Using the FEATS with Brain Tumor Patients
Graduation Date
Spring 2003
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
Lizbeth Martin, PhD
First Reader
Richard Carolan, EdD, ATR-BC
Second Reader
Arnell Etherington, PhD, MFT, ATR-BC
Abstract
This study will address whether the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS) can be used to rate the art produced in the Pick an Apple From a Tree (PPAT) art assessment as an adjunct diagnostic tool in the diagnosis of brain tumors. Drawings created by children have been proven to assist in the diagnosis of migraine headaches. The headache drawings by these children were compared to the clinical diagnosis. These drawings showed results of having 93% sensitivity, 82.7% specificity, and a positive predictive value of 87.1% (Strafstrom, Rostasy, & Minster, 2002).
Experiments that were performed during neurosurgery have shown that there is an image of the body mapped on the brain (Kaplan,2000). This research investigated the PPAT drawings of 32 individuals who were diagnosed with a brain tumor prior to the study and a control group of 31 participants that had not been diagnosed with brain tumors. The pictures were assessed and scored with the FEATS to see if there is any pattern of irregularity or difference between the two groups.