Hoffman - Research Paper

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Creative Arts Therapies and Bereavement in the EMU Community

John M. Hoffman Eastern Michigan University

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John Michael Hoffman
Eastern Michigan University
Author Note
John M. Hoffman, Student Music Therapist, Department of Music and Dance, Eastern
Michigan University.
Special acknowledgments to all participants and to those of the EMU community who
have lost a loved one.

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Abstract
Grieving is a long and complicated process that compels outward expression. University
or college campuses can be a difficult place for a grieving person and the university atmosphere
is not always conducive to recovery. Creative Arts Therapies address the necessity for a
language and medium of communication when expressing these difficult experiences. This
descriptive study focuses on the Eastern Michigan University community, in regards to the
experience of loss, and creative modalities for self-expression; in addition to music in therapy
and as therapy. The study included the entire EMU community. 100 informative flyers were
posted in several buildings around campus providing information to the project website,
www.wix.com/illbefall/bereavmentatemu. A total of 21 people responded to the survey. The
statistical data results, was searched for themes and relationships and later discussed in
association with the literature review. The results were both convergent and divergent with the
literature. Elements underscored included: Length of bereavement (time), the type of
relationship with the deceased; the perceived impact on academic/work functioning and the
individual’s involvement with various formal and informal methods of coping with loss. music
therapy and sense and significance were also examined. A familiar experience among
respondents was the search for meaning, sense and significance, as was the negative impact of
grief on their academic and work functioning; however, respondents challenged the literature by
responding that the Eastern Michigan University environment was indeed conducive to their
recovery. All of the respondents engaged in expressive modalities in coping with their grief, and
2 individuals involved themselves in formal music therapy. This study served to inform
respondents, who are also grieving individuals, empowering them with new knowledge.
Keywords: Creative Arts Therapies, grief, bereavement, death studies, Eastern Michigan University

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A variety of literature exists that explores the grief process. The literature states that the
search for the emotional meaning experienced in grief, is a familiar experience among people
(Buckle, 2013). Grieving involves both mourning and bereavement; the internal psychological
and emotional processes and the outward expression of loss; this includes rituals and other
actions, sensory or otherwise, and is particular to each individual. (American Cancer Society,
2012) This subtle human experience is often characterized by vague questions and answers that
are reflected in, and directed at oneself. ‘Creativity as Therapy’ is explored both formally and
informally, as the complexity of human emotions demands a variety of methods for self-
expression. The chosen medium examined in this study is Art; namely Music. Music Therapy
establishes itself as an, ‘evidence based’ creative art therapy and offers individuals an additional
avenue for channeling, integrating and managing their grief (Bertman, 1999).
Review of the Literature
Communication and self-expression are indispensable processes for the progression of
grief. Individual’s experiences can vary in undertones and associations. Regardless of the ‘ebb
and flow’ of sadness and pain, individuals make choices constantly hoping to reach a greater
understanding and integration. There can be negative consequences associated with the inability
to grieve, including very ‘loss of the will to live’, the inability to forgive, and the inability to tell
the difference between reality and fantasy. These conscious and subconscious processes
manifest themselves in behaviors, some of which may not be understood, or fit the context of
regular society. This may lead the individual to feel labeled as ‘crazy’. Complicated grief,
depression and anxiety are common experiences among individuals who are grieving and ‘voids’
in this narrative often will need to be re-visited in the future (Schneider, 1994).

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By building off of concepts accessible and understandable to the person’s psychological
structure, a frame of reference can be created, upon which a useful narrative can be based. This
narrative is comprised of complex emotions; chronological events surrounding the deceased and
ones own personal identity. It is unique to the individual’s cognitive processes and is often more
sophisticated than first imagined. Discovering new areas of personal growth can be an
interactive process and the goal of therapeutic interventions is to allow the individual to
experience sense and significance regarding the events surrounding one’s loss and adapting to
the new conditions of one’s life. The search for sense and significance may give rise to answers
to the questions, “what do my emotions indicate?” - “What and how much did this person mean
to me?” - “Who am I without my loved one?”. The psychology and methods of various
therapeutic means reflect the importance of meaning and significance, as often times the
individual will require assistance in achieving this personal narrative (Terwaza, 2014, p.166).
Grief demands so much from the individual and it begs the question of whether the
university environment is conducive to grief and recovery from grief (Buckle, 2013). Students
may look for many ways of directing the pain of loss and the complexity of grief. Interestingly,
Buckle (2013), begins by citing Brabant and Kalish (2008), which documents that a “substantive
number of students enroll in death education courses because they are seeking help” (p.16).
Enrolling in a death education classes, offers the individual some willful avenue for self-help in
achieving this meaning, and oppose the natural inclination to turn away from the painful
experience of grief. While the stages of grief are well documented, nothing can highlight the
value of individual awareness in this process. The intricacy of the rituals of death and dying are
designed to be so particular, so as to illustrate, harmonize, and structure the bereaved aspects of
the individual’s emotions and personality. Focused grounding techniques can provide a physical

