Date of Award
Fall 9-15-2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
MA - Master of Arts
Department
Expressive Therapies
Advisor
Dr. Tamar Hadar, MT-BC
Abstract
According to the APA’s Presidential Task Force on Immigration (2012), the immigrant population within the US increases every year. Immigration to a new country increases risk factors for young immigrants, resulting in a negative impact on their mental health. It has been shown in the literature that arts-based approaches can be extremely helpful in the treatment of mental health issues brought on by the stressors of immigration and when people are dealing with a sense of loss towards their country of origin. For first generation immigrants, coming to the US during their adolescence, as young adults, means that they are still developing a sense of identity. In that case, the change in environment is shown to potentially have a negative effect not only on the individual’s mental health but also on their sense of identity. In my thesis I argue that participating in expressive arts-based groups may be helpful in cultivating resilience, creating a supportive community, and in providing a container for immigrants’ experiences, particularly for first generation immigrants as they develop their identities and navigate the different aspects that help to shape their identities.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
De Castro, Jessika, "Exploring Identity Development Through the Expressive Arts among Immigrant Youth, A Literature Review" (2021). Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses. 518.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_theses/518
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The author owns the copyright to this work.
