Browsing by Subject "Life review"

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    A Narrative Approach to Art Therapy for Life Review as a Means to Increase Mood in an Elder Community
    (2017) Kelley, E'lisa; Misluk, Eileen; King, Juliet
    This human-subject study used a quantitative research design to identify if participation in individual art therapy sessions designed to explore life review through a narrative approach would increase mood in older adults. It was hypothesized that elders (ages 65+) who participated in six individual art therapy sessions, once a week, over the course of six weeks, would show an increase in mood. An increase in mood is defined as a decrease in depressive symptomology. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) provided a baseline measure of depressive symptomologies, rather than a diagnosis of depression. The average difference of individual’s pre-and-post BDI-II scores were used to identify if a change in mood occurred as a result of participation in the study. Participants used artmaking and storytelling as a means to engage in a life review process. The use of story stems and collage were the primary means of engaging in the study. The results showed that participants’ average BDI-II scores decreased post-study. These findings provide support for the use of a narrative approach to art therapy to explore life review as a means to increase mood in older adults. Future implications of this study include continuing to explore the correlations between art therapy and life review as a means of building ego integrity, a deeper review of the artwork created as a response to the story stem, and additional research on the use of the BDI-II for a measure of increased mood. The study provides quantitative support for the use of a narrative approach to art therapy as a means to increase mood in an aging population.
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    A Short-Term Art Therapy Group for Individuals with Dementia
    (2018) Hinkle, Brittany; Misluk, Eileen
    This human-subject study used the Quality of Life-Alzheimer's Disease (QOL-AD) for its pre- and post-test intervention format without at control group. It was hypothesized that there would be an increase in quality of life (QoL) scores after participation in the 6-week art therapy group. The findings were anticipated to suggest that the supportive group art therapy setting improved QoL in the participants in the domains of energy, mood, and self as a whole. The pre-QOL-AD provided a baseline measure of QoL that was compared to the post-QOL-AD to identify if a change in QoL occurred as a result of participation in the study. Eight participants created an ongoing life review project, recommended by Judith Walk, over six sessions. They were provided with 18-by-24-inch white artist paper, colored pencils, markers, pre-cut collage images, and glue. The paper was pre-divided into six sections. Each section represented an important phase of life, ranging from childhood to the present. The results showed an increase in QoL for five of the eight participants. The participant and caregiver pre- and post-test total scores and scores for the domain of self as a whole were found to be approaching significance. These findings provide support for the use of art therapy to improve QoL for individuals with dementia. Future implications of this study include additional research on the use of Judith Wald's method and the QOL-AD as a measure of QoL for individuals with dementia, particularly for art therapy studies.