Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Aligning With Adolescents: A Literature Review Of Art Therapy In Residential Treatment Programs, Olivia Moore

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Adolescents in residential treatment programs throughout the United States are a specialized population that demonstrate resiliency and hope every day. Many adolescents in these programs have experienced prominent levels of trauma that impact their ability to function in lower-level programs, foster homes, and in their communities. Residential treatment approaches may look like locked facilities with trauma-informed staff who provide programming options, mental health care, and safe living conditions for adolescents. Without strength-based approaches to treatment, this population may struggle to overcome their trauma, mental health challenges, and developmental needs. In this literature review, art therapy was offered to provide developmentally …

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 …

Epistemic Injustice, Endometriosis And Dance/ Movement Therapy: An Autoethnographic Investigation, Kevana West

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

As the field of dance/ movement therapy evolves to meet the demands of a rapidly changing social landscape, it is imperative that clinicians think critically about the degree to which our work is steeped in oppressive frameworks and ideologies. This investigation uses testimony to explore epistemic injustice as it relates to the author’s experience of living with endometriosis and the pursuit of professional licensure. Considering the limited amount of research on the condition, along with the perceived absence of literature within the field of dance/ movement therapy, further study is warranted. The experimentation phase of this research incorporated the use …

Bringing Up Buddhas: How Mindfulness Can Impact The Next Generation, Alex Tzelnic

Mindfulness Studies Theses

The following presents both a rationale paper and a creative thesis on the topic of how mindfulness can meaningfully impact the next generation. Given the daunting issues faced by Generation Alpha (those born after 2010), including climate change, social justice, and mental health, understanding how the tool of mindfulness can best support children, as well as inform the caretakers most influential to them such as parents and educators, is crucial.

The following rationale paper outlines how mindfulness can make an impact in the fields of parenting and education, as well as in addressing the pertinent issues mentioned above. In surveying …

Storytelling And Performance As Dance/Movement Therapy: A Literature Review, Taylor Ottley

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Inspired by a personal experience, this thesis discusses the use of storytelling and performance as dance/movement therapy. I answer these research questions: What practices, if any, exist in the field of DMT? What is the full spectrum of benefits for dancers and witnesses? What populations are best suited for this work? Non-DMT resources were chosen for their therapeutic value and adaptability to DMT contexts. I categorize the literature by these themes: “Making the Invisible Visible: Stories of Mental Illness”; “Processing Tragedy”; “Storytelling and Performance with a Social Justice Aim”; “Exploring Individuality”; “Crafted by Intuition: DMT’s Authentic Movement”; and “Physical Storytelling.” …

Beyond Performance: Modern Art Therapy And Aata Through The Lens Of Critical Race Theory, A Literature Review, Elanna Abreu

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Art therapy has grown more visible in tandem with the modernization of psychology, society, and the push for social justice amongst communities of intersection experiencing oppression. The practice as a whole is a modern interpretation of talk therapy that has evolved and capitalized the importance of creativity and imagery-making as means to connect a person to their emotions, others, and the world as a whole. In this growing time and era of technology, the increase of aesthetic, visual media is necessary in providing mass information and receiving critical socioemotional input from individuals and communities about social issues. One of the …

Critically And Creatively Engaging With Trauma-Informed Mental Health Research And Treatment Of Lgbtqia+ Communities As Expressive Arts Therapists: A Literature Review, Kelli Lavallee

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Expressive Arts Therapists are uniquely situated as both artists and mental health counselors working in psychological pedagogy rooted in systems of oppression. Given the arts-based approaches to the therapeutic relationship, it can be unethical to offer these approaches without acknowledgement of the ways in which the arts intersect with social justice, and justice is only viable if practitioners critically review the clinical mental health education they are consuming from the institutions they learn in, specifically trauma-informed mental health research assimilation and treatment approaches for Expressive Arts Therapists in training, practice, and education. A review of the literature in this paper …

Community Music Therapy For Marginalized Middle School Students, Karen J Mathews

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Abstract

Community Music Therapy has been a recent development in the field of Music Therapy. Community Music Therapy occurs at the intersection of traditional Music Therapy and Community Music. Community Music Therapy incorporates principles of psychology, sociology, and ecology. Studies indicate that goals of self-efficacy, voice, social justice, and group cohesion are well met through the use of Community Music Therapy. This paper explores a project using Community Music Therapy with a group of self-selected middle school students in addressing concerns and emotions around equity, diversity, and inclusion. The results of this project demonstrated that Community Music Therapy is an …

Art Therapy As A Tool For Enhancing Adolescent Identity Formation, Self-Knowing, And Empowerment., Victoria Force

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Adolescence is a pivotally important developmental stage for individuals. During this time, adolescents begin the journey of discovering the many facets of their identities. This capstone thesis explores how the discipline of art therapy can aid adolescents in the formation of their understanding of specific parts of their identities. Workshops offered at a community mental health organization collected data via surveys, observable experiences, and art. These workshops offered clients a safe space to artistically express their identity. Results of the exercise provide indications that art therapy could be used as a positive aid in adolescent identity formation.

Sacar La Voz: A Manifesto For My Latinx Peers, Gabriela Nunez-Santiago

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis was originally concerned with the use of expressive arts therapy with Latinx survivors of domestic violence. As the author carried out the review of literature, she began to encounter fundamental issues in the way that the Latinx community is approached in research. Instead of carrying out a traditional review of literature, the author approached the literature through three main questions: "Who is the research about?," "Who is the research by?,” and "Who is the research for?" Reductive generalizations, missing information, and disempowering assumptions were found. These problematic realities are presented as symptomatic of larger systemic issues, which the …