Art as a Mindfulness Practice

The use of mindfulness-based interventions in health, education, and psychology have dramatically increased in the last two decades. Art, as a reflection of the internal and external processes, is one of the key features of humanity. However, art as a mindfulness-based intervention remains underrepresented and under-researched in the mindfulness literature. This is surprising given the role of art across culture, religion, and philosophy. Art is used to explore concepts of self and self-refection, as well as to train attention and awareness. Art is also used to explore relationships and engage in meaning-making. There is little evidence of why art was not included in original mindfulness-based curriculums. This investigation explored the potential relevance of art-based interventions and created and piloted an art-based mindfulness curriculum as a solution to address the apparent gap in the literature. The purpose of this investigation was to create a curriculum of mental health interventions using art as a mindfulness practice. This investigation is based on a pilot study where art was used as a mindfulness-based intervention aimed to reduce stress and headache in adolescent girls (Espinosa, 2015). The curriculum presented is based on findings from the pilot study including the successes, challenges, and progress of the intervention which has evolved through clinical practice. The most recent version of the curriculum aims to reduce stress and address a range of mental health concerns found in clinical and educational settings. It is anticipated that this curriculum will be explored in future research using art both as the mindfulness practice in and of itself, and also as an adjunct to mindfulness-based curriculums. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and Ohio Link ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu