Focusing-Oriented Art Therapy as a Means of Stress Reduction With Graduate Students

This study sought to test the effectiveness of using a mindfulness based practice. Focusing-Oriented Art Therapy, as a way to reduce stress and raise students\u27 perceived levels of self-compassion in graduate students. Participants consisted of 9 female graduate students in the Art Therapy Psychology program at Notre Dame de Namur University. Participants took part in two group sessions where FOAT\u27s Clearing a Space with Art Directive and Non-Directive Imagery were administered. The Stress Arousal Checklist and a self-report stress scale were used as a pre and post-test to measure stress levels before and after the CAS with Art exercise. Self- compassion was measured using the Self-Compassion Scale as a pretest in the first session and a posttest in the second session. Quantitative and qualitative results showed that FOAT\u27s CAS with Art is an effective technique in reducing stress. Results did not indicate an increase of the participants\u27 perceived levels of self-compassion. Quantitative and qualitative data are discussed. Artwork is used to illustrate the qualitative data