A Single-Session Wellness Initiative for Black College Women: Integrating Expressive Arts,Spirituality,and Political Resistance

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand how four Black women undergraduate students experienced a single-session wellness initiative that integrated expressive arts, spirituality, and political resistance. After participating in the group wellness session, the researchers conducted individual interviews with each participant to understand their interpretation of their paintings and their perceptions of the expressive arts group. All interviews were transcribed verbatim, and data were analyzed using a structured coding process. Three themes emerged from the cross-case analysis of the semi-structured interviews: (1) Black Women Connecting, (2) Appreciation for the Session Topic, and (3) Systemic Efforts to Promote Black Women’s Wellness. Conducting this study with undergraduate Black women from a predominantly white institution (PWI) yields recommendations for providing culturally responsive wellness programming at university counseling centers.

Keywords

expressive arts Black women spirituality single-session intervention university counseling centers

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Amos

Read

Cobb

Pabani

(2012). Facilitating a photovoice project: What you need to know!. Nova Scotia Participatory Food Costing Project, 3–31. https://foodarc.ca/makefoodmatter/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/VOICES_PhotovoiceManual.pdf.

Avent Harris

J. R.

Wong

C. D.

(2018). African American college students, the Black church, and counseling. Journal of College Counseling, 21(1), 15–28. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocc.12084

Bacchus

D. N.

Holley

L. C.

(2004). Spirituality as a coping resource: The experiences of professional Black women. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 13(4), 65–84. https://doi.org/10.1300/J051v13n04_04

Bryant-Davis

Comas-Díaz

(Eds.), (2016). Womanist and mujerista psychologies: Voices of fire, acts of courage. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14937-000

Bryant-Davis

Fasalojo

Arounian

Jackson

K. L.

Leithman

(2021). Resist and rise: A trauma-informed womanist model for group therapy. Women & Therapy, pp. 1–24. Advance online publications. https://doi.org/10.1080/02703149.2021.1943114

Butler-Barnes

S. T.

Martin

P. P.

Hope

E. C.

Copeland-Linder

Lawrence Scott

(2018). Religiosity and coping: Racial stigma and psychological well-being among African American girls. Journal of Religion and Health, 57(5), 1980–1995. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-0644-9

Cameron

C. L.

(2007). Single session and walk-in psychotherapy: A descriptive account of the literature. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 7(4), 245–249. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733140701728403

Campbell

(2012). Single-session approaches to therapy: Time to review. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 33(1), 15–26. https://doi.org/10.1017/aft.2012.3

Crenshaw

(1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039

10.

Croom

N. N.

Beatty

C. C.

Acker

L. D.

Butler

(2017). Exploring undergraduate Black womyn’s motivations for engaging in “sister circle” organizations. NASPA Journal About Women in Higher Education, 10(2), 216–228. https://doi.org/10.1080/19407882.2017.1328694

11.

Duncan

L. E.

Johnson

(2007). Black undergraduate students attitude toward counseling and counselor preference. College Student Journal, 41(3), 696–720.

12.

French

B. H.

Lewis

J. A.

Mosley

D. V.

Adames

H. Y.

Chavez-Dueñas

N. Y.

Chen

G. A.

Neville

H. A.

(2020). Toward a psychological framework of radical healing in communities of color. The Counseling Psychologist, 48(1), 14–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000019843506

13.

Gipson

Norris

Amaral

Tesfaye

Hiscox

(2021). What are you all going to do to keep black women in art therapy? A womanist manifesto for creative arts therapies education. In Voices: A world forum for music therapy (21).

14.

Griffith

A. N.

Hurd

N. M.

Hussain

S. B.

(2019). “I didn’t come to school for this”: A qualitative examination of experiences with race-related stressors and coping responses among black students attending a predominantly white institution. Journal of Adolescent Research, 34(2), 115–139. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558417742983

15.

Gutierrez

L. M.

(1990). Working with women of color: An empowerment perspective. Social Work, 35(2), 149–153. https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/35.2.149

16.

Hannon

C. R.

Woodside

Pollard

B. L.

Roman

(2016). The meaning of African American college women's experiences attending a predominantly white institution: A phenomenological study. Journal of College Student Development, 57(6), 652–666. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2016.0036

17.

hooks

(1990). Yearning: Race, gender, and cultural politics. South End Press.

18.

Jochman

J. C.

Cheadle

J. E.

Goosby

B. J.

Tomaso

Kozikowski

Nelson

(2019). Mental health outcomes of discrimination among college students on a predominately white campus: A prospective study. Socius, 5, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023119842728

19.

Jones

L. V.

Ahn

Quezada

N. M.

Chakravarty

(2020). Enhancing counseling services for Black college women attending HBCUs. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 29(4), 325–340. https://doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2018.1449689

20.

Jones

M. K.

Pritchett-Johnson

(2018). “Invincible Black women”: Group therapy for Black college women. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 43(4), 349–375. https://doi.org/10.1080/01933922.2018.1484536

21.

Jones

M. K.

Sam

T. S.

(2018). Cultural connections: An ethnocultural counseling intervention for Black women in college. Journal of College Counseling, 21(1), 73–86. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocc.12088

22.

Lewis

J. A.

(2023). Contributions of Black psychology scholars to models of racism and health: Applying intersectionality to center Black women. American Psychologist, 78(4), 576–588. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001141

23.

