As rodas de artesanato são uma modalidade de atendimento psicológico baseada nos grupos vivenciais de orientação junguiana. Os aviamentos e outros materiais úteis para a prática artesanal são compreendidos como recursos expressivos, maleáveis e convidativos à imersão num clima psicológico de relaxamento, ludicidade, acolhimento, apaziguamento e partilha, propício à imaginação e transformação criativa. A interação das participantes com os recursos expressivos, com o grupo, com o contexto institucional e com sua realidade de vida mais ampla é compreendida como simbólica, comunicando algo sobre o self grupal. O estabelecimento de um enquadre terapêutico vivencial prioriza mais a convivência do grupo com os símbolos expressos, do que a interpretação verbal e a racionalização. Deste modo, as queixas, experiências, conflitos ou fantasias devem sobrepairar ao centro da roda, sendo respeitosa e democraticamente autenticadas como reais e relevantes. Nesta pesquisa, as rodas de artesanato foram formadas por mulheres que acompanhavam crianças e jovens com deficiências físicas em atividades numa escola de educação especial, inserida num centro de reabilitação física. Devido às especifidades do contexto, suas rotinas implicavam em aguardar o período de aulas no pátio, muitas vezes ociosas ou envoltas em conflitos interpessoais. Além disso, devido às limitações no desenvolvimento neuropsicomotor dos filhos, à sobrecarga de tarefas e ao excesso de recomendações terapêuticas e pedagógicas, muitas viviam a inflação da identificação do ego com a persona em sua faceta de cuidadora. As rodas de artesanato foram propostas a fim de ampliar o enfoque terapêutico interdisciplinar ainda influenciado pela perspectiva médico-científica, revelando-se uma proposta maleável e sensível à identificação das necessidades da população atendida e aberta para a constelação de símbolos naturalmente indicativos de caminhos terapêuticos. Entre março de 2009 e março de 2010, foram realizados encontros semanais de uma hora e meia de duração, sendo o conteúdo transcrito para posterior confecção de narrativas. A discussão dos resultados visou à interlocução com a comunidade científica entremeando autores junguianos e estudos publicados em áreas afins como historiografia, ciências sociais, metodologia da pesquisa qualitativa participante e práticas em reabilitação. Os processos vivenciados nas rodas de artesanto indicaram que o respeito às preferências, escolhas, modos e tempos de agir, incentivam a busca por maior autonomia e a integração de potencialidades e habilidades negligenciadas, processos tão preconizados na prática clínica junguiana como no âmbito da reabilitação física / Arts and crafts activities may be used as a modality of psychological treatment based on Jungian-oriented experiential groups. Ornaments and other materials used in arts and crafts are understood as malleable and inviting expression resources for ones immersion in a psychological environment of relaxation, playfulness, acceptance, peacefulness and sharing, which is extremely valid for imagination and creative transformation purposes. Participants interaction with the expression resources, with the group, the institutional context and with their own reality, from a broader perspective, is understood as a symbol which provides indications on the group self. The establishment of an experiential therapeutic setting is more focused on the groups experience with the expressed symbols than on verbal interpretation and rationalization. The arts and crafts activities, developed in groups of people organized in a circle, will be hence permeated by each individuals complaints, experiences, conflicts or fantasies, which shall be respectfully and democratically authenticated as real and significant. In this study, these arts and crafts circles were comprised of women who accompany physically disabled children and teenagers during their activities at a special education school located in a physical rehabilitation center. Given the specificities inherent to the context, their routines implied waiting for the youngsters during class time, which was often spent either idly or amidst interpersonal conflicts. In addition, because of the limitations to their childrens neurological and psychomotor development, the overwhelming number of tasks and excessive therapeutic and pedagogical recommendations, many of these women experienced the inflation of the ego identification with the persona, as a caregiver. The arts and crafts circles were suggested in order to broaden the interdisciplinary therapeutic focus, still influenced by the medical-scientific perspective, and actually proved to be a flexible proposal which is open to the identification of the needs of the treated individuals and to the wide array of symbols that naturally indicate therapeutic pathways. Weekly sessions were held during one hour and a half from March 2009 to March 2010; the content thereof was transcribed for the further preparation of narratives. The discussion of the results was aimed at providing for the interlocution with the scientific community, using Jungian authors and studies published in correlated fields of knowledge such as historiography, social sciences, participant, qualitative result methodology and rehabilitation practices. The processes experiences in arts and crafts circles revealed that the respectful treatment given to preferences, choices, methods and time of action encourage the pursuit for greater autonomy and integration of potentialities and neglected skills, processes largely implemented both in Jungian clinical praxis and in physical rehabilitation

