Date of Award

Spring 5-2009

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

EVMS School of Health Professions

Program/Concentration

Art Therapy

Committee Director

Sarah Deaver

Committee Member

John Ullian

Abstract

It is important to incorporate humanities training into medical education in order to enhance the potential for humane and ethical interactions among physicians. In this study, a life drawing studio course was led by an art therapy graduate student to explore the effects of a life drawing course on medical students concurrently enrolled in Gross Anatomy. Based on students’ perceptions of their experience in the life drawing class, theoretical implications for the practice of art therapy in studio applications were discussed.

Five medical students participated in the course on a voluntary, non-credit basis. The course consisted of seven meetings and featured life drawing from a model, followed by a period for reflection and journal writing.

At the conclusion of the course, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with the medical students and content analysis was performed to determine common elements and themes that emerged about the medical students’ experience. These themes suggested that the life drawing course provided an opportunity for new ways of learning and a means to relieve stress, but unlike previous models of life drawing courses, this study amplified the opportunity for reflection by providing students with journaling directives that facilitated thinking about their work in both life drawing and Gross Anatomy.

These results suggested that a studio approach can benefit a population in the community not identified with specific pathologies through art-making and reflection led by an art therapist.

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