Creative Arts Therapies as Temporary Home for Refugees: Insights from Literature and Practice
Abstract
:“Home is where I can grow” (“Heimat ist, wo ich wachsen kann”)Title of a theatre play by female refugees from Iran
1. Home and Homesickness for Refugees
2. Aesthetics: Arts as Both Sensual and Transcendental
3. Creative Arts Therapies and Refugees: Aesthetic Experience Can Be a Shelter
4. The Creative Arts Therapies as a Temporary Home
4.1. Dance/Movement Therapy
4.2. Drama Therapy
4.3. Music Therapy
4.4. Art Therapy
4.5. The Container and the Bridge
5. Clinical and Research Examples
5.1. State of Limbo
5.2. Creative Arts Therapies as Container
5.3. Creative Arts Therapies as Bridge
5.4. Homesickness: Selected Results
6. Obstacles to the Process of Successful Transitioning
7. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Life Events before Arrival in Germany | # of Persons Affected |
---|---|
Torture | 3 persons |
Starvation | 5 persons |
Danger of Own Death | 7 persons |
Loss of Work | 9 persons |
Imprisonment | 10 persons |
Death of Close Relatives | 10 persons |
Social Decline | 11 persons |
Discrimination | 13 persons |
War | 13 persons |
Death of Friends | 14 persons |
Hiding and Illegality | 15 persons |
Persecution of Friends and Relatives | 16 persons |
Separation from Family and Friends | 17 persons |
Stressors in Germany | # of Persons Affected |
---|---|
Loneliness | 2 persons |
Language Difficulties | 3 persons |
Hostility toward Strangers | 4 persons |
Poor Living Conditions | 4 persons |
Loss of Freedom to go anywhere one wants | 8 persons |
Experiences of Persecution and Flight | 8 persons |
Lack of Work | 9 persons |
No Passport | 10 persons |
Insecurity of Status (in Asylum Process) | 10 persons |
Dependency on Social Welfare | 12 persons |
Insecure Residential Status | 12 persons |
Homesickness | 16 persons |
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Dieterich-Hartwell, R.; Koch, S.C. Creative Arts Therapies as Temporary Home for Refugees: Insights from Literature and Practice. Behav. Sci. 2017, 7, 69. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs7040069
Dieterich-Hartwell R, Koch SC. Creative Arts Therapies as Temporary Home for Refugees: Insights from Literature and Practice. Behavioral Sciences. 2017; 7(4):69. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs7040069
Chicago/Turabian StyleDieterich-Hartwell, Rebekka, and Sabine C. Koch. 2017. "Creative Arts Therapies as Temporary Home for Refugees: Insights from Literature and Practice" Behavioral Sciences 7, no. 4: 69. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs7040069