A two week self-study was conducted to explore the use of self-care and its impact on well-being on the life of an art therapy graduate student. This study examined self-care through the use of weekly exercise, yoga and art as well as looking at the Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle Notes that focused on five areas of well-being (Coping Self, Creative Self, Social Self, Essential Self, and Physical Self) which was documented bi-weekly. The literature review covers self-care, well-being and identifying barriers, the rationale for investing in self-care, and selfcare activities: exercise, yoga and art. Further implications of the use of self-care activities such as exercise, yoga and reflective art making were reviewed for clinical application in the field of art therapy, both for the client and art therapist. This research process allowed for an in depth exploration of the self, it furthered our knowledge regarding the efficacy of self-care and developed a deeper sense of self/self-awareness which benefitted our well-being personally and professionally.

This qualitative research explored the impact that art therapy and attachment focused treatment may have on a child or adolescent with complex trauma. Literature was reviewed to explore complex trauma in children and adolescents, as well as explore treatment models that include but are not exclusive to art therapy and attachment focused treatment. The current study utilized interviews, as subjects were invited to engage in the art process and discussion with the intent to discover new, in-depth meaning about treating complex trauma in children in adolescents. Data collected from interviews revealed gaps in the mental health system and how art therapy assisted in providing a bridge for the clients to improve their ability to navigate a complex system. Art therapy was found to assist in forming secure attachment for the client, a primary function in the treatment process. Findings also suggested that art therapy provided clients with tools for communication to explore and express their external and internal experiences in a safe environment. Findings further demonstrated the importance of establishing a therapeutic relationship with children and adolescents with complex trauma as essential for maintenance of progress in treatment.

The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes and beliefs of art therapists towards Evidence-Based Practices (EBP). EBP is a rising trend in healthcare that refers to the process of using empirically validated research to make clinical decisions that best meet the needs of each client (Patterson, Miller, Carnes & Wilson, 2004).The investigators used a mixed methods approach to the research topic. Part A consists of a survey distributed to graduates of the Department of Marital and Family Therapy (MFT) at Loyola Marymount University (LMU). In addition to answering questions, survey participants were asked to create an art response depicting their perspective on the relationship between art therapy and EBP. In the second phase (Part B), the researchers used an arts-based methodology to further explore the findings from Part A. Part B involved the creation of key idea cards pulled from the literature review and the findings, individual art responses by each investigator, and verbal and written analyses of the content and process. The idea that art therapists are already integrating EBP and art therapy in their practices emerged as the major finding of the research. This realization that clinicians are already at the intersection of EBP and art therapy was a contrast to the cautious divided attitudes that were discovered in the literature review. Further research could not only strengthen the evidence base of art therapy, but also illuminate how exactly therapists have managed to bridge the gap between EBP and art therapy.

Art therapy and narrative therapy techniques are both used separately in treating sexual abuse, however they are not often used together. This heuristic study explores the experience of a wounded healer when using art within a narrative therapy process, specifically storytelling, to support healing from multigenerational incestuous abuse. This researcher used a science fiction story she is currently writing, to stimulate 8 reflections on the parallels in that story and in her personal trauma narrative, and then made adjoining art pieces about the reflections. The data was analyzed to find themes, such as protection, anger and fear. The art helped support the story by documenting the journey of wound healing. Both the art and text informed the creative synthesis, which exemplified this researcher’s process of forming her identity as a wounded healer. The parallels found in the science fiction story helped reveal and enlighten this researcher’s own trauma narrative and encourage self actualization. This study supports the use of art and storytelling with survivors of multi-generational incestuous abuse.

As the state of the world continues to evolve through means of social justice and technology, the discussion of cultural humility as the evolution of cultural competence is a growing topic in the field of mental health and the art therapy community. The following mixed- method research explores the impact of art materials, group processes, and creative practices in the development of cultural humility. Six graduate students from the Marital and Family Art Therapy Program at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) designed the following collaborative ethnography. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data to answer the question: How can group art-based practices (e.g., materials, group processes) develop cultural humility among art therapists? The data collected include pre and post-survey statistics in addition to art responses and dialogue reflection. The data revealed that art-based group processes and the intentional choice of material may facilitate the growth surrounding the four principles of cultural humility. Critical self-reflection was achieved through a deep exploration of individual experiences surrounding socioeconomic status, race, colonialism, gender, family, and spirituality. Participants were able to readdress the power imbalance by taking on the role of participant and facilitator taking into consideration how information and materials are both presented and received. Through group art-making, sharing, and discussing systemic changes, participants developed partnerships with communities and maintained institutional accountability. In order to build upon our findings, we propose future research on group-based art practices with mental health professionals and trainees that focus on the development of cultural humility in different social and environmental contexts.

