Date of Award

Spring 5-5-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MA - Master of Arts

Department

Expressive Therapies

Advisor

Raquel Stephenson

Abstract

Existing literature shows that mindfulness is a modality that promotes human mental wellbeing, as is the use of creative forms of expression such as art and music. There is some emerging evidence that these two modalities are particularly useful when used in conjunction with one another. Utilizing such methods has been found to have notable results in the context of clinical mental health counseling. This kind of research, while promising, remains to be relatively new and there is a significant need for more data to be collected on this topic. To further explore the use of these modalities in clinical settings, I have designed an expressive arts therapy group for adults with severe mental health diagnoses such as anxiety and depression, titled “Mindfulness, Music & Art”. We use data collected throughout six separate expressive arts therapy groups throughout two different short-term units in a psychiatric hospital setting. The findings of this study reveal evidence to suggest that mindfulness and creativity is a helpful tool within the context of psychotherapy. This is in line with what research has suggested over the last several decades. These methods remain to be considered non-traditional; therefore, a major implication for this study is the idea that persistent exploration of this topic will be essential.

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

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