapist professional during the 20th to 21st Century in the United States of America. This study interprets the memories of events in my lifetime, looking back through the lens of a spiritual mental health art therapist practitioner. The adverse effects of the legacy and enforcement of silence on women and black people. I hope that by describing my lived experiences and felt sense -- and illustrating my arduous journey to overcome societal racism, …

An Integrative Somatic Art Therapy Approach: Emdr & Body-Based Practices For Traumatic Stress, Alexis Sorbara

Art Therapy | Doctoral Dissertations

This research project used a mixed method, within subject design to explore how trauma-informed somatic art therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy impacts symptoms of trauma and burnout. There is limited qualitative research on integrating art therapy with EMDR in a group setting. Art therapy can act as a container, or safe holding environment (Winnicott, 1971) for the limitations of EMDR therapy. This research addressed the implications of integrating art therapy and EMDR therapy as a trauma treatment for healthcare professionals. This research study followed the eight phases of EMDR treatment, using a combination of resourcing, a series …

Online Friendships And The Bird’S Nest Drawing In The Age Of The Internet, Ian Wong

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This study was a qualitative exploration of friendships facilitated through the internet and online video games. The goal was to investigate how online friendships compare to in-person friendships in terms of quality. Three English-speaking participants who played an online video game and had an online friendship provided unique case studies describing the differences between an online and in-person friendship. The Bird Nest Drawing art assessment by Kaiser (1996; 2016) revealed themes of attachment security which helped explain the variations in the friendships. The findings of this study opened the topic of online friendships for further exploration in the field of …

Fantasia On A Theme Of Purpose: Using A Music-Guided Scribble Technique To Support Meaning-Making In Older Adult Retiree Musicians, Sophia R. Smith

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

Within the population of older adults, overall well-being corresponds with the ability to self-actualize and seek meaning, but age-related changes combined with ageism and isolation can negatively impact this capacity to maintain a sense of purpose, especially following retirement. It may be that retired musicians are especially vulnerable to this experience later in life due to a loss of the primary method of creative engagement and community that is facilitated by musical performance in a group setting. Integrating phenomenological and ethnographic approaches, this study utilized a qualitative design to understand how music-guided art-making incorporating the scribble technique could support a …

Chosen Family In Lgbtq+ Community: Creating Feeling Of Safety Through Collage In Art Therapy, Zaina Berger

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This student research study investigates how collage demonstrates feelings of safety with chosen family within the LGBTQ+ community as a minority group who has undergone much discrimination and exclusion from their biological family and society at large. Currently, within the field of art therapy, there is minimal research on LGBTQ+ community, especially in regards to kinship and family. The only research about chosen family was conducted by anthropologist, Kath Weston, in the 1990’s.The student researcher defines chosen family and discusses different alternative kinship theories and practices in the last three decades. The review discusses how queer people have created meaningful …

Mindfulness And Self-Compassion: Attuning Skills In Self-Awareness To Promote Self-Care For Art Therapy Practitioners A Mixed-Methods Study Using A Mandala Art Directive And Acceptance Commitment Therapy (Act), Janeth Arcila Padilla

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This study attempts to examine people in the mental health field, specifically, Art Therapists and graduate trainees who undergo many stressors in and out of the therapy space. Stressors like emotionally demanding situations with clients, to the demands of keeping up with proper work-related procedures, and needed educational requirements for practicing in the field can lead to burnout for practitioners and students in the field. Stress, burnout, and professional impairment are prevalent among mental health professionals and can have a negative impact on their clinical work, while engagement in self-care can help promote therapist well-being (Posluns & Gall, 2020). Research …

Mental Health Stigma And Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Eastern Asian/Eastern Asian American College Students And Their Parents: A Mix-Method And Art Therapy Intervention Study, Carmen Tham

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This mixed-methods study examines perceptions of mental health within the Eastern Asian/Eastern Asian American community through quantitative analysis of the Asian American Value Scale (AAVS) and qualitative examination of Tree of Life artwork, alongside responses from a Mental Health Help-Seeking Interview Guide. Ten Chinese participants, comprising five students and five parents, participated, with varying generational statuses and educational backgrounds. Quantitative findings reveal significant differences in AAVS scores based on generational status and education level, with first/second-generation respondents scoring higher on family recognition through achievement and university-educated respondents scoring higher on conformity to norms. Qualitative analysis identifies common themes of rarity …

Art Therapy Assessment And Sense Of Safety, Sophie C. Restall

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This study aimed to understand how artmaking experiences during assessment may influence the formation of the therapeutic alliance at the start of therapy. Rather than measuring therapeutic alliance directly, this study identified psychological safety as a vital component of the therapeutic relationship and an important topic of study via literature on attachment theory. Using a mixed-methods, repeated-measures design, this study compared artmaking experiences and feelings of psychological safety in response to two interventions––a Human Figure Drawing (HFD) assessment and an Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) assessment. Overall, qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and quantitative data from the Art-Based Intervention (ABI) questionnaire …

