Date of Award
Spring 5-17-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Expressive Therapies
Major
Expressive Therapies
First Advisor
Raquel Stephenson
Abstract
Mental health practitioners, or therapists, are complex beings who carry not only the trauma from their life experiences but are also presented with the undertaking of trauma stewardship for clients. This study explores how participating with clients fosters self-expression and promotes emotional regulation, while enhancing social interactions within myself. Combining the terminology from the Internal Family Systems (IFS) Model and the concept of collaged card creation from SoulCollage to create character cards, made with clients, that represent the various parts of the personality. This qualitative study on the intervention found that it provided a safe space for both clients and therapists, and misidentifying the Parts of the Self was a prevalent issue.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Evans, Tracy J., "The Authentic Self in Mental Health Practitioners Through the Use of Internal Family Systems and Character Card Creation in Art-Based Therapy" (2025). Expressive Therapies Theses. 46.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_therapies_theses/46
