Graduation Date
2025
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Project Type
Mixed Methods
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy
Program
Art Therapy
Program Director
Richard Carolan, PhD, ATR-BC
First Reader
Jennifer Clay, PhD, ATR-BC, LMFT
Second Reader
Cheryl Feldman, PHD, LMFT, ATR-BC
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that affects the entire family unit. Due to deinstitutionalization, families are often left to care for their loved ones the best they can without the structured support offered by long-term hospitalization. As parents age and become less able to care for adult children with schizophrenia, the task of ongoing support in various capacities falls to the next of kin, most often, to siblings. There is limited research on the experiences of siblings of adults with schizophrenia, and to date, there have not been any published studies with this population in the field of art therapy. This research looks at a small group of individuals who have a sibling with schizophrenia, and employs a combination of psycho education, narrative therapy, and art therapy, informed by the expressive therapies continuum, to tell a story about their relationship. The experimental design seeks to answer the questions: can a combination of psycho-education and narrative art therapy directives strengthen sibling relationships when one sibling has a diagnosis on the schizophrenia spectrum? Does the quality of the sibling relationship impact willingness to provide instrumental and emotional support to a sibling with schizophrenia? Is art therapy an effective tool for relieving caregiver related stress?
IRB Number
11229