Back to results

Dominican University of California

The Use of Group Art Therapy to Facilitate the Development of Identity with Adolescents in a Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Center

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>This thesis is a grant proposal to the East Bay Community Foundation for the development of an ongoing art therapy group for male and female adolescents with a dual diagnosis in a long-term residential substance abuse treatment center. The intervention is a 10 week art therapy group with a focus on identity development. The literature review focuses on three main areas: the disentanglement of the sober identity, adolescent development, and the use of art as an intervention within the realms of substance abuse. The recovery aspect of the intervention has a theoretical foundation in Goffman’s (1963) concept of disentanglement and the construction of a new identity. The viewpoint researched on adolescent development stems from James Marcia’s (1966, 1980) operationalization of Erikson’s (1959) identity vs. diffusion stage of development. After exploring the link between identity and successful recovery, the use of art therapy as a possible effective intervention is explored.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy
Level thesis:degree_level
Master's Thesis
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Art Therapy
Year dc:date.available
2006

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Moffitt, Sarah K.
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Richard Carolan, EdD, ATR-BC
  • Arnell Etherington, PhD, MFT, ATR-BC

Subjects

dc:subject × 4

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:scholar.dominican.edu:art-therapy-print-theses-1139

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Dominican University of California
Base URL
scholar.dominican.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Moffitt, Sarah K.. The Use of Group Art Therapy to Facilitate the Development of Identity with Adolescents in a Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Center. Master's Thesis thesis, 2006. https://scholar.dominican.edu/art-therapy-print-theses/140