Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Healing The Encounter Between People And Place In Southern Appalachia, Caroline Merritt

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In southern Appalachia, we fail to make visible the roots. Existing not as a geographical location but as a socially constructed culture and a concentrated source of exploited energy, the region reflects a necessary element of the postcolonial American imagination. For nationally lucrative resources such as coal, oil, lumber, and natural gas to be extracted without consideration or consciousness for the people and the place of its origin, the otherized Appalachian stereotype must prevail. Further crystalizing this false construction, white Appalachian scholars traditionally address current health disparities via the victimization of poor white Appalachia. The capitalist initiative to concentrate power …

I Will Circle Back: A Literature Review Of Witnessing In Developmental Transformations, Chelsey O'Connor

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Witnessing is a core concept of the therapeutic process of drama therapy (Jones, 2007; Johnson, 2009, Sajnani & Johnson, 2014). Major perspectives on witnessing were gleamed from the broader drama therapy literature, including the roles of the audience, therapist, group, techniques, and the self as witnesses within the therapeutic atmosphere. Within one form of drama therapy, Developmental Transformations (DvT), the witnessing circle is used as a tool to highlight and enhance what is being witnessed in the session (Johnson 1991, 1992, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2014; Dintino et al., 1996; Mayor, 2010, 2018). This literature review analyzed the limited DvT writing …

The Effectiveness Of Dance Movement Therapy With Elderly Women Who Have Dementia, Han Wang

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

As our world population rapidly ages, the number of people who develop dementia is also growing. Dementia brings significant impacts to patients and their families as well as to our society. Dance movement therapy (DMT) is regarded as a useful and appropriate intervention for those who find words difficult, those with cognitive impairments, or those who find it difficult to express and explore their emotions. It’s also combined both physical and psychological benefits. Therefore, it is possible that DMT has positive effects such as delaying cognitive deterioration, increasing social interaction, reducing anxiety, etc. for people who are suffering from dementia. …

Reparation Of Dignity: A Literature Review Of Trauma-Informed Addiction Treatment With Expressive Arts Therapy, Courtney R. Battistelli

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Substance Use Disorder is a public health problem that impacts society and individuals on many levels. In 2016, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) documented 64,000 deaths in America due to overdose (NIDA, 2017). The economic burden related to substance abuse is estimated at $740 billion annually in the United States (Priddy et al., 2018). High rates of relapse, approximately 60% in the first year after treatment, (Priddy et al., 2018, p.103), suggest the need for more effective treatment. A combination of trauma-informed practice and creative therapies in the treatment of substance use disorders show promising results. This literature …

Puppet Creation: A Lost Art In Treating Child Trauma, Keely Anderson

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Trauma does not discriminate between age, culture, or socioeconomic class; trauma can happen to anyone. Although we would like to think that children are exempt from these difficult experiences, unfortunately, that is not the case. The current extensive research about the effects that trauma has on children both emotionally and psychologically and how these effects can have long term consequences will be examined in this capstone thesis. The arts-based qualitative research within this thesis will explore the benefits of puppet creation as a way for children to externalize their traumatic stories and as a means to provide children with the …

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 …

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 …

Assisting Elders With Dementia In Residential Settings Through Music Therapy: A Literature Review, Benjamin Burke

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Dementia is one of the most prevalent diagnoses for elders causing strain and debilitation of their social, mental, physical, emotional, behavioral and psychological faculties. Due to the nature of this condition, treatments for dementia have been structured to aid and improve the well-being and quality of life for those afflicted. Some of the goals that assisted-living services establish include reducing anxiety, increasing levels of comfort, improving mood, memory care and bettering verbal processing. Music therapy has been an intervention that assists with establishing these goals and implementing strategies resulting in short-term and long-term effects for those receiving treatment for dementia. …

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, …

Trauma-Focused Cbt Informed Music Therapy: Connecting Traumatized Youth With Affective Modulation — Developing A Method, Genevieve Kurtzman

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Abstract

Remediating the impact of trauma experienced by children and adolescents is a focus of psychotherapy treatment. Research in neurology suggests brain development of youths who have experienced trauma is impacted in negative ways. One impact noted is a delay of the development of emotional perception and regulation, where youths may demonstrate an inability to perceive and identify feelings within themselves or others and may experience inappropriate emotional outbursts or emotional withdrawal. Evidence-based practices (EBPs) with specific components and protocols are increasingly preferred by consumers and insurance providers due to research-supported results within expedient timeframes. Music therapy is an evidence-based …

Deconstructing Embodied White Supremacy Through Dance Movement Therapy Community Engagement Project, Jessica White

