Date of Award
Spring 5-16-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Expressive Therapies
Major
Expressive Therapies
First Advisor
Meg Chang
Abstract
This thesis advocates for cooking as a multimodal expressive arts intervention through the lens of the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) and neuroplasticity. It argues that culinary practice engages all levels of the ETC simultaneously, from embodied, kinesthetic experience to emotional and relational processing, cognitive meaning-making, and creative integration. Drawing on literature in somatic processing, emotion and memory, neuroscience, and creative arts therapy, cooking is conceptualized as an embodied practice that supports psychological and neurological integration. Its repetition and emotional salience are considered in relation to neuroplasticity, suggesting potential for fostering more adaptive ways of relating to nourishment and to oneself. Original culinary directives aligned with each ETC level are presented as practical applications of this theory. This work contributes to expressive arts therapy by positioning culinary practice as a legitimate expressive therapy modality and highlighting the potential of everyday, accessible practices as unexpected sites of therapeutic transformation.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Benedict, Nell J., "Stirring the Senses: A Culinary Model of Neuroplastic Healing in Expressive Arts Therapy" (2025). Expressive Therapies Theses. 101.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_therapies_theses/101
