- Women with Cancer
- Refugees/ Asylum Seekers
- Children
- College Students
- Coronary Artery Disease Patients
- Gender Variant Individuals
- People with TBI's or Mental Diseases

Populations that Benefit from Mindfulness Based Art Therapy

- integrates mindfulness meditation skills and aspect of art therapy into an eight-week, gender-segregated supportive group therapy format. 
- A multi-modal design intended to provide opportunities for verbal and non-verbal expression, enhanced support and expanded coping strategies 
- decreases stress and improves life quality 
- overall theoretical framework is rooted in the principles of self-regulation theory to understand reactions to perceptions of physical and emotional well-being.

Benefits of MBAT

Forms of Mindfulness Based Art Therapy

Mindfulness-Based Art Therpay integrates mindfulness meditation skills and aspects of art therapy into an eight week, gender segregated supportive group therapy format.

Boston University

Syracuse University

University of California, Davis

a form of psychotherapy involving the encouragement of free self-expression through painting, drawing, or modeling used as a remedial activity or an aid to diagnosis.

Art Therapy 

- Mindfulness-based stress reduction
- Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
- Dialectical behavioral therapy
- Acceptance and commitment therapy
- Mindfulness-based relapse prevention
- Mindfulness-based relationship enhancement
- Mindful self-compassion training
- Mindfulness-based eating awareness training

Examples of Mindfulness Interventions (masterlist)

- Mindfulness-based stress reduction
- Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
- Mindfulness-based relapse prevention
- Mindfulness-based relationship enhancement
- Mindful self-compassion training
- Mindfulness-based eating awareness training
- Mindfulness-based Art Therapy

Examples of Mindfulness-Based Interventions

Monti, D. A., Peterson, C., Kunkel, E. J. S., Hauck, W. W., Pequignot, E., Rhodes, L., & Brainard, G. C. (2006). A randomized, controlled trial of mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT) for women with cancer. Psycho-Oncology (Chichester, England), 15(5), 363-373. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.988

A randomized, controlled trial of mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT) for women with cancer

1) Introduction to Program and Intervention Embodied well-being: responding vs Reacting to the stress of life Body scan meditation 

2) Body scan meditation Attitudinal foundations of mindfulness Anchoring attention with the breath (AOB)

3) Gentle yoga and sitting meditation Intending well-being/loving-kindness meditation 

4)Cultivating receptive attention Gentle yoga and sitting meditation Loving-kindness meditation 

5) Expanding awareness Sitting (meditation) with thoughts and feelings Loving-kindness meditation  

6) The physiology of stress Walking meditation 

7)An evening (or) afternoon silent retreat: guided meditation practices and open studio 

8) Guided imagery to a place of healing Program review and discussion of program close as new beginning 

Mindfulness Skills Development 

There are three main forms of art therapy:
- Analytical Art Therapy
- Art Psychotherapy
- Art as a therapy ITSELF

Forms of Art Therapy

 Mindfulness-Based Art Therapy (MBAT) 

Reference to ASD and Art Therapy 

Art therapy helps children with ASD have a more flexible, relaxed attitude,  communication skills as well as  self image. Art Therapy focuses on two areas that include social communication and repetitive behavior which can be improved through the sensory experience during Art Therapy. 

Art Therapy for Children with ASD

Traditional psychotherapy in prisons is generally not very effective due to the inmates' inherent distrust of verbal disclosure. But, there has recently been some support for art therapy as an effective tool for reducing depression among inmates. Two studies were initiated in a North Florida prison to measure art therapy and its role in decreasing depression symptoms. Ultimately it was discovered that art therapy reflected a significant decrease in depressive symptoms among inmates who participated in the program.

Art Therapy and Depression In Prison Population

Reference for Art Therapy and Depression in Prison Populations

Evidence-based psychotherapy originally developed to treat individuals with borderline personality disorder and chronically suicidal individuals. Treatment focuses on mindfulness, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy 

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an educational therapy program with the goal of teaching individuals both formal and informal/everyday mindfulness techniques to help reduce psychological distress.

Standard MBSR programs are 8-weeks in duration consisting of 26 hours with a 6-hour one day class (total of 32 hours). Participants are also expected to practice 45 minutes per day at home during the program.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) centers on the utilization of acceptance, values, mindfulness and conventional behavior change methods with the goal of reducing psychological inflexibility. 

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy 

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is an 8-week psychotherapy program that includes elements of both Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) with the goal of enhancing one’s psychological well-being through formal/informal meditation practices. 

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy

A combination of relapse prevention which is a cognitive behavioral therapy with mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. It is a mindfulness based aftercare approach to prevent those who have suffered from addiction to relapse.

Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention

- MSC is a Self-Compassion intervention program which aims, over 8 weeks, to provide participants with a variety of tools to increase self-compassion, which they can integrate into their lives according to what works best for them. It works to cultivate self-compassion through sitting practice, day-to-day practices and experiential education. 

Mindful Self-Compassion Program (MSC)

Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training (MB-EAT) is an intervention created primarily for Binge Eating Disorder (BED). It is a 10 session intervention that involves teaching patients a variety of mindfulness meditation techniques to address core issues of BED. The program structure focuses on 4 stages that cultivate a non judgmental awareness of the internal experience with eating and external patterns or triggers that continue the cycle of binging. 

Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training

Mindfulness-based relationship enhancement is a set of techniques to help enhance coping skills for stress when in a relationship. The goal of MBRE is to learn to be mindful by accepting and facing any sort of relationship challenges that you as an individual or as a couple experience, and making time to react and make decisions.

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