Date of Award

Fall 5-18-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MA - Master of Arts

Department

Expressive Therapies

Advisor

Dr. Wendy Allen

Abstract

Asian and new immigrant adolescents often encounter difficulty transitioning to a new culture and environment foreign to their previous understandings. The clash between individualism and collectivism can impact their ability to adjust into the host culture, leading to limited coping skills when faced with acculturation difficulties. This capstone thesis utilized the integration of expressive arts therapy as part of a curriculum designed to help Asian immigrant adolescents build inner resilience and self-esteem to cope with immigration. Through further research on immigration, collectivism, individualism, creative expression, improvisational performance, art-based interventions, and expressive arts therapy, a curriculum-based approach was implemented in the Chinese Immigrant Student Leadership (ChISL) group revolving around the themes of identity, leadership, immigration, and family. The research indicates that the curriculum may contribute to the creation of a safe, trusting, and nonjudgmental space for Asian immigrant adolescents to cultivate self-confidence and resilience through the exploration of multiple art modalities. The utilization of the body to express self through multiple avenues for identity exploration, discovery, integration, and understanding might have supported Asian immigrant adolescents to better process their immigration experience and express their authentic self through native and non-native languages.

Creative Commons License

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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