This paper attempts to create a basis for developing and instituting identity based art groups within multiple school settings, to reach a diverse group of adolescents. It reviews a program carried out in an urban alternative school setting with at-risk youth, with an aim to answer the question, “What was the experience of an identity-based, art and peer group on the identity processes of at-risk youth?”
Based on identity theory research and research connecting art therapy to art education, such a program might prove very useful in addressing the unique needs of adolescents who face intense environmental and psychosocial stressors in addition to normative developmental tasks. The students’ behavioral and art processes were observed and recorded, with the findings relating to several curative factors believed to result from the art-making and group experience The program used revealed that students who participated found the art group experience a positive one and enjoyed the opportunity to explore and share their self perceptions with peers. The results of the study indicate that students responded unanimously in appreciation of the group, while the behavioral processes noted indicate identity processes were not only supported by the art and group experience, but active for each individual
","abstract_html":"<p>This paper attempts to create a basis for developing and instituting identity based art groups within multiple school settings, to reach a diverse group of adolescents. It reviews a program carried out in an urban alternative school setting with at-risk youth, with an aim to answer the question, “What was the experience of an identity-based, art and peer group on the identity processes of at-risk youth?”</p> <p>Based on identity theory research and research connecting art therapy to art education, such a program might prove very useful in addressing the unique needs of adolescents who face intense environmental and psychosocial stressors in addition to normative developmental tasks. The students’ behavioral and art processes were observed and recorded, with the findings relating to several curative factors believed to result from the art-making and group experience The program used revealed that students who participated found the art group experience a positive one and enjoyed the opportunity to explore and share their self perceptions with peers. The results of the study indicate that students responded unanimously in appreciation of the group, while the behavioral processes noted indicate identity processes were not only supported by the art and group experience, but active for each individual</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Avina, Kelli Rae"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy","degree_level":"Master's Thesis","degree_discipline":"Art Therapy","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Laury Rappaport, PhD, ATR-BC","Richard Carolan, EdD, ATR-BC"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2008,"date_issued":"2008-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2008-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:06:14Z","subjects":["Art Therapy","Identity","At-Risk Youth","Counseling Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholar.dominican.edu/art-therapy-print-theses/147","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Laury Rappaport, PhD, ATR-BC","Richard Carolan, EdD, ATR-BC"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Avina, Kelli Rae"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-09-27T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Art Therapy"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Art Therapy","Identity","At-Risk Youth","Counseling Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholar.dominican.edu/art-therapy-print-theses/147"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This paper attempts to create a basis for developing and instituting identity based art groups within multiple school settings, to reach a diverse group of adolescents. It reviews a program carried out in an urban alternative school setting with at-risk youth, with an aim to answer the question, “What was the experience of an identity-based, art and peer group on the identity processes of at-risk youth?”
Based on identity theory research and research connecting art therapy to art education, such a program might prove very useful in addressing the unique needs of adolescents who face intense environmental and psychosocial stressors in addition to normative developmental tasks. The students’ behavioral and art processes were observed and recorded, with the findings relating to several curative factors believed to result from the art-making and group experience The program used revealed that students who participated found the art group experience a positive one and enjoyed the opportunity to explore and share their self perceptions with peers. The results of the study indicate that students responded unanimously in appreciation of the group, while the behavioral processes noted indicate identity processes were not only supported by the art and group experience, but active for each individual
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Utilizing an Identity-Based Art and Peer Group with At-Risk Youth: Supporting Identity Processes"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Laury Rappaport, PhD, ATR-BC","Richard Carolan, EdD, ATR-BC"],"dc:creator":["Avina, Kelli Rae"],"dc:date.available":["2021-09-27T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This paper attempts to create a basis for developing and instituting identity based art groups within multiple school settings, to reach a diverse group of adolescents. It reviews a program carried out in an urban alternative school setting with at-risk youth, with an aim to answer the question, “What was the experience of an identity-based, art and peer group on the identity processes of at-risk youth?”
Based on identity theory research and research connecting art therapy to art education, such a program might prove very useful in addressing the unique needs of adolescents who face intense environmental and psychosocial stressors in addition to normative developmental tasks. The students’ behavioral and art processes were observed and recorded, with the findings relating to several curative factors believed to result from the art-making and group experience The program used revealed that students who participated found the art group experience a positive one and enjoyed the opportunity to explore and share their self perceptions with peers. The results of the study indicate that students responded unanimously in appreciation of the group, while the behavioral processes noted indicate identity processes were not only supported by the art and group experience, but active for each individual
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholar.dominican.edu/art-therapy-print-theses/147"],"dc:subject":["Art Therapy","Identity","At-Risk Youth","Counseling Psychology"],"dc:title":["Utilizing an Identity-Based Art and Peer Group with At-Risk Youth: Supporting Identity Processes"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Art Therapy"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:06:14Z"}