This research project is located in the context of Aboriginal health and education, and in particular, emotional and social wellbeing, recognising the critical need for effective mental health services and resilient, well-trained workers in the field of mental health.Mental health is understood to include a broad spectrum of conditions with extreme and chronic mental illness at one end and resilience or wellbeing at the other – the socalled ‘soft end’ of the social health spectrum. While recognising that the lines of demarcation between one category and another are grey, my thesis addresses the problems at the latter end of the spectrum: problems of excessive pain; the grief and despair caused by dispossession, loss of place, family and identity; and the deep frustration, humiliation and anger that results in family violence and child sexual abuse, intergenerational substance abuse, neglect and poor physical health. It is my position that very many Aboriginal people who need to make changes in their lives in order to feel well and functional in the world are not suffering from a Western disease but from the transgenerational consequences of colonisation. In recognition of the notion that Aboriginal wellbeing is everybody’s business, this PhD research project represents my response to these consequences.While popular assumptions are made about the relevance of art to Aboriginal health and many Aboriginal people testify to the fact that their engagement with art (writing, drama, dance, music and visual art etc.) has brought about significant change in their lives, there is no available research in Australia that supports the development of an arts-based approach to learning/therapy/wellbeing that has, for reasons that are well understood, the potential to suit the needs of Aboriginal people.Addressing this gap in the research, I inquire into an experiential, arts-based, emotionfocused, narrative-orientated, constructivist approach to healing in the tradition of humanistic psychology, which emphasises the importance of an emancipatory, clientcentred processes that facilitates the development of awareness, creativity, clarity of expression and critical reflection. The position I take breaks with the traditions of the biomedical model and conforms to the now widely held view that psychology and counselling treatment programs for Aboriginal people must address the whole person, emotionally/spiritually, mentally and physically, responding to the individual in his/her sociopolitical and historical context. Expressive arts therapy, the multi-modal approach to healing explored in this thesis, lays claim to these intentions.In this project, I locate myself as the researcher/practitioner whose life-stance is expressive of the phenomenological principles of experiential learning and reflexivity. Accordingly, I have drawn on a number of closely related research methodologies all of which, I argue, are consistent with phenomenology and Indigenous, participatory research practices: critical action research, art-based research and phenomenological research methodology. These modes of inquiry are linked through principles that value subjective experience and allow for a diversity of ways of knowing. Embracing an expanded field of ways of knowing respectful of Indigenous epistemologies is at the core of the arts-based therapy program under investigation.Expressive arts therapy, in this research project, was delivered in two modes: one was a series of nine full-day group workshops conducted over an academic semester; the other was a series of ten intensive individual therapy sessions with three participants conducted over the period of a year. The participants or ‘co-researchers’ were drawn from the College of Indigenous Australian Peoples and the Education and Art departments at Southern Cross University. Three mature-age Aboriginal students who had engaged in the Masters of Indigenous Studies program emerged as the core participants who, having contributed to the development stage of the project, followed the program through the group workshops to the final interviews at the end of the series of individual sessions.This thesis is, in part, an illustrated narrative of the in-depth work the core participants did with me in both the context of the group and individually. It invites the active participation of the reader. Insights into the nature and impact of expressive arts therapy are offered through a focus on the lived experience of the three core participants, their reflections on the program and their observations of the changes they made in their lives. An important parameter that I set, determined that the ultimate voices of authority were to be those of the participants. I was not at liberty to look for meanings that went beyond their experience and understanding.I argue that the experiences of expressive arts therapy re-presented in this thesis demonstrate that expressive arts therapy is in principle consistent with current approaches to Aboriginal psychology and counselling currently recommended by Aboriginal professionals and spokespeople in the field of Aboriginal health. Furthermore this body of work demonstrates that expressive arts therapy is a culturally appropriate intervention grounded in a creative process that has the potential to facilitate healing and change in the lives of people suffering from the long-term consequences of damaging childhoods.It is my hope that this approach to healing will be further researched and developed and, with culturally appropriate terms of reference, adapted to a wide variety of existing community services – rightfully, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners working for the wellbeing of their own people.

