Expressive Therapies for Trauma Recovery
HEAL’s expressive therapy service includes Art Therapy, Music Therapy, Play Therapy, movement therapies and more.
All our therapists are qualified, having completed postgraduate mental health and expressive therapy qualifications, and undergo ongoing professional development.
As noted by ANZACATA (Australia, New Zealand and Asia Creative Arts Therapists Association):
“…Contemporary neurobiological research into trauma suggests that trauma has a powerful physical component and thus the first step in addressing trauma should attend to embodied trauma responses.
Because the creative arts therapies are based on body awareness they can effectively address trauma and emotional and physical dysregulation. Creative arts therapies can increase resilience by improving the sense of agency and self-understanding through the ability to express feelings symbolically. This can give new perspectives on oneself and on one’s world view, which is essential in the recovery process.”
Several primary studies and systemic reviews suggest that there is evidence that creative arts therapy can significantly reduce depression and anxiety symptoms, negative mood and other symptoms arising from experiences of trauma.
A meta-analysis of 52 controlled outcomes studies of play therapy supported its use as “a developmentally and culturally responsive counselling intervention effective across presenting issues” (Lin & Bratton, 2015). A meta-analysis of 23 studies evaluating play therapy in primary schools supported its use for students in need of a mental health intervention (Ray, Armstrong, Balkin & Jayne, 2015).
HEAL’s own research has demonstrated that expressive arts therapies, used in partnership with narrative-based approaches, are effective in supporting young people from refugee backgrounds to heal from their trauma.
In 2014, HEAL ran a pilot study with eight young Liberian refugees aged 12 to 17 years. Over seven 80-minute group sessions, participants created their “Tree of Life,” exploring their histories, their present circumstances, their strengths, important people in their lives, and their future hopes and dreams.
Through qualitative feedback, class teachers and group members reported high levels of satisfaction with the program. They reported improved classroom behaviour and improvements in peer relationships. Participants demonstrated an increase in reflective awareness of themselves and others. They appeared to be able to integrate their past experiences with their preferred self-narratives, helping to instil a sense of hope for the future. Read the full study below.
Research and Evidence from HEAL Programs
The Arts in Psychotherapy, 2014: Narratives of healing: A case study of a young Liberian refugee settled in Australia, Robert D. Schweitzer, Lyn Vromans, Grace Ranke, Jane Griffin.
From Healing Rituals to Music Therapy: Bridging the Cultural Divide between Sudanese Refugees , by Carolyn Jones, Felicity Baker, and Toni Day, The Arts in Psychotherapy 31(2):89-100 (2004).
This article examines how a Milpera High School encourages non-English speaking immigrant students to explore and express their feelings through music and talking about song lyrics. This research helped in the development of Music Therapy at Milpera.
Other Research
Dieterich-Hartwell, R., Haen, C., Kaimal, G., Koch, S., Villanueva, A. and Goodill, S. (2021), “Developing movement experiences with refugees to the United States who have undergone trauma”, International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 75-91. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMHSC-04-2020-0036
Bujorbarua, Pongkhi (2020), Expressions Through Movement and Dance: Exploring the Mind-Body Connection and its Implications on the Well-being of Young Refugee Children, Thesis (Ph.D.)–University of Washington
Beans, Carlyn (2019), Searching for the science behind art therapy, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Vol. 116, No. 3, pp. 707–710. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1821297116
Dieterich-Hartwell R, Koch SC. Creative Arts Therapies as Temporary Home for Refugees: Insights from Literature and Practice. Behav Sci (Basel). 2017 Oct 17;7(4):69. doi: 10.3390/bs7040069. PMID: 29039756; PMCID: PMC5746678.
Alfadhli, Khalifah & Drury, John. (2016). Psychosocial support among refugees of conflict in developing countries: a critical literature review. Intervention. 14. 10.1097/WTF.0000000000000119.
Monteiro, Nicole & Wall, Diana. (2011). African Dance as Healing Modality Throughout the Diaspora: The Use of Ritual and Movement to Work Through Trauma. Journal of Pan African Studies. 4. 234-252.
Books
Malchiodi, C. A. (2020). Trauma and Expressive Arts Therapy: Brain, Body and Imagination in the Healing Process. New York: Guilford Press.