The Ripple Effect in the Expressive Therapies: A Theory of Change Explored Through Case Studies

A Theory of Change Explored through Case Studies

Authors

  • Debra Jelinek Gombert
  • Rami Eckhaus
  • Darlene Kuehn
  • Melissa J. Hedlund Nelson
  • Christina Lee

Keywords:

art therapy, dance/movement therapy, expressive arts therapies, healing, music therapy, ripple effect, social change

Abstract

The expressive arts therapies use the arts to facilitate growth and healing and to create social change for both individuals and communities. Expressive arts therapists are certified or credentialed therapists who are specialists in using the arts (or one specific artistic medium) as therapy. In this article, the authors describe theories of how the expressive therapies cause personal and social change and explain why the arts are uniquely poised to produce such change. They also present the metaphor of a ripple to describe the effects of such change as it spreads from the individual to that individual's inter-personal relationships, and to that individual's many communities. In this metaphor, it is the art that is the figurative pebble causing the ripples of change, growth, and healing. Four narratives are presented from the United States, Israel, and Canada, giving an international look at ripples caused by use of art therapy, dance/movement therapy, and music therapy. In each of these narratives, the authors explain how the relational process of the expressive arts therapies provided an opportunity for clients to utilize their own creative abilities to explore their world, to produce a tangible artifact of that exploration, and to be the seed of social change via the artistic process.

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Published

2018-04-20

How to Cite

Gombert, D. J., Eckhaus, R., Kuehn, D., Hedlund Nelson, M. J., & Lee, C. (2018). The Ripple Effect in the Expressive Therapies: A Theory of Change Explored Through Case Studies: A Theory of Change Explored through Case Studies. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 23(4), 20–40. Retrieved from https://reflectionsnarrativesofprofessionalhelping.org/index.php/Reflections/article/view/1630