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THE IMPACT OF KINESTHETIC ATTUNEMENT ON PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM: AN EXPLORATION
Get PDFThis study explored the impact of kinesthetic attunement as experienced through dance movement therapy (DMT) with parent-child dyads on parental stress, children’s adaptive skills and joint attention. A qualitative reflective account of parents was also studied to understand the depth of parents’ experience of dance movement therapy with their children with autism. The research emphasized the importance of collective parent-child dance therapy sessions, that especially focused on attunement and connection that built its way up from sensory-motor, social-communicative, and relational play and engagement.
A total of six parent-child dyads participated in the study that lasted over eight DMT sessions. Parents and children were assessed on pre- and post-measures of parental stress (Parental Stress Scale) and children’s adaptive skills (Vineland Adaptive Behavioral Scale), and continuous tracking of joint attention was done for every child before and throughout the treatment phase. Parents were also individually interviewed three times through the treatment phase, to understand their experience of DMT and how their reflections evolved with time on the concepts of play, creative movement, stress, relationship and overall wellbeing. Quantitative results demonstrated that all children had higher post-test scores on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale, indicating new communicative and adaptive skills. Every child also demonstrated increases in joint attention as the sessions progressed. All participating parents reported a reduction in the Parental Stress Scale scores, suggesting that all parents experienced a reduction in parental stress post treatment. Key themes and subthemes identified parents’ emotional and stress-related changes over the course of the intervention, observations of their children, and their understanding of play, attunement and connection
Moving with the Fluidity of Water: An Ecosomatic Community Engagement Project to Address Burnout in Therapists
Get PDFTherapists frequently report experiencing burnout which is correlated with a decline in both physical and emotional health. Burnout affects the quality of care that therapists can provide, rendering self-care essential for ethical practice. Because the experience of burnout affects not only the cognitive experience but the somatic one as well, self-care to prevent and address burnout must address the body in addition to the mind. One avenue for this is through the use of dance/movement therapy (DMT). DMT is well positioned to address the symptoms of burnout as one of the fundamental tenets of DMT is that the mind and body are connected and therefore can influence each other. Just as Western society contributes to a disconnection between the mind and body, it also contributes to a disconnection between people and their greater environment. Through ecotherapy, people can remedy their understanding of themselves as part of, not separate from, nature. The nascent field of ecosomatics offers the combined benefits of both dance/movement therapy and ecotherapy, helping to integrate individuals’ mind/body/earth connection. By connecting with the more-than-human world through their own bodies, therapists can promote their own well-being and potentially prevent the occupational hazards of burnout. As a part of this thesis, I conducted a self-resourcing ecosomatic workshop at my internship site to address burnout in therapists. Participants appreciated the options provided of different body-based ways to take care of themselves throughout the workshop and themes of nature connectedness emerged in our discussion
Healing the Body Politic: Integrating Death Café and Expressive Arts Therapy Open Studio Processes to Create ‘Death Literate’ Civic Spaces of Support
No full textThis community engagement project, conducted online and in-person at a local art gallery, focused on integrating Death Café and expressive arts therapy open studio processes to create more ‘death positive’ community-based spaces of support. An extensive literature review explored current research on the Death Café model and the related topics of death denial, death positivity, death education and death literacy primarily in the United States; surveyed extant international literature on the expressive arts therapy open studio model; and garnered select publications pertaining to third places and third spaces, dialogue as community empowerment, and the role of the ‘citizen therapist’. Key details gleaned from the literature review included a critique of the death denial thesis and death positivity; Death Café as a quickly growing community practice in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic; the open studio model as an inherently community-centered approach to expressive arts therapy; and dialogue as a socially connecting communicative act. One in-person and one online combined Death Café and expressive arts therapy open studio process were conducted with two different groups of self-selecting participants, ranging in age and gender but mostly alike in racial identity, language and education level. Key findings included ‘death literacy’ as a more conducive frame for community support than ‘death positivity’; the unique constraints and opportunities related to conducting this integrated process in person and online; and the potential of this work to contribute to collective, as well as individual wellbeing, as an activity taking place in civic space
Patterns of Total Body Connectivity as Support for Executive Functioning in Individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Literature Review
Get PDFThis literature review explores the potential use of the Patterns of Total Body Connectivity (PTBCs) to support executive functioning in individuals with ADHD. While research of Bartenieff Fundamental’s PTBCs is limited, its impact on EFs, such as working memory, inhibition control, emotional regulation, organization, and cognitive flexibility, remains under-explored. This review aims to synthesize studies on the correlation between PTBCs and executive function, highlighting the potential for movement-based interventions to address executive functioning deficits. It identifies significant gaps in current research, particularly regarding the specific advantages of developmental movement patterns as effective interventions for individuals with ADHD. Additionally, it critically evaluates existing literature on movement-based interventions, such as Pilates and Capoeira, that aim to enhance executive function in ADHD, identifying key components and potential factors for consideration. Finally, this review highlights the need for further research to establish a foundational framework for understanding and utilizing PTBCs to support executive function in this population
Resource-Oriented Music Therapy for Musicians\u27 Maladies
Get PDFProfessional musicians often experience various stressors brought on by perfectionist training routines, racial and gender disparities, and other occupational challenges. This thesis aims to inform music industry professionals, music educators, and mental health clinicians of the psychological and physiological struggles professional musicians experience with a focus on music performance anxiety (MPA) and music-induced harm (MIH). Findings from this literature review indicate that musicians who identify as BIPoC or female struggle more with mental health and their musician identities than white, male-identifying musicians. The published literature tends to explore treating musicians’ mental health with Western-rooted cognitive behavioral therapy and has under-explored how musicians may benefit intrinsically with music therapy. Eurocentric-therapy lacks cultural awareness and does not adapt to the intersectional identities and diverse needs of musicians. This thesis seeks to explore how to support musicians’ wellbeing with resource-oriented music therapy interventions such as guided imagery with music (GIM) and music-assisted progressive muscle relaxation. Findings revealed that music therapy methods are as effective as traditional cognitive behavioral methods among musicians. I argue that resource-oriented music therapy can foster musicians’ efficacy to access and process their feelings and stressors through musical expression
Exploring Self-Portraiture as a Means of Centering Sessions with a Resistant Client
Get PDFThis study intended to explore how self-portraiture could be used in a therapeutic setting as a means of processing self-identity, increasing self-confidence, and working through defenses to center the session on the participant. The findings of increased independent artistic engagement, shift in contact, and increased authenticity reflect the work done with a single client in a therapeutic setting. This methodology utilized a client-centered approach, and each directive was tailored to the participant. A variety of portraits were used, ranging from abstract to representational, as a means of continuously exploring the way the participant viewed themself
Open Studio Concept Conducted by an Expressive Arts Therapist and Art Therapy Intern as a Replacement for Art Class in Special Education
Get PDFIn 2022-2023, 15% of U.S. public school students between the ages of 3 and 21 were on an Individualized Education Plans (IEP) due to various disabilities. This paper examines the impact of an open studio model, conducted by expressive arts therapists, on the engagement of students with social and emotional disabilities aged between 16 and 18 years old. A thematic analysis of qualitative data revealed that using an open studio model facilitated by expressive arts therapists in place of a more traditional art education class for students who require additional social and emotional assistance can foster a sense of control and safety in the absence of participatory demands and may benefit students by enhancing engagement in the artistic process, engagement with peers, and engagement with facilitators
Music Therapy and Cerebral Visual Impairments (CVI) in Early Childhood: A Literature Review
Get PDFCerebral visual impairment (CVI) is the leading cause of visual impairment in children within the United States, and results from neurologic impairment to areas of the brain responsible for processing and interpreting visual input. Due to the brain-based nature of this impairment, improvement in functional vision is possible through the process of neuroplasticity and development of compensatory strategies to improve personal access to the environment and surroundings. Intact vision provides access to information about the world around us, and without this sense children are highly susceptible to developmental delays in the areas of cognition, motor skills, communication, and social functioning. Early intervention by a professional trained to address functional vision is necessary to build understanding in parents and caregivers of how to best support their child’s developmental needs. Music therapy may be an ideal treatment modality to address the needs of individuals with CVI due to music’s capability to promote neuroplasticity and support developmental milestones in all domains of functioning. Following a critical review of the literature, recommendations for music therapists are provided to integrate best practice CVI intervention strategies through a neurodevelopmental lens and support the needs of children ages 0-3 years with CVI and their families
Performance Art is Ripe for Layering: Performance Art as a Therapeutic Intervention
Get PDFPerformance art is an artform which benefits Expressive Arts Therapy (ExAT), the field of expressive therapies, and the mental health profession itself. For the purposes of this literature review, performance art is defined as any expression which attempts to be transformative, is witnessed by self or other, matching at least two modes of creative expression, often interacting with those witnessing, and which offers some element of experiment. Expressive Arts Therapy, a modality of therapy within the expressive therapies aimed to move (transfer) creative expression from one artform to another and develop a connection between different artistic representations and one’s psyche, is especially attuned to the layering of different media performance art involves. This author will review literature on performance art and adjacent methods (Developmental Transformations (DvT), playback theatre, psychodrama, and imagical play) utilized as a therapy, as well as the historical use of performance art and related practices for healing and psychological transformation, in individual and group settings. Performance art can be an effective clinical intervention as gleaned from literature on its utilization as a healing act or actual therapy. Included is my own arts-based research using performance art to evoke psychological transformation amidst difficult mental health and social justice issues. Research shows that performance art is an emerging therapeutic artform that creative art therapists can use. Yet, its efficacy as a clinical intervention has not been thoroughly investigated
Beyond Stigma: Role Theory and Drama Therapy in Reentry and Rehabilitation
Get PDFTo be system-impacted often means facing stigmatization. The experience of incarceration is profoundly dehumanizing, eroding self-worth and identity. This thesis examines the application of a 3-week drama therapy method for formerly incarcerated women residing in a transitional facility with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. This project integrated a drama therapy framework with Robert Landy’s Role Theory to create a method aimed at assisting formerly incarcerated clients in expanding their role repertoire and discarding those roles that perpetuate their disempowerment. This thesis begins with a literature review of role in drama therapy, the experiences of incarcerated women in the U.S., importance of identity formation of those who are system-involved, and the existing research on using drama therapy, role theory, and creative arts therapies to support incarcerated populations, discussing their capacity to address trauma, increase self-esteem, foster resilience, and promote social reintegration. This thesis describes the method’s interventions and data collection systems used. The results suggest that drama therapy can serve as a powerful tool for identity reformation and social reintegration among system-impacted individuals. While the study is limited by its small sample size and site-specific implementation, its findings contribute to a growing body of literature advocating for creative, embodied approaches in trauma-informed rehabilitation