Indigenous methodology, which includes story, the arts, and Native language, is defined and applied in this article as a response to the appropriation and misrepresentation of Indigenous spirituality and cultural practices, the silencing and erasure of American Indian genocide, and the denigration of Indigenous worldviews experienced by this author in expressive therapies education. Throughout the

As an established specialty within the field of music therapy, the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) forms an integrated music psychotherapy of value of many clients. However, the role of music has rarely been systematically studied from the client’s perspective. This study reports on client’s references to the music within a larger study of the use of GIM in recovery from cardiothoracic

The current study deals with the gaps encountered by art therapists from the Arab minority in Israel between the knowledge they acquired during their training and the knowledge they have accrued through work with members of their cultural group. Training of therapists in Israel is based on Western theoretical knowledge that, in general, focuses on the individual, self-actualization, and emotional expression

The mixed-method study evaluated the effectiveness of the 6-week long Creative Arts-based Parent Training program for parents with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Korean Parenting Stress Index-Short Form and Korean Parenting Efficacy Test were used to examine parental stress and sense of competence. Qualitative data were collected for the experimental group (EG) (n = 17) using a 30 min

The motor arousal of children with emotional and behavioral difficulties influences and is influenced by the quality of the non-verbal interactions with their parents. The aim of the present study was to validate the Parent–Child Movement Scale (PCMS), a reliable observation tool for joint dances between parents and their preschool children. To test the tool's discriminant validity scores of four mother–child

Music and emotion regulation have received scholarly attention in and outside music therapy. However, there is a paucity of studies that systematically investigated how music therapy interventions have addressed emotional needs of older persons. This systematic review summarized and synthesized intervention characteristics, outcome and outcome measures used, and assessed quality of intervention reporting

This study examined expression of distress and changes in self-perception in breast cancer patients who underwent different surgeries (lumpectomy/mastectomy) via analysis of their self-figure drawings. It was assumed that the two types of surgery would affect their bodies differently and hence also their body- and self-image. The Machover Draw-A-Person test was administered twice to 72 survivors (47

Supervision is a critical component of quality clinical practice and training. This article describes an arts-based supervision course, and reports the results of a mixed method study on 78 practicing creative arts therapists composed of former students (n = 56) and current students (n = 22). Quantitative analysis of the pre-test to post-test changes indicated that the current students became more

This qualitative study examines the experience of adolescent males of color engaged in a 12-week, school-based art therapy intervention. Participants were 78 ninth graders from limited resource communities attending an all-boys high school in the South Bronx, New York. The population was naturally divided into three groups based on levels of potential academic competency. At the conclusion of the intervention

During COVID-19 pandemic, Italian pediatric oncology departments were obliged to adopt restrictive measures to minimize the risk of in-hospital infections in frail patients and staff members. Access to the wards was significantly reduced and music therapy (MT) activities were suspended. The aim of this study was to compare the level of anxiety and sedation in pediatric patients undergoing invasive

A support program ‘Time for Tony the Turtle’ has been developed for young children residing in Dutch domestic violence (DV) shelters. With hand puppet ‘Tony the Turtle’, the program aims to develop self-regulation skills for children, while increasing the sense of safety and addressing children in a personal and playful way. As the use of the puppet is a distinct aspect of the program, this study aims

Italy was severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In early March 2020, a series of legislative decrees have been issued, establishing the restrictions that all Italian citizens are required to respect, according to which it is strictly forbidden to leave the house if not for reasons of necessity, health, or work. This qualitative study investigated which aspects clients find helpful or hindering in

The present study aimed to explore the relationship between shadow and psychological symptoms by analyzing shadow miniatures in sandplay therapy. A total of 121 subjects were invited to complete an initial sand tray. The category of shadow miniatures was defined by a questionnaire administered to 22 trained sandplay consultants with practical experience, through their recollection of completed cases

Poetry therapy is a promising but heterogeneous and under-evidenced form of creative arts therapy. Theories of change have been proffered but are model-specific and poorly evidenced in the empirical literature. The aim of this paper, then, was to provide a united understanding of how poetry therapy operates to guide future research and practice. To do this, empirical literature exploring mechanisms

