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Home » News » FSU Departments Collaborate on Student Mental Health Research

FSU Departments Collaborate on Student Mental Health Research

Published September 26, 2018
Photo by Alex Jones on Unsplash

Photo by Alex Jones on Unsplash

What happens when art therapists collaborate with a behavioral neuroscientist? They create a multidisciplinary effort to determine art therapy’s role in addressing the mental health crisis on college campuses. FSU’s Dr. Theresa Van Lith of the Department of Art Education, Dr. Gregg Stanwood of the Department of Biomedical Sciences, and recent FSU graduate Megan Beerse, M.S. are working to tease apart the nuances of mindfulness-based art therapy when compared to the intrinsic therapeutic properties of clay on students’ anxiety and stress levels. This collaboration makes it possible to investigate not just psychological outcomes, but also effects on students’ cortisol levels, a biomarker of stress.

Using an online platform, the interventions used for the project are designed to be time efficient and accessible, making it easier for full-time students to more proactively address their mental health.

They are actively recruiting full-time FSU students to participate in the project this fall semester. If you are interested in being a participant, please contact Megan Beerse at mbeerse@fsu.edu. To keep up-to-date on the research study please be sure to visit the FSU Art Therapy Research Study facebook page