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 and doctoral dissertations from the students of the Art Therapy program.
Theses/Capstones from 2024
An Integrative Somatic Art Therapy Approach: EMDR & Body-Based Practices for Traumatic Stress, Alexis Sorbara
Art-based Autoethnographic Study of a Senior Professional Woman of Color's Journey, Raceal McWhorter
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
Exploring the Effects of Art Therapy Interventions on Self-Evaluations of Food Addiction: A Randomized Control Study, Dawn Fiacco
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
Clay Use as Mindfulness for Women in Early Substance Use Recovery, Cheryl Feldman
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
In-Between Space: Latinas Sharing their Stories of Cultural Integration, Maria Elena Fuster
Memes to Cope and Communicate, Priscilla (Nox) Ngo
The Course of COVID: How Has the Pandemic Changed the Ways Therapists Use Art in Their Therapeutic Practice?, Deborah Sharpe
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
Failure: A Heuristic Inquiry of the Experience of Failure Through a Nature Based Art Therapy Process, Lisa Manthe
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
Focusing-Oriented Art Therapy and Connectedness: Art as a Means to Spiritual Care for Asian Seniors, Chia-Yun Chiang
Seeing Resilience: A Qualitative and Arts-Based Research Study to Understand Images Made in a Photography-Based Mentoring Program, Sarah E. Kremer
Theses/Capstones from 2019
Art and Drumming: A Study on Affect, Attachment and Self-Esteem within the Older Adult Population, Deanna Mank
Art Based Communication for Individuals with Dissociative Spectrum Disorders, Cynthia Wilson
Cultural Wellness Trends Assessed with Art Therapy, Lara Juhasz
Empowering Korean Adolescent Girls Using Smartphones as a Stimulus for Creative Expression: Response Art and Dialogue, Jee Hyun Kim
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 Heuristic and Qualitative Study Investigating the Mechanisms of Change in Art Therapy, Brooke J. Sevin
A Study of Art Therapy in Identity Exploration and Self-Efficacy, Christine Cavasinni