Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Exploring Burnout In The Mental Health Field Through Dramatic Projection And Puppets: A Group Experiential, Amanda Delore

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Mental health clinicians are more likely to experience burnout within their profession because of the influence of experiences of secondary trauma and compassion fatigue. Often within a professional space where mental health workers are employed, the topic of self-care is mentioned but not explored in the context of skills to engage in self-care and combat burnout. The following community engagement project explored how burnout is experienced by current mental health professionals through the execution of creating and using puppets. Puppets were used to explore how burnout affects professional mental health workers in a partial hospital program (PHP) in Norwell, Massachusetts. …

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 Arts Therapy And Oncology Care Teams, Edwige Raimbault

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This literature review offers an overview of the mental health of oncology care team members, medical professionals as well as oncology floor hospital staff, and the therapeutic benefits of expressive therapies on that specific population. Working on an oncology floor means interacting with patients and their loved ones at a time of utmost suffering, uncertainty, and possible death. This environment presents risks of burnout, compassion fatigue, and a sense of isolation for the medical and non-medical professionals working with cancer patients. The results of qualitative, quantitative, and art-based studies conducted pre-and post-Covid-19 pandemic show multi-faceted and multi-layered positive impacts 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 …

Using Drama Therapy To Foster Peer Support Among Nurse Leaders, Chyela Rowe

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study explored the use of drama therapy to support the social-emotional experiences of nurse leaders at a mid-sized regional hospital system in the Southeastern United States. Nurse leaders have experienced profound changes to their work environments in recent years and burnout has been at an all-time high among healthcare workers globally. Organizational supports for nurses and nurse leaders are both inadequate to meet the needs and under-resourced. The research questions explored 1) whether the drama therapy peer support initiative improved outcomes and 2) whether there was a significant relationship between measures, and 3) what nurse leaders described as facilitators …

Re-Storying Teaching: Using Narradrama To Address Burnout In Public School Teachers, Heather Carroll

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The public school system in the United States is experiencing an increasing crisis in teacher retention and effectiveness due, in part, to the effects of burnout on teaching staff. Teachers often face significant stressors such as tense parent-teacher relationships, state and federal mandates on testing, low financial compensation and limited benefits, and negative sociocultural stereotypes about their roles and responsibilities as educators (Westervelt, 2016; von der Embse et al., 2019). These stressors, if not managed effectively on an individual and systemic level, can lead to burnout (Maslach, 2001). This condition involves symptoms such as emotional and physical exhaustion, disinvestment from …

Self-Care For Hospice And Palliative Nurses And How Drama Therapy Could Help: A Literature Review, Heidi Jackson

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Nurses experience a higher-than-average risk of suicidal ideation and are less likely to seek help than the general population. In addition, nurses have a higher rate of interpersonal violence, hypertension, diabetes, musculoskeletal injury, and obesity. Many nurses experience burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma. Because of the required exposure to grief, death, and compassion inherently needed in the profession, hospice and palliative care (HPC) nurses are uniquely positioned for special vulnerability to these issues. This literature review aims to examine the use of drama therapy, and how its techniques could be used to support self-care with HPC nurses. Literature was …

Jewish Wordless Singing In Music Therapy And Burnout Prevention With Outpatient Mental Health Clinicians, Elizabeth Zinn

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Existing literature has shown a rise in burnout levels for mental health clinicians, especially in light of the recent and ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This capstone project focused on understanding how Jewish wordless melodies (niggunim) may be used as a technique in group singing in music therapy as a strategy for preventing clinician burnout. Research has demonstrated that music therapy techniques may be beneficial in addressing the causes and components of burnout though there is minimal research on the use of niggunim in music therapy, and none on the use of niggunim to prevent burnout. A single-session niggunim-based intervention was …

Applying Self Care Methods: Burnout Prevention For An Art Therapist In Training, Hannah Marshall

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper explores the literature and the relationship between burnout and self care. Though a range of resources are investigated, the primary focus is on mental health clinical intern graduate students. Specifically, using a burnout tracker and self reflective data, I examine my own relationship to burnout and self care as a clinical intern while sustaining a full time job and final semester graduate level coursework. Using an individualized method of data collection and analysis, I can understand my own relationship to self care and burnout. This journey of both self discovery and evidence based research provides insight into burnout …

