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Free Play Music Therapy for In Between Youth in an Emergency Shelter Setting: Development of a Clinical Method
Get PDFThis 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. I was fortunate to discover personal growth in improvisational skills, how familiar melodies appear repeatedly, and adolescents enjoy being able to play instruments without any restraints or qualifications. This method appears to be a beneficial aspect of an emergency shelter programming schedule and can be adapted to meet the needs of the youth being served
Perceptions and Impacts of Unpaid Internships within Expressive Therapies Education: A Literature Review
Get PDFInternships are an essential part of expressive therapies education as they prepare students with the necessary skills for clinical work. In the current model, it has been normalized for internships to be unpaid despite a lack of documented rationale behind this practice. This review uses the available literature on internships to question and critically analyze unpaid internships in expressive therapies education. In recent years, increased criticism has been expressed about the practice of unpaid internships across many industries. Research has shown that students with more connection to social, cultural, and financial capital are favored for internships, creating inequitable access. Those who cannot afford an unpaid internship are effectively barred from the field. For those who can afford it, there are increasing concerns about the psychosocial impact of this experience on students. Using the literature, it’s argued that unpaid internships perpetuate societal patterns of devaluation, conflict with expressive therapies principles, and impede social justice movements for paid internships and equitable access to education and employment. This review reveals an extensive gap in the literature regarding unpaid internships in expressive therapies education. Questions for further research on this topic are provided
Recovering Vitality After Trauma Through the Use of Body-Oriented Expressive Arts Therapy: A Literature Review
Get PDFThis capstone thesis examines how to use body-oriented expressive arts therapy to address dissociative symptoms of trauma in adults. Dissociation can arise during or after trauma has occurred and creates a state of disconnection in the body, inhibiting one’s sense of vitality. In this literature review, I provide a basis for why to look to the expressive arts and the body as effective resources for restoring vitality. I present relevant research on trauma, dissociation, and body-oriented expressive arts therapy; I also explore how concepts embedded in sensuality, pleasure, and eroticism may help inform how to use expressive arts therapy as a means of reconnecting to one’s body. Ultimately, there is a large gap in research in this area; however, results from the literature review reveal a great potential for using an erotic, body-oriented expressive arts therapy as a pathway out of dissociation. In the discussion section I consolidate my findings and offer a list of themes regarding how to incorporate the body safely and meaningfully into expressive arts therapy interventions
Dance/ Movement Therapy as a Primary Therapeutic Intervention to Improve Social and Communication Skills of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Literature Review
Get PDFThis literature review examines dance movement therapy as an intervention to help children with autism spectrum disorder strengthen social and communication skills. Social barriers due to autism include taking turns, making decisions, participating in joint attention, recognizing emotions in others, and recognizing social cues. Communication skills in children with autism can vary from being unable to verbally express wants and needs to only utilizing gestures to communicate. Dance movement therapy uses the strengths of the children to help develop a communication system that can be understood by those around them. Research studies help to show that use of dance movement therapy interventions and methods such as body awareness, kinesthetic attunement, mirroring, and rhythm help a child develop these skills that hinder their way of interacting in different environments. The research provided evidence that dance movement therapy is helping children develop skills which enhance their ability to create more meaningful interpersonal relationships. The numerous pieces of research found recommends the use of dance movement therapy as the primary therapy to help enhance social and communication skills in children with autism spectrum disorder
Caring for Former Caretakers: Utilizing Collage to Explore Transition, Development of a Method
Get PDFOlder adulthood often comes with a variety of challenges both emotional and physical. The transition to an assisted living program can be challenging to cope with. Older adults may face isolation and loneliness, while grappling with changes in their identity as result of factors like decline in health, loss of an ability, or changes in social support. Arts based interventions were administered individually among a group of older adults to test if collage could be utilized to explore themes of role shift, transition and identity. Clinical observations along with post-session reflective artwork is included. Assisted living residents participated in a three-phase art therapy method. This method allowed space for older adults to engage in art making, reflect and share stories. The intention of this thesis is to understand the value of collage art therapy for older adults. Further research should expand on additional prompts, themes and media. Overall, this paper highlighted the benefits of collage art therapy and emphasized the need for art therapy intervention within geriatric care settings
A Literature Review Exploring the Effectiveness of Dance/Movement Therapy as a Treatment Modality for Adults with Dual-Diagnosis in Recovery
Get PDFAbstract
The following literature review is an investigation of the current state of the literature regarding the use of dance/movement therapy as a treatment modality for adults with dual diagnosis in recovery. The theories explored in this paper present the primary and conventional modes that are currently being used to treat substance use and comorbid mental health disorders, such as the 12-Step program model of Alcoholics Anonymous, as well as introducing alternative methods of treatment, which include the use of dance/movement therapy, body-oriented psychotherapy, and the somatic work of the Alexander Technique, which offer a more holistic approach to healing for individuals with dual diagnosis in recovery. In reviewing the literature, a key feature of why dance/movement therapy and somatic therapies are effective in treating the dual diagnosis population is because these therapies have the capacity to re-establish and re-integrate a personal connection between the individual and their body, which is often lost during the struggle of addiction. Through the process of reviewing the literature, dance/movement therapy and other body-based and somatic approaches were revealed in the research as having empirically significant outcomes that may offer a new vantage for treating individuals in recovery. The implications of the literature suggest that for individuals in recovery reconnection to the body and sensation is vital to effective treatment of substance use and comorbid mental health disorders.
