This study was completed to better understand and treat couples wherein one partner suffers from chronic migraines. I interviewed eight couples about their experiences in dealing with migraines as a patient, as a partner, and together. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed by a team of seven researchers. We developed a theory that can be used to understand how patients and their partners adapt to chronic migraines. The theory was grounded in the experiences of the patients and partners who were interviewed. We found that patients and partners alike dealt with burdens and costs associated with chronic migraines. Coping, healthcare, couple experience, and identity were found to be the means through which patients and partners adapted to their burdens. These concepts are broken down and discussed in greater detail. A model is provided that can be used to create a visual representation of how well a couple deals with migraines. Suggestions for couples who are dealing with chronic migraines, and for medical providers and therapists who work with couples affected by chronic migraines, are provided.

Dialogue is a conversation situated in a view of existence as relational (Bakhtin, 1981; Buber, 1970). As a result, it evokes love—love as the constant companion to human experience that allows for collaboration, co-existence, and evolution (Maturana & Verden-Zöller, 2008). Dialogue, and its potential to generate love, offers persons the ability to understand how love can be activated within relationships and in daily encounters as a result of dialogical engagement. It also holds implications for the field of family therapy, including the nature and purpose of therapy, as well as training and practice. In order to understand how love and dialogue evoke one another, each was explored as a concept. Dialogism, the foundational philosophy of dialogue as articulated by its principle contributors, Mikhail Bakhtin (1981) and Martin Buber (1970), provides a relational, ontological context for dialogue as a conversation. Love, as an experience of shared humanity—as a “bumping into” humanity’s “collective consciousness” (Gumbrecht, Maturana, & Poerksen, 2006), initiates, fuels, and emerges within dialogue. Love and dialogue are foundational to human existence and therefore cannot be separated. This recognition results in an acceptance of love-as-dialogue. Love-as- dialogue presents individuals with a way of living that orients them toward engagement. It also invites family therapists into a conversation about therapy as a meeting of human beings and therefore as being situated in love.

Human trafficking is prevalent globally, nationally and locally. In the state of Florida, there are many victims of domestic and international human trafficking. Therapists work in settings where they come in contact with victims of human trafficking while they are still in captivity. However, many therapists lack the training and resources to identify victims of human trafficking in the therapeutic setting, and so many of these victims go unidentified. While there are several human trafficking identification tools, none are designed exclusively for therapists to identify both international and domestic victims of sex trafficking. To address this need, I developed the Roberts Human Trafficking Tool (RHTT). This assessment used a collaborative approach for therapists to identify youths who are domestic and international victims of sex trafficking. This project utilized one action research cycle to obtain therapists’ feedback and suggestions for the improvement of the tool. To do this, I trained four stakeholders who were human trafficking therapists in South Florida on the assessment who utilized it among themselves and provided feedback for its advancement. This feedback was used to make changes to improve the tool. The findings indicate that the Roberts Human Trafficking Tool is a unique and interactive tool that helps break barriers in working with the human trafficking population. An important prerequisite for the effective utilization of the RHTT assessment is training therapists on human trafficking and on utilizing the tool.

Alzheimer’s disease is a debilitating illness that is the 6th leading cause of death among the elderly. The treatment of Alzheimer’s requires multiple interventions due to the complexity of the disease. The interdisciplinary group (IDG) model of care is considered a best practice for patients’ medical management (Molyneux, 2001). The IDG focuses on a holistic approach, which includes both patients and their caregivers. The IDG in hospice consists of professionals from different clinical disciplines whose collaborative knowledge and skills assist in caring for patients and their families. This study focused on what works well in an exemplary IDG, using appreciative inquiry as to the method of inquiry. Data were collected from 6 participants of an exemplary IDG caring for patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The data were analyzed using the appreciative inquiry 4-D cycle: Discovery, Dream, Design, and Destiny. In the Discovery phase, 10 themes emerged, showing the connection to the Dream phase. The Dream phase led into the Design phase, focusing on provocative propositions, which bridge the best of what is with what might be. This then connected with the Destiny phase, bringing the dreams of the future to the present. I found that what works well with this exemplary IDG is the connection to other members of the team and the larger system; dedication; commitment; and valuing of team members, their patients, and patients’ families. The findings suggested the need for increased training of marriage and family therapists for IDG settings as the systemic thinking of marriage and family therapy appears to be a good fit for the IDG.

Although research has been conducted on journaling, spirituality and art making separately, few studies investigate the potential for these modalities when combined together in a therapeutic context. This investigation explored the way that combining art making and journaling can contribute to spiritual growth and development during times of transformation. Specifically, by using self study and archival research approaches to conduct a systematic analysis of 5 of my previous journals and 5 of my previous art pieces which were created during times of transformation. Components illustrating spiritual growth such as contemplation, awareness, meaning making, connection, externalization, values and beliefs (Aten, 2011; Bryne & McKinlay, 2012; Hieb, 2005; Wiggins, 2011) were indicated. During this investigation, spirituality was examined through transpersonal and existential perspectives. The findings of this study suggest that examining a person’s core values, beliefs and how they seek meaning and connection with others is beneficial because it may be the source of unproductive thoughts, behaviors and feelings which motivate an individual to seek psychotherapeutic treatment. This study also illuminates the potential for spiritual development and maturation in spaces of disconnection.

