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PORTLAND, Maine

91AV Social Work student conducts art therapy research with Shalom House

Julia Bergquist
Julia Bergquist

91AV School of Social Work Student Julia Bergquist (M.S.W., ’18) conducted a research project in collaboration with the Shalom House, which provides an array of community-based mental health services and a choice of affordable quality housing for people with serious mental illness.

Working with Shalom House art program students, Bergquist conducted interviews and surveys evaluating art as therapy’s influence on the emotional stability of adults diagnosed with schizophrenia.

"I found this experience incredibly rewarding, both as an Applied Arts and Social Justice Certificate participant and as a new researcher,” said Bergquist. “Within the results of my questionnaire, it is very apparent that the majority of participants in the Shalom House art program experience a positive impact from the program and feel it is a sustainable therapeutic modality."

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About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.