Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
ICSA 2025 International Conference - Montral, QC
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Nicola Brophy
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Abstract: This autoethnographic account examines the experience of engaging with art therapy as a second-generation adult who has left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The transition away from such faiths often involves significant struggles with trust, fear, somatic reactions, and existential distress, as identified in various fields of research including psychology, sociology, counseling, and cult studies. However, limited research exists on creative therapies within this context. To facilitate a deeper exploration of the experience, the researcher draws upon her own journey, which has been scaffolded by personal therapy, education, and a safe, supportive environment, ensuring that the research remains ethical.
Using autoethnography, this dissertation delves into the researcher’s engagement with art therapy over a span of 20 months. It incorporates journal entries and documentation of artistic processes in both group and individual settings, highlighting the barriers encountered in therapy and how these can be navigated through using art therapy as a modality. The findings reveal art therapy as a powerful tool for stabilization, emotional processing, and self-expression. Additionally, the research emphasizes the critical importance of the therapeutic environment and the therapist's understanding of high-demand religions and religious trauma, particularly in the early stages of therapy. The capacity of artmaking to quickly access emotions and memories underscores the necessity for practitioners to have qualifications in creative therapy, along with an awareness of the experiences of individuals who have left highdemand religions.
ICSA 2025 International Conference - Montral, QC
-
Nicola Brophy
-
Abstract: This autoethnographic account examines the experience of engaging with art therapy as a second-generation adult who has left the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The transition away from such faiths often involves significant struggles with trust, fear, somatic reactions, and existential distress, as identified in various fields of research including psychology, sociology, counseling, and cult studies. However, limited research exists on creative therapies within this context. To facilitate a deeper exploration of the experience, the researcher draws upon her own journey, which has been scaffolded by personal therapy, education, and a safe, supportive environment, ensuring that the research remains ethical.
Using autoethnography, this dissertation delves into the researcher’s engagement with art therapy over a span of 20 months. It incorporates journal entries and documentation of artistic processes in both group and individual settings, highlighting the barriers encountered in therapy and how these can be navigated through using art therapy as a modality. The findings reveal art therapy as a powerful tool for stabilization, emotional processing, and self-expression. Additionally, the research emphasizes the critical importance of the therapeutic environment and the therapist's understanding of high-demand religions and religious trauma, particularly in the early stages of therapy. The capacity of artmaking to quickly access emotions and memories underscores the necessity for practitioners to have qualifications in creative therapy, along with an awareness of the experiences of individuals who have left highdemand religions.
