Search

The field of expressive art therapies utilize the process of creativity to promote therapeutic healing. The focus of this thesis is the mental health concerns that impact the LGBT+ community, and how the art of drag performance can be implemented as an arts-based treatment approach for this population. Traditional forms of mental health treatment reflect majority values that discount the experiences of queer individuals, despite the disproportionately high levels of mental health challenges faced by the LGBT+ population compared to those who identify as heteronormative. The research included in this thesis explores the mental health concerns prevalent within the LGBT+ community, how the principles of the expressive arts are able to address such concerns, and the value drag holds as an art form for queer people. The specific therapeutic domaines identified as holding the most relevance to the mental health of the LGBT+ population are: community relations, societal rejection, identity expression, and self image.

This paper presents a new approach that centers on supporting and bringing forth the embodied narratives of LGBTQ+ adults through designing and wearing temporary tattoos. The researcher synthesizes literature in regards to notable historical symbols of queer visibility, tattooing as a social work adjacent practice, and previous interventions that have been conducted with the LGBTQ+ community. The researcher also provides a focus on how temporary tattoos have been utilized in past expressive art therapy methods. The majority of preexisting research within the intersections of queerness, tattoos, and art therapy techniques are often rooted in themes related to self-perception, community connection, and the body as a living document. With this considered, this work investigates how creating and physically exhibiting personalized temporary tattoos could potentially assist with reclaiming and affirming queerness in LGBTQ+ adults. The researcher was also concerned with how temporary tattoos could contribute to collective memory, serve as a temporary memorial, and assert queer incarnation. In part of the completion of a community-based project, several individual sessions and one group session were conducted with greater Boston area based LGBTQ+ identifying adult participants. The results displayed here indicate that through the process of customizing and wearing temporary tattoos, queer individuals can experience feeling valid in their identity and a sense of connection with others that share and witness their identity.

Recent advances in battlefield triage have curtailed combat-related deaths, simultaneously increasing the rate of combat-related trauma, and thereby emphasizing the need for access to efficacious treatment of PTSD in returning veterans. Veterans who may have sustained life-ending injuries from concussive elements such as explosions are instead surviving with PTSD and its debilitating effects. Recent studies suggest that traditional methods of treatment such as medication and talk therapy, while useful, are incomplete tactics when it comes to treating non-verbal trauma. The burgeoning field of expressive therapies (expressive art therapy, dance, drama, art, music, writing, etc.) offers a new approach that is supported neurobiologically to treat the whole of the mind by engaging with the trauma at its root in the nonverbal brain. This thesis defines PTSD, its historical presentation and treatment in the military, and identifies stigmas of mental illness and barriers to care for veterans. The history of therapeutic uses of art and the new field of expressive therapy is presented, alongside current programs using these methods to treat veterans and their families.

A vigorous art-centered curriculum was created and implemented amongst elementary students in a community-based program. The curriculum primarily involved step-dance incorporating movement and music therapy, while also including visual arts, music and aspects of drama therapy. These interventions were included to measure and test if the use of the arts within a community could help improve the participants self-esteem, confidence, sense of identity and empowerment as aspects of their becoming. The participants consisted of six elementary students (four girls and two boys), who were referred by their mentors to receive additional support surrounding their social-emotional development, self-advocacy, timidity, and low self-esteem. Results illustrated a great increase in the participants confidence from the first to the last group session. Several themes emerged such as disengagement, awareness and advocacy. Further research on how these interventions positively impact older young people in a group setting is recommended.

Loneliness has become a public health crisis in this country, and research is still fairly new. However, current research indicates that emerging and aging adults are most affected by loneliness and social isolation. With these populations, the most effective treatments to be found included connecting with others through conversation and volunteering, along with expressive arts. This thesis presents loneliness in a historical context and focuses on loneliness between three major groups: emerging adults, aging adults, and those in romantic dependent relationships. Specifically, this thesis aims to provide a thorough literature review of academic and non-academic resources offering interventions for loneliness using human connection through the medium of expressive arts. Although there is still not a lot of research provided with actual expressive art therapists implementing interventions for those suffering from loneliness, sufficient research exists using the arts in general with these populations.

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 will be discussed using resources from the United States and other parts of the world. The topic of wellness will be reviewed to combat the symptoms of burnout. The researcher will review other agencies that have used expressive arts techniques within their organization and the effectiveness of its treatment for burnout. There will be a discussion regarding the recent push for wellness programs across the United States. The researcher will be focusing on the worksite wellness movement in Massachusetts, where she is currently residing and working. This thesis is arguing that the wellness initiatives at these organizations are missing a mental health component where using the expressive arts can play a major role. Finally, this thesis ultimately will seek to discuss and review the benefits, limitations and other considerations for implementing the use of multimodal expressive arts in mental health agency wellness programs.

