This qualitative research study presents an examination of the role that art making fulfills in the recovery efforts following the development of a physical disability due to a trauma. Preexisting literature informed the current study on art making’s ability to manage psychological and physical stressors that can accompany the development of a physical disability due to a trauma experience. The current study utilized a focus group to gain a better understanding of art making’s benefits by obtaining firsthand accounts from individuals with experience incorporating art making in their own recovery process. Data collected during the focus group suggests that the art making process is beneficial as part of the recovery efforts. Data showed that art making possesses the ability to aid with the processing of psychological and physical stressors encountered during recovery, and functions as an integrative process that helps individuals to accommodate their new identities. Such findings suggest that the inclusion of art therapy, of which art making is the core foundation, can be a beneficial component to incorporate into recovery efforts.

Adolescence is a time of maturation, integration of selves, and, in the modern age, digital performance on social media. Conflicts in the identity vs. role confusion stage of Eriksonian development are addressed throughout this research, although the existing literature rarely connects them to online trends. A qualitative survey, sent to high school students, explores the tension between self-doubt and the desire to be seen. Responses indicate that teens who post on social media are attempting to make sense of their formative years via the reactions of this networked world. Certain participants show resistance to the phenomenon of the Selfie, implying that some adolescents may view it as merely a passing fad. Participants’ contradictory attitudes concerning social media and the Selfie reflect the four most recurrent themes: duality, insecurity, freedom of expression, and the communication gap between adolescents and adults.

This research investigates the researcher’s experience of the integration of art making within sensorimotor psychotherapy as they relate to the resolution of attachment trauma. The heuristic method of research inquiry was employed in which the researcher was the subject in the research. The basis for the research was an increasing awareness of attachment trauma present in her life history. A review of the literature yielded that a large body of research had been published on attachment theory, trauma, and art therapy. There existed at the time of the research inquiry a lack of literature exploring the utilization of art making in sensorimotor psychotherapy. Data was gathered in the form of artworks created during individual psychotherapy with a psychologist certified in sensorimotor psychotherapy and in the form of post-session reflective writings. The artworks and post-session writings were analyzed. Themes that substantiated the research inquiry emerged. Multiple meanings were derived from this research. A primary meaning was the recognition that the therapeutic alliance coupled with art making and sensorimotor psychotherapy provided a secure environment for integration of attachment trauma. Further research is warranted. There is a potential for development of methodology for incorporating art making into sensorimotor psychotherapy for clients with whom the process is merited. Future iterations of the developed protocol might include replications of the study and modification and expansion of the protocol. The protocol could be employed for processing other types of trauma. Additionally, there is a need for more art therapists who are concurrently trained in sensorimotor psychotherapy.

This qualitative case study examined art therapy services offered by Loyola Marymount University's Helen B. Landgarten Art Therapy Clinic to university students and staff amidst the transition back to in-person services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of interventions and clinical themes that emerged as a result of the services offered to members of the university as they transitioned back to in-person services. Two focus groups were held to gather data from participants and facilitators of the workshops. The analysis of this data led researchers to find that the art therapy services resulted in decreased stress and created a sense of community support amongst both participants and facilitators. In addition, the researchers found other emergent clinical themes that were illuminated in the data collected from both focus groups. The findings from this study are supported by literature that aligns with the outcomes from the workshops: being effective in managing stress and building community support.

The experimenter's purpose was to assess whether short-term yoga training could improve overall well-being in female college students. There were two parts to the study. The first part included 98 participants, who took three questionnaires measuring anxiety, depression, and subjective well-being. The measures used were, the State Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and an original Subjective Sense of Well-being questionnaire. The experimenter wanted to see if there was a difference in perceived anxiety, depression, and health-related quality of life between males and females. There were 53 females and 45 males. In an Independent ttest, the results indicated that females differed significantly in anxiety, depression, and health-related quality of life measures. When compared to males, the females had more negative perceptions of their anxiety, depression, and well-being. In the second part of the study, eight participants, who were students at University of Central Florida, volunteered to attend eight yoga sessions, each an hour long. Since four of the participants attended only one session, the experimenter compared these (Low Attendance) to the four participants who attended all of the yoga sessions (High Attendance) over a period of four weeks (2 yoga sessions per week). Results were analyzed using a 2X2 mixed ANOV A. Results failed to demonstrate significant main effects for Pre-Post for any of the 3 dependent measures. Main effects for participation (High vs. Low) were not significant for anxiety or depression, but did reveal significantly higher subjective well-being for the High participants group. No interaction effects were significant.

