Developing a Short-Term Art Therapy Protocol for a University Counseling Center to Address Trauma

138 Pages·2015·4.46 MB·English

by  Laurie Elizabeth Brown

Florida State University Libraries
Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School
2010
Developing a Short-Term Art Therapy
Protocol for a University Counseling Center
to Address Trauma
Laurie Elizabeth Brown
Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected]
THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS, THEATRE AND DANCE

DEVELOPING A SHORT-TERM ART THERAPY PROTOCOL FOR A UNIVERSITY

COUNSELING CENTER TO ADDRESS TRAUMA

By

LAURIE ELIZABETH BROWN

A Thesis submitted to the
Department of Art Education
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Master of Science

Degree Awarded:
Summer Semester, 2010

Copyright © 2010
Laurie Elizabeth Brown
All Rights Reserved
The members of the committee approve the thesis of Laurie Elizabeth Brown defended on
June 23, 2010.

__________________________________
Marcia Rosal
Professor Directing Thesis

__________________________________
David Gussak
Committee Member

__________________________________
Tom Anderson
Committee Member

__________________________________
Dina Ricco
Committee Member

Approved:

_____________________________________
David Gussak, Chair, Department of Art Education

_____________________________________
Sally McRorie, Dean, College of Visual Arts, Theatre and Dance

The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members.
ii
This work is dedicated to my family.
Thank you for your love, support,
and drive to follow my heart.

iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I must first thank Dr. Marcia Rosal, my major professor for this work. Your unwavering support,
kind words, time, and encouragement kept me pushing forward not only to complete this work,
but to expand the scope of what I thought a thesis could be. I can never thank you enough.

Thank you to my committee members, Dr. David Gussak, Dr. Tom Anderson, and Dr. Dina
Ricco for your interest in my work, your support, ideas, and the time you have taken to be a
part of this work.

To the staff and clinicians at the University Counseling Center, thank you for your
encouragement, referrals, insight, guidance, and your mentorship. This work would not have
been successful without you. A special thank you to my supervisors: Gail Palo, James
Hennessey, Barbara Uchino, and Ilese Weingarten, for reaching beyond what was called for in
a supervisory role. Thank you also to Nikki Pritchett and David Gitlin for your confidence in my
research and your guidance during my time as an intern.

I would also like to thank my dear friends for reminding me that self-care is an important part of
research and hard work.

Finally, a special thank you to my family for allowing me the freedom to find my passion, your
constant support and encouragement, your guidance and confidence in my ability, and the
incredible love you have for me. Thank you and words will never be able to express my love
for you.

iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables ....................................................................................................................... viii
List of Figures ...................................................................................................................... ix
Abstract ........................................................................................................................ xi

1. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1

Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................... 2
Justification of the Study ......................................................................................... 2
Research Questions ................................................................................................ 3
Definition of Terms .................................................................................................. 3
Brief Overview of the Study ..................................................................................... 6

2. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 8

Research on the Nature of Trauma, Traumatic Memory Storage and Treatment ... 8
Art Therapy and Trauma Treatment ........................................................................ 10
Art Therapy Protocols for Trauma Treatment .......................................................... 12
Gantt and Tinnin .............................................................................................. 12
McNamee ........................................................................................................ 14
Talwar ............................................................................................................. 17
Tobin ............................................................................................................... 19
Tripp ................................................................................................................ 24
Synthesizing the Research into a Short-Term Art-Based Protocol .......................... 25

3. CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................... 29

Description of the Research Design ........................................................................ 29
Description of the Sample ....................................................................................... 30
Description of Instruments Used ............................................................................. 31
Explanation of Procedures Followed ....................................................................... 32
Short-Term Art Therapy Protocol Developed for Research Study ........................... 34
Discussion of the Internal Validity ........................................................................... 38
Discussion of the External Validity .......................................................................... 39
Description and Justification of the Analytical Techniques Used ............................. 39

4. CHAPTER 4: RESULTS .................................................................................................. 41