Lewis

J. A.

Mendenhall

Harwood

S. A.

Browne Huntt

(2013). Coping with gendered racial microaggressions among Black women college students. Journal of African American Studies, 17(1), 51–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-012-9219-0

24.

Lewis

J. A.

Williams

M. G.

Peppers

E. J.

Gadson

C. A.

(2017). Applying intersectionality to explore the relations between gendered racism and health among Black women. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 64(5), 475–486. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000231

25.

Mattis

J. S.

(2001). Religion and African American political life. Political Psychology, 22(2), 263–278. https://doi.org/10.1111/0162-895X.00238

26.

Mattis

J. S.

(2002). Religion and spirituality in the meaning–making and coping experiences of African American women: A qualitative analysis. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 26(4), 309–321. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-6402.t01-2-00070

27.

Mattis

J. S.

Fontenot

D. L.

Hatcher-Kay

C. A.

(2003). Religiosity, racism, and dispositional optimism among African Americans. Personality and Individual Differences, 34(6), 1025–1038. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00087-9

28.

McKnight-Eily

L. R.

Okoro

C. A.

Strine

T. W.

Verlenden

Hollis

N. D.

Njai

Mitchell

E. W.

Board

Puddy

Thomas

(2021). Racial and ethnic disparities in the prevalence of stress and worry, mental health conditions, and increased substance use among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic — United States, April and May 2020. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 70(5), 162–166. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7005a3

29.

Merriam

S. B.

(2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. Bass.

30.

Morse

J. M.

(1994). Designing qualitative research. In Lincoln

Y. S.

Denzin

N. K.

(Eds.), Handbook of qualitative inquiry (pp. 220–235). Sage.

31.

National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education . (2021). A framework for advancing anti-racism strategy on campus. National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education. Available at: https://www.nadohe.org/statements/antiracism-framework

32.

Neal-Barnett

Stadulis

Murray

Payne

M. R.

Thomas

Salley

B. B.

(2011). Sister circles as a culturally relevant intervention for anxious African American women. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 18(3), 266–273. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2850.2011.01258.x

33.

Parker

J. S.

Purvis

Williams

(2023). Religious/spiritual struggles and mental health among black adolescents and emerging adults: A meta-synthesis. Journal of Black Psychology, 49(2), 153–199. https://doi.org/10.1177/00957984221136800

34.

Rawls

Clark

Hall

(2020). Bibliotherapy and group counseling with African-American college students: A case study approach. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 45(3), 242–256. https://doi.org/10.1080/01933922.2020.1789793

35.

Schleider

J. L.

Dobias

M. L.

Sung

J. Y.

Mullarkey

M. C.

(2020). Future directions in single-session youth mental health interventions. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 49(2), 264–278. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2019.1683852

36.

Shapiro

E. R.

(2020). Liberation psychology, creativity, and arts-based activism and artivism: Culturally meaningful methods connecting personal development and social change. In Comas-Díaz

Torres Rivera

(Eds.), Liberation psychology: Theory, method, practice, and social justice (pp. 247–264). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000198-014

37.

Shea

Wong

Y. J.

Nguyen

K. K.

Gonzalez

P. D.

(2019). College students’ barriers to seeking mental health counseling: Scale development and psychometric evaluation. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 66(5), 626–639. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000356

38.

Strayhorn

T. L.

(2011). Singing in a foreign land: An exploratory study of gospel choir participation among African American undergraduates at a predominantly white institution. Journal of College Student Development, 52(2), 137–153. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2011.0030

39.

Taylor

R. J.

Chatters

L. M.

Abelson

J. M.

(2012). Religious involvement and DSM IV 12 month and lifetime major depressive disorder among African Americans. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 200(10), 856–862. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0b013e31826b6d65

40.

Teasdale

Lee

S. J.

Calloway

A. M.

Adams

T. R.

(2021). Commitment, community and consciousness: A collaborative autoethnography of a doctoral sister circle. Journal of African American Women and Girls in Education, 1(1).

41.

Vieten

Lukoff

(2022). Spiritual and religious competencies in psychology. American Psychologist, 77(1), 26–38. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000821

42.

Volpert-Esmond

H. I.

Landor

A. M.

Bartholow

B. D.

(2022). Immediate and delayed effects of everyday racial discrimination on mental health among black college students: A mixed-methods approach. In Group processes & intergroup relations. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684302221131029

43.

Walker

(1983). In search of our mothers’ gardens: Womanist prose. Harcourt.

44.

Wheeler

E. A.

Ampadu

L. M.

Wangari

(2002). Lifespan development revisited: African-centered spirituality throughout the life cycle. Journal of Adult Development, 9(1), 71–78. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013881302284

45.

Wolgast

B. M.

Lambert

M. J.

Puschner

(2004). The dose-response relationship at a college counseling center: Implications for setting session limits. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 18(2), 15–29. https://doi.org/10.1300/J035v18n02_03

46.

Yin

R. K.

(2014). Case study research: Design and methods. Sage Publications.

47.

Yonker

J. E.

Schnabelrauch

C. A.

DeHaan

L. G.

(2012). The relationship between spirituality and religiosity on psychological outcomes in adolescents and emerging adults: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Adolescence, 35(2), 299–314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.08.010