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basis for these indiscernible experiences and help in achieving awareness and establishing
perspective. Hearing with music; smelling with incense; speaking with chant; movement with
drumming, dancing, etc. are sensory reminders that help create the awareness sought. (Schneider,
1994). As a grieving individual is faced with more successful opportunities of exercising control,
a balance or order can be established. An understanding for the diversity of expression should be
a therapeutic goal. Different mediums of communication are used when trying to harmonize the
understanding the loss with the feeling the loss.
In creative arts therapies, such language for emotions can be found through the
subject/medium of therapy. In music therapy, such a medium would be the music itself. The
sense of order established by the music, is at the same time flexible and can adhere itself to the
individual’s psychological and emotional capacity (Clair, 2008). Music is particularly adaptable
due to its highly social nature. Playing music with another person can be an immediate and
reflective method of successful emotional communication. (Clair, 2008, p.25). Music seems to
provide form, to what may appear chaotic when communicating grief. The aspects of music can
be individually analyzed; elements such as rhythm, lyric writing and individual reflection on
personal music, can offer the individual important insight in spirituality, namely hope (Aldridge,
1995). Along with empowerment, a sense of connectedness with others can be recognized.
Remembrance, forgiveness, reviewing the loss, and visualizing future goals are some other areas
of change that can be explored (Roberts & McFerran, 2013).
Autonomy of the individual’s ability for self-awareness and commitment is closely
related to catharsis and healing. So as not to quantify the vast and exceptional behaviors
conducive to ‘recovery’ and ‘healing’, such growth is demonstrated through fostering

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connections. (Terazawa, 2014) The individual may develop their ‘own language’ to express the
narrative of their grief with accuracy and diversity.
Grieving can go on for many years and stagnation should be avoided. Further studies
should focus on more specific elements of coping with grief. More studies should be developed
exploring the avenues university students can be helped during their grief period.
This study hopes to acknowledge the creative arts mediums, as a method of facilitating
the ability to grieve. This descriptive survey study is designed to inspire controlled studies and
mixed-methods research studies into university community atmosphere; the question of grief on
a university campus, and the similarities and differences between the experiences of individuals
at EMU with statements noted in prior research.
The purpose and importance of this study
This study examines the shared experience of bereavement. In what is a difficult human
process, the experiences particular to the EMU participants will help cultivate a perspective of
community. Because of the natural human need for self-expression, this study also proposes the
creative arts processes as viable therapeutic option that is, quite unfortunately, not well known.
Harnessing ones own natural and artistic impulses for self-expression during the time of
bereavement is directly related to the individual’s empowerment.
The EMU University community is evaluated in regards to its support for individual
recovery in the bereavement process, exploring the depth of reasoning behind sense and
significance in the grief and recovery experiences. The Ypsilanti community (including) the
EMU community has suffered many losses of students and staff to illness, accidents and tragedy
and the shared benefit of a study such as this, while difficult to predict, suggests a strong

