M.A. in Art Therapy - Alumna

Why did you choose graduate school at IUPUI?

I was initially drawn to Herron School of Art and Design’s Art Therapy master’s program for the leadership. I attended a grad open house during undergrad and was inspired by the passion I saw from Juliet King and Eileen Misluk. In addition, art therapy is a relative new field in the state of Indiana and Juliet’s call for pioneers spoke to me!

What has been your favorite academic accomplishment since you’ve been here?

By far, my favorite academic accomplishment was having the opportunity to work with the Indiana University Health Neuroscience Center staff on a collaborative capstone study. We are working on a publication submission as we speak! It was great to see these seemingly divergent fields of study (art and medicine) work in tandem to further our understanding of art and neuroscience with implications for art therapy.

What do you enjoy most about life in Indianapolis?

I absolutely love Indianapolis’ Canal Walk. This beautiful place merges art with the great outdoors and is very close to IUPUI’s campus! I have always enjoyed the art and culture of Indianapolis.

Please provide some details about your work/research as a graduate student and/or any activities you are involved in.

For the past two-years I have been interning at St. Vincent Health, working with patients, caregivers, and staff individually and in groups in both in- and out-patient settings. In transition from my first-year internship to my second-year placement, our goal was to better integrate art therapy into the medical setting and expand our service net. Currently, I service patients from the Cancer Care and Supportive Care departments, Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital, and Women’s High Risk.

In terms of research, I have been in collaboration with Herron’s Art Therapy Program Director, Juliet King; fellow cohort member, Alex Shaikh; neurophysiologist, Leisha Osburn; IU Health Neuroscience Center’s Dr. Robert Pascuzzi and Dr. Dragos Sabau; and IUPUI statistician, Dr. Fang Li on an EEG protocol titled: Cortical Activity Patterns in Art Making vs. Fine Motor Movement as Measured by EEG. We expect to find statistically significant variances in cortical activation, which will lead to an increased scientific understanding of the creative process, will contribute to research on the intersection of the sciences and arts research, and will provide a framework for how clinical art therapy theories and interventions can be further tested and understood.

I have also collaborated with Juliet King, Greg Hull, Gwen Sprehn, Sandra Guingrich, Alex Shaikh, and Robert Pascuzzi on and ALS protocol titled: BRIDGE-A Clinical Study to Improve the Quality of Life in Patients and Families Affected by ALS.