Medical art therapy is a specific type of art therapy practiced primarily in settings where clients are actively ill or in recovery from a medical procedure. This heuristic study will seek to support the advancement of growth in this field, a wide spread use of medical art therapy in every setting catering to the medically or chronically ill. The researcher used her own medical records from a 10-year bout with illness, childhood to late adolescence, to stimulate the production of data in the form of journal entries and artwork. The data collected was then analyzed through both a clinical and personal lens to determine the existence of themes or patterns not only in the artwork, but also in the perceptions of the child then battling illness and now being assessed by their adult self. This research not only supports the benefits of utilizing art making/art therapy in processing and recovering from chronic illness but also in using the heuristic method of research to answer deeper questions from the perspectives of the clinician and the participant simultaneously.

This study explored how two LMU Art Therapy alumni were impacted by client-initiated premature termination, specifically when their clients stopped treatment without providing a reason. All that physically remained when their clients left was their art. The literature review explored the discrepancy between client’s and therapist’s perspectives on treatment duration and reasons for termination. While the art therapy literature explored art techniques to prepare for termination, there was no research on premature termination. Through qualitative approach utilizing interviews and art-based inquiry, art therapists in this study provided reflective perspectives and personal accounts of their experience. The study also explored participants’ interpretations of their client’s art from their final therapy session. Responsive art-making allowed art therapists to depict what they would want their clients to know now. Three themes emerged from analysis of the interviews and art responses: Art therapists’ residual feelings for their clients; Using art to convey the power differential in the therapeutic relationship; and Using art to convey well wishes, clarification, and containment—all stemming from the ambiguity of the unexpected ending. The choice to terminate treatment this way was the clients’ right. The power to create closure through art was the art therapists’. The art therapy field may benefit from future studies that address potential art techniques that help art therapists process the lasting impact of client-initiated premature termination.

This paper was an exploration of second generation Hungarian American identity development seeking to augment the understanding we have regarding second generation immigration, and particularly that of the children of those Hungarians who left during the communist occupation or shortly after the fall of the Iron Curtain. The research methodology used was a qualitative inquiry of semi-structured narrative interviews with an art-making component, from which emergent themes were identified. The five emergent overarching themes found were: The unique experience of being Second- Generation to immigrant parents, Hungarian American Identity, Misperceptions connected to being part of a white minority group, A closed system serves as a protective factor, and Art as a facilitator for expression and meaning making. These themes are examined against existent literature pertaining to the experience of second-generation Hungarian Americans, and discussed within the context of clinical applications and possible future research.

This study documents an integrated mind/body approach to art therapy in the treatment of complex trauma and proposes a conceptualization of the process of neural integration of traumatic memory through art therapy. The researcher used a phenomenologically informed approach in a single case study design, culling data from 18 art therapy sessions with a child suffering from complex trauma. Using a data matrix, the researcher correlated verbalizations regarding somatic states and emotions with four categories of visual symbolizations. Emergent themes included seeking attachment repair; exposing attachment ruptures; experiencing traumatic memory as kinesthetic motoric process; dissociative coping mechanisms; behavioral control problems; and affect dysregulation. The researcher proposes a conceptualization of the neural integration of traumatic memory, mapping 12 associated neural and art processes. Outcomes subjectively documented include: better behavioral control; reduced somatic numbing; and improved affect regulation. Implications for the fields of art therapy and traumatology are discussed.

This paper is an exploration of what culturally constitutes Latina identity formation pre and post immigration specifically looking at women from Mexico and Central America, with a special interest in looking at how acculturation impacts identity formation. This also investigates the mental health needs of immigrant Latina women particularly struggling with acculturation and lost sense of self. The eight women participants were selected from Santa Rosa de Lima church in Simi Valley. The women created art on three Saturdays in response to the directives presented by the researcher, all art prompt involved exploration on identity. The art was studied in a qualitative method with a presentation of the art, the analysis and the findings. The art demonstrates the importance of family cohesiveness and the challenge for Latinas to identify their personal needs away from the needs of their families. The art also suggests that acculturation can evoke stress, depression, anxiety and lost sense of self.

The journey to health using felt-sense and self-care is depicted in this qualitative sequential research design. While finding the balance between schoolwork and clinical work during art therapy graduate school, the researcher used Focusing-Oriented Art Therapy techniques to address somatic experiences and respond to them using art-making and written reflections. After completing the heuristic phase of the research, the researcher then Created a structured workshop to explore how other art therapists experienced and assessed the Focusing-oriented Art Therapy process to respond to their own felt-sense of stress and of self-care. The researcher was able to highlight the importance of attending to somatic experiences and utilizing self-care to counter- balance the stress associated with the art therapy profession both personally and for the workshop participants.

The main purpose of this qualitative research study is to explore first- and second-generation Chinese American’s immigration and acculturation experiences using semi-structured narrative interviews, inviting participants to engage in further exploration incorporating art making, a non- verbal method of expression. The research was designed to gain a greater understanding of Chinese Americans’ views and understandings of self, the experience and impact of cultural values on individuals and families, and to understand the role of communication and verbal and non-verbal modes of expression for this population. The findings are intended to potentially aid professionals working with this population: to promote greater awareness, understanding, and sensitivity to concerns of particular relevance, such as understanding the place of self-expression and expression of emotion, both verbal and non-verbal modes, and the role of value systems including traditional Chinese values, such as filial piety, interdependence and harmony, shame and face-saving reactions, and emphasis on achievement, especially in the context of family. Additionally this study contributes to the field of art therapy by exploring cultural and intergenerational considerations and the use of art in therapy with Chinese Americans.

Using a qualitative, narrative based, and art based approach, this study explored the experiences of Asian domestic violence survivors living in an Asian-based domestic violence transitional shelter, and how their cultural identity as an Asian immigrant woman played a role in their experiences. The participants were two out of six women living at the domestic violence shelter provided by the Asian Pacific Women’s Center. Three overarching themes were formed after the analysis of all the emergent categories: The women experienced isolation that were influenced from their marginalized cultural values, the shelter was viewed as a foundation for growth, and the art was useful as a means for communication.

BAAAMM was born in April 2016, when a group of six creative researcher-artists came together to investigate cultural identity through art making. Through searching, reaching, and wrestling, the group developed creative experiential processes by which to discover and communicate cultural identity through art and language. Over a few weeks, the creative researcher-artists generated a body of work expressing their unique cultural identities and felt responses to one another. This diverse collaborative wants to share their work to stimulate others to enter the realm of creativity, vulnerability, and receptivity to understand themselves better. BAAAMM is an exploratory cultural happening exhibiting individual and collective creative findings. BAAAMM is a collaborative endeavor to understand, communicate, and connect oneself to others. BAAAMM is a multicultural work of progress. This Jagazine (journal and magazine) chronicles the seven phases of BAAAMM's research. It provides brief biographies of the creative researcher-artist and captures our extended findings, additional art and written work inspired by the investigation. This Jagazine is part of our original research project in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Art at Loyola Marymount University within the Department of Martial and Family Therapy. This jagazine will be presented at the American Art Therapy Association Annual Conference on November 9, 2017. Warning! This dynamic research is not for the faint of heart. It tests boundaries, schema, nerves, and feelings. Those who passionately search for opportunities to express themselves artistically and verbally, disagree, negotiate, be called out, humble, connected to others, and be heard may find that this cultural identity research framework stimulates growth and gratification.

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