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Art Therapy with an Adoptive Family: A Case Study of Adoptee Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder

Knapp Melkowits, Amanda Therese

Abstract Details

2008, Master of Arts, Ursuline College, Art Therapy and Counseling.
The transition into adoption can be exciting and stressful for children. This transition, overlooked by the literature, may predict post-finalization success within adoptive families. Older child adoptees face unique challenges in developing complete selves, managing emotions, and attaching to new families. This can be particularly difficult when children suffer behavioral and emotional issues from attachment disorders and maintain expectations about being disrupted from these families due to personal experience. Art therapy can provide adoptees opportunities for self expression, behavioral management, and rapport/ trust development while demonstrating to the family the adoptees' willingness to participate. This case folows 16 art therapy sessions with a set of four children. Each adoptee was brought over from Russian orphanages by adoptive families. These children were disrupted by at least one adoptive family, were chosen to be adopted by the same family within two years, and were all diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder (RAD.)
Cecile Brennan, PhD (Advisor)
Gail Rule-Hoffman (Committee Member)
Heidi Larew (Committee Member)
179 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Knapp Melkowits, A. T. (2008). Art Therapy with an Adoptive Family: A Case Study of Adoptee Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder [Master's thesis, Ursuline College]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=urs1210348357

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Knapp Melkowits, Amanda. Art Therapy with an Adoptive Family: A Case Study of Adoptee Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder. 2008. Ursuline College, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=urs1210348357.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Knapp Melkowits, Amanda. "Art Therapy with an Adoptive Family: A Case Study of Adoptee Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder." Master's thesis, Ursuline College, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=urs1210348357

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)