Integrative Research : Using Art to Research Art

© 2021 Informa UK Limited. This is the accepted manuscript version of book chapter which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003155676-20This chapter describes the importance of incorporating research into practice as the way in which a new profession generates evidence, develops research methodologies, and adapts practice as new and innovative approaches emerge from clinical experiences. The relational focus of researching therapy considers the therapist’s subjective experiences as being inextricably linked to the implicit and explicit experiences of the client in the therapy relationship. These experiences are seen as a reciprocal exchange of energy, affect, imagery, and imaginative responses that occur in the body and imagination of the therapist and are admissible as evidence and research data. The focus of research therefore places an equal emphasis on the reported experiences of the practitioner-researcher along with the experiences reported by the client, with both participants contributing to a collaborative account. This chapter contributes to constructing a research design that is based on the art experiences that form the foundation of art therapy. The framework aims to: a) incorporate practitioner-research as a central research paradigm; b) integrate therapists’ creative art making into reflective practice that can inform our supervisory and self-supervisory processes; c) elaborate how art-based methods record a range of dynamic art processes that emerge from creative clinical practice, and d) develop an embodied research framework.Peer reviewe

An investigation of the impact of ensemble interrelationship on performances of improvised music through practice research

In this thesis I present my investigation into the ways in which the creative and social relationships I have developed with long-term collaborators alter or affect the musical decisions I make in my performances of Improvised Music. The aim of the investigation has been to deepen the understanding of my musical and relational processes as a trombonist through the examination of my artistic practice, which is formed by experiences in range of genres such as Jazz and contemporary music, with a current specialty in Improvised Music performance. By creating an interpretative framework from the theoretical and analytical processes used in music therapy practice, I have introduced a tangible set of concepts that can interpret my Improvised Music performance processes and establish objective perspectives of subjective musical experiences. Chapter one is concerned with recent debates in Improvised Music and music therapy. Particular reference is made to literature that considers interplay between performers. Chapter two focuses on my individual artistic practice and examines the influence of five trombone players from Jazz and Improvised Music performance on my praxis. A recording of one of my solo trombone performances accompanies this section. It concludes with a discussion on my process of making tacit knowledge of Improvised Music performance tangible and explicit and the abstruse nature of subjective feeling states when performing improvisation. This concludes part one of the thesis. The second part of the thesis is concerned with the development and application of concepts and their outcomes. In chapter three, I present frameworks drawn from concepts in music therapy practice. Musical material from my work with long standing collaborators Steve Beresford, John Edwards and Mark Sanders form the basis of three case studies presented in chapter four. Recordings of trio and quartet pieces accompany case study one and two. A recording of a duo with myself and Mark Sanders accompanies case three. In the conclusion, I provide a summary of the research processes, frameworks for analysis and their outcomes. My quartet record All Will Be Said, All To Do Again, which was recorded in the period of this research, forms part three of the study and is the basis for two of three pieces in the aforementioned case studies in chapter four. Part three also includes a live performance of the quartet featuring myself and the musicians featured in thesis which has been documented and included. I further considered how to share my analytical framework in the form of a software programme, a prototype of which can be found in the appendix

One-Canvas Method: Art Making That Transforms On One Surface Over a Sustained Period of Time

The one-canvas method is a practice of ongoing art making on one surface for a sustained period of time. Expanding on a pilot study, this inquiry followed an art-based research design guided by three questions: 1) Are there art therapy qualities that are unique to the one-canvas assemblage painting process? 2) What are the therapeutic qualities of interim periods during one-canvas work? 3) Can digital media that is used to document one-canvas processes further appreciation and understanding of therapeutic arts modalities? Five adult participants including myself, used the method over three sessions. Individual summary videos that integrated three modes of digital media documentation were shared as the basis for review at a fourth session. Four primary outcomes emerged: Engaging with the one-canvas method (1) provided opportunities to experience a continuous process of change and transformation; (2) generated an enhanced sense of an integral dynamic between new creations and the loss of previous ones; (3) the time between sessions was significant; and, 4) digital media made notable contributions

