As the only Master of Arts in Art Therapy program in Northern California, Dominican University of California offers an intimate on-campus learning environment designed to prepare students for successful careers in art therapy while encouraging the artistic and therapeutic process.
This site brings together a collection of master's theses from the students of the Art Therapy program.
Theses/Capstones from 2004
Assessing the Use of Rawley Silver's Draw-A-Story for Depression Indicators and Peer Victimization in Elementary School Age Children, Trudy Willadson
Enhancing Teacher-Child Relationships Through Art, Elizabeth Recktenwald
Fire All Through Time, Laura Phillips
Healing Anxiety Associated With Sudden Loss Trauma Via a Group Art Therapy Experience, Myriam Martinez
Measuring the Validity of F.E.A.T.S Using the Apple Tree Projective Drawing with Children Diagnosed with ADHA, Alice Locke Chezar
Measuring the Validity of the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale to Assess for Anxiety in Middle School Aged Children, Susan Kleene Barnes
Projective and Self-Report Assessment tools Used to Assess for Eating Disorder Risk Factors in Young Women, Erika I. Hirsch
Self-Concept Through Art Therapy: Using Therapeutic Creative Arts Techniques With Students With Learning Disabilities, Madeline F. Pascua
Story, Symbol, and Metaphor in Art: Using Art Therapy to Facilitate Change in Dominant Client Narratives, Tanya Alexander
The Art and Science of Art Therapy, Emily Heald
The Masks of Mexico: Mexican-American's Relationship With Their Cultural Heritage and Self-Concepts, Tara F. Franklin
Using Art Therapy as a Tool for Rehabilitating Individuals With Prosopagnosia: Two Case Studies, Shauna Goodenough
Using Sandplay in a Creative Arts Therapeutic Intervention Program for Depression in Elementary School Children, Elaine Gaidis Swanson
Vampires and Art: Addiction and Treatment from a Jungian Perspective, Xan B. Walker
Theses/Capstones from 2003
A 10 Week Creative Arts Expression Workshop in a School Based Environment and Its Effect on Self-Esteem in 6th, 7th, and 8th Graders, Shannon M. Asbury
A Grant Proposal Examining Mirroring as an Art Therapy Technique With High Risk Preschoolers in Head Start, Majica Phillips
A Group Art Therapy Initiative to Serve Women with Breast Cancer and Their Children in Mountain View, and Surrounding Santa Clara County Area, Karen R. Sturm
A National Survey of Art Therapists Regarding: How Art Affects the Development of Trust in the Therapeutic Relationship, Jennifer R. Alward
A Thesis Examining Historic Images of Christ as They Reflect Existential Themes of Love, Loss and Hope and Their Implcations Within the Terapeutic Process, Carolyn A. Farrell-Shaw
Combining Art Therapy and Ecopsychology: An Art and Wilderness Experience, Allie Andrus
Defining Self Through Symbol: A Psychological Analysis of the Cinderella Fairy Tale, Colette Fujimoto
Developing Positive Self-Talk Using Symbols in Sandplay, Jennifer Joyce
Huichol Yarn Painting as an Art Therapy Intervention to Promote Insight in Latino Children, Iris Rodriguez-Costello
Increasing Self-Awareness and Positive Feelings Towards Self: The Use of Art with Individuals with Developmental Disabilities, Jennifer Schott
Medical Art Therapy: A Synthesized Literature Review Resource Guide, Daynia J. Flynn
Menopause: A Rite of Passage Creation of a Menopausal Mask: Honoring Women in Midlife, Mary H. Lowe
Preferences and Descriptions of Religious Imagery According to Anxiety Level, Shay Lynn Alderman
Self-Portrait Drawings by Adolescents Diagnosed With Borderline or Narcissistic Personality Disorders, Elizabeth Zimmerman
The Effects of Digital Storytelling on Healing and Closure with World War II Veterans, Deborah A. Vanni
The Old Masters Art Collage With Couples: Increasing Intimacy Through a Six-Session Art Intervention With Couples, Justina Larson
The Option Mandala: A Brief Art Therapy Intervention for Sexually Active Teens, Jacqueline Tabb
Using the FEATS with Brain Tumor Patients, Jennifer Taylor
Theses/Capstones from 2002
A Correlational Study of the Effects of Acculturation and Body Image on the Perceptions of Obesity and Thiness by Latin Women, Rosa M. Morrow
An Art Therapy Program for Women Who are Experienceing Postpartum Depression at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, Brittany Ryan Michaelian
A Preventative Intervention for Children at Risk for Depression Using Learned Optimism and Art Therapy, Anne B. Stockwell
Art Therapy for the First Three Steps of AA's 12-Step Program, Pen-lung Liao
Art Therapy Program for At-Risk Children of Battered Women, Melissa Miel Foster
A Safe Space: An Art therpay Group for Women Survivors of Domestic Violence, Angela Angelone
A School-Based Bereavement Art Therapy Support Group for Grieving Children, Cecilie Christine Rowitz
Conditions in Which the Process of Art is Healing: A Survey, July K. Ugas
Establishing and Nurturing Social Connectedness Through a Threapeutic Art Experience for Children Aged Seven to Ten, Lisa Bartsch
Perceptions of Beauty Among Young Children in a Multicultural Society, Gila Gam
Relationship Between Perception of the Character of God and a Father's Parenting Style Using Christ Images as a Projective Assessment Tool, Heather Dawn Moore
The Relationship Between Art in Schoool Curriculum and Adolescent Depressive Tendencies, Sara A. Post
The Spiral Symbol: Yesterday and Today, Jill L. Waterfield
Use of the Kinetic Family Drawing to Assess for Familial Alcoholism, Sarah Rubin