Recent Research
The Centre is a faculty-based research centre in the Faculty of Fine Arts. Explore our recent research from 2019 onwards.
2023-2024
Accessibility in post-secondary education
Cynthia Bruce, PhD, co-director of the Centre of the Arts in Human Development conducted research on accessibility in post-secondary education: looking at teaching and learning across Canada, with a focus on disabled students using focus groups. Examining music therapy education with a focus on disability, the goal is to understand the lived experience of music therapy students using data from both Canada and the United States. Included a scoping review on emancipatory and inclusive participatory practices with individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
Potential for research using virtual reality
Tetiana Lazuk, PhD, R-DMT, BC-DMT works at the Centre as a dance /movement therapist in the Francophone and Anglophone programs, as well as being an onsite supervisor. She attended an international conference in November 2023 (American Dance Therapy Association) representing the Centre in Colorado USA. She described a project she heard about there that she feels could be of interest to the Centre for forthcoming research.
The project involves the use of virtual reality with autistic children. Questions were discussed about how this type of project could be adapted for the Centre’s adult population. This would be a project that would help the Centre expand its impact and collaborate with other educational programs interested in neurodivergent populations. Tania is reaching out to researchers at Concordia who might want to collaborate.
Music therapy research with caregivers
Guylaine Vaillancourt, PhD (on a sabbatical currently), associate professor and music therapist is conducting research involving caregivers of people with mental health issues through a music therapy approach. Examining issues such as the lack of resources and fatigue in the caregivers (with Annabelle Brault). She has also continued her involvement with CAHD during her sabbatical overseeing the Francophone program for research issues.
2022-2023
Analysis of the experiences of disabled students and faculty during COVID-19 lockdowns
Cynthia Bruce, PhD, co-director of the Centre of the Arts in Human Development developed a critical disability studies analysis of the experiences of disabled students and faculty during COVID-19 lockdowns. This included exploring the experiences of disabled music therapists in Canada. This study conducted a scoping review on emancipatory and inclusive participatory practices with individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. (with Dr. D’Amico).
Art and Movement sessions for people living with Parkinson’s Disease
Two of our dance/movement therapists, Joanabbey Sack, MA BC-DMT RDT and Tetiana Lazuk, PhD, R-DMT, BC-DMT focused on documenting the process of art and Movement sessions for people living with Parkinson’s Disease at the Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA).
Creating a 10-minute video document of the therapeutic experience of people with Parkinson’s participating in group Dance Movement Therapy (DMT). This is linked to the initial research project and published article, and will permit people with Parkinson’s (and their support and medical teams) the opportunity to see a process which is most often “behind the scenes”.
Two projects by Shawn Wilkinson, PhD
Shawn Wilkinson, PhD an associate Professor in applied human sciences is currently working on two research projects:
- Project one is exploring the co-creation of a training program for camp counselors working with kids with a range of abilities. The objectives of this research project are to (1) co-develop a series of training modules to prepare camp counselors and (2) co-develop a training manual for camp counselors to use throughout camp.
- The second project is exploring how drama therapy is influenced by cultural context. The objectives of the research study are to identify and discuss (a) Questions of cultural context that arise when reflecting on drama therapy training and practice and (b) The unique cultural experiences of drama therapists who have trained in a cultural institution in a different country from the country in which they currently practice.
Inclusion and empowerment through creative and social experiences
Laurel Young, PhD is the associate director of engAGE and an associate professor of music therapy. she is leading a research team exploring how experiences of inclusion and empowerment are fostered and expressed through creative and social experiences shared by aging adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in a Concordia University Art Hive.
Findings (manuscript in progress) are being applied to a follow up project supported by the Grace Dart Foundation entitled the Music, Friends, and Family Program. This initiative aims to reduce social isolation by facilitating hybrid or online music-centered visits between older adults and family members or friends who are unable to visit in-person. Results will lead to the development of viable practice frameworks for facilitating hybrid or online music therapy and music leisure programs for older adults in various contexts. (This follow-up project in beginning stages).
2020-2021
Digital Arts Project
This public outreach initiative became a virtual art exhibition and research project. It measured the learning of 6 undergraduate students, specifically the impact of working with and teaching adults with developmental disabilities. We also measured the impact on the 15 participants from the Centre who developed digital art-making skills. An art therapy graduate student, Dillon Lewchuk, conducted the study under the auspices of the Centre. The resulting article titled Digital Footprint: Exploring Digital Inclusion in Adults with Developmental Disabilities and it is under review for publication.
Mental Health Webinar: De-Stigmatizing Mental Illness
This webinar took place on May 27th, 2021 on Zoom at Concordia University. This project is an extension of the Centre’s ethnodrama research and public outreach project called Nobody’s Perfect. Some of the play’s performers were guest speakers who answered questions from virtual audience members about the issues concerning mental health brought up in the play. Feedback from the audience members was very positive and highlighted the need for further discussion about this topic in the community.
2019-2020
Ethnodrama mental health education series
In conjunction with AMI-Quebec Action on Mental Illness, CAHD has been using the ethnodrama method to create vital research-based plays for public education on mental health.
- Part 1 was a play based on over twenty interviews with caregivers for loved ones with a mental illness. It toured for two years (2015-2017), with pre- and post-questionnaires administered to audiences, in order to provide evidence of educational efficacy. In 2019-2020, a documentary was created to extend its educational purpose. Part 1 of this series was funded through a Team Start-Up grant from the OVPRGS.
- Part 2 of this series was an ethnodrama, Nobody’s Perfect: A Theatrical Exploration of Mental Health, created by a diverse community of individuals, including a dozen participants at CAHD. Performed in June 2018, this production, along with interviews with members of the cast, has been made into a documentary video. In 2019-2021, this video, along with guest appearances by cast members and the director, was developed into a webinar for public education, sponsored by Aid to Research Related Events, Exhibition, Publication and Dissemination Activities (ARRE) Program. Part 2 of this series was funded through an Accelerator grant from the OVPRGS. The initial phase of developing the Caregivers documentary was funded by a Raschkowan Family grant.
Connections: community engagement & digital art
In collaboration with the Department of Digital and Computational Arts in the Faculty of Fine Arts, this project took place from September 2019-April 2020. Group 12 members were assigned to work with undergraduate students taking a 6-credit course on the use of digital media with members of community agencies. Researchers measured the learning experience of the Concordia students and impact on using digital art materials as an artistic expression with the Centre’s Group 12 participants. The project served a dual mandate and culminated into a virtual art exhibit with the goal of educating the community about the artistic ability of people with disabilities using this innovative media.
Connecting parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) through art therapy
From 2019-2020, researchers at the Centre continue to develop and conduct an art therapy-based support group for parents of children 8-10 years old with ASD. Parents of children with ASD often feel isolated and experience heightened levels of stress as a result of parenting a child with ASD. Important and common themes brought up by parents include: “feelings of fear, burden, isolation and loss, as well as yearning for support, hope, acceptance, and validation”.
As there is a noted correlation between a parent’s ability to function and the gains a child experiences, the main benefits for parental group art therapy include a direct increase in well-being of the parent and an indirect increase in their ability to care for their child.
