In western American culture, because relief from the distress of mental illness is believed to come primarily from professional and pharmaceutical sources, few people view nature or physical circumstances as relevant to cure, or do they use the outdoors specifically as a therapeutic agent. This study presents fifty-six drawings done by patients in three short term in-patient psychiatric units. The patients varied greatly in the severity of their dysfunction, both physically and emotionally. They came from eclectic economic, racial and social backgrounds from high functioning executives to the mentally ill homeless. The researcher hypothesized that if one can identify and draw a safe and healing space, one can then use the drawings to re-create a mental image where one can re-experience that feeling of being safe and healed. Fifty—two case studies are presented which support the hypothesis that nature or the environment are perceived as safe and healing. One hundred percent of the drawings contained some element of nature.
","abstract_html":"<p>In western American culture, because relief from the distress of mental illness is believed to come primarily from professional and pharmaceutical sources, few people view nature or physical circumstances as relevant to cure, or do they use the outdoors specifically as a therapeutic agent. This study presents fifty-six drawings done by patients in three short term in-patient psychiatric units. The patients varied greatly in the severity of their dysfunction, both physically and emotionally. They came from eclectic economic, racial and social backgrounds from high functioning executives to the mentally ill homeless. The researcher hypothesized that if one can identify and draw a safe and healing space, one can then use the drawings to re-create a mental image where one can re-experience that feeling of being safe and healed. Fifty—two case studies are presented which support the hypothesis that nature or the environment are perceived as safe and healing. One hundred percent of the drawings contained some element of nature.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Morley, Toni"],"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":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1987,"date_issued":"1987-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"1987-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:06:30Z","subjects":["Art Therapy","Counseling Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholar.dominican.edu/art-therapy-print-theses/452","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Morley, Toni"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"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","Counseling Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholar.dominican.edu/art-therapy-print-theses/452"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In western American culture, because relief from the distress of mental illness is believed to come primarily from professional and pharmaceutical sources, few people view nature or physical circumstances as relevant to cure, or do they use the outdoors specifically as a therapeutic agent. This study presents fifty-six drawings done by patients in three short term in-patient psychiatric units. The patients varied greatly in the severity of their dysfunction, both physically and emotionally. They came from eclectic economic, racial and social backgrounds from high functioning executives to the mentally ill homeless. The researcher hypothesized that if one can identify and draw a safe and healing space, one can then use the drawings to re-create a mental image where one can re-experience that feeling of being safe and healed. Fifty—two case studies are presented which support the hypothesis that nature or the environment are perceived as safe and healing. One hundred percent of the drawings contained some element of nature.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Environment is a Factor in Experiencing the Feeling of Safety and Wellness"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Morley, Toni"],"dc:description.abstract":["In western American culture, because relief from the distress of mental illness is believed to come primarily from professional and pharmaceutical sources, few people view nature or physical circumstances as relevant to cure, or do they use the outdoors specifically as a therapeutic agent. This study presents fifty-six drawings done by patients in three short term in-patient psychiatric units. The patients varied greatly in the severity of their dysfunction, both physically and emotionally. They came from eclectic economic, racial and social backgrounds from high functioning executives to the mentally ill homeless. The researcher hypothesized that if one can identify and draw a safe and healing space, one can then use the drawings to re-create a mental image where one can re-experience that feeling of being safe and healed. Fifty—two case studies are presented which support the hypothesis that nature or the environment are perceived as safe and healing. One hundred percent of the drawings contained some element of nature.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholar.dominican.edu/art-therapy-print-theses/452"],"dc:subject":["Art Therapy","Counseling Psychology"],"dc:title":["The Environment is a Factor in Experiencing the Feeling of Safety and Wellness"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Art Therapy"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:06:30Z"}