This research is a qualitative art-based study exploring trauma markers found in the artwork of serial killers through the participation of licensed art therapists trained in the identification and treatment of trauma. The literature review covers a broad range of variables that influence the development of mass murderers, and how art therapy may be useful in working with serial killer populations. The study offers a unique, non-verbal exploration of the trauma experienced by serial killers through the art therapy lens. The three participants provided invaluable data through their responses to a questionnaire and creation of response art that demonstrates evidence of complex trauma, military trauma and traumatic brain injury; all of which were supported by previous research found in the literature. Themes identified through the analysis of the data included: communication, representation, chaos and violence, life and death, and illusion of power. This study demonstrates the importance of understanding serial killers’ psychological makeup, the traumas and other experiences that have profound impacts on them, and the contexts in which they develop. This may lead to a better understanding in how to look for the warning signs in their development and artwork; allowing for the potential to prevent such violent behavior with early intervention.

This research is a qualitative exploration of the impacts of Loyola Marymount’s Summer Arts Workshop from the perspective of the youth participant’s teachers and caregivers. The intention of this research was to compare findings in the literature of similar youth arts programs to LMU’s through examination of a previously unexplored perspective. Data was collected through an arts based focus group as well as paper-pencil questionnaires including both Likert scale and open ended questions. Themes emerged through thorough analysis of all data collected and presented both themes of specific program impacts and opportunities for future program improvements. The findings of this research further illuminate established assertions found within the literature of prosocial impacts produced within youth participation in community arts programs. Additionally upon expansion of emergent themes, the researcher established the findings of LMU’s Summer Arts Program to positively impact adolescents and identity development, generate gains in social capital and produce positive community impacts through art making.

This research explores the overlap between community-based art therapy and school-based art therapy through the surveyed experiences of art therapists working in school settings, and informed by community-based art therapy components and characteristics identified in A Model for Art Therapists in Community Practice by Dylan Ottemiller and Yasmine Awais. A literature review focused on five components and characteristics identified within the community-based art therapy literature, and informed the review of school-based art therapy literature based on the community-based art therapy themes. A qualitative survey approach was utilized through the distribution and data analysis of an electronic survey and findings were enriched by the researcher’s participation in the development and implementation of a brief community-based art therapy program providing an art therapy experience to families receiving services at a domestic violence intervention center. Analysis of the data revealed three major themes and specific areas where school-based practice is facilitating community-based art therapy (CBAT) components and characteristics. The findings discuss which CBAT components and characteristics are and are not being facilitated within school-based practice, and in conclusion the research offers ways school-based art therapy programs may offer opportunities for community-based practice.

Dairy producers play a central role in evaluating and seeking treatment or care for animal pain. The primary aim of this study is to examine dairy producers’ emotional states and professional quality of life and analyze the relationship between these variables and their perception of pain in dairy cattle. Dairy farm owners and managers of 65 southeastern U.S. herds participated in a survey that included demographic information, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, a modified Professional Quality of Life Scale, and 23 items requiring participants to evaluate various painful conditions in cattle.

Mental health in the United States is a rising concern. More concerning still is the growing number of children and adolescents with serious depression and other mental health disorders (SAMHSA, 2009; Merikangas et al., 2010). Despite a growing list of proven and best-practice prevention and intervention initiatives that have been made available to children and adolescents, 80 percent of children and adolescents with a diagnosable mental health disorder will not receive services for their associated mental health concerns (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999; Cummings 2014). Children and adolescents with mental health disorders are faced with an ever-increasing list of barriers that prevent them from accessing much needed mental health services. At a particular disadvantage are Black adolescents, who are even less likely than their non-minority peers to have access to or receive services for mental health concerns (Lindsey, Chambers, Pohle, Beall, & Lucksted, 2013). As result, this Q Methodology study was designed to understand the perspectives Black adolescents hold toward access to mental health care. The researcher first developed a naturalistic, 36-item Q Sample from participant responses to open-ended prompts designed to elicit distinct thoughts around perceptions of access to mental health care, including supports and barriers. Thirty Black adolescents sorted this 36-item Q sample in a forced distribution resembling a semi-normal curve ranging from “least like my perspective” (-4) to “most like my perspective” (+4) and also wrote explanations for why they sorted they ways they did. Subsequently, these 30 Q sorts were correlated and these correlations were factor analyzed, rotated, and extracted producing five factors. Based on an analysis of these five factors, or shared perspectives, they were named: Building My Own Barriers (Factor 1), I Don’t Talk About My Feelings! (Factor 2), I’m Looking For A Shift In My Perspective (Factor 3), Counseling When I Want It; Not Always From A Counselor (Factor 4), and Money Is The Least Of My Problems (Factor 5). These five factors represented distinct and diverse viewpoints toward the access to mental health counseling. A primary implication from this study was that school leaders and community leaders, educators, parents and caregivers, and policy-makers must find ways to decrease the barriers youth experience as they seek and attempt to participate in mental health counseling services, while working also to leverage the power of those things that support access.