Keywords: Dance/movement therapy, dual diagnosis, alexander technique, substance use/abus
School Superintendents and The Convergent Social and Political Crises of 2020 and 2021
Get PDFThe health, social, political, and economic crises that had national and global impacts in 2020 and 2021 brought renewed attention to systemic inequalities in public education and challenged school superintendents to reconsider how they involve others in addressing those disparities. This narrative study explored how the convergent crises and tense social and political climate of 2020 and 2021 have affected Massachusetts school superintendents personally and professionally. Guiding questions inquired about how superintendents recounted their experiences during this period and their impact on their conception of their role and responsibilities and their identity as a leader. A purposeful sampling technique was used to select ten participants from varied K-12 districts throughout Massachusetts who were experienced in the role of superintendent Two remote, semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant during the summer and fall of 2021. Thematic analysis of the narratives yielded eight findings. The findings portray experiences characterized by a climate of unfamiliar, uncertain, and divisive conditions that required adaptations to their sensemaking, decision-making, communication, and emotional intelligence skills and conditions that necessitated expanded collaboration and novel engagement with the community. The findings show that the experience occasioned changes in how they inhabit the political space of their role and in how they communicate with stakeholders, increasingly leading them to think of their role as relationally interactive, politically embedded, and focused on equity. Recommendations advise that superintendents (a) embrace relational and interactive leadership practices and make crisis management and strategies for communication, engagement, and collaboration priorities for their professional learning and (b) become proactive on issues of social justice and equity. The study also urges strengthened role affinity networks to support their work as superintendents and their own well-being.
Keywords: School Superintendents, Crisis Leadership, Health Pandemic, Sensemaking, Role Conception, Leadership Identit
Compassion in the STEM Curriculum: Integrating Emotional Peer Support Within Undergraduates’ Classroom Work
Get PDFStudents’ academic success and wellbeing are interconnected, yet university classrooms rarely promote mental health. To bridge the divide between academic and social-emotional learning, I introduced a classroom intervention titled the Care Bear Connection, during which students were required to post a message in Slack offering support to their classmates. In this mixed methods study, quantitative data were collected from first-year undergraduates (N = 36) in two team-based engineering courses (intervention group n = 24; comparison group n = 12). A pre- and post-intervention survey assessed students’ beliefs and experiences in their respective course concerning six compassion-related variables: social connectedness, compassion toward classmates, compassion from classmates, seeking support, offering support, and classroom climate. The qualitative data collected included students’ Slack posts and individual interviews with participants from the intervention group (N = 6). Pre-post survey changes showed no significant differences in the comparison group, while significant pre-post changes were found in the intervention group across all six variables (p \u3c .05). A majority of students reported increases in their sense of social connectedness, competence in seeking and offering support, a supportive classroom climate, compassion toward and from classmates, as well as a dramatic reduction in perceived stigma. The majority of interviews supported these findings, and students also shared how the intervention strengthened team communication and collaboration during their technical projects. Analyses of the Slack posts revealed trends in students’ compassionate communication, including: acknowledging academic stressors, making laudatory and motivational statements, and promoting self-care to their classmates. These findings indicate the potential for compassion-based interventions to enrich academic learning and wellbeing within STEM courses
Playing in an Earthquake: Development of a Method Integrating TraumaPlay and Drama Therapy Core Processes
Get PDFTraumaPlay 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 a child with exposure to traumatic and/or adverse experiences. This method was implemented during two sessions of individual school-based counseling with one child who has a known trauma history. The results of this process showed promising outcomes for using the core processes of distancing, dramatic projection, embodiment, dramatic reality, and dramatic play to amplify positive coping skills, soothe the physiology, increase emotional literacy, address the thought life, and make positive meaning of the post-trauma self. This exploration suggests that the integration of drama therapy core processes with TraumaPlay components has the potential to augment the therapeutic process of children who have experienced trauma and/or adverse experiences
Exploring the Hinterland: The Development of a Person-Centered Music Therapy Method for a Hospice Patient with Lewy Body Dementia
Get PDFThis thesis explores the development and implementation of a music therapy method with an individual diagnosed with dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) receiving home hospice services. There is very little known about the effect of music therapy on patients diagnosed with DLB. Informed by Tom Kitwood’s Person-Centered Care (PCC) philosophy for dementia care, Yumiko Sato’s Musical Life Review (MLR) model, and Lisa Kelly and Bill Ahessy’s Reminiscence-Focused Music Therapy (RFMT) model, a clinical method was developed to explore the effects of person-centered music therapy on reminiscence, caregiver connection, and identity. I drew inspiration from music therapy concepts by Tony Wigram as well as Hanne Mette Ochsner Ridder’s utilization of acoustic cueing with patients with dementia. Over a period of five weeks, I conducted five sessions each lasting forty-five minutes to an hour. Data were collected in the form of personal reflections and summaries of the method technique as well as recorded musical reflections. Inductive analysis was carried out for each reflection and summary. Themes from reflections and summaries were cross referenced with Tom Kitwood’s flower of psychological needs to further observe what occurred and assess how the method functioned within the PCC framework. Results suggest that person-centered music therapy can assist in promoting reminiscence, addressing psychological needs, and creating connection with a caregiver. In addition, the act of simple reminiscence allowed for the preservation of participant identity and personhood, and empowered him to hold and share his own lived experiences