Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Dance/ Movement Therapy’S Influence On Students’ Social-Emotional Learning And Academic Success: Developing A Method In Hong Kong, Teresa Poon

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The current study examined the impact of dance/movement therapy (DMT) on students’ social-emotional learning (SEL) and academic success. Previous research shows a correlation between SEL and academic success, between DMT and SEL, and between DMT and academic success. As an English teacher and dance/movement therapist, the researcher of the current study is interested in exploring the integration of social-emotional learning and dance/movement therapy techniques in English language curriculum for an after-school class. This thesis outlines the six after-school lessons for a class of Secondary Four students. The results of the methods as facilitated with the class are discussed. By using …

The Dance/Movement Embodied Experience Of Grief And Loss Using The Five Senses: Development Of A Clinical Method, Yarmisha Cofield

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

According to recent grief and loss research, creative arts therapy can help people heal after losing something or someone. However, there is little research to support the use of dance/movement therapy (DMT) in the adult population. This literature review investigated grief and loss, with a particular emphasis on embodied grief and how and where grief is carried in the physical body. Furthermore, this study of the literature extended on the implementation of DMT and the five senses with adults experiencing embodied grief, as well as body-based techniques to assist these individuals in understanding their loss. This was an essential subject …

Immigration Policy After Covid-19 And Cultural Resistance At The U.S.-Mexico Border, Grace Ayres-Doyle

Senior Theses

What I examine here is how the global COVID-19 pandemic altered asylum and refugee responsibility among Global North countries. In particular, I look at cultural responses to restrictive pandemic policies which speak to the level of intensity of the current humanitarian crisis at the United States southern border with Mexico. The US-Mexico border functions well as a case study because of its highly publicized and discussed nature, along with the strong influence held by the US over the rest of the world. The cultural moment surrounding Title 42 and other pandemic policies represents a shift in public recognition of the …

Economicdevelopment In The Postcolonial And Postwar Era In East Asia: A Comparison Of Taiwan And South Korea, Eliot R. Johnston

Senior Theses

This thesis examines the postwar political economy of South Korea and Taiwan, aiming to find how Taiwan achieved higher GDP per capita and lower corruption perception than South Korea when both countries carried out similar policies as they developed their economies. By comparing a historical overview of policy and outcome and taking economic measures, the thesis seeks to find a method that could be applied to other developing countries. Though the measurements used were insufficient to prove analysis, enough was found to give plausible suggestions for the difference in the outcome, such as the South Korean reliance on mega conglomerates …

The Politics Of Abortion In France And The United States: A Case Study On The Laws, Legislation, Activism, And Advocacy That Determined Abortion Laws Today, Annick Marie Strebin

Senior Theses

Abortion is one of the most pertinent issues to women’s health and reproductive rights. This paper aims first to provide the historical and legal context for abortion laws in both France and the United States, examining each country separately to understand the legal progression of abortion rights since the nineteenth century. This paper will then discuss the activism and advocacy for abortion and women’s rights in each country from the nineteenth century on, demonstrating how this led to the passing of abortion rights legislation in each country. Lastly, this paper will focus on differences in politics, religion, women’s rights, and …

Striving For Peace Through Speech: Analyzing The Effect Personal Diplomacy And Summitry Had On Presidential Communist Rhetoric, 1984-1986, Jack Cravwn

Senior Theses

Globalization has ushered in an unprecedented era of connected national politics, economies, and populations. Strong ties have intertwined the fates of nations and brought about a new era of international cooperation. However, the rise of populist and isolationist movements in the past two decades threatens to change the geopolitical landscape and diplomacy around the globe. As the United States loses its hegemonic role to the quickly growing economy of China, it is imperative that American foreign policy reflects the need for continued cooperation and support. This raises the question of the effectiveness state diplomacy and summitry has in easing tensions …

Weaponization Of Religion: The Manipulation Of Religion In The Pursuit Of Political Power In Yugoslavia And Syria, Kathryn Echele

Senior Theses

Religious conflict has played an important role in shaping human history, particularly in the last few decades with the proliferation of ethno-religious violence. This paper examines the development of the relationship between religion and politics, then analyzes how leaders manipulate religion to gain political power. Two case studies—Yugoslavia/Yugoslav Wars and Syria/Syrian Civil War—are used to demonstrate this ability religion has to spur conflict when coopted for political means. Yugoslavia and Syria make ideal case studies because both countries have a deeply rooted and seemingly inseparable link between ethnicity and religion. Methods of cooptation include using religious mythology and symbolism, influencing …