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potential for valid and reliable results that may benefit the community. The goal of the study is
to correlate length of bereavement (time) with the type of relationship with the deceased; the
perceived impact on academic/work functioning, and the individual’s involvement with various
formal and informal methods of coping with loss. Another specific correlation made is between
Music Therapy and Sense and Significance. In contrast to the literature, the EMU university
setting seemed to be a component conducive to recovery.
Method
Participants
The study limited participants to EMU community members (Students, Faculty and Staff)
over the age of 18, who have experienced loss due to death in the last 2 years.
Participants, ran the risk resurfacing unwanted memories and painful emotions, and were
forewarned of the possibility of this occurrence in the informed consent and on the project
website.
To aid individuals who may be subject to this, direct contacts for EMU Counseling and
Psychological services is provided, in addition to a 24/7-suicide hotline serving Washtenaw
County. (tel, hrs, adr., email, etc.)
While no financial compensation was offered, it was also the intent of the study to bring
awareness to existing and potential support for loss and bereavement. An informative discussion
of possible treatment options was provided, with confidence that through this process,
participants would become aware of their own resilience, fostering optimism and hope.
Overview of Recruitment Procedure
• Recruitment posters are posted at approved sites across EMU.
Web address is offered in pull-off tabs at the bottom of the poster.

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• Web address will lead potential participants to the project website http://illbefall.wix.com
• Website provides project information, consent information, project procedure, as well as
information pertaining to loss and grief and bereavement and contact information for
local support agencies.
• Link to the project survey is on the website and participants who choose to, may click
and be linked to the survey monkey site.
• At the survey monkey site, participants formally agree and consent to participate in the
survey.
• Participants will take the survey, or not.
Survey will remain active for 45 days or after 100 participants submit their surveys-
whichever comes first.
• Website with information will remain open indefinitely to continue to offer information
and support resources.
• Raw Data is aggregated via the tools available on the survey site.
• Qualitative data is coded for themes and aggregates numerically.
• Survey results are disseminated via the website and may be published/presented at a
professional conference or presented at EMU undergraduate symposium.
Measurement apparatus and procedure
The sampling method used to collect data was an online survey containing 10 questions.
Only EMU community members are invited to take the survey. It is not possible to identify
individuals who participated in the survey. The data collection was collected from a 3rd
party
website known as survey monkey. While this information was collected while at a computer or
phone with internet, the culmination of the data was studied and disseminated from a private
residence. The apparatus used to collect data is an online survey through survey monkey. The
questions provided on the online survey were a combination of likert scale self-reports, multiple
choices, and yes/no questions.

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Statement and explanation of chosen methods
This is a descriptive survey study, wherein the goal is to provide information. The
boundaries of this study include the entire EMU community, providing a theoretically large and
pertinent body of data collection. Participation in the research is non-invasive in that it is self-
motivated and individuals must visit the website, and be debriefed on the study there, before
choosing whether or not to proceed to the survey. To make the EMU community aware of the
website, paper fliers were placed on billboards that were authorized; namely student body public
billboards and corkboards throughout campus. These paper flyers contain the link to the
informative website where they voluntarily proceed to the survey questionnaire. Due to the topic
and nature of the questions, the information gathered is examined in a descriptive narrative,
evaluating the statistical information gathered. The survey was held open until the last day of
exams, 12/18/2014. An in-depth literature review is provided in order to give a background for
the descriptive analysis. It is also intended to immerse the readers into the subtleties involved in
the practice of creative arts therapies and their role in providing the individual with the
appropriate tools in coping with grief and re-integration. In analyzing the data obtained from the
survey, it is also possible to establish comparisons to aspects found in the literature review.
Results
Twenty-one participants completed the survey. Out of the 21 respondents, 18 asserted
the length of time since the experience of loss to death (86%). All 18 respondents had lost
someone in the past 18 months (100%); 13 respondents had lost someone in the past year and 4
respondents (62%), in the past 6 months only 2 respondents out of 19 described their relationship
with the deceased as ‘distant acquaintance’ (11%) and immediate family members made up the
42% of individuals deceased.

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Length of bereavement (time), the type of relationship with the deceased; the perceived
impact on academic/work functioning and the individual’s involvement with various formal and
informal methods of coping with loss are emphasized with a specific view to music therapy and
sense and significance.
Fifteen out of 19 respondents asserted that their academic and/or work function had been
negatively impacted (79%) and as the length of time since loss increases, more respondents
asserted this fact. Six out of 19 respondents asserted that there were not aware of the different
support & counseling networks/services that deal specifically with grief, loss and bereavement
(32%). Eleven out of 18 respondents did not receive verbal “talk” therapy in the wake of their
loss (61%); however, twenty out of 20 respondents asserted that they had used music in coping
with loss in some form (100%). Two respondents received formal music therapy in the aftermath
of their loss (10%). Thirteen out of 21 respondents asserted that in fact used expressive
modalities in coping with their loss (62%). Sixteen out of 19 respondents somewhat agree that
they seek meaning and have a sense of their own life purpose after their loss (84%), and 11 out
of 16 respondents found the college environment at EMU to be conducive to their recovery
(69%); however, 11 out of these 16 respondents also experienced that their academic/work
functioning has been negatively impacted.
Discussion
The results have implications that both agree with and contradict the literature. They
confirm shared experiences in grief and recovery and provide an indication of the use of
expressive modalities in personal recovery. A surprising amount of respondents (32%) were not
aware of the different support & counseling networks/services that deal specifically with grief,

