Date of Award

Spring 5-5-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MAE - Master of Arts in Expressive Therapies

Department

Expressive Therapies

Advisor

Sarah Hamil

Abstract

This research, in the form of a literature review, offers a broad discussion of the factors of identity formation related to the complex negotiations of place-bound intercultural liminality, a phenomenon resultant of developmentally early experiences of multiple relocations and exposure to a multiplicity of competing cultural frames of reference without the establishment of a secure cultural home. Moreover, it serves to propose art therapy as a fitting therapeutic technique for intervention for this population due to the inherent qualities of this form of psychotherapy. This would ideally be as a proactive approach to realizing the benefits of a highly cross-cultural upbringing and therefore hindering the highly correlated development of identity confusion or even experiences of cultural homelessness. It has been argued that art therapy carries the potential to ease the transition between cultures in the event of relocation, and adolescents in particular are extraordinarily apt for self-expression and individuation through art and the creative process due to their developmental task of identity construction. As such, self-exploratory and self-reflective art therapy approaches may positively encourage strong emotional resiliency and coping, and thereby promote the formation of a cohesive bicultural identity as opposed to a confused cultural interstitiality.

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Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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