Advancing United Nation’S Gender Mainstreaming: Female Peacekeepers In Haiti And Liberia, Evening S. Huddleston

Senior Theses

The United Nations (UN) is making efforts to implement a gender mainstreaming perspective throughout its organization, specifically including women in the peace processes. One aspect of this is increasing the number of female peacekeepers. To determine the success of these efforts, this paper explores whether the lives of women and girls were improved during UN peacekeeping missions in Haiti and Liberia. Using women’s and girls’ participation in education, law enforcement, and politics, as well as the Gender Development Index and the Gender Inequality Index, this paper finds that including women in peacekeeping roles adds a new dimension of skills and …

Education And Welfare: Their Impact On The Experience Of Poverty In India And The United States, Anushka Rajani

Senior Theses

The experience of poverty and chances of upward mobility is drastically different in India and the United States. The following thesis contends that this is largely due to the current educational and welfare policies in place in these two nations. Education allows for a higher possibility of financial upward mobility by allowing students to learn skills that prepare them for higher-paying career paths. High-quality welfare gives recipients aid for their necessities while providing them time for growth to pursue financial independence. The following thesis investigates these policies and how accessible they make education and welfare to poor populations in India …

Watering The Grassroots: The Importance Of A Comprehensive Approach To Conflict In The Sahel, Chanelle A. Dortch

Senior Theses

The withdrawal of French troops from Mali in August 2021 has revealed massive structural problems with crisis intervention and conflict mitigation in Africa. The purpose of this research is to reveal how foreign intervention in the Sahel has failed to stabilize the region in the face of mounting political, socioeconomic, and environmental crises. This paper examines Mali and France, two countries that are centered in crisis in the Sahel, and how the politics of intervention have resulted in the current situation. While the crisis in the Sahel does not yet have a clear result, this project seeks to contextualize current …

Trapped In The Margins: Russia, The United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees, And The Story Of Afghan Refugees In Tajikistan, Meredith Schutt

Senior Theses

Since the Taliban’s return to Afghanistan, thousands of Afghans have fled the country in search of refugee status abroad. In the wake of this crisis, one country in the region, Tajikistan, opened its borders to Afghans, vowing to grant refugee status to 100,000. Today, Tajikistan has closed its borders and is forcibly returning Afghan refugees and asylum seekers. This research aims to reveal the extent of influence that external parties have on Afghan refugee flows in Tajikistan. For this paper, the two external parties examined are the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Russia. In examining the role …

The Benefits Of Art Therapy On Stress And Anxiety Of Oncology Patients During Treatment, Helen Shiepe

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Within the last ten years research on art therapy and its positive impact on oncology patients’ stress and anxiety during treatment has been minimal. Oncology patients whether they are children or adults when diagnosed experience similar reactions due to their diagnosis, treatment, and in some cases end of life care. The current question is whether or not art therapy does have a positive impact on decreasing the stress and anxiety with oncology patients while undergoing treatment. Deane, Fitch & Carmen (2000), discussed art therapy as a healing art that is “intended to integrate physical, emotional, and spiritual care by facilitating …

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 …

Facilitating Attachment Through Therapeutic Rapport And Expressive Arts Therapy With Children Experiencing Complex Trauma: A Literature Review, Johanna Voeller

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The aim of this capstone is to review the connection between therapeutic alliance and attachment with traumatized children supported by expressive arts in therapy and to the impact on therapeutic outcome. Within the therapeutic encounter is a potent opportunity to develop healthy attachment patterns that bridge into the client’s other relationships in their life. Complex trauma affects children physically and psychologically leaving lifelong consequences of interpersonal challenges. The impetus for study of this topic was curiosity centered on the impact of the therapeutic alliance as it relates to attachment, and therapeutic outcomes. Throughout the course of this literature review, the …

Examining The Use Of Expressive Arts Therapies In Neurorehabilitation Treatment Planning, Rebecca J. Horner

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Those undergoing neurorehabilitation after stroke and traumatic brain injury report a diminished sense of overall wellness. This paper examines the conceivable benefits of introducing expressive arts therapies, which is the therapeutic use and combination of the visual arts, movement, drama, music, writing and other intermodal creative processes, into physical therapy and neurorehabilitation treatment planning. Expressive arts therapies have the capacity to engage with an individual’s physical, emotional, social and spiritual states concurrently. They simultaneously offer the ability to promote an increased sense of well-being, address mind-body disconnects, and process trauma non-verbally.