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loss and bereavement. It is important to note that many of these same individuals who are not
aware of the different avenues regarding therapy, used music and other expressive modalities to
cope with their loss and the majority also agreeing that they seek meaning and have a sense of
their own life purpose after their loss. The creative arts therapies involve the client in many of
the same activities described in the survey, such as movement to music, lyric writing and art.
Empowering individuals with this knowledge, allows them to channel their informal coping
mechanisms into focused and directed interventions. As the literature mentions, this self-
directed process can lead to increased independence and may allow for the individual to explore
human connections and relationships.
The results also indicate that formal talk therapy was not a common strategy for the
respondents. Group therapy results showed even lower numbers. We live in a society that is
looking to advances in science and research for alternatives or accompaniments to
pharmacological treatment and traditional psychotherapy. Healthcare is a big issue in society and
politics and mental health has been at the forefront of recent news. The results indicate that
creative arts modalities address both the need for individual exploration, and the tools used to
communicate these experiences. Grief is physically, emotionally, psychologically and
spiritually strenuous. The results coincide with the literature indicating that the majority of
people, who took the survey, had their academic and work functioning negatively impacted as a
result of grief. In an effort to empower the EMU community, this study joins many individual
experiences in grief, into common or thematic components, to foster a sense of community and
bring awareness to the therapeutic potential of the creative arts. The university environment is
largely about fulfilling academic expectations (Due dates, exams, etc). For someone undergoing
bereavement, staying on top of external demands and fulfilling academic expectations may be

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more than they can bear. The very idea that one ‘could’ and ‘should’ continue with life may
become overwhelming. Fortunately, the results also indicate that the majority of respondents
also found the university environment at Eastern Michigan University to be conducive to
recovery. This divergent calculation was of specific importance and is comforting news when
evaluating the university community. The implications of this result should be further
investigated, as there could be many contributing factors.
Implications
The literature indicates that individuals seek out death studies classes as a means of
coping with their grief. EMU may provide the students with additional avenues of self-
exploration through academic studies. There are different spheres of academics for different
people. Individuals involved in humanities and music therapy may explore their grief through
academics in a distinct way from those students involved in business studies. Eastern Michigan
University provides free psychological counseling to EMU students, which is formal and
structured psychotherapy. Counseling and Psychological Services also employs a licensed
Psychiatrist and has a pharmacy on site. Counselors have been present at many EMU community
events, such as Take Back the Night, which advocates against violence and rape, to provide
immediate support to students who may be experiencing psychological crises. Eastern Michigan
University’s community is vast and valuable; both the EMU faculty and the student body have
suffered losses to death numerous times in the past 2 years. The mutual experience participating
in this survey may foster a sense of community among students and staff. This unspoken
understanding experienced among grieving people is supported by the results, in both the shared
experience of decreased work and academic functioning and the need for support from the same
institution. Atypically this paradox seems to be addressed by the EMU community according to

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the results. The results of the study also imply that all respondents have a creative means to
explore and express themselves with. With this understanding, individuals can these channels
attentively and purposefully. Formal creative arts therapies aim to give order and purpose to the
individual’s creative expression and to set aside and allotted time for reflection and silence.
Composers, poets and artists have written music, created sculptures and written poems about
death and dying. Posthumous creations are treated with great respect and are often are given
tribute through family members remembering their loved ones. The study implies that the
creative arts therapies can be used to harness an individual’s creative means of expression for the
purpose of developing a formal and organized approach to social and personal integration.
Limitations
One of the greatest limitations found in the study was the amount of participation in the
survey study. While 100 fliers were posted, each having 10 tabs with links to the survey (a
possible response total of 1000 responses, also the maximum allowed on SurveyMonkey), only
21 people completed the survey. This accounts for just a little over 2% of possible participants.
Human Subjects approved the fliers on 11/11/2014. Announcement of open participation for the
survey was done over social media and all fliers were posted by 11/15/14. The University
approved locations for placing posters are covered in other posters the majority of the time. Upon
review, many posters had tabs removed; well over 20 in total.
Several factors could have limited student involvement. Student participation with final
exams and other pressing issues can interrupt recruiting for online surveys at a university, as is
the large volume of revision work required by professors during this time. It would be wise to
leave this study open for several semesters in order to accumulate a larger numerical volume of

