This research paper discusses the mental impacts of art therapy on a person’s well being. The hypothesis being presented is that art therapy helps with expressing one’s emotions, as well as dealing with troubled adolescents in helping them address their feelings. Most research discusses the basics to art therapy, and its benefits and what will solve it. But it goes way deeper than basic expression, which is why my proposal will discuss how art therapy helps people become good at problem solving and developing new reward pathways in the brain, improving one’s mentality. Overall, it shows how easily applicable art therapy is to adolescents in contrast to other therapies.
Drass, Jessica Anne Masino, “Using art to teach problem-solving and other social skills: the effectiveness of the RATE Program” (2009). Theses and Dissertations.
Background: A program was conducted where a group of troubled south jersey teens were implemented into an after school program. This program used art therapy and an alternate form of expression which created a positive impact amongst the group.
How I used this: Help me see the methodology behind how to reach adolescents who are troubled through art therapy. It is written by a Rowan University colleague and is discussing programs we could improve upon on campus with the psychological background provided. You see a real life example being used in this article.
Berberian, Marygrace. (2019). Creative Problem Solving in Art Therapy.
Background: This article discusses the psychology behind art therapy. This is broken down into which parts of the activities and components, and how they apply towards progress in therapy. It goes through mental pathways and how different parts of the adolescent brain are touched through these different practices.
How I used this: A new impact I have not researched yet has been brought up in this article I found interesting and it is art therapies impact on resilience. This is a new quality that I believe coincides with the others I was researching and offers a new perspective. I liked being able to analyze this source, as I only had so many words, I had to debate between a few quotes and used process of elimination to be able to see which makes it into my argument. I got good at picking which sources fit better than others and deciding what fits best with my paper.
Su, Fei-Ya, “How Can Students Use Art to Learn Problem Solving?” (2020). Theses and Dissertations.
Background: The angle being brought up in this research paper is more expressing the teacher’s side of art. We see the impacts and focusing on the students, but this article brings into light how the art teachers see it from their end. On top of this the quality of the art teacher curriculum and the value art class holds is a very strongly led theme throughout this text.
How I used this: Looking at art therapy from a teacher’s perspective is a different view than a professional therapist. Looking at how two different fields value art therapy tactics highlights its applicability. Seeing a educators perspective is different from a therapist, or a doctor/researcher. I believe looking at multiple opinions allows for an audience to feel more easily convinced.
Bosgraaf L, Spreen M, Pattiselanno K, van Hooren S. Art Therapy for Psychosocial Problems in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Narrative Review on Art Therapeutic Means and Forms of Expression, Therapist Behavior, and Supposed Mechanisms of Change. Front Psychol. 2020 Oct 8
Background: This source is a research study conducted on children who displayed psychosocial problems and how the application of art therapy impacted them. I believe this is a useful source as it gives experimental and scientific background while still overseeing studies that range within the adolescent age group.
How I used this: This experiment is much more extensive, as well as much more professional. I was able to use this research that was done to help prove one of my points on the benefits. While a lot of the content was very difficult for a general audience to understand, the contents and summaries were very helpful and the amount of work provided in this research made it very easy to pull a good quote or example for the audience. It also helped me, because it helped me analyze and understand parts of an advanced text.
Zielinska, E. (2020, June 23). Art in times of crisis. The Nexus.
Background: While analyzing and extracting different scenarios, this article walks through different cases where art therapy could be applicable. In solving issues or facing crisis, there are multiple forms which art therapy can be applied to which are highlighted in this article.
How I used this:I believe this source is just fitting with the topic of application of art therapy towards problem solving. This article does discuss the reward pathways and the achievements of using art therapy. The language they use in this article is also easy to interpret and has many credible sources. The more I looked through this article, it provided a general baseline along my ideas, this source acted as something general for me to fall back onto. I took quotes from here which allowed for me to formulate the general idea around my topic
6.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279634/ doi: 10.3310/hta19180
Uttley L, Scope A, Stevenson M, et al. Systematic review and economic modelling of the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of art therapy among people with non-psychotic mental health disorders. Southampton (UK): NIHR Journals Library; 2015 Mar. (Health Technology Assessment, No. 19.18.)
Background:This article acts as a review of how art therapy is applied towards non-psychotic disorders. This texts is an compilation of evidence and rebuttals that contrast one another about art therapy. There are examples provided along with controlled experiments. This is a compilation of data and analyzations of experiments conducted thought the authors work.
How I used this:I was able to help solidify my point where art therapy is highly effective and I got to look at it from a different point where factors such as cost and things such as the job field, this helped me add more onto my claim and help provide more studies where art therapy was proven effective.I used the models he provided and was able to break down different tactics into my paper.
7. Kristin Aquilino- Personal Interview
Background: My mom is an educator, and deals with many behavior issues from children grades K-5. I have seen firsthand how many therapy tactics and different curriculums have been implemented into her classroom since I had her as a teacher. She implements new arts and crafts therapy tactics in her classroom, as she has begun to see a spike in behavioral problem in the classroom.
How I used this: I decided that she was a good first hand source , and that a-lot could be learned from someone who knows how to manage and work with children firsthand. She actually had many stories and scenarios as to how it would work on her students, and how not only did it calm them down, but helped her as an educator. Being able to implement real life stories and experiences, from someone related to myself, the author of the piece, may help my audience see how vastly people can be seen using and being impacted by these tactics, and help further prove my point towards its applicability.
Counterintuitive Fall 2024 