The Exceptional Artist: The Use of the Third Hand with Clay Work in Art Therapy

by Brandon Murdoch

My topic explores the possibilities and experiences clay work offers to the exceptional child. I investigate the relationship of learned helplessness to the use of the third hand in the art making process.

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Sunsets, Rainbows and Dust Storms: Art Therapy, Relationships with God and Nature Metaphor

by Felicitas Drobig, OSU

This thesis explores the relationship between creation, Creator and the creative act. It traces models of Christian relationship to the land and highlights Hildegard of Bingen's concept of "veriditas" or greening power. It presents the art of ten women who were asked to depict their relationship with God through using nature and/or weather metaphor.

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The Value of Art Therapy with the Elderly In a Long Term Care Facility

by Jennifer Hakola

This study examines the value of art therapy for the elderly in a long term care facility. Psychoanalysis, object relations theory, and phenomenology are highlighted in relation to the art therapy approach used in this study.

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Light in the Darkness: Using Art Therapy to explore the Meaning of God in Difficult Times

by Patricia Flynn

This thesis uses a humanistic and phenomenological approach to study a group of seven men and women between the ages of 35 and 70 who took part in empirical and qualitative research. This research examined the essence of how one perceives God and the meaning of “God” in one’s life, especially in times of suffering and confusion.

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Creating Community One Brushstroke at a Time: Studio Based Art Therapy

by Cori Devlin

This thesis represents a broad stroke across the history of cross cultural arts and healing rituals, the history of the art of the mentally ill and the psychological theories that informed the development of art therapy as a profession. The question explored in this thesis is: "How can art therapy history and theory be intentionally integrated to develop a studio based art therapy model that would enhance the therapeutic benefits of art making for people experiencing mental illness?"

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Who's It? Scribble Tag with Children Who Have Witnessed Abuse

by Catherine Swanston

This study examines the usefulness of including the game of Scribble Tag in the initial assessment process with children who have witnessed and experienced abuse.

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The Tao of Art Therapy: Bodily Movement as a Bridge Between the Conscious and Unconscious

by Linda C. Mahoney

In this paper, the role of movement and the kinaesthetic sense as a form of perception, in combination with the concept of balance and rhythm (Cane, 1983), is explored through a qualitative analysis of the phenomena of vigorous gross motor movement of the arm in the spontaneous creation of images with art media.

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Art Therapy in the Treatment of Addictions, An Exploration of the Use of Therapeutic Art in Women's Intensive Day Treatment

by Christine Lummis

The purpose of this thesis is to outline ways that art therapy can be integrated into the women's DEW Program. My intention is to raise awareness of ways in which art therapy can act as a primary function within treatment to address addiction and the underlying issues involved.

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Finding Meaning in the Pain: The Use of Art Therapy with People in Chronic Pain

by Heather Cameron

This thesis gives an overview of the use of art therapy with people in chronic pain. It begins with a discussion of the unknowability of another's pain and the lack of language to communicate the experience of pain. It goes on to suggest that making art can provide an effective vehicle for the expression of pain.

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Children's Self-Esteem: The Benefits of Art Therapy in Elementary Schools

by Irene Crick

A review of available literature has uncovered few direct correlations between art therapy and increased self-esteem in children. This paper demonstrates that two children who came to the attention of special education teachers with a variety of diagnoses and/or issues exhibited a significant rise in self-esteem indicators after a minimum of twenty sessions of art therapy.

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Parents Guide to Art Therapy with Children

by Roger Luscombe

Art therapy can provide a child with the opportunity to heal and grow. In the safety of the Art Therapy room, and with the unconditional support of the therapist, children can utilize their own creative potential to learn, to resolve difficulties and to move on in their lives as balanced individuals. In writing this handbook, it is my hope that parents and caregivers will have available to them some of the basic theory and processes of Art Therapy with children.

 

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