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participants.
A difficulty presented itself in the data analysis due to the fact that the respondents had
both the option to skip the question or select a ‘NO RESPONSE’ button I had provided. This
hindered progress when evaluating the statistics for the data because the ‘NO RESPONSE’
answer was also aggregated into the numerical comparisons. Percentages were calculated based
on the number of participants who answered a given question.
It is important to note that some participants did not respond to all the questions and in
fact some participants only responded to one or two. While this makes analyzing quantitative
data extremely difficult, it provides insight as to the varying levels of comfort regarding self-
disclosure, when dealing with an extremely painful and emotional subject matter. One
respondent answered only 2 questions on the entire survey, indicating that they had in fact
suffered a loss and used informal music to cope with grief. To acknowledge that a grieving
participant was motivated to answer these two questions specifically, suggests a high-level of
importance given to music during the grieving process. It may be taken into account that grief
and bereavement play a limiting role in the participation of the online survey. Grief may impact
the individual’s motivation to take the survey and this awareness lead to an important decision to
include respondents who didn’t answer questions in the analysis of results. In my personal
experience, when in profound grief, reading literature related on the topic became extremely
difficult as was the elaboration and execution of all phases of this research study. As a
participant, I was also a limitation to the study; I often was emotionally unable to process some
literature on the topic of death and bereavement and required internal and external support of my
own. Additional time in the completion of this project as a participant was essential.

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Conclusion
I considered it of utmost important to take into account that most university students are
undergoing a pursuit for meaning, sense and significance in almost all areas of their lives.
Students are figuring out what careers to study, where to live and who to live with. The search
for self-identity is at the very core of the university experience. This may also be the case for
students graduating and new faculty who are adjusting to the area. Grief adds a whole new
dimension to this process as identity is also directly related with how we interact with others.
The development of relationships with others is at the very core of the development of self-
expression. The relationships we form with our immediate family are foundational to our
emotional development. The fact that the majority of respondents asserted that their relationship
with the deceased was of an immediate family member is of great consequence. These
relationships, being ‘broken’ by death, disturb the individual’s immediate perspective and they
may experience confusing thoughts and emotions. Forming a solid narrative based on the
individual’s background, beliefs and experiences can be essential in addressing these
‘disturbances’. Creative arts therapies can address both the individuals’ need for order and
clarity, while at the same time remaining flexible and adaptable to the complexities of each
individual’s grief process.
Poetry and lyric writing have long been used to convey the flurry of emotions and
paradoxical reasoning’s inherent in grief. “My companions were Love and Grief.” (Gustave
Mahler, Songs of a Wayfarer, No. 4). The exploration employed in developing these lyrics and
poems is so valuable to the individual that some persons have praised their creations as a divine
gift or revelation, through which their thoughts and emotions have been assimilated successfully.

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A communication of this assimilation through lyric can be observed in the Psalms of King
David, namely psalm 30:11-12.
“You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
LORD my God, I will praise you forever.” (Psalm 30:11-12, NIV®, 2011).
The Psalm suggests to the reader that the dramatic and emotional tumult of grief is transformed
into ‘dancing’, a direct behavioral expression of his emotional of ‘joy’. The image of the heart
singing alludes to the profundity of experience and the authentic willingness to express it
outwardly as completely as possible. It also alludes to the non-verbal nature of music,
suggesting it to be a language of the ‘heart’. Decidedly, music has become the author’s preferred
language used when communicating love and grief.
“The healing power of art is not a rhetorical fantasy. Fighting to keep language, language
became my sanity and strength…” (Winterson, J., 1996, p.303). An individual ