Collage Art Therapy and Grief: How Art Therapy Can Improve Grief Symptoms and the Quality of Life for Adults in Bereavement
Graduation Date
Spring 2014
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
Amy Backos, PhD, ATR-BC
Second Reader
Arnell Etherington-Reader, PhD, ART-BC, MFT
Abstract
The intent of this thesis grant proposal is to secure funding for an eight week art psychotherapy bereavement program for adults who recently experienced loss of a significant other. The proposed art therapy support group will serve as an adjunct to an existing hospice bereavement program located at Memorial Hospice in Santa Rosa, California. The participants’ grief issues will be addressed using the following modalities: therapeutic, creative process of art psychotherapy, basic theories of existentialist therapy, grief and bereavement education and normalization, and group therapeutic interactions. The program will be evaluated for reduction in negative grief symptoms, an increase in positive coping skills, and an improvement in quality of life.