Mindfulness-Based Art Therapy: The Effects Of Art Media On Mindfulness And Stress Reduction In College Students, Isabella Sziraczky

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This mixed-methods, mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT) study explores how different art media and tools affect mindfulness and stress reduction in university students. Undergraduate and graduate university students (N = 11) were recruited to participate in the single-session art therapy study. Participants engaged in a brief mindfulness exercise, known as a body-scan meditation, followed by 20 minutes of art-making. The students who volunteered to participate in this study were randomly assigned to one of two groups — collage or acrylic paint — which determined the media they used for the MBAT portion of the study. Data was collected from students before …

Befriending Your Anxiety Through The Polyvagal Lens By Utilizing Embodied Imagery, Cassandra Lacroix

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

Many individuals experience anxiety disorders, which can significantly impact their well-being if not properly addressed. Recognizing the need for effective tools to support people with anxiety, this research aligns the key pillars of self-control and present focus awareness of physiological responses through art to harness emotional regulation. This research uses the lens of the polyvagal theory, and looking at embodied imagery, breathwork, and transitional objects to conceptualize ways to help decrease anxiety and enhance body perception and autonomic awareness will be witnessed in participants. The aim of this study was also to establish a strategy that individuals could turn to …

The Promise Of Graphic Medicine In Provider Training To Promote Mental Health, Prevent The Empathy Decline, And Improve Learning, Maeher Sukhija

Honors Undergraduate Theses

As medical students progress through their training, they experience a decline in empathy, mental health struggles, and difficulties in learning. The prevalence of depression, anxiety and burnout among medical students, along with the decline of empathy in medical students can impact their professionalism and quality of patient care as future physicians. This literature review shows how the integration of graphic medicine in provider training can address these problems, giving a new perspective on what medical education should look like. Thirty-three articles were found and reviewed by searching through the databases Academic Search Premier, PubMed, and Google Scholar, along with the …

Body-Map Storytelling: A Qualitative Exploration Of The Lived Experiences Of Hospital Care Amongst Street Involved Youth, Chelsey Fedchenko

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This social work study explores the experiences of hospital care amongst street-involved (SI) youth. Given that SI youth are at a higher risk for health-related harms and experience significant barriers to health care services, they are at an increased likelihood of hospitalization. Yet, inadequate health care support for SI youth remains a critical problem in Canada. While hospital care amongst adult homeless populations has been well studied interdisciplinary, there is a scarcity of research investigating the hospital care experiences amongst SI youth. The aim of this qualitative, arts-based study was to explore how street-life contributes to hospitalization, how SI youth …

Group Art Therapy With Resilience-Based Cognitive Behavior Therapy For Female North Korean Defectors In The United States, Yuri Kim

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study engages in phenomenological qualitative research, focusing on three North Korean defectors residing in the United States. The research comprised six sessions, each lasting ninety minutes. These sessions involved the active participation of the subjects in six face-to-face group art therapy (AT) sessions, adhering to the six guidelines outlined in the Amita Treatment Framework (ATF). These sessions encompassed the following components: 1) analyzing self-image; 2) finding positive qualities; 3) identifying challenges; 4) behaviors driven by emotions in challenging situations; 5) reframing challenges; and 6) reconstructing self-image and goal setting.

Results from the study revealed phenomenological insights into the participants' …

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 …

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 …

Enhance The Use Of Arts, Crafts, And Creative Expression Within Ot Practice, Genevieve England, Susan Macdermott

Summer 2023 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Through the evolution of occupational therapy, the presence of arts and crafts within the profession has decreased. It is a possibility that the cause stems from lack of exposure to crafts, decreased craft related coursework within OT school programming, as well as the shift towards medical model-based OT interventions. The purpose of this project was to gain an understanding of arts and crafts and/or creative expression within OT practice in order to create an effective program.

Designing A Coloring Book As A Tool To Introduce Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (Mbsr), Billie Beth Charles

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

This paper explores the design process of developing an illustrated coloring book, as a tool to introduce Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) techniques to young adults experiencing heightened levels of anxiety, panic, and depression. The MBSR coloring book, is being developed based on a theory, and supporting evidence, that engaging in an artistic activity like coloring, can make MBSR techniques accessible to young adults seeking help for anxiety and panic-related symptoms. The author discusses the challenges young adults face in the current societal context and highlights the need for effective and accessible strategies to manage mental health issues. Through research, experience, …

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 …

Intersections In Clowning And Drama Therapy’S Core Processes, Brett Alters

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis explores potential intersections of drama therapy and an embodied clowning exercise known as leading centers. The aim is to further establish relations and a common lexicon between therapeutic circus arts and drama therapy. To guide this coupling, drama therapy’s newly revised core processes per Frydman et al. (2022) were utilized as a framework when coding the leading center exercise. Three out of seven drama therapy core processes were investigated: embodiment, dramatic projection, and distancing. These were determined to be most salient for the purposes of this thesis as they were recently the most emergent core processes coded in …