2410 research outputs found
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Opening the Trauma Window: Embodied Storytelling with Adolescent Survivors of Domestic Violence
Get PDFAdolescents who have experienced trauma may develop a neutral state, which they use to shield themselves from the trauma so they can perform daily life tasks. Though it is acknowledged in the literature that trauma lives in the body, adolescent survivors of trauma may often stay in this neutral state until they seek mental health services. This thesis asks: How can drama therapy’s core processes, such as embodiment, widen the window of tolerance of an adolescent who has experienced trauma to begin to feel emotions beyond the neutral state and become open to new roles? The method that I have developed gives the client an element of choice in the storytelling process from the construction of a character through their entire experience of that character. After implementation of the intervention, with three adolescent clients over three 60-minute sessions, promising results indicate that using distancing and embodiment allows the participants to slowly begin to experience emotions and roles that they have previously denied. Ultimately, the implementation of the intervention should be used with the clients’ needs in mind balancing distance, choice, and flexibility to meet them where they are.
Keywords: drama therapy, embodiment, storytelling, window of tolerance, trauma, adolescents, core processes
Author Identity Statement: I acknowledge my experiences as a straight white, middle-class female clinician from the south, specifically Texas, I also acknowledge that I have experienced a similar trauma in my own life. When developing and implementing this method, I was acutely aware of my own bias and deeply considered the varied needs of my clients and where my clients were in their healing process
Attunement in Contact Improvisation: Therapeutic Implications
Get PDFThis capstone thesis looks into the concept of attunement within the context of Contact Improvisation (CI), a movement form distinguished by spontaneous, in-the-moment interaction and interpersonal connection. Through a synthesis of theoretical frameworks and personal narrative, this literature review explores how CI cultivates attunement—a resonant interpersonal process, fostering shared understanding and synchronicity. The thesis reveals that attunement within CI involves self-attunement and contact attunement along with refining awareness and attention to kinesthetic and proprioceptive sensations. The therapeutic implications of attunement within CI extends to aspects such as body-mind alignment, emotional growth, enhanced mobility, and interpersonal skills. Aligned with principles of mindfulness, attunement within CI promotes present-moment awareness, self-regulation, and empathetic responsiveness. Through continuous exploration of friction, momentum, and gravity, CI practitioners cultivate sensitivity to touch, facilitating a nuanced comprehension of physical and emotional interactions. CI transcends language barriers and societal norms, providing a platform for authentic expression and interpersonal connection. Essentially, Contact Improvisation offers a comprehensive framework for movement that underscores the importance of relationality, embodiment, and empathetic engagement, thereby enhancing personal growth, relational development, and collective resonance through the lens of attunement
Regulating Through Music: A community engagement project at a therapeutic elementary school
Get PDFEmotional regulation is a skill that involves an ability to be aware of what is happening both within one’s own body as well as in their surroundings. There has been some discussion and research around the way that musical activities can provide the stimuli and participatory actions to practice these skills used in emotional regulation. This community engagement project was designed as a two-time class called Big Music which gave students with special needs an opportunity to come together as a community to sing and make music. Each structured 30-minute session used techniques such as call and response, varying tempos, and imitation intended to promote skills used in emotional regulation. The results suggested that music groups can help create a sense of community, generate moments of congruence and dissonance that influence co/self-regulation, and hold space for shifting emotions and various motor and executive functioning skills
Effects of Dance Movement Therapy on Nonverbal Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Get PDFThis thesis investigates the effects of an approach to Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) on communication outcomes in nonverbal children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Drawing inspiration from the DMT mirroring method, the research employed a unique methodology throughout five 60-minute group therapy sessions. The participants, five 13-16-year-old students each with a diagnosis of ASD, attended a private school specializing in behavioral and mental disabilities. Each participant presented with varying levels of communication and language impairments, ranging from nonverbal to minimally verbal. The study explores the intersection of ASD and DMT, focusing on how different DMT interventions can be tailored to enhance communication skills in children with ASD. A comprehensive literature review forms the backdrop of the research, examining key themes such as the understanding of ASD through the DSM-5, navigating atypical social communication in ASD, the evolution of autism research and intervention, and the background of DMT. Preliminary findings suggest promising outcomes, with participants demonstrating improved communication abilities, including increased nonverbal expression, and engagement in social interactions. These findings underscore the potential of tailored DMT interventions, such as mirroring, in addressing communication challenges in nonverbal children with ASD
A Literature Review Examining Current and Future Directions of Dyadic Expressive Therapies Work with Persons with Dementia and Their Informal Caregivers
