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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 3 page paper analyzes and critiques a journal article about art therapy used with adult substance abusers who are also mentally ill. Bibliography lists 1 source.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVhmatto.rtf
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ill, and try to trace the connections between the two behaviors. This article is different; the author describes a new treatment for people who are both mentally ill and substance
abusers, and finds that art therapy has helped these patients make progress. The patients in the study had "co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders" but results showed that the
art therapy allowed these patients to increase their ability to verbalize "about emotions related to their substance abuse"; to better tolerate "strong negative affect"; to improve interpersonal relations and, perhaps
best of all, it decreased their cravings (Matto, 2007, p. 41). Matto notes that literature on substance abuse "consistently shows that negative emotional states, such as sadness and anger, and
subjective stress are highly predictive of substance abuse relapse" (Matto, 2007, p. 42). They also have a significant influence on the subjects motivation to change their behavior with regard to
substance use (Matto, 2007). However, methods such as "cognitive coping skills" and "relapse prevention training" have had very little impact on the way people make decisions about their behavior when
they are under intense emotional stress (Matto, 2007). Thus, the studies have concluded that finding ways to deal with negative emotions and the inability to regulate decision-making behavior at such
times is critical if relapses are to be avoided (Matto, 2007). In addition, studies have shown that "mental health disorders caused by extreme stress conditions, such as trauma and addiction,
have in common impaired hemispheric integration that may cause people to shift precipitously from left-right dominated states with limited mood stability" (Matto, 2007, p. 41). In other words, when people
are suffering from mental illnesses caused by extreme stress or substance addiction, their mental functions may be impaired to the point where they experience extreme mood swings. In this instance,
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