Formation of an Art-Based Interdisciplinary Treatment Protocol ............................. 41
Participant #1: Lila ................................................................................................... 45
Response to the Protocol ................................................................................ 46
v
Pre-Test and Session 1 ............................................................................. 46
Session 2 ................................................................................................... 47
Session 3 ................................................................................................... 49
Session 4 ................................................................................................... 52
Session 5 ................................................................................................... 55
Post-Test and Session 6 ............................................................................ 57
Participant Feedback ................................................................................. 59
Researcher Observations .......................................................................... 60
Changes in Functioning .................................................................................. 60
Summary of Lila’s Case Study ........................................................................ 62
Participant #2: Carolyn ............................................................................................ 63
Response to the Protocol ................................................................................ 64
Pre-Test and Session 1 ............................................................................. 64
Session 2 ................................................................................................... 66
Session 3 ................................................................................................... 68
Session 4 ................................................................................................... 70
Session 5 ................................................................................................... 75
Post-Test and Session 6 ............................................................................ 76
Participant Feedback ................................................................................. 80
Researcher Observations .......................................................................... 80
Changes in Functioning .................................................................................. 81
Summary of Carolyn’s Case Study ................................................................. 83
Participant #3: Jenny ............................................................................................... 84
Response to the Protocol ................................................................................ 84
Pre-Test and Session 1 ............................................................................. 84
Session 2 ................................................................................................... 86
Researcher Observations .......................................................................... 87
Summary of Jenny’s Case Study .................................................................... 88
A Review of Participant #1: Lila ............................................................................... 89
A Review of Participant #2: Carolyn ........................................................................ 91
Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 93

5. CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION ............................................................................................ 95

Overview of the Study ............................................................................................. 95
Summary of the Research Questions ..................................................................... 96
Question 1 ....................................................................................................... 96
Question 2 ....................................................................................................... 98
Question 3 ....................................................................................................... 99
Procedures Used ............................................................................................ 101
Results ............................................................................................................ 101
Results as Related to the Literature ........................................................................ 103
Limitations of the Research Study ........................................................................... 105
Suggestions for Clinicians ....................................................................................... 105
Suggestions for Future Research ............................................................................ 106
Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 108
vi
APPENDICES ................................................................................................................... 109

A Initial Interview Questions ............................................................................... 109
B Post-Protocol Discussion and Feedback Questions ........................................ 111
C University Counseling Center Approval Letter ................................................. 113
D Human Subjects Committee Approval Memorandum ..................................... 115
E Florida State University Behavioral Consent Form .......................................... 118

REFERENCES ................................................................................................................... 122

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ................................................................................................... 124

vii
LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Lila‟s Pre-Test Impact of Events Scale ................................................................... 47

Table 2: Lila‟s Post-Test Impact of Events Scale .................................................................. 59

Table 3: Carolyn‟s Pre-Test Impact of Events Scale ............................................................ 65

Table 4: Carolyn‟s Post-Test Impact of Events Scale ........................................................... 79

Table 5: Jenny‟s Pre-Test Impact of Events Scale ............................................................... 85

viii
LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Lila‟s Safe Place Drawing ...................................................................................... 48

Figure 2: Lila‟s Negative Cognition Drawing ......................................................................... 49

Figure 3: Lila‟s “Wall” Drawing .............................................................................................. 50

Figure 4: Lila‟s Positive Cognition Drawing........................................................................... 51

Figure 5: Lila‟s Painting Series Piece 1 ................................................................................ 53

Figure 6: Lila‟s Painting Series Piece 2 ................................................................................ 53

Figure 7: Lila‟s Painting Series Piece 3 ................................................................................ 53

Figure 8: Lila‟s Painting Series Piece 4 ................................................................................ 53

Figure 9: Lila‟s Painting Series Piece 5 ................................................................................ 55

Figure 10: Lila‟s Painting Series Piece 6 .............................................................................. 55

Figure 11: Lila‟s Clay Vessel ................................................................................................ 56

Figure 12: Lila‟s Clay Vessel ................................................................................................ 56

Figure 13: Lila‟s Ending Collage ........................................................................................... 57

Figure 14: Carolyn‟s Breath Drawing .................................................................................... 65

Figure 15: Carolyn‟s Safe Place Drawing ............................................................................. 66

Figure 16: Carolyn‟s Safe Place Detail Drawing ................................................................... 67

Figure 17: Carolyn‟s Negative Cognition Clay Piece ............................................................ 68

Figure 18: Carolyn‟s Positive Cognition Clay Piece .............................................................. 69

Figure 19: Carolyn‟s Painting Series Piece 1 ........................................................................ 71

Figure 20: Carolyn‟s Painting Series Piece 2 ........................................................................ 71

ix