The sections of this narrative literature review focus on …

Examining State Of Flow And Its Future In Dance/Movement Therapy: A Literature Review, Rachael A. Cohen

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This paper analyzes State of Flow, the definition codified by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and analyzes how Flow as a concept has developed in current psychological and artistic research, alternative therapies, and mainstream medias. This paper also views existing Dance/Movement Therapy frameworks such as Body-Mind Centering and Kestenberg Movement Profile to see how Csikszentmihalyi’s definition could integrate into current Dance/Movement Therapy practice, as well as looks at Laban Movement Analysis and its future in Dance/Movement Therapy. This thesis also examines how gender and neurodivergence may impact how one can experience State of Flow.

Bibliotherapy With Children With Neurodiverse Profiles: A Literature Review, Jessica Piltch-Loeb

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Expressive arts therapy interventions are continuing to gain recognition as a means of healing for individuals with a wide range of diagnoses. Bibliotherapy is a particularly under researched modality of the expressive arts, leaving ample opportunity for future research on both reading and writing interventions. While bibliotherapy may not be a widespread subject of study, preliminary research shows that reading and writing therapies can promote emotional well-being for individuals dealing with mental illness. Children with neurodiverse profiles (NP) are more likely to be diagnosed with psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, than neurotypical children. Although previous …

Reimagining Disability: Expressive Arts Therapy As An Empowerment Tool, Isla Goldstein

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

A quarter of the U.S. adult population is disabled. Current expressive therapies’ approaches are rooted in a medical-interventionist model of disability over a social model of disability. In utilizing the connection between disability arts and creative arts therapies, this capstone thesis explores the tools found within the field – such as photovoice – to examine the impact of hierarchy in therapeutic spaces. Mental health practices are also often rooted in individualistic models of self-care, over community care. Through examining the practices of disabled art, music, and drama therapists, this literature review seeks to imagine new therapeutic spaces and realities for …

Playing In An Earthquake: Development Of A Method Integrating Traumaplay And Drama Therapy Core Processes, Lisa Bumpus

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

TraumaPlay is a specific play therapy model designed to meet the unique needs of children with exposure to traumatic and/or adverse experiences through clearly identified treatment components. With this, drama therapy has also been considered as a viable treatment option, particularly in the school setting, for children with exposure to traumatic and/or adverse experiences. Additional literature has identified overlaps between play therapy and drama therapy practices. As such, the aim of this thesis was to propose a method which explores whether the drama therapy core processes can be integrated with TraumaPlay’s foundational treatment goals to augment the therapeutic process of …

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 …

Songs For A Crying Earth: A Community Music Therapy Engagement Project, Sarah Ames

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In the past decade, research on the impact of climate change on mental health has been increasingly coming to the forefront of individual and collective organizations. Within the field of music therapy, there is an argument to be made that through our professional standards code of ethics, the climate change crisis is our responsibility to address. This intergenerational capstone project served to integrate an existing transformative learning model with principles of Community Music Therapy to address eco anxiety and promote the development of eco-responsibility, change, and agency. Through the collection and reflection of the researcher’s phenomenological experience, the human-nature relationship …

Text-Based Drama Therapy And Role: Development Of A Method For Identity Integration Of Adolescents Exposed To Trauma At A Partial Hospitalization Program, Daniel Coonan-Helmer

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Trauma interacts with adolescent’s growing understanding of their identity, yet their formative intra- and interpersonal skills may need extra guidance while enrolled in partial hospitalization programs (PHPs). This capstone thesis utilized role method and a selected scene to help adolescents exposed to trauma with identity integration while at a PHP. Through researching adolescent development, trauma, identity, and interactions between those three factors, an intervention was devised to facilitate identity integration using a selected scene from a play independently created of the therapeutic group. The results indicated that there was reflection and perspective growth after the intervention was utilized. The scene …

