Healing Collective Generational Trauma and Building Resilience Through Art Therapy

Author

Ruzanna CarterFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-21-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MA - Master of Arts

Department

Expressive Therapies

Advisor

Sarah Hamil

Abstract

Current research is limited in the transmission of transgenerational trauma. Most

of the research available on the topic was specific to the survivors of the

Holocaust. The focus in this thesis is on the Armenian population and how the

trauma of the wars and the Genocide has transmitted to future generations and

continues to impact the population today. The literature reviewed for this topic

explored how trauma transcends these generations but also how the resilience

transcends. My goal was to help build resilience through the artmaking

process more in the style of Jungian art therapy in a semi-open studio structure.

The artmaking and the response art served as a container in expressing the

heaviness of the transgenerational trauma and became a catalyst for the reflection

on the transmission of resilience. Specific to the Armenian culture, the Armenian

population does not tend to seek therapy or talk about their feelings, so in this

process the artmaking aided in expressing the trauma with a creative outlet

through the exploration of various art materials.

Creative Commons License

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

Recommended Citation

Carter, Ruzanna, "Healing Collective Generational Trauma and Building Resilience Through Art Therapy" (2022). Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses. 589.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_theses/589