As medical students progress through their training, they experience a decline in empathy, mental health struggles, and difficulties in learning. The prevalence of depression, anxiety and burnout among medical students, along with the decline of empathy in medical students can impact their professionalism and quality of patient care as future physicians. This literature review shows how the integration of graphic medicine in provider training can address these problems, giving a new perspective on what medical education should look like. Thirty-three articles were found and reviewed by searching through the databases Academic Search Premier, PubMed, and Google Scholar, along with the website graphicmedicine.org. The findings revealed that graphic medicine promotes empathy by highlighting the patients’ experience of their illnesses through personal stories. Graphic medicine can also aid learning by increasing engagement and offering alternative ways to learn. Additionally, multiple studies showed how creating graphic memoirs can be a form of therapy for medical students, allowing them to express their difficult experiences in medicine through a creative outlet.

Patients with cancer transitioning from completing their final cancer treatments to survivorship are particularly at risk for experiencing psychosocial stress, and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has referred to these cancer patients as “lost in transition.” In this study, patients with cancer in their transition phase after completing their final radiation treatment were defined as cancer survivors (CS). CS must deal with chronic stressors such as the fear of cancer recurrence as well as the resumption of their roles in their family and work lives. Chronic stress impacts the nervous system and increases secretion of stress hormones (e.g. cortisol) from the endocrine system, which in turn influences immune function. These systems are particularly relevant for CS since research has shown associations between abnormal cortisol patterns and increased mortality in breast CS and immune dysfunction in CS can increase susceptibility to infections. The theoretical framework of psychoneuroimmunology (PNI), which describes the interactions between the psychosocial, neuroendocrine and immune systems, guided the choice of outcomes for this study. The IOM has identified a lack of theory-driven interventions for managing psychosocial stress in CS. We reviewed the literature and identified two major types of PNI-based psychosocial interventions for cancer patients, namely cognitive-behavioral and complementary medical. One promising brief and inexpensive psychosocial intervention was expressive writing, which involved participants disclosing their deepest thoughts and feelings regarding their cancer in four 20-30 minute writing sessions over four consecutive days. We conducted a two-arm randomized controlled trial to determine the efficacy of an online expressive writing (EW) intervention delivered to CS who were 2-12 months post-radiation treatment completion. The results of this study revealed that EW was effective in regulating stress in our sample of CS over a period of six weeks as measured by lowered salivary cortisol levels and lowered self-reported fear of cancer recurrence. Online EW is a low-cost and convenient approach for delivering stress-management interventions for CS during survivorship. However, coordinated efforts are needed from health researchers, professionals and policy makers to define standardized approaches for testing psychosocial interventions and using PNI biomarkers to help develop evidence-based psychosocial cancer-care for CS during survivorship.

Qualitative phenomenological methodology was used to explore the lived experiences of African American women diagnosed with breast cancer. Phenomenology focuses on the meaning of the lived experiences of individuals experiencing a concept, structure, or phenomenon (Creswell, 2007). The purpose of phenomenological research is to identify phenomena as perceived by the individual. Utilizing an existential perspective, the focus of this study was to uncover meaning which defined the essence of the participants’ experiences. Seven African American women diagnosed with breast cancer participated in this study. The participants’ ages ranged from 33-63 years. A semi-structured interview process with open-ended questions was utilized to gain an understanding of the participants’ personal experiences related to the phenomenon. Data was analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, 2004) to ascertain emergent themes and to interpret the meaning of the participants’ breast cancer experience. Seven common themes emerged from the cases. Those themes included: spirituality; support systems; self-care; resiliency; existential meaning; education; and perception of counseling. These seven themes will help to provide insight into how counselors can help to facilitate emotional wellness within this particular population. Implications and recommendations for counselor educators, counselors, and counselors-in-training with this population are also addressed.

This study examined the lived experiences of adult children of mid-later life parental divorce. It was designed and conducted to address the gap in the current literature regarding this phenomenon. The experiences of 5 Adult Children of Divorce (ACD) ages 25 to 45, who experienced mid-later life parental divorce, were examined using in-depth semi-structured interviews. The researcher employed an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) of which the findings illustrated various outcomes for adults experiencing their parents’ mid-later life divorce. The results of this study showed that parents’ waiting until the children are “grown” does not mitigate potentially detrimental outcomes for these “adult children.” Some of these concerns shared by the ACDs interviewed included: dealing with the shock of the divorce, the acrimonious parental relationships post divorce, feeling the need to choose sides, effects of the divorce on the ACDs' children, among others. Future studies and implications for the field of marriage and family therapy were offered.

There is limited data on the quality of life of individuals who exercise in a group versus individuals who exercise alone. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a difference in the quality life between adults who attend an exercise class and those who exercise alone. Using the WHOQOL-BREF, 27 adult females were surveyed in Central California at two Church of Latter Day Saints locations. Ten females were enrolled in a group exercise class while 17 were individual exercisers. The data was analyzed using a t-test for independent samples to determine if there is a significant difference in scores. There was not a significant difference in overall quality of life, environmental domain, and physical domain, but there was a significant difference in the psychological and social domains. Further research is recommended and benefits are detailed.