Date of Award

Spring 5-2017

Document Type

Master's Project

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

EVMS School of Health Professions

Program/Concentration

Art Therapy and Counseling

Committee Director

Geoffrey Thompson

Committee Member

Mary Roberts

Abstract

The purpose of this art-based heuristic study was to explore unresolved grief through various fiber art processes and reflective writing. According to existing literature, there are several grief therapy approaches, in addition to bereavement support groups for bereavement. Furthermore, many art processes are described in the literature as being valuable in the grieving process in art therapy. However, there are gaps in the literature describing the benefits and effects of fiber art processes for processing bereavement. A nine-week heuristic self-study was proposed to identify the potential therapeutic benefits and applicability of fiber arts within art therapy for those dealing with grief. The study provided a prism through reflective writing and fiber art making across ten weeks. As a result, twenty-one artworks and sixty-five written reflections were generated. The data was subjected to a content analysis, and thirteen themes were identified: affect, identity, ineffable, art process (formal), expressive therapies continuum (ETC), transformation, memories, preservation, ineffable, parallel process, cancer, loss/death and acceptance. Implications for clinical and self-application were also recognized, leading to the conclusion that fiber arts can be an effective material in art therapy for processing one’s bereavement.

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).

Download

Share

COinS