Sufi whirling, which has been minimally studied to date, is an Islamic Sufi spiritual ritual of self-pivoting performed by spiritual seekers known as dervishes. This study empirically evaluates the inner subjective experience of Sufi whirling dervishes (SWDs) to benefit understanding of the experience of clients expressing through free whirling and the cultural competence of dance movement therapists

Music therapists have argued that people who witness music therapy can develop good understandings of processes and potential outcomes. Family members and other experts were invited to critically examine clinical materials, generated from ten new cases of music therapy with children on the autism spectrum and presented in Narrative Assessment form, and to share their perceptions of the work. Narrative

This study introduced a new group recovery program combining dance movement therapy with evidence-based practices of recovery in mental health. Recovery-oriented dance movement therapy (RODMT) addresses core recovery topics using movement-based experiential activities for adults experiencing severe mental health conditions. Thus far, no published recovery-focused intervention has used embodied techniques

Patient preferences deserve consideration as they play a role in engagement with psychosocial interventions. This study sought to understand more about preferences and expectations of the arts therapies, in order to support informed decision-making. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 participants in a trial of group music therapy, art therapy and dance-movement therapy. Audio recordings

Research shows that systemic oppression negatively affects health outcomes for marginalized people (Baines, 2016; Williams & Cooper, 2020). Much of music therapy research, pedagogy, and practice has covertly and overtly participated in systemic oppression through embracing Eurocentric traditions that promote white supremacy. Anti-oppressive music therapy (AOMT) is a general theory that offers pathways

Mindfulness has become increasingly common in therapeutic and non-therapeutic venues as a way to address stress, change, and uncertainty, such as in the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of music in mindfulness is apparent in several traditional and Western practices but has little research regarding its effect in novice practitioners. In an online course-based research experience, a group of student researchers

Memories about our childhoods and adolescence may not always be accurate, but they do influence how we position ourselves as adults. In this paper, I assert that written and visual diaries can be used as a way to access the most accurate version of one’s younger years, and thus, they can help one explore their self-narrative and enhance their self-understanding. In this auto-hermeneutic inquiry, I

This study looks at 102 images made by women in the month of April 2020 at the time of COVID-19 and during the first lockdown in Israel. Submissions were anonymous and participants were asked to write a few words of description alongside their images. The data collected was analyzed by thematic analysis approach. Four major themes were revealed: Art making for self-regulation, artmaking as embodying

Psychiatric nurses should have good communication skills and emotional awareness to provide quality nursing care. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of psychodrama on emotional awareness and communication skills in psychiatric nurses in Istanbul, Turkey. A randomized controlled trial study (pretest-posttest control group design) was conducted with 26 psychiatric nurses in Istanbul. The

The cultural and aesthetic rationale for utilizing a traditional dance form in dance/movement therapy (DMT) dementia research has not been articulated. Moreover, the geo-transcendent and invariant aspects of psychological functioning often referred to as the wisdom of elders, have been little studied in dementia care. This single case study explored the benefits of a Japanese traditional bon dance

Engaging in creative activities is known to increase well-being by reducing levels of stress, anxiety, and improve life satisfaction. Similarly, virtual reality has emerged as an effective method for decreasing negative emotions and enhancing aspects of mental health. aspects of mental disorders. The primary aim of the current study was to compare 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional art-making on measures

Grounding is an accepted concept in the field of dance movement therapy and expresses an aware and regulated physical and emotional experience. Previous studies have shown that movement interventions to improve the physical sensation of grounding contribute to an increase in emotional awareness and regulation. The aim of the current study is to explore the convergent validity of the Grounding Assessment

Music therapy and music-based interventions are increasingly used in the treatment of speech, language, and communication needs, and music therapy has been extensively applied to adolescent groups. To date, however, there has been no published work examining music therapy for adolescents who stammer. The aim of the current study was to explore adolescents’ experiences and perceptions of a group music

Music is a complex activity with great cognitive potential. A specific type of research involves the use of focal music-based interventions implemented only once before, during, or after a task to improve cognitive performance. In the present research, we employed music-based interventions to explore their effects as a memory modulator. We conducted two studies: Study 1, to evaluate neutral verbal

This pilot study examines fluctuations in the strengths of the art therapy working alliance and the therapeutic working alliance over time in simulated art therapy sessions. Participants were 53 female graduate students of art therapy (Age range 23–57), who assumed the role of creators/clients in simulated art therapy sessions, and filled out the two questionnaires (n = 44 at time 1, n = 29 at time

