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 2025
A Happy Medium?: Using Image Generators to Explore Solution-Focused Art Therapy’s Miracle Question, Daniel A. Hernried
Altered Book Making with Siblings of Adults with Schizophrenia: A Mixed Methods Approach, Anna-Marie M. Vargas
Death, End-of-Life Doulas, and Art: Exploring Connections Between Death Competency and Art Making, Jill K. Hoefgen
Identity Formation in Adolescents using Assemblage and Found Objects, Sahar Mozaffar
Mixed Methods Study on The Impact of Coloring Mandalas on Emotional Regulation, Mindfulness, and Attachment Style in Adults, Rachel N. Faas
Parents With Low Mood and Their Child: Exploring the Effects of Group Art Therapy, Allison M. Pierce-Gay
Theses/Capstones from 2024
Art Therapy Assessment and Sense of Safety, Sophie C. Restall
Befriending Your Anxiety Through the Polyvagal Lens by Utilizing Embodied Imagery, Cassandra Lacroix
Chosen Family in LGBTQ+ Community: Creating Feeling of Safety Through Collage in Art Therapy, Zaina Berger
Fantasia on a Theme of Purpose: Using a Music-Guided Scribble Technique to Support Meaning-Making in Older Adult Retiree Musicians, Sophia R. Smith
Mindfulness-based Art Therapy: The Effects of Art Media on Mindfulness and Stress Reduction in College Students, Isabella Sziraczky
My Body as a Journey Accessing Pre-colonial Identity for Healing Intergenerational Transgender Shame, Jennifer Lagman
Online Friendships and the Bird’s Nest Drawing in the Age of the Internet, Ian Wong
Theses/Capstones from 2023
Cultural Identity of And Implications for Later Generational Hispanic and Latino Populations In The United States, Tara Bustamante
Evoking the Art of Nature, Tessa R. Evans Keime
Exploring the Connection between Social Media & Body-Image and the Impact of Art Therapy Interventions on a Woman’s Self-Esteem, Courtney Engelhardt
Memes to Cope and Communicate, Priscilla (Nox) Ngo
Theses/Capstones from 2022
Art Making To Reduce Stress in First-Generation and Second-Generation Hispanic Immigrant Parents, Maria Zepeda
Does Attachment Predict Coping Strategies? An In-Depth Look At Millennials During COVID-19, Clinton Johnson
Doodling as Self-Expression: Building Self-Efficacy in Normally Functioning Adults, Journey Coward
Healing Racial Trauma and Reframing the Miseducation of U.S. America: Altering Exclusionary Textbooks as a Therapeutic Experiential, Kamaria Erin Wells
Illuminating the Increase of Intentional Dating in the COVID-19 Pandemic and its Connection to Relationship Satisfaction through the Lens of Photography., Caitlin Carnegie
Putting the Pieces Back Together: Using a Kintsugi-Influenced Directive to Promote Self-Forgiveness and Resiliency in Young Adults with Shame and Guilt, Marieev Krista Princer
The Therapeutic Benefits of Children’s Literature: Responding Through Making Art and Writing Stories, Janae Dueck
Theses/Capstones from 2021
An Art-Based Heuristic Study: How a Male Student with Asperger’s Syndrome Completed an Art Therapy Master’s Program, Stephen David Robertson
COVID-19: Our Hopes and Dreams, Anna Bazis Christie
Individual versus Sequential: The Potential of Comic Creation in Art Therapy, Christine Phang
Perspectives of a Diasporan: A Heuristic, Arts-Based Inquiry of the Importance of Therapy in Armenia, Anna Nairi Muradyan
Where the Glass Glows: Unpacking the Therapeutic Experiences of Adult Students in a Community-Based Open Glass Studio During a Pandemic, Shelly A. Palmer
Theses/Capstones from 2020
Ambiguous Loss of Dementia: Identity Exploration through Narrative Inquiry and Collage, Kayla Ormandy
Exploring Pathways Toward Psychobiological Safety through Mindful Body-centered Art Making with Sheltered Homeless Women, Alicia L. Dabney
Theses/Capstones from 2019
Cultural Wellness Trends Assessed with Art Therapy, Lara Juhasz
Theses/Capstones from 2018
Yoga, Flow and Art Therapy: An Investigation Into Yoga's Effects on the Creative Process, Megan E. Lear
Theses/Capstones from 2017
A Study of Art Therapy in Identity Exploration and Self-Efficacy, Christine Cavasinni
Theses/Capstones from 2016
Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Chinese American Women Cancer Survivors Through Art Therapy, Judy Thai
An art therapy approach to increase the self-esteem of Latina pre-adolescent girls using narrative therapy, Amy Barron
Art Therapy as a Support: for the Acculturation of East Asian International Students in the United States, Ie Roon Jung
Combating self-objectification and nurturing self-concept: Art therapy interventions with adolescent girls, Susan Rothermel
Combating Self-Objectification and Nurutring Self-Concept: Art Therapy Interventions with Adolescent Girls, Susan Rothermel