Towards Healing Ambiguous Grief with Nature-Based Expressive Arts Therapy, Embodiment, and Mindfulness: A Literature Review

Author

Emily Piper, Lesley UniversityFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-18-2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MA - Master of Arts

Department

Expressive Therapies

Advisor

Vivien Marcow Speiser

Abstract

There is an emerging trend of nature-based expressive arts therapy with a developing body of research. The current literature indicates that there are numerous nature-based approaches and that they can be effectively applied to many populations. Some of the benefits of nature-based therapy are shifts in physiology such as lowered blood pressure, heart rate, and decrease in stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms. The approaches of nature-based therapeutic work include mindfulness and meditation, animal-assisted therapies, farm and work-based therapies, horticulture therapy, and nature-based expressive arts therapy. There are many effective applications of these frameworks that have been studied and some that have not been explored yet. There is a small but growing body of research in nature-based expressive arts therapy approaches for dealing with grief and loss. This literature review suggests that nature-based therapies might be effective for healing ambiguous loss. This thesis will explore some of the current research on nature-based expressive arts therapy, research on ambiguous grief and some suggested areas for exploration of nature-based interventions for grief and loss.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Piper, Emily, "Towards Healing Ambiguous Grief with Nature-Based Expressive Arts Therapy, Embodiment, and Mindfulness: A Literature Review" (2019). Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses. 166.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_theses/166