Bereaved Adults' Art Therapy Group
Graduation Date
Spring 2013
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Document Form
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy
Degree Granting Institution
Notre Dame de Namur University
Program Name
Art Therapy
Dean
John Lemmon, PhD
First Reader
Richard Carolan, EdD, ATR-BC
Second Reader
Gwen Sanders, MFT, ART-BC
Abstract
Grief and loss are inevitable experiences in life. Often, bereavement support can be helpful following the death of a loved one to help facilitate the grieving process. This paper first examines the prevalence of grief and the emotional experience of bereavement. The need for grief support and current treatment options are briefly reviewed. A discussion on the history and development of grief theory follows, including a brief review of specific psychotherapy theoretical views of bereavement. Finally, specific treatment modalities, group therapy and art therapy, are discussed - why and how the two are applied - before a specific treatment modality, group art therapy, is applied to bereavement and the possible benefits are discussed.