The IMAGINE Project tackles the issue of stress reduction for a population that faces high stress levels due to environmental instability with co-morbidities of prior physical, cognitive, and social issues. Despite the need of stress reduction approaches in a population under these circumstances, external factors make it difficult to reduce the problem. Consequently, the lack of stress reduction skills can lead to the exacerbation of existing problems and the onset of many others. However, until basic needs such as housing and sustenance are met, stress reduction cannot be attempted effectively. Thus, the target population for this project focused on people who had their basic needs met, but retained high risk for recidivism and returning to homelessness.
Research demonstrates that the following interventions can be effective in helping people reduce and manage stress: chronic disease self-management techniques, mindfulness based stress reduction, solution-focused brief therapy, and mindfulness-based art therapy. However, these programs utilize methods that are costly and require long periods of intervention, which is not ideal for a population that has a history of homelessness, high mobility, and high attrition rates from traditional programs. The IMAGINE Project was designed based on primary and secondary research that integrated parts of multiple stress management interventions into a single approach that could provide low-barrier, accessible mindfulness strategies by engaging the population in mindfulness art activities. A pilot implementation was conducted to create the best class design that could ensure the target population gains valuable stress reducing insights through the cathartic medium of art. A detailed instructors manual was also developed to promote program sustainability.
","abstract_html":"<p><em>The IMAGINE Project</em> tackles the issue of stress reduction for a population that faces high stress levels due to environmental instability with co-morbidities of prior physical, cognitive, and social issues. Despite the need of stress reduction approaches in a population under these circumstances, external factors make it difficult to reduce the problem. Consequently, the lack of stress reduction skills can lead to the exacerbation of existing problems and the onset of many others. However, until basic needs such as housing and sustenance are met, stress reduction cannot be attempted effectively. Thus, the target population for this project focused on people who had their basic needs met, but retained high risk for recidivism and returning to homelessness.</p> <p>Research demonstrates that the following interventions can be effective in helping people reduce and manage stress: chronic disease self-management techniques, mindfulness based stress reduction, solution-focused brief therapy, and mindfulness-based art therapy. However, these programs utilize methods that are costly and require long periods of intervention, which is not ideal for a population that has a history of homelessness, high mobility, and high attrition rates from traditional programs. <em>The IMAGINE Project</em> was designed based on primary and secondary research that integrated parts of multiple stress management interventions into a single approach that could provide low-barrier, accessible mindfulness strategies by engaging the population in mindfulness art activities. A pilot implementation was conducted to create the best class design that could ensure the target population gains valuable stress reducing insights through the cathartic medium of art. A detailed instructors manual was also developed to promote program sustainability.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Defiesta, Janelle"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Behavioral Health (MSBH)","degree_level":"Project/Capstone - Global access","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Kathleen Raffel","Dr. Kelly L'Engle","Rita Widergren"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-08-11T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-08-11T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:00Z","subjects":["Mindfulness","stress","stress reduction","stress management","marginalized","homeless","isolation","art","substance recovery","chronic self-management","mindfulness based stress reduction","solution focused therapy","mindfulness art therapy","Applied Behavior Analysis","Community-Based Research","Social Work","Theory and Philosophy"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/610","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Kathleen Raffel","Dr. Kelly L'Engle","Rita Widergren"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Defiesta, Janelle"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-08-10T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Project/Capstone - Global access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Behavioral Health (MSBH)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Mindfulness","stress","stress reduction","stress management","marginalized","homeless","isolation","art","substance recovery","chronic self-management","mindfulness based stress reduction","solution focused therapy","mindfulness art therapy","Applied Behavior Analysis","Community-Based Research","Social Work","Theory and Philosophy"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/610"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The IMAGINE Project tackles the issue of stress reduction for a population that faces high stress levels due to environmental instability with co-morbidities of prior physical, cognitive, and social issues. Despite the need of stress reduction approaches in a population under these circumstances, external factors make it difficult to reduce the problem. Consequently, the lack of stress reduction skills can lead to the exacerbation of existing problems and the onset of many others. However, until basic needs such as housing and sustenance are met, stress reduction cannot be attempted effectively. Thus, the target population for this project focused on people who had their basic needs met, but retained high risk for recidivism and returning to homelessness.
Research demonstrates that the following interventions can be effective in helping people reduce and manage stress: chronic disease self-management techniques, mindfulness based stress reduction, solution-focused brief therapy, and mindfulness-based art therapy. However, these programs utilize methods that are costly and require long periods of intervention, which is not ideal for a population that has a history of homelessness, high mobility, and high attrition rates from traditional programs. The IMAGINE Project was designed based on primary and secondary research that integrated parts of multiple stress management interventions into a single approach that could provide low-barrier, accessible mindfulness strategies by engaging the population in mindfulness art activities. A pilot implementation was conducted to create the best class design that could ensure the target population gains valuable stress reducing insights through the cathartic medium of art. A detailed instructors manual was also developed to promote program sustainability.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The IMAGINE Project: Inspiring Vulnerable Adults Through Art and Mindfulness"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Kathleen Raffel","Dr. Kelly L'Engle","Rita Widergren"],"dc:creator":["Defiesta, Janelle"],"dc:date.available":["2017-08-10T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The IMAGINE Project tackles the issue of stress reduction for a population that faces high stress levels due to environmental instability with co-morbidities of prior physical, cognitive, and social issues. Despite the need of stress reduction approaches in a population under these circumstances, external factors make it difficult to reduce the problem. Consequently, the lack of stress reduction skills can lead to the exacerbation of existing problems and the onset of many others. However, until basic needs such as housing and sustenance are met, stress reduction cannot be attempted effectively. Thus, the target population for this project focused on people who had their basic needs met, but retained high risk for recidivism and returning to homelessness.
Research demonstrates that the following interventions can be effective in helping people reduce and manage stress: chronic disease self-management techniques, mindfulness based stress reduction, solution-focused brief therapy, and mindfulness-based art therapy. However, these programs utilize methods that are costly and require long periods of intervention, which is not ideal for a population that has a history of homelessness, high mobility, and high attrition rates from traditional programs. The IMAGINE Project was designed based on primary and secondary research that integrated parts of multiple stress management interventions into a single approach that could provide low-barrier, accessible mindfulness strategies by engaging the population in mindfulness art activities. A pilot implementation was conducted to create the best class design that could ensure the target population gains valuable stress reducing insights through the cathartic medium of art. A detailed instructors manual was also developed to promote program sustainability.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/610"],"dc:subject":["Mindfulness","stress","stress reduction","stress management","marginalized","homeless","isolation","art","substance recovery","chronic self-management","mindfulness based stress reduction","solution focused therapy","mindfulness art therapy","Applied Behavior Analysis","Community-Based Research","Social Work","Theory and Philosophy"],"dc:title":["The IMAGINE Project: Inspiring Vulnerable Adults Through Art and Mindfulness"],"thesis:degree_level":["Project/Capstone - Global access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Behavioral Health (MSBH)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:00Z"}