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Transforming institutional racism and personal prejudice is a heated topic in the counseling profession and broadly in society. An imperative cultural and individual step to be taken towards addressing racism is making white supremacy visible in order to dismantle it. Part of that step is separating whiteness from supremacy and creating an ethical, humanist, and compassionate model of whiteness. This capstone thesis was a community engagement project focused on arts as therapeutic social action. The author explored oppression and dominance through body and movement with white women who are engaged in anti-racism. Group activities included observing how white supremacy and …

“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 …

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 …

Adult Adoptees Exploration Of Self-Identity Through The Use Of Art Therapy, Erin Weaver

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Numerous studies have demonstrated that most adoptees do not have enough information to make sense of their biological and cultural background due to the lack of acknowledgment and understanding of their experiences and perspectives (Darnell, Johansen, Tavakoli, & Brugnone, 2017). By reviewing past and current literature, the present paper sought to investigate and bring awareness to the lasting social, emotional, developmental, and psychological effects the adoption process can have on adoptees from birth into adulthood, in addition to the different ways art therapy can aid in facilitating identity exploration and development throughout. Results showed acknowledgment, openness, and integration of biological …

The Possibility Of Assessment Tools In Expressive Arts Therapy, Joyce Gendler

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Mental health assessments originated as a tool to separate troubled individuals from mainstream society (Feder and Feder, 1998, p. 7). As the field of mental health has developed over time, assessments have come to serve a different purpose. Assessments provide the therapist insight into their clients current experience and data to guide a treatment plan. Data collected from an assessment may be a DSM-V diagnosis, a numeric score, or a qualitative clinical description. As arts-based therapeutic interventions become more widely acknowledged in the field of mental health, modality specific assessments have been developed in order to gather clinical data. Data …

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 …

Solution Focused Brief Expressive Arts Therapy, David Sherman

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This graduate capstone thesis paper and project proposes a new therapeutic intervention called Solution-Focused Brief Expressive Arts Therapy (SFBExAT). This intervention and approach is based on the synthesized theories, techniques, and principles of Expressive Arts Therapy (ExAT) and Solution- Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). A review of relevant literature on the combined use of SFBT, ExAT and expressive therapies, as well as on the foundational literature of the individual theories establishes conceptual grounds for a SFBExAT model. A SFBExAT intervention is developed and explained. The intervention was ultimately applied in a hospital outpatient setting with a teenage client. The process, results …

How Can Storytelling Facilitate Body Positivity In Young Women Struggling With Their Bodies?: Literature Review, Natalie Slaughter

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In a society that promotes a “thin ideal”, it can be difficult for women to accept their bodies. Body positivity is a combination of positive body image, self-confidence, and body acceptance regardless of size, shape, or weight of the body (Caldeira & Ridder, 2017; Dalley & Vidal, 2013; Halliwell, 2015; Wood-Barcalow, Tylka, & Augustus-Horvath, 2010). This literature review presents an overview of the research conducted on body positivity and storytelling, finding that there are limited interventions currently being used to promote body positivity. A review of the existing literature suggests that storytelling might be an appropriate and successful drama therapy …

Making And Using Natural Art Materials And Its Effect On Adolescents’ Self-Concept, Jocelyn Dimpel

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The purpose of the study was to observe effects on adolescents’ self-concept through creating their own natural art materials, as little prior research has been done on the subject. The study was conducted in a high school with two individual students, aged 14-16, who selected, created, and used their own art tools made from naturally sourced materials. By making and using their own art materials, students were able to process their internal state, thoughts, and emotions, express themselves outwardly, and connect better with themselves and their surroundings.

Social And Emotional Effects Of Language-Based Learning Disabilities On Adolescents Approached Through Dance/Movement Therapy: A Literature Review, Lindsey V. Spratt

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Over the past few years there has been a growth in research about the social and emotional effects of having a language-based learning disability. However, most of the interventions and assessments used with this population still primarily focus on the academic effects and do not always recognize the connection between the two. This literature review connects how identity development during adolescence in a school setting is impacted by the social and emotional effects of having a language-based learning disability. Individuals who experience learning difficulties often also experience internal and external academic criticism causing a decrease in self-esteem and an increase …

Dance/Movement Therapy As Influence On Sense Of Self: A Community Engagement Project, Jasmine Yahid

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This community engagement project seeks to explore the influence of dance/movement therapy and authentic movement techniques on one’s sense of self. This project focused on these techniques as an approach toward self-actualization and finding one’s essence. This study considered the potential implications of these practices on populations whose bodily experience can be perceived as a barrier toward self-actualization, such as in eating disorders and trauma. Six expressive therapy students from Lesley University participated in two sessions of dance/movement therapy. This included: a movement-exploration warm up, authentic movement, and a visual artistic representation of their perceived essence based on the experiential. …

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 …

Patterned Sensory Enhancement-Based Interventions In An Acute Rehabilitation Setting: Development Of A Method, Lionel Cheong