Applying Self Care Methods: Burnout Prevention For An Art Therapist In Training, Hannah Marshall

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper explores the literature and the relationship between burnout and self care. Though a range of resources are investigated, the primary focus is on mental health clinical intern graduate students. Specifically, using a burnout tracker and self reflective data, I examine my own relationship to burnout and self care as a clinical intern while sustaining a full time job and final semester graduate level coursework. Using an individualized method of data collection and analysis, I can understand my own relationship to self care and burnout. This journey of both self discovery and evidence based research provides insight into burnout …

A Mindfulness-Based Intervention For Educators: Cultivating Self-Awareness And Self-Compassion To Increase Well-Being And Mitigate Burnout, Emily Squyres

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Mindfulness-based interventions that include an element of self-compassion training are beneficial in mitigating burnout and increasing educator well-being when implemented in the educational workplace. The recent and continuing interaction with the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of actively cultivating collective mental health. Schools can no longer take a passive stance when it comes to bolstering resilience regarding mental health and well-being of their educators. The impact of negative stressors precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, along with other recent cultural and occupational phenomena, have taken a toll on mental resilience. To support educators, mindfulness interventions may be offered as a …

Moral Distress And Allostatic Overload In Clinicians: Mitigating Burnout Through Expressive Arts Therapy - A Literature Review, Kate Salonen

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Work-related stress conditions such as burnout and moral distress have been observed to have significant negative impacts on the mental and physical health of helping professionals, contributing to higher allostatic load and stress-related disease, higher rates of job turnover, and overall poorer consumer outcomes. This paper provides an overview of burnout, moral distress, and allostatic overload pertaining to clinicians, and discusses the unique potential of Expressive Arts Therapy as an intervention for mental health providers experiencing moral distress, toward mitigation of stress-related impacts on provider mental and physical well-being. Analysis of available literature in each topic area was completed through …

Redistributing The Responsibility Of Self-Care: A Model To Prevent Early Burnout Amongst New Clinicians, Ashley Zimmer-Larsen

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Graduate students in mental health counseling programs are on the verge of entering a professional field that is notorious for perpetuating employee burnout. Recently, preventative self-care has been promoted as an actionable treatment to burnout. Internship sites, licensing boards, and academic programs hold clinicians accountable by requiring future clinicians to be competent in self-care. While these systems require competency in self-care, there seems to be a lack of adequate support and education surrounding the practice. The literature reviewed for this thesis indicated a need for reform. This need was evidenced by the various calls for systems to restructure the ways …

A Systemic Approach To Understanding Burnout Through The Lens Of The United States’ Professional Art Therapy (And Mental Health) Community: A Literature Review, Mary Welch

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Burnout among mental health counseling and art therapy professionals has long been an issue (Meyerson 1998; Prins et al., 2015; Yang & Hayes, 2020; Zeira 2021). While previous research into the causes and reduction of burnout have focused primarily on individual burnout, both in terms of psychology and workplace habits (Rollins et al. 2021), very few studies have been done examining the systemic, institutional, and cultural contributions to burnout in these professions. This paper aims to explore the connection between community standards and the current systems that intersect professional art therapy practice in the United States and the areas in …

Literature Review: Foundations Of Self-Care Practice Utilizing Expressive Arts For Counselors In Training, Wendy Chambers Brown

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In this thesis I explore the concept of self-care for graduate students in the field of mental health counseling through their pre-licensure period, who I refer to as counselors-in-training. The thesis begins with a description of the existing literature on what challenges are unique to this field and population and how self-care may mediate the impact of such stressors as burnout, secondary or vicarious trauma, and compassion fatigue, all of which can lead to impaired competence and/or leaving the profession. I have identified three foundational components to approach self-care: self-awareness/self-reflection, self-compassion, and balance. I believe these foundational elements are best …

The Impact Of Mindfulness On Healthcare Provider Burnout During Covid-19, Natasha Johnson

