Art Therapy Trainee's Attitudes and Beliefs About Self-Care

Graduation Date

Spring 2015

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Document Form

Print

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

Jennifer Harrison, PsyD, DAAETS, ATR-BC

Second Reader

Amy Backos, PhD, ATR-BC

Abstract

The objective of this study was to better understand the self-care attitudes and habits of graduate Art Therapy graduate students. Seventy participants completed an online survey on these topics. The survey included quantitative and qualitative questions about a wide range of self-care techniques. Participants were also asked about their experience with their graduate programs integration of self-care topics in the curriculum. The results of the study found a high correlation between the belief that participants need to improve their self-care habits and their opinion that self-care habits are not adequately integrated into gradate curriculum. Results also revealed that participants were not engaging in personal art making as often as they perceived they should. No significant difference was found between the frequencies of engagement in highly valued self-care techniques and the amount of milestones completed in the graduate program. The findings of this study suggest the data may be helpful for both graduate students to become more aware of the issues and risks related to poor self-care and for educational institutes to consider increased self-care integration in programmatic materials and coursework.

Only available in print

Scan Your Thesis

Share

COinS