Can Collage-Based Art Therapy Be A Bridge To Engage Patients Experiencing Social Isolation With A Diagnosis Of A Psychotic Disorder?, Nora Wolff

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Social isolation is not only a common part of the experience of people with psychotic disorders but also often acts as a barrier to their treatment and recovery. Causes of this isolation seem to include not only symptoms of the psychotic illnesses themselves but also the social stigma related to psychotic illnesses, as well as feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, and low self-esteem related to common comorbid disorders. Engaging with patients in acute inpatient units with short lengths of stay can be extremely difficult. This paper reviews the literature and describes a collage-based art intervention with six particularly isolative patients in …

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 …

The Development Of A Dance/Movement Therapy Method For Social Engagement With Adolescents In A Partial Hospital Program, Kayleah Pensalfini

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Mental health can significantly impede navigating the social domain during adolescence. Research has indicated social development of adolescents may be impacted by psychopathology and emotional development, further hindering one’s formation of self. There is also limited research showing the effectiveness of Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) with the adolescent population. This writer designed and adapted one DMT session for adolescents to understand this topic better. This capstone will present an adaptable method utilizing a DMT intervention with participants between the ages of 13-17 in a Partial Hospital Program (PHP). This project aimed to examine how DMT can support self-identity and the acquisition …

Playful Dance/Movement Therapy For Traumatized Individuals With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities: Development Of A Clinical Method, Teagan Collis

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This capstone thesis project explored the potential for dance/movement therapy (DMT) to be an accessible and effective treatment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) that have been impacted by trauma. People with IDD are more vulnerable to adverse life events than the neurotypical population. Past research has largely used treatment designed for neurotypical people who communicate and interpret life events in different ways than people with IDD. The expressive arts therapies, and DMT specifically, have the potential to create a positive embodied experience for people with IDD that have been impacted by trauma. The current method consisted of …

Exploring Core Concepts And Uses Of Makeup In Expressive Arts Therapy And Mental Health: A Critical Review Of The Literature, Rhys Triolo-Rodriguez

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

According to Merriam Webster (2022) the definitions for Makeup are as follows; “Cosmetics (such as lipstick, mascara, and eye shadow) used to color and beautify the face”, “A cosmetic applied to other parts of the body”, and “Materials (such as wigs and cosmetics) used in making up or in special costuming (as for a play).” Many of the articles reviewed also discuss the importance of skin care and the rituals that one goes through when applying or removing facial products. For this research, a combination of all definitions above will be most beneficial. However one may define makeup, within the …

An Embodied Approach To Sexual Education: Developing A Method For Disabled Adults, Eliza Owen-Smith

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Abstract

Sexual education is often a topic that gets neglected when it comes to the general public. Schools lack thorough curriculums, often approaching the subject from a fear-based perspective of pushing abstinence only, as opposed to teaching about healthy and safer sexuality. One can imagine, then, the disparity in education among disabled populations. In this thesis, I create and enact a method to educate intellectually and developmentally disabled adults on topics relating to sexual education in an embodied way. This thesis takes into account the current research on dance/movement therapy, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and sexual and somatic psychotherapy to …

Free Play Music Therapy For "In Between" Youth In An Emergency Shelter Setting: Development Of A Clinical Method, Rebecca Kay Hoffschneider

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis explores how clinical improvisation in music therapy can be a benefit for adolescents who are considered “in between” placements. The method was created for youth who are residing at an emergency shelter with limited therapeutic services. Drawing inspiration from Juliette Alvin and free improvisation in music therapy, facilitating a low expectation, non-required, and varied instrumentation choice music therapy group may be beneficial for this population. A method was created to provide a free play music therapy group for “in between” youth ages 13- 17 at an emergency shelter with a variety of racial and cultural backgrounds and identities. …

Exploring The Motivations And Therapeutic Benefits Of Fandom And Fanart Online Communities: A Literature Review, Miriam Kilian

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Participation in Online Fandom culture has become a highly valued aspect of many individuals' self-expression and how they seek to build social connections with others. Furthermore, within the Fandom community, the phenomenon of creating and sharing fan-based work also plays a significant role in the interactions between group members. These factors are important to acknowledge in a therapeutic context as future practitioners can choose to utilize a client's pre-established fandom involvement to explore their identity and social connections with other fans. This thesis is a literature review that examines the academic journals and individual interviews of Fanart Creators. The topics …