This art-based collaborative research study explored the perceptions of four group art therapists who engaged in the practice of creating art alongside their clients. It aimed to explore the challenges these art therapists perceive to be associated with their practice of in-session artmaking through a series of in-depth interviews incorporating discussion and artmaking. Analysis included coding of

The Harry Potter universe is both widely accessible and incredibly popular, and this feature combined with its depth of narrative and genre may make it uniquely suitable to supporting mental health recovery. The current study aims to address a gap in the literature around how engagement with the Harry Potter universe, in the tradition of unguided creative bibliotherapy, may allow people to derive

A growing body of scholarship suggests that art-making provides symptom relief as well as short-term mood benefits. However, more research is needed to explore how artistic activities may lead to mood improvements within the course of sessions conducted in clinical contexts. To this end, we examined short-term outcomes of participation in an art group offered within a brief partial hospital program

There is little evidence on the effectiveness of arts therapy interventions in forensic settings. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of arts therapy in evoking emotional vulnerability in forensic patients. Participants received drama, art or psychomotor therapy. For each therapy, we used a 5-session protocol that consisted of an introduction session, an assessment session, an intervention

The effectiveness of group mother-child dance and movement therapy is presented. Eighty kindergarten (aged five to seven) children in the regular education system who were referred to therapy for various reasons took part. Participants were randomly divided into two groups: 40 children in group mother-child dance and movement therapy (group PCDMT) and 40 children in group dance and movement therapy

Art therapy integrated with Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) protocols can provide a framework for refugees to present personal images and narratives within cultural standards of expression. To demonstrate this model, a case study documents two sessions of brief art therapy with a group of siblings who described their migration experiences in a visual journal with semi- structured prompts. The art

Through personal art processes, intentional dialogue, and application to clinical work, two art psychotherapists explore personal experiences with the death of a loved one. The paper illuminates the way art supports integration, articulation, and connection with self and the deceased after a profound loss. The paper begins with a brief review of the literature related to grief and loss therapy, art

Scarce research to date has addressed the aspect of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) as a key requirement for qualified music therapists. The present study investigated the benefits of a CPD course based on cognitive neuropsychology, which aimed to develop music therapists’ knowledge and skills in care home settings. The course included 32 h of activities spread across 3 months and was attended

In this article, I consider what it means to think with the body from the perspective of trauma theory and adult recovery from Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA). I argue that acknowledging, cultivating and normalizing the multi-temporality of awareness that comes from healing and thinking with the body can lead to an integrative survivor-centered praxis of recovery and inclusion. Through a feminist and

This paper reports on the findings of a study with 14 music therapists, exploring how they experienced (a) the interface/overlap between their own religious and/or spiritual beliefs and those of their clients; (b) the navigation of this interface/overlap within music therapy practice; and (c) whether/how they used empathy when engaging in this navigation. Four main findings were identified through

Work stress develops from interactions, job tasks, and heightened stressors. Hospice workers also have frequent death exposure, and manage patient/family dynamics. Prolonged stress can lead to burnout increasing absenteeism, health problems, costs, and turnover. Coping strategies provide tools to manage stress and burnout potential. A randomized, single session online study compared a receptive music

This study examined the structural relationship between music therapists’ self-efficacy and countertransference management ability, and therapeutic outcomes perceived by music therapists and their clients regarding the working alliance they perceive in Guided Imagery and Music (GIM). The participants were 77 therapists and their clients. Our results indicated that therapists’ self-efficacy had a significant

This article details part of a phenomenological arts-based reflexive study investigating humour in music therapy with persons living with dementia. Rooted in psychosocial and relational-centred methodology, the study arose from the first author’s experience as a music therapist. As part of a larger study, three interview-encounters with persons living with dementia and their music therapists (n=8)

As individuals age, they face increasing physical and emotional challenges. Older Holocaust survivors may face greater challenges, due to the complex trauma that they experienced throughout their lives. These survivors can at times be resistant to discussing the meaning of their experiences. One type of intervention that can be particularly effective with this population is art therapy. In Israel,