The effects of reinforcement magnitude on functional analysis outcomes

The functional analysis methodology developed by Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, and Richman (1982/1994) has been successfully used to identify the variables that maintain the problem behavior of individuals with developmental disabilities. However, in some cases, the results of functional analysis may be inconclusive. Altering parameters of reinforcement, such as the schedule, the quality, or magnitude of the reinforcer, may increase the likelihood of obtaining clear functional analysis results. Few studies have evaluated the effects of reinforcement magnitude on problem behavior even though basic findings indicate that this parameter may alter functional analysis outcomes. In fact, reinforcement magnitude has varied widely and appeared to be selected arbitrarily in most studies on functional analysis. In the current study, seven children with autism and/or developmental disabilities who engaged in severe problem behavior were exposed to three separate functional analyses: One with a small (3-s) reinforcement magnitude, one with a medium (20-s) reinforcement magnitude, and one with a large (120-s) reinforcement magnitude. Results of the three functional analyses were compared to determine if a particular reinforcement magnitude should be used to obtain the clearest outcomes. Overall, the same conclusion about the function (s) of each participant’s problem behavior was drawn regardless of the reinforcement magnitude. However, the medium reinforcement magnitude is recommended for use during functional analysis

Behavior Management in Children with Autism and Related Disorders

Children with autism and related disorders commonly suffer from developmental delays and physical impairments. These often require services such as physical and occupational therapy. The behavioral symptoms these children display can pose an additional challenge to therapy sessions, requiring therapists to spend time dealing with the behaviors rather than focusing on the treatment. The purpose of the study is to review the literature on autism and related disorders and to provide effective means of behavior management to achieve more effective therapy sessions. This paper will discuss physical therapy interventions such as sensory integration and deep touch proprioception, and how these can be used to help keep students with autism and related disorders more focused and cooperative during therapy sessions

An applied evaluation of resurgence: functional communication training (FCT) and treatment relapse

Extinction is a very important component of functional communication training (FCT). Thus, the potential undesirable effects of extinction must be considered before this type of treatment is implemented. Resurgence, the recurrence of previously reinforced behavior when another behavior is placed on extinction, is a possible undesirable effect of extinction. Resurgence may account for some instances of treatment relapse in situations where problem behavior recovers following implementation of extinction-based treatments such as FCT. Despite the potential relevance of resurgence to understanding why problem behavior may re-emerge, few applied studies have examined resurgence effects. The current study attempted to determine whether resurgence of problem behavior occurred when a newly taught alternative behavior was placed on extinction or contacted a thin schedule of reinforcement and if the resurgence effect could be repeated within an individual. The present investigation also replicated and extended the results of Experiments 2 and 4 in Lieving and Lattal (2003) by examining resurgence with human participants who engaged in aberrant behavior

Entangled Relationships Illustrated Through Parasitic Plants

This thesis paper examines the use of natural forms to metaphorically represent human bonds in my creation of the series of works for my MFA Thesis Exhibition based on interacting relationships between plants. My images focus on parasitic plants, as a metaphor for restrictive and binding aspects of human relationships. Several aspects of my work include psychological influences, my observations of the natural world, my artistic process and my major artistic influences. Chapter I focuses on the formation of my interest in psychology as it relates to entangled personal relationships and the translation of these ideas into my art. Attachment Theory and its founders Mary Ainsworth and John Bowlby are investigated, followed by a discussion of parasitic plants in relation to human relationships and their significance to my art. Chapter II explores my artistic influences both conceptually and technically. Connections are made between my work and specific images that have influenced the making of my art. Creative ideas and techniques for using the paint media are discussed in relation to works of art I have researched and have learned from. Artist’s works in discussion include Edvard Munch, Egon Schiele, Matthew Ritchie and Jim Dine. Also, as part of Chapter II, my personal artistic process is explained including the methods developed for both painting and drawing, and my utilization of active processes such as editing and layering. Correlations are revealed between the layering of paint and marks and the layers of hidden emotions found through the use of color, mark making, and composition which highlight how my interest in psychology combines with painting techniques to create the body of work that forms my MFA thesis exhibition

Metaphors in Materials and Imagery for Self Reclamation and Empowerment

As an experimental multidisciplinary artist, my creative process draws inspiration from daily experiences and encounters with the mundane. I am particularly interested in West African textile cultural practices, specifically the use of symbols and basic geometric forms to communicate through materials (specifically fabrics) and the role these images and forms play in African culture. In my work, I am developing my own distinct vocabulary of symbols and patterns, inspired by these practices. My artistic practice explores a wide range of themes related to women, sustainability, loss, everydayness, wear and tear, degeneration, the transitory nature of life, and material effects, often through the repurposing of household fabrics. Through experimentation with layering, repetition, and investing my creative process, I aim to contribute to the conversation around gender and societal expectations that persists in our current world, while also engaging in a personal search for identity and belonging. This thesis will examine my practice, including my sources of inspiration and artistic process, to explore how I respond to the themes that particularly interest me, and how my work contributes to the ongoing dialogue of contemporary art practices. Ultimately, I aim to use my art to challenge traditional societal gender and patriarchal norms and empower myself and the women around me