Date of Award

Spring 5-2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

EVMS School of Health Professions

Program/Concentration

Art Therapy

Committee Director

Abby Calisch

Committee Member

Laura Maloney

Abstract

The purpose of this self-study was to explore the personal experience had during treatment for anorexia nervosa that included an art therapy component and what impact this has had on subsequent recovery, current healthy functioning, and the career decision to become an art therapist.

The total duration of the study was 13 weeks. Thirty-minute reflection sessions supplemented with writing were scheduled for the first four days of the study, during which there was a submersion in artwork made during treatment (Treatment Artwork) for anorexia nervosa and any related memories. On the fourth day, eight themes were identified to be the most relevant: Humor, Reaching Out to Others, Reaching Out to Self, Isolation, Denial, Acknowledgement, Control, and Religion. The next eight weeks were each dedicated to a single identified theme. Three thirty-minute sessions each week were scheduled for art making and journaling in response to the theme and Treatment Artwork, resulting in Response Artwork. At the conclusion of each week, a 1-hour session was dedicated to making a Summation Piece in response to each week’s theme, for a total of eight Summation Pieces. Art materials were kept the same for all art making sessions, although the Response Art was done on Bristol paper and the Summation Pieces on canvas of the same size. The use of writing, Reflective Journaling, allowed for a documentation of any thoughts, emotions, or connections made during each week. A 2-week period away from the study, or incubation, took place after the eight weeks of theme review. After the incubation period, a Final Summation Piece in response to all artwork and themes was completed. A 3-hour session then followed and all images were reviewed with thesis committee members for determination of emergent subthemes. The major sub-theme found in Treatment Artwork was potential danger. Sub-themes from Response Artwork were a loose approach, repetition and replication, weather, and natural elements. Progression was the major subtheme that emerged from review of Response Artwork and Reflective Journaling. After a second 2-week period of incubation, the themes and sub-themes were reflected on and responded to through the use of art making in a Final Response.

The process of reflection gave personal insight and awareness into past and current functioning. Utilizing the art therapy process as a means to reflect on treatment and recovery also allowed the opportunity to understand benefits and personal impact of art therapy. Art therapy is further acknowledged as a useful and successful tool with profound impact, leading to a career choice. This heuristic study supports that in art therapy, the reflective process on something from the past can be replicated with the goal being for the person to draw personal conclusions and find meaning and perhaps self-awareness and closure.

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DOI

10.25777/61mj-r535

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