This research study explored the integration of Art Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to treat clients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The study explored how art therapy and EMDR can be combined effectively. First, a literature review investigated previous research connecting trauma and its neurological impact, as well as the subsequent causes, symptoms and criteria for PTSD, as well as the connection between neurobiology to art therapy and EMDR. Second, an in-depth interview with a licensed MFT and registered art therapist who is also a certified EMDR practitioner portrays the ways combining art therapy and EMDR to treat clients with PTSD can be done, and how a therapist experienced effectiveness of this treatment, its purpose, techniques, as well as the benefits and challenges of integrating these two treatment can inform others. Information gathered from the interview was transcribed, systematically categorized, and analyzed, resulting in three overarching themes; incorporating the body and mind, combining techniques of Art Therapy and EMDR and populations treated with this integrative modality. Third, a discussion of findings within the context of the larger literature review expanded the meaning of these findings, offering considerations for future clinical applications and research in the young field of integrative trauma treatment.

This study endeavors to explore the use of Helen B. Landgarten’s Family Art Assessment as a consultation service, in community mental health clinic settings. This research is a continuation of a pilot project initiated by director of the Helen B. Landgarten Art Therapy Clinic, Dr. Paige Asawa, MFT, ATR-BC, in which Dr. Asawa implemented the Landagarten Family Art Assessment at a local clinic with five families. The initial results of that study were examined and analyzed by Meirav Haber, who used a survey and an art response component to document the participants’ experience. In this study, a focus group was conducted, which consisted of various stakeholders in the agency from administration to the clinicians who participated in the initial pilot project. They shared their thoughts and feelings about the experience in a semi-structured conversational setting. The focus group recording was transcribed and analyzed into three themes: procedural recommendations, assessment conceptualizations, and therapeutic relationship indications. This indication pertained to the formation and stability of the therapeutic relationship between the family and its primary clinician, which must exist prior to conducting the Family Art Assessment. A synthesis of the existing protocol, focus group conversation, and the literature reveals that it is beneficial to have both the assessing art therapist and the primary clinician present in the therapy room during the consultation of the Family Art Assessment, in order for the results of the assessment to be as authentic and valid as possible. These results may contribute to a better understanding of the possibilities of having art therapy consultations as this local clinic, and to promote collaboration between art therapists and mental health professionals.

This paper investigates how the meditation practice and the self-reflective art of an art therapy trainee informed clinical work with an adolescent client. The self-reflective process included Jon Kabat-Zinn’s 29-minute body scan meditation, a review of the client’s artwork, and a response painting. This course of action was documented in a visual journal form. A hermeneutic interviewing process, or a process of open-ended questioning and dialogue, was used to find out whether or not the therapist’s understanding of the client’s experience matched with his own understanding. His responses were utilized to examine the validity of the findings. The findings support the concept of art psychotherapy as an advantageous approach to opening communication with adolescents because of its ability to permeate defenses (Linesch, 1988; Wadeson, 2010). They also support the idea that responsive art-making increases the empathic response of the therapist (Moon, 1999) and awareness of counter-transference issues (Franklin, 1999). Additionally, meditation facilitated the reflective art process by promoting clarity, focus, and authenticity, and thus, greater insight. There is limited research about the integration of meditative practices in art therapy. The research also indicates that attuned suggestion, although based on the therapist’s subjective experience, encourages the client’s sense of feeling understood. The field of art therapy would benefit from more research about methods of interpretation that avoid the arrogance of assumption. More self-reflective research is needed in our field because these methods increase the competence of practitioners.

This paper is an exploration of how art therapy informed by studio practices plays a role in addressing the challenges of immigration and acculturation, specifically looking at women from Latin America. This also investigates the mental health needs of immigrant Latina women particularly struggling with acculturation. The seven women participants were selected from Dolores Mission Parish in Los Angeles, California. The women created art on two Saturdays in response to the directive presented by the researcher, involving the exploration of their individual journey and experience of immigration and acculturation. The art was studied in a qualitative method with a presentation of the art, the analysis and the findings. The art demonstrates that the creative process can create a sense of community, a feeling of empowerment, and act as a catharsis, or “desahogo”, in relieving psychological distress from the acculturation process.

This paper is a personal account of the discoveries made during a heuristic study in which the researcher sought to deepen her understanding of the difficulties of ending treatment with adolescent male clients as a female art therapist in training. Through the analysis of reflective artwork created during and after termination at a boys’ home, the researcher uncovered multiple themes as they related to the therapeutic relationship, attachment, transference/countertransference, dreams, vicarious trauma, self-care, and the ambiguity of termination. After reviewing the potential dangers of harmful termination and the paucity of literature on its effect on at-risk youth in group homes, this researcher chose to explore the personal meaning of this topic utilizing heuristic and arts-based methodologies. The process of data collection followed Moustakas’s six heuristic steps, corresponding to each day of the week. Each week, an archival termination art piece was analyzed and a corresponding questionnaire composed of four research questions and an art response was completed. After four weeks of data collection, two cumulative art pieces were finished to summarize research findings. Further dissection of the collective data was completed through a theoretical lens of attachment theory. Results suggested that reflective art making was proven useful to this researcher as a living record of the termination process and therapeutic relationship. To encourage self-care, deeper introspection, and monitoring of one’s expectations of termination, this creative modality could be utilized by other art therapists to externalize, cope with vicarious trauma, contain and process the complicated feelings of letting go.