This research project is located in the context of Aboriginal health and education, and in particular, emotional and social wellbeing, recognising the critical need for effective mental health services and resilient, well-trained workers in the field of mental health.Mental health is understood to include a broad spectrum of conditions with extreme and chronic mental illness at one end and resilience or wellbeing at the other – the socalled ‘soft end’ of the social health spectrum. While recognising that the lines of demarcation between one category and another are grey, my thesis addresses the problems at the latter end of the spectrum: problems of excessive pain; the grief and despair caused by dispossession, loss of place, family and identity; and the deep frustration, humiliation and anger that results in family violence and child sexual abuse, intergenerational substance abuse, neglect and poor physical health. It is my position that very many Aboriginal people who need to make changes in their lives in order to feel well and functional in the world are not suffering from a Western disease but from the transgenerational consequences of colonisation. In recognition of the notion that Aboriginal wellbeing is everybody’s business, this PhD research project represents my response to these consequences.While popular assumptions are made about the relevance of art to Aboriginal health and many Aboriginal people testify to the fact that their engagement with art (writing, drama, dance, music and visual art etc.) has brought about significant change in their lives, there is no available research in Australia that supports the development of an arts-based approach to learning/therapy/wellbeing that has, for reasons that are well understood, the potential to suit the needs of Aboriginal people.Addressing this gap in the research, I inquire into an experiential, arts-based, emotionfocused, narrative-orientated, constructivist approach to healing in the tradition of humanistic psychology, which emphasises the importance of an emancipatory, clientcentred processes that facilitates the development of awareness, creativity, clarity of expression and critical reflection. The position I take breaks with the traditions of the biomedical model and conforms to the now widely held view that psychology and counselling treatment programs for Aboriginal people must address the whole person, emotionally/spiritually, mentally and physically, responding to the individual in his/her sociopolitical and historical context. Expressive arts therapy, the multi-modal approach to healing explored in this thesis, lays claim to these intentions.In this project, I locate myself as the researcher/practitioner whose life-stance is expressive of the phenomenological principles of experiential learning and reflexivity. Accordingly, I have drawn on a number of closely related research methodologies all of which, I argue, are consistent with phenomenology and Indigenous, participatory research practices: critical action research, art-based research and phenomenological research methodology. These modes of inquiry are linked through principles that value subjective experience and allow for a diversity of ways of knowing. Embracing an expanded field of ways of knowing respectful of Indigenous epistemologies is at the core of the arts-based therapy program under investigation.Expressive arts therapy, in this research project, was delivered in two modes: one was a series of nine full-day group workshops conducted over an academic semester; the other was a series of ten intensive individual therapy sessions with three participants conducted over the period of a year. The participants or ‘co-researchers’ were drawn from the College of Indigenous Australian Peoples and the Education and Art departments at Southern Cross University. Three mature-age Aboriginal students who had engaged in the Masters of Indigenous Studies program emerged as the core participants who, having contributed to the development stage of the project, followed the program through the group workshops to the final interviews at the end of the series of individual sessions.This thesis is, in part, an illustrated narrative of the in-depth work the core participants did with me in both the context of the group and individually. It invites the active participation of the reader. Insights into the nature and impact of expressive arts therapy are offered through a focus on the lived experience of the three core participants, their reflections on the program and their observations of the changes they made in their lives. An important parameter that I set, determined that the ultimate voices of authority were to be those of the participants. I was not at liberty to look for meanings that went beyond their experience and understanding.I argue that the experiences of expressive arts therapy re-presented in this thesis demonstrate that expressive arts therapy is in principle consistent with current approaches to Aboriginal psychology and counselling currently recommended by Aboriginal professionals and spokespeople in the field of Aboriginal health. Furthermore this body of work demonstrates that expressive arts therapy is a culturally appropriate intervention grounded in a creative process that has the potential to facilitate healing and change in the lives of people suffering from the long-term consequences of damaging childhoods.It is my hope that this approach to healing will be further researched and developed and, with culturally appropriate terms of reference, adapted to a wide variety of existing community services – rightfully, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners working for the wellbeing of their own people.

