Date of Award

Spring 5-2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

EVMS School of Health Professions

Program/Concentration

Art Therapy and Counseling

Committee Director

Sarah Deaver

Committee Member

Sue Gitlin

Abstract

In response to the lack of attention to mental health aspects of infertility, this multiple case pilot study investigated the impact of art therapy interventions on depressive symptoms in women diagnosed with infertility. Since literature indicates women experience significant distress that impacts their psychological well-being and contributes to depressive symptoms. Furthermore the literature indicated that since infertility is regarded as a low-control situation, women tend to employ avoidance, repression, and denial as their primary coping mechanisms to deal with their negative emotions. As the utilization of art therapy has been found to contribute to decreasing depressive symptoms, it was hypothesized that an art therapy intervention would decrease levels of depression symptoms in this population. To test this hypothesis, a mix method study design was implemented in which the participants engaged in six individual art therapy sessions. The Beck Depression Inventory - II (BDI-II) and a qualitative interview were used as pre-test and post-test measures. Two women participated in the study and engaged in individual art therapy sessions. The pre-test and post-test data from the BDI-II were compared and the qualitative interview was used to gain further insight into the full experience. Following the intervention, the levels of depression among the participants had decreased. The participants also indicated several positive themes in their interview.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25777/xkqg-wy70

Download

Included in

Art Therapy Commons

Share

COinS