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Constraint-induced therapy (CIT) or Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) is used in rehabilitation to improve upper extremity function in patients who suffer from brain injuries, such as stroke or cerebral palsy. By engaging in repetitive exercises and increasing the use of the affect area of the upper extremity, the brain develops a change in neural pathways that helps recover the use of limbs by these patients. Unfortunately, one of the main limitations of CIT is the low compliance with patients involved in CIT, due to the stopping of use of compensation strategies, and the intensity and duration of the treatment, especially …

Art Therapy Blossoms: Developing Floral Design In Art Therapy For Adults With Anxiety, Katharine Lagreze

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The aim of this research is to explore the relationship of floral design principles and art therapy. My central concern started around adults who are not treated, undiagnosed, and who are in pre or post treatment for anxiety disorders and comorbid disorders. Literature supports the use of nature-based materials used in art therapy treatments of specific populations. A therapeutic community engagement project for adults with anxiety was explored which transformed into a developed method for an expressive therapies group for adults diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder. Behavioral and cultural community theoretical stances, as well as clinical experiences, and personal and …

Queering Music Therapy: Literature Review Of Queer Music Therapy And Music Therapy Education, Eva M. Steward

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This capstone thesis presents current research on the queer (LGBTQ+) community and music therapy. Research on the education of music therapists in working with queer identified clients and patients as well as the current theories and recommendations when providing affirming music therapy for queer clients and patients is discussed. Queer theory is defined and its relationship to psychotherapy, expressive arts therapies, and music therapy is explored. This research shows that even though there is a current push for music therapists to create an affirming and therapeutic environment with queer clients and patients, there is a lack of research, education, and …

Observing, Understanding, And Treating Disordered Attachment Patterns: A Dance Movement Therapy Perspective, Arika Schultz

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This literature review discusses attachment patterns formed in infancy and its implications for early childhood development and later life functioning. The impact of attachment patterns on the quality of a child’s interpersonal relationship, body action tendencies, emotion regulation and fear response patterns are explored. The attachment process as facilitator of these patterns is revealed as well as the disruption of healthy and adaptive attachment bonds as predictors of psychopathologies. Healthy neuropsychobiological development is shown to be facilitated by the nonverbal communications between the right brains of the mother-infant dyad. Mismatching in these nonverbal communications are shown to thwart the child’s …

Exploring The Usage Of Found Objects In Art Therapy For Bereavement: A Literature Review, Bridget Bogan

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Bereavement is a multifaceted, evolving, and intensely individual experience. Moving away from a linear theoretical framework towards a constructivist theoretical model promotes the healing properties of self-narrative while incorporating the story of the loss of a loved one. Most important to bereaved individuals, as indicated by current research on the topics of death, grief, and bereavement are memory keeping, meaning making, and continued bonds with the deceased. These common themes have remained consistent since the Victorian age.

Traditional mourning jewelry represents a form of memorialization and continued bonds with the dead. Alternative forms of art using found objects belonging to …

Method Development: Dance/Movement Psychotherapy To Address Substance Use Disorder In Cultural Appalachia, Taylor Aitken

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Arts-based-embodied research was used to investigate the potential effectiveness of Dance Movement Psychotherapy methods to treat substance use disorder from a trauma-informed and cultural approach, based on subjective/objective findings of the writer. Residents of diverse demographics, aged 26-59, within the cultural region volunteered to attend one or more of the three workshops offered. Methods were created based on theoretical, historical, and clinical research and implemented through workshops with the intent to promote community, self-expression, empathy, and creativity-all beneficial traits for on-going mental/physical health recovery and resiliency. Movement observation and participant feedback indicated overall increased awareness and deeper knowing of self …

Social Goals In Adults With Asd: The Case For Ballroom In Dance/Movement Therapy, Stacey Crimans

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The author explores the challenges experienced by adults with Autism (ASD) and their families, especially once they have left the public school system and are faced with entering college, a job, and any other goals they may desire. Adults with Autism generally are not researched nearly as much as children with Autism, but there is even less research using the modality of Dance/Movement Therapy as treatment for this population. The author explores how Dance/Movement Therapy might benefit from the incorporation of Polyvagal Theory with this population as well as elements of ballroom dancing. Specifics concerning why elements of social ballroom …

Art Therapy In A Museum Setting For Adults With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities: A Literature Review, Sharon Aguilar

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This literature review aims to explore a trend within the field of mental health services, of moving away from more restrictive and stigmatizing environments, such as hospitals and clinics, and into public spaces, specifically art museums. Current literature indicates that art therapy is specifically appropriate for individuals who have difficulty with social connection and verbal communication, allowing for a way to express themselves while finding connection in a non- verbal way. Art museums have also seen a shift in purpose through increasing community based and therapeutic programming, aimed to create a space of healing and connection, and becoming more accessible …