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Healthcare providers are subject to unique stress as part of their job in a helping profession and regularly suffer the effects of burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Mindfulness-based interventions have been demonstrated to be effective in reducing burnout and addressing the impacts of secondary traumatic stress, however the current COVID-19 pandemic poses a new, more debilitating type of stress to healthcare providers. This paper seeks to examine the existing evidence on the effects of mindfulness in reducing burnout and secondary traumatic stress, incorporate new evidence on the unique stress of COVID-19, and determine if mindfulness interventions remain effective. It also …

Four-Week Foundational Mindfulness Curriculum For Small Businesses, Madeleine Pizey

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Abstract

This creative thesis is for trained mindfulness instructors and facilitators to offer small businesses a curriculum to reduce burnout among their employees and strengthen their inner-resilience through a four-week mindfulness training in the workplace or virtually. This thesis contains a rationale paper which includes a literature review. The focus of this thesis is on offering a four-week foundational mindfulness training for small businesses of twenty-five or fewer employees. It will include the purpose of having this type of training and how it will be of service, the benefits of this type of training, the current epidemic of burnout occurring …

Can Expressive Arts Therapy Help Caregivers Of Persons With Asd?: A Community Engagement Project Capstone Thesis, Chie Mitsui

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Taking care of persons with autism spectrum disorder is not easy, especially in a school setting where there are more rules and cultures to follow. There is high turnover among our staff. I have witnessed several staff leave our school because of the burden of the work. The experience made me disappointed. I am sure that our students feel the same way as I do; they just don’t know how to express their feelings when they realize staff is no longer with them. They trust the staff and the staff leave, sometimes even without saying goodbye. I was sad each …

Using Art To Mitigate Burnout For Those Working In Direct Care, Jessica E. Goodchild

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Through a critical review of the existing literature, this capstone thesis seeks to investigate the potential benefits and drawbacks to the integration of guided artistic practices within the workplace. The literature reviewed focused on both qualitative and quantitative studies of burnout and explored the professional benefits that art making can provide in mitigating burnout for those within a western culture working in the field of mental health and social services, particularly in the capacity of a direct care worker (DCW). Through the review of the literature a case can be made for the benefits of using visual art to engage …

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 …

Using Dance/Movement Therapy To Educate Hospice Providers On Preventing Burnout: A Method, Victoria G. Powell

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Burnout is a clinical condition that an individual may experience whenever they are in a constant state of stress. It is categorized by three groups of symptoms: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and negative self-evaluation of personal achievement (Rizo-Baeza et al., 2017, p. 19). This inquiry investigated the impact of burnout on hospice professionals and volunteers through researching previous literature. The research led to the development of a psychoeducational, body-based method with a Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) foundation. This preventative method was implemented in two separate workshops for hospice professionals and volunteers at a Massachusetts-based hospital system. Results indicate a need for training …

Songwriting As Self-Care - A Burnout Prevention Tool For Mental Health Professionals: Development Of A Method, Brittany Leonard

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In this capstone thesis, songwriting is examined through a critical, humanistic lens to determine whether or not it can be used as a legitimate method of self-care to prevent burnout and minimize perceived symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression in mental health professionals. Therapeutic songwriting is an intervention grounded in analytical theory that aims to access the unconscious mind and uncover deep emotions, which is the foundation of this study. Rather than focusing on the effects songwriting has on clients, the researcher was interested in the benefits of songwriting for individuals working in the field of mental health. This project …

Teachers' Stress And The Benefits Of Expressive Arts Therapy: A Critical Review Of The Literature, Annarose Squillante

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Although every job has its own set of obstacles, struggles and stressors that are unique to their profession, teachers face multidimensional stressors that can have negative impacts on them personally and professionally (Abel & Sewell, 1999). Research shows that teachers have multiple layers of stress that have the potential to lead to burnout, mental health problems, physical health problems and poor student relationships. This thesis outlines the existing research on the sources of stress for teachers, the impacts of the stress and the lack of consistent support and interventions for these teachers. While support for teachers does exist, it is …

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 …