Previous studies suggest that music interventions and music therapy can enhance wellbeing, improve quality of life, and stimulate cognitive functions in people with disorders of consciousness (DOC), including coma, unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) and minimally conscious state (MCS). This systematic review was designed to identify patterns of both short- and long-term changes in response to

This study aimed to explore the role of drawing in regulating anger and sadness via functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). A 2 (anger vs. sadness) x 2 (drawing vs. calculating) between-subjects design was employed. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: drawing after triggering anger, drawing after triggering sadness, calculating after triggering anger, or calculating

Little is known about best practices for effectively developing and mentoring new music therapy faculty as they transition to the complex ecology of higher education. To address this gap, three new music therapy faculty explored their lived experiences as participant-researchers in a collective autoethnography designed to synthesize their perspectives into a shared, comprehensive story. Over the 2017–2018

Despite growing numbers of the aging population, a dearth of theories that focus on older adults and emotion regulation makes it difficult to design interventions that address emotional needs of older persons. The author proposes the Music-based Emotion Regulation (MBER), a theoretical model that targets age-related depression prevention. The model suggests four emotion regulation strategies: Intentional

Recent scholarship into school-based drama therapy (SBDT) has largely explored individual interventions and programs. What remains less understood are broad practice trends across SBDT in North America. The current study is an investigation of descriptive intervention vignettes (N = 49), aggregated from a larger 2018 survey of North American drama therapists. It is the third exploration of this data

This article aims to examine the hypothesis that The BodyMind Approach® (TBMA) can effectively decrease depression and the distress experienced from medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) for women in Taiwan. A quasi-experimental design was adopted to examine this hypothesis along with the use of questionnaires and a repertory grid technique (RGT). The former was used to objectively examine changes in

This paper discusses mentalization, defined as the capacity to know one’s own mind and understand the minds of others. Increasingly used in the arts therapies, mentalization is viewed as the most common factor in all psychosocial treatments, regardless of theoretical orientation. Two drama therapy cases that were impacted by attachment trauma are discussed, highlighting the value of drama in fostering

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of psychodrama groups on research assistants’ levels of feeling inferior, flourishing, and self-compassion. In this research, a 2 × 3 quasi-experimental design was used. Fourteen research assistants, including seven individuals in an experimental group and seven individuals in the control group, participated in the study. A 10-session psychodrama

The primary purpose of this study is to analyze whether psychodrama has any effect on acquiring "forgiveness flexibility". The research has been conducted using the control group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental model. The study group consisted of 20 university students in total, 10 of them were in the experimental group and 10 were in the control group. The program included 16 sessions and Heartland

This qualitative investigation into practice uses phenomenology and focuses on dramatherapists’ experiences of their adult clients’ stigma in relation to their mental health difficulties. For the purposes of this investigation, stigma is considered as a combination of public stigma and self-stigma. This study explores the dramatherapeutic core process of witnessing as a technique facilitated in the

This arts-based duoethnographic project explores the phenomenon of a collaborative arts-based experience between a Dance/Movement Therapist and a Music Therapist. From a simultaneously personal and collaborative framework (duo ethnography), the researchers will explore the question of, “What emerges when a BC-DMT & MT-BC utilize their respective modalities in active creative collaboration to deconstruct

Purpose: This study compared the predictive power of specific categories of the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS) and Bender-Gestalt test in identifying the problems of students with SLDs. Method: Forty elementary-school students with SLDs were selected from the SLD center of Babol, Iran, and 40 non-SLDs students were chosen from public schools, matched in terms of age, sex, and grade with

Indian musicians, scholars, and music therapists have explored the use of raga for many years, with music therapists recommending its use in meditation, visualization, and clinical improvisation. Little formal research; however, exists concerning the use of raga in clinical settings with clients unfamiliar with this style of music. By means of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, this qualitative

This paper examines two group art psychotherapy programs held in 2017 at the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST). It focusses on three contemporary artworks by Kimsooja, Ilya Kabakov and Sophia Kosmaoglou belonging to the EMST collection and how working with these groups was explored through objects relations theory. The paper looks at how these artworks became evocative as transformational

Both developmental, individual-differences, relationship-based (DIR®) and creative arts therapy (CAT) intervention methods have demonstrated positive effects for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, they have not been evaluated in combination. The study evaluated whether a DIR®-based CAT program met its stated goals to stimulate individualized social-emotional growth for children