Date of Graduation
2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MA
College
College of Creative Arts
Department
Art Education
Committee Chair
Terese Giobbia
Committee Co-Chair
Alison Helm
Committee Member
Joseph Lupo
Abstract
Now more than ever American adolescents are suffering from severe anxiety (Lewis, 2017). In the past, over-achieving students were those parents least worried about when it came to experiencing anxiety but now studies show these students are just as likely to experience anxiety as those learners considered to be underachievers. The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader how art therapy approaches embedded into daily lesson plans could be used in alternative learning school settings to help students deal with anxiety. Through my own experiences as a practicing art teacher in both general education art classrooms and alternative learning school settings, this paper explores how using specific art therapy approaches may help students deal with some of the social stressors they face every day in these classrooms. While more research is needed to identify lessons that will engage students in creating meaningful and purposeful art, which will help to reduce stress among this group, this paper is a starting point to help students deal with their stress caused by many outside factors from family and social life to feelings of failure and inadequacy.
Recommended Citation
Saddler, Brianna, "The Potential Impact of Art Therapy Approaches in an Alternative Learning School Setting in Urban West Virginia" (2017). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 6553.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/6553