Research has shown that trauma has serious effects on a person throughout their lifespan and can often be linked with mental illness. This is significant because individuals with mental illness who have experienced trauma may be hospitalized at an inpatient psychiatric facility at some point in their lifetime. Because patients in an inpatient level of care are in crisis, it would be inappropriate to provide trauma treatment. Instead, the focus of an inpatient stay is on safety and stabilization. However providing trauma-informed care at an inpatient facility is vital for all levels of acuity. This means providing care that is appropriate for all, including those with a trauma history. This literature review discusses trauma, the inpatient hospital experience, and the implications for providing trauma-informed expressive art therapy to adults at an inpatient facility.

The Arts and Peer Support Group (APSG) is a free, open-studio style expressive arts therapy group for adults living with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) guided by clinicians and informed by a recovery orientation to mental health care for SMI. This capstone thesis used an arts-based participatory action research paradigm to explore the value of an expressive arts therapy group for adults living with SMI. The researcher of this capstone thesis hypothesized that an expressive arts therapy framework could be combined with innovative approaches to the recovery orientation, such as mutual recovery, which has encouraged systemic change in society’s perception of SMI in addition to the traditional focus on supportive care for the individual living with SMI. The theoretical basis of expressive arts therapy, that the creative process can foster personal and community growth (International Expressive Arts Therapy Association, 2017), is well aligned with the values of the recovery orientation, which supports an individual’s self-directed path to recovery through social support and collaborative illness management (Leonhardt et al., 2017). Arts and Peer Support Group members and clinicians participated in a series of art-making sessions dedicated to exploring the group dynamics of the APSG, as well as assessing the possible benefits and deficits of the group. The researcher of this capstone thesis engaged in a reflective parallel artistic process and concluded that the arts were uniquely positioned to help create a community of individuals who found common ground through artistic expression and support for mental health advocacy.

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 and implications of the intervention are explored. The paper and project ultimately offers SFBExAT’s potential for further research and use by mental health professionals.

This paper discusses how role theory introduced through the arts can aide adolescents in understanding the many parts of their own identity. The research focuses on the idea that through strengths based identity building, teens can increase their self-knowledge and self-esteem which will in turn decrease the chances for each individual developing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Relevant literature and research were used in order to develop evidence based expressive art therapy interventions to further explore identity using a strengths based approach. The intervention was introduced to an adolescent client who has a diagnosis of adjustment disorder with anxiety and depressed mood. The session focused on building identity by utilizing music, visual art, and creative writing through the lens of drama therapy’s role theory and expressive art therapy’s crystallization theory.

This research study explored the use of play therapy techniques with adults on an inpatient unit. Participants engaged with play figurines during a one-hour expressive art therapy session. A second-year expressive art therapy intern facilitated the groups. The intern guided the members through a warm-up activity, main directive and closing activity. The focus of the play therapy directives was on the current self and future self. Data was collected from three groups facilitated by the same group leader and involving two different hospital units. The play figurines chosen, environments created and participant’s body language were noted. Overall, the usage of play figurines was well received and appreciated; group members found it helpful to use symbolism in expressing their emotions and hopes for their personal growth. There was little resistance to participating in the group and engaging with the figurines. Noticeable differences were observed in patients who had a psychotic disorder versus mood disorder.

Denna studies syfte är att undersöka empatins betydelse inom tre olika konstnärliga terapier. I denna studie används en hermeneutisk ansats både i metoden och i den analytiska tolkningen. Underlaget för analysen har varit tre intervjuer med tre terapeuter. Empatibegreppet beskrivs utifrån ett utvecklingspsykologiskt perspektiv och dels ur ett psykodynamiskt perspektiv. Utifrån intervjuerna formades fem sammanfattande teman. 1 Det empatiska syftet. 2 Terapeuten som förebild. 3 Konstnärligt skapande. 4 Intersubjektivitet. 5 Förändringsprocess. I diskussionen problematiseras hur empatibegreppet kan användas och om behovet av att beskriva de intersubjektiva processer som är en förutsättning för empati. Den grundläggande intersubjektiva samspelsväven har nära samband med de konstnärliga interaktionsformerna som terapeuterna använder både på ett praktiskt och teoretiskt plan., The purpose of this study is to investigate the importance of empathy in different artistic therapies. A hermeneutic approach is used in both the method and the analytical reading. The foundation for the analysis has been three interviewers with three therapists. The concept of empathy is described throw a development- psychological perspective and a psychodynamic perspective. Five summarize themes where found from the interviews. 1 The empathic purpose. 2 The therapist as a good example. 3 Artistic creativity. 4 Intersubjectivity. 5 Process of change. In the discussion the empathy-concept is being studied. How it is being used. And a need of describing intersubjective processes which is a prerequisite for empathy. The basic intersubjective interaction has a close relation to the artistic interactionforms which the therapists are using practically and theoretically.