In the United States, approximately 7.7 million individuals are affected by posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at any given time. Though women are likelier to develop PTSD symptoms, men are exposed to more traumatic events in their lifetimes. Empirically- supported PTSD options exist, however clinical application of these treatments may not consistently culminate in beneficial outcomes. Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) has demonstrated positive treatment outcomes for a variety of mental and physical disorders. Nonetheless, there is a lack of robust research related to the treatment experiences of men who have participated in DMT for trauma-related symptoms. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore this research gap. Focusing on adult male trauma survivors, the research question addressed the lived experiences of participating in DMT and the meaning ascribed to this involvement. Eleven adult male participants were interviewed via audio-recorded telephone interviews consisting of semistructured interview questions. Through a constructivist lens, the modified Van Kaam method of analysis was implemented revealing 4 emergent themes. The findings of this explorative study suggested positive PTSD symptom outcomes for all 11 participants including improvements in social belongingness, social acceptance, quality of life, and a reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression. Accordingly, the findings of this research may help to advance social change through broadening clinical awareness of the beneficial neurogenic treatment advantages of somatic and creative interventions such as DMT for PTSD. Moreover, these findings may augment existing research related to movement- based treatment options for individuals coping with PTSD and trauma-related symptoms.

Stress has become an increasing issue in modern society, affecting the mental and physical health of individuals across all age groups and demographics. Therefore, innovative solutions that extend beyond traditional methods are required to reduce stress. Our study investigates the effects of immersive virtual reality (VR) environments on stress reduction by comparing them to non-immersive environments while integrating creative arts therapy and breathing exercises. The study uses a quasi-experimental design to observe two participant groups: one experiencing a VR-based intervention and the other a non-immersive control environment (Desktop). Each group data collection included pre- and post-exposure surveys and heartbeat variability measurements to assess stress levels subjectively and objectively. The results suggest that both environments can mitigate stress. However, the non-immersive environment has more statistically significant results in reducing stress compared to the immersive environments. This may be attributed to the overstimulation of immersive environments, users' readiness for the immersive technology, and the user experience offered by the VR headset employed in the study. Overall, this research highlights the potential of both immersive and non-immersive environments as modern tools for enhancing stress reduction. Future research could explore long-term effects and a more diverse demographic to better understand immersive environments' impact on stress reduction and management.

Abstract Childhood development has always been a major topic when studying psychology and biology. This makes sense because the brain develops from the time a child is conceived to the time that child has reached around the age of twenty-seven. Doctors, psychologists, and sociologists look at numerous things when studying childhood development. However, how common is it for researchers to study how the fine and performing arts affect childhood development? Sociologists tend to be extremely open and mindful of all aspects of things such as culture, sexuality, religion, and even age. By taking a sociological standpoint when studying the arts and studying childhood development, society is able to make connections between the two that leads to better understanding of a child's development socially, mentally, and academically.

No description available.