Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Connecting Etc And Arc: The Beginnings Of An Integrative Framework For Working With Children With Relational Trauma, A Literature Review, Melissa Taylor

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Relational trauma is an impactful experience, affecting a person’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Children with relational trauma experiences are particularly vulnerable due to being in a stage of active development. Relational trauma can have a lasting impact on a child’s psychosocial, cognitive, and neurological development. This literature review explores the current research concerning children who have experienced relational trauma, the developmental impact of relational trauma, the treatment needs of this population, and a current, evidence-based treatment option for this population—the Attachment, Self-Regulation, Competency (ARC) framework. On the basis of this research, this literature review will outline how expressive arts …

“There Was Something Magical About This Group”: Building Cohesion In A Psychiatric Hospital, Mariah L. Logan

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This capstone details the development and implementation of Hope Notes, an expressive arts therapy intervention used in a private psychiatric hospital setting. Hope Notes was carried out in the group setting with adolescent and adult clients in a partial-hospitalization or inpatient hospitalization with a range of diagnoses and symptoms including, but not limited to, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, trauma disorders including post-traumatic stress, and obsessive-compulsive disorder with symptoms of delusions, hallucinations, suicidality and homicidally. Using expressive arts therapy the clients worked together to collaboratively discuss, create, design, and build an art piece intended to increase group cohesion and connection …

Expressive Mindfulness: A Trauma-Sensitive Expressive Arts Therapy Group Method, Meghan Daly

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Mindfulness and expressive arts therapy are both supportive of directing attention in a manner that promotes integration and function of a person. In this paper, a trauma-sensitive method was created for use in a day treatment setting for adults with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI). This method utilized expressive movement, visual art making with three different materials, and creative writing to encourage mindful, non-judgmental acceptance of the present moment; a sense of relaxation; and an overall increase in quality of life. During development of the method arts-based research informed the choice of materials, music, and structure of the group. …

A Literature Review On Substance Related Grief And Expressive Art Therapy Support Groups, Holly N. St. Cyr

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In the year of 2017, 18.7 million Americans aged 18 years or older were reported to have a substance use disorder and the pervasiveness of substance related deaths escalated (McCance- Katz, 2017). Researchers have examined how grief experienced by substance users and their loved ones is often disenfranchised by social stigmatization, loss of support, and feelings of regret, blame, humiliation, and shame. According to Valentine, Bauld, and Walter, (2016) “bereavement following a drug or alcohol related death has been largely neglected in research and service provision, despite its global prevalence and potentially devastating consequences for those concerned,” (p. 283). Studies …

Pushing Back On Patriarchy Through Feminist Expressive Arts Therapy, Rosanna Alejo

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Utilizing a feminist expressive arts therapy stance and a literature review method, this thesis is based upon the telling of the authors story for a cathartic exploration of pushing back traditional patriarchy viewpoints. Various topics are explored, including the role of gender stereotypes, benevolent sexism, and the patriarchal lens of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM). Patriarchy, feminism, and expressive arts therapy will be reviewed, as well as the use of the arts as a tool used to empower individuals. Lastly, a discussion on the importance of combining feminist therapy with expressive arts therapy is explored.

Promoting Resilience In Economically Disadvantaged Adolescents Through School-Based Expressive Arts Groups, Bailey Knox

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Since 2013, the majority of students served by the public school system in the United States have been considered “low-income” by the federal government. The stressors associated with low socioeconomic status significantly increase risk for social, emotional and behavioral challenges at all age levels, but can be particularly damaging to adolescents coping with heightened stress levels related to the intense multi-dimensional changes that define this developmental period. As the correlation between economic disadvantage and negative socio-emotional and academic outcomes is increasingly evidenced, schools have begun to recognize their responsibility for providing preventative mental health care to high-risk students. Over the …

A Literature Review Of Nature-Based Expressive Arts Therapy For Bereaved Children, Wendy Dalton

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

There is a need for increased visibility of child bereavement to expand research in and accessibility of developmentally appropriate supports, which views the child holistically and within their biopsychosocial context. Worden’s (1996) formative work with child bereavement resulting in the "tasks" of child bereavement was the first and most recent study of its scale and kind. This marked an affirming of grief as normative response to death and occurring throughout the developmental lifespan. This work also highlights the need for additional inquiry to expand and deepen understanding of child bereavement. A growing body of research suggests that ecotherapy and expressive …

Breathing Life Into Life: A Literature Review Supporting Body-Based Interventions In The Treatment Of Trauma, Andrea Werbalowksy

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In the recent turn toward a more trauma-informed practice of mental health counseling, a glaring gap remains between the research validating that trauma is a somatic experience and the continued privileging of cognitive and behaviorist interventions commonly used to treat trauma. In an effort to explore this gap, this paper presents a literature review inquiry into the neurophysiological and overall life effects trauma can have on the people who experience it. The review further explores how Stephen Porges’s Polyvagal Theory elucidates the benefits of using body-based therapeutic interventions in the treatment of trauma. The inquiry investigates the wide gap between …

A Nature- Informed Expressive Arts Therapy Method And Group Participation In Youths, Ella E. Huzdovich

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Abstract

The purpose of this research study was to implement the elements of nature inside a group therapy room in an adolescent partial hospitalization program. This was a comparative study where two groups were led before environment was changed, and two groups were led after environment was changed. The group therapy room was redesigned after the first two groups were conducted. Added to the group therapy room was a 100 x 144 inch forest mural that covered one entire wall, a diffuser that released a forest scent, two large indoor plants, and playing in the background were birds chirping synchronous …

Exploring The Relationship Between High-Ses And Anxiety/Depression In Adolescents: Development Of A Method, Angela Talkowski

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health disorder among children and adolescents with the number of individuals impacted increasing, especially for children and adolescents with high socioeconomic status. Although mental health issues such as anxiety and depression are impacting affluent children and adolescents in steadily rising numbers, there is very little research about why this is happening and how to effectively treat this population. This thesis addressed the impact affluence has on mental health in adolescents attending an affluent school system and aimed to explore effective treatments for this population. A review of the literature was conducted surrounding the …

Creating Connection: Group Expressive Arts Therapy With Incarcerated Women, María Luisa Santamaría

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The lived experience of incarceration isolates, disconnects, and retraumatizes women. Correctional mental health services fall short of adequately accounting for the pervasive histories of trauma and victimization that characterize the lives of most women prior to arrival in prison. The immediacy of the need to address this issue is underscored by steadily climbing rates of incarceration for women. The expressive arts are uniquely suited to the correctional environment wherein they provide alternative outlets for emotional expression, often stigmatized and perceived as unsafe. This research explored the use of a group expressive arts therapy method integrating psychodrama, visual art and collaborative …

Leading The Play: Development Of A Method Supporting Expression And Control With Adults With Dementia, Victoria Green

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper explores the concept of client-led play with older adults with dementia and its possible impact on an individual’s ability to express enjoyment and sense of control. Expressive arts therapy is explored as a possible natural vehicle for providing client-led play groups to older adults with dementia. While research is limited regarding client-led play specifically, there has been significant research supporting the use of the creative arts with individuals with dementia, as it provides opportunities for non-verbal expression and spontaneous creativity. This paper argues that the arts have a natural connection to play through the use of the imagination …

A Laughing Matter: Transforming Trauma Through Therapeutic Humor And Expressive Arts Therapy, Alison M. Landoni

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Humor and trauma share two characteristics: they are both perspectival in nature and hold incongruity at their core, however, their impacts are profoundly different for the perceiver. As humor and laughter open one’s psyche and invite positive social exchanges, trauma produces more dissociative, dysregulated and dysfunctional interactions. While fundamental to interpersonal experiences, there has been limited research about the use of humor and laughter as essential tools within the mental health therapeutic alliance. Neurological research and case studies have shown that humor and laughter can have hormonal, physiological and psychological benefits. Due to the perspectival nature of humor and trauma, …

Implications And Applications Of Eco-Therapy On Art Therapy, Eliza Bessone

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Eco-Psychology and Eco-therapy are emerging theory and approach to mental health counseling which attempt to fill a call within the practice of psychology to consider the relationship of the individual with nature. In the United States this developed through the work of several different professionals and disciplines following the Green Movement in the 1980’s, newfound attention was focused on the relationship between humans, the earth, and the effects of global climate change on both parties. Meanwhile in Europe, the development of the Care Farm Model and multifunctional agriculture emerged as a response to unhealthy farming practices as well as an …

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome A Literature Review On African American Community Healing And Expressive Arts Therapy, Akinlana Burrowes

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Post traumatic slave syndrome (PTSS) is defined as “a condition that exists when a population has experienced multigenerational trauma resulting from centuries of slavery and continues to experience oppression and institutionalized racism today.” Throughout this literature review, the physical, mental, and socioemotional impacts of institutionalized oppression through the years from the 1600s to the present, exhibited in the multiple sectors of society as it relates to the African American (AA) community are explored and addressed through the theoretical framework of PTSS. While a sizable body of literature has supported Expressive Arts Therapy (EAT) with traumatized populations, very little research has …

Back To Belonging: Nature Connection And Expressive Arts Therapy In The Treatment Of Trauma And Marginalization, Jesse Newcomb

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

There is increasing research on the benefits of incorporating nature-based approaches into mental health. This can be done in myriad ways both in and out of the counseling office. This literature review focuses on the benefits of incorporating nature as co-therapist and kin rather than only material or metaphor, particularly in the treatment of people who have experienced trauma and or marginalization. According to Herman (1997), wounds made relationally must be healed relationally, and the literature reviewed in this paper suggests that connection with the “more-than-human” world (Abram, 1996), and coming back into a sense belonging in the larger web …