Get PDFThe onset of dementia and resulting adjustment of the relationship between the person with dementia (PWD) and their family caregiver can result in stress and strain for both individuals. This relational adjustment, and the stressors caused by the symptoms of dementia can also lead to relational strain. Although research on the use of the arts with PWD and the use of the arts with caregivers exists, as well as research on various interventions with the caregiving dyad, research on the use of the arts specifically with the caregiving dyad is minimal. This paper reviewed the current state of the literature on arts-based interventions with the caregiving dyad. Though current theoretical bases were rarely stated, the articles seemed to be based in positive psychology and strengths-based models. One article also mentioned a theoretical base in dignity therapy, an approach designed for use with those diagnosed with a terminal illness. The articles primarily focused on the use of music and studio art, though other articles were found on the use of dance, photos, and storytelling. The articles demonstrated generally positive quantitative and qualitative results. However, the studies were lacking in sample size, randomized-control trials, and consensus on quantitative outcomes measured. Further research on the arts with the caregiving dyad would benefit from a larger quantity of research overall, as well as the use of other modalities as yet untouched. Further research should also be careful to have greater sample sizes, more randomized-control trials, greater homogeneity in the outcome measures used, analysis of long-term effectiveness, and richer description of the interventions used
Utilizing Art Therapy to Address Perfectionism in Patients Suffering from Eating Disorders: The Need to Diversify Treatment Approaches
Get PDFPerfectionistic behaviors are highly common in people with eating disorders. This study investigates the relationship between perfectionism, shame, and the ways in which art therapy can be utilized as a primary tool in eating disorder treatment. Based on the research below and the results of this study, integrating art therapy protocols in combination with talk based theoretical work around perfectionism can improve recovery and decrease struggles with perfectionism in persons with eating disorders. Patients at a residential eating disorder center participated in four consecutive weekly group therapy sessions that integrated art therapy protocols into a preexisting talk therapy based group on perfectionism. These groups were composed of 13-20 patients depending on the current state of the milieu. The group leader collected qualitative data by reflecting on the information shared by patients in each session. The current treatment options for persons with eating disorders are limited and this study exemplified the potential for the utilization of art therapy as a primary treatment method along with the need for an extensive increase in the amount of research available on eating disorder treatment
Perspectives on the Value Proposition of K-8 non-Orthodox Jewish Day Schools in Toronto
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to better understand the value proposition of K-8 nonOrthodox Jewish day school education in Toronto by examining enrolment information and reasons for attrition to non-parochial private schools. These findings led to recommendations to help improve the value proposition. Future research was also suggested
Integration of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Adulthood Through Dance Movement Therapeutic Techniques
Get PDFExpanding knowledge about how to self-regulate when faced with challenging circumstances has the potential to benefit individuals and communities, especially in our post-pandemic environment with increasing needs for mental health support. This thesis provides a psychoeducational basis for use of dance movement therapeutic techniques to integrate adverse childhood experiences. The literature review refines an understanding of big T and little t trauma as it relates to mental illness, polyvagal theory, nervous system regulation, the window of tolerance, body armoring, somatic psychotherapy, trauma- informed care, adverse childhood experiences and post-traumatic growth.
This thesis culminates in a personal arts-based autoethnography informed by the theoretical framework summarized by Pierce (2014) to work with individuals through a three-phase dance movement therapy practice to process trauma-related content. The author collaborates with a photographer who used the “pop and blur” technique to capture a trail of light evident in the image to illustrate the somatic energy within the movement in a static, preserved and visually intriguing manner. Future applications of this arts ethnography will benefit therapists, educators and anyone who desires to process adverse childhood experiences
Literature Review Nature-Based Art Therapy Exploring Connections and Relationships
Get PDFArt therapy is a modality used in clinical psychotherapy. It is supported through both quantitative and qualitative research. Branching out from art therapy is nature-based art therapy. This branch of expressive therapies holds the potential to be beneficial as art therapy due to the interconnected access to the scientific fields of ecology, ecopsychology, art therapy, expressive therapies, and other nature-based therapeutic activities; this includes intersectionality in ecological theories such as ecofeminism and deep ecology as well. Through an exploration of literature, this paper will provide definitions and theory-based support through reviewing clinical psychotherapy, evidence-based practices, and art therapy theories. The literature review will also provide a window into studies utilizing nature-based activities and interventions, and how these studies demonstrate the impact nature-based activities have on mental health and overall well-being. There is also an exploration of the impact of climate change on mental health and how it affects People of Color, Indigenous Populations, and other populations who experience environmental challenges based on the locale of their homes
Mindful Moment Room & Ambassador Training Program: A Sustainable Mindfulness Program for Secondary Schools
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This thesis argues that sustainable mindfulness programming in secondary schools’ benefits teachers, students, and community members by providing a supportive school culture that values and nurtures holistic learning. The rationale for this project examines the contributions of mindful educators, the impact of mindfulness on social-emotional learning (SEL), the advantageousness of mindful students in secondary schools, and the significance of developing mindful school culture. The creative project for this thesis then outlines a school-based mindfulness program (SBMP) that integrates each of these components. This thesis project is a training manual that provides guidance on how to implement a sustainable mindfulness program in secondary schools. The training manual presents information on mindfulness and its relevance to education, explains the fundamental components of a mindful moment room (MMR), outlines step-by-step procedures and protocols for operating a MMR, offers guided exercises and activities to use in a MMR, provides suggested materials to actualize a MMR, and details the ambassador training program necessary to appropriately staff a MMR