A Heuristic Study of Vicarious Trauma: A Visual and Written Thematic Analysis
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Author
Baker, Liza
Date
2018
Degree
Master of Arts in Art Therapy
Abstract
In this study the unique capacity of vicarious trauma (VT) to alter the self was explored and the
development of positive growth in the experience of negative outcomes. To facilitate a more
introspective, experiential, holistic inquiry of vicarious trauma this study utilized an arts-based
approach adapting the six phases of Moustakas’ (1990) heuristic model as documented through
self-narrative and creative processes. Research documented disclosing experiences of personal
history and visual and written modalities that constructed meaningful connections between
creative processes and the impact of trauma upon the emotional life of the researcher’s self. The
data included artworks and journal entries created during the researcher’s eleven-month art
therapy internship. A thematic analysis of these visual and written responses revealed themes of
disrupted identity, disrupted meaning systems, new concepts of self, and changes in worldview.
These themes indicated vicarious trauma’s unique capacity to alter the self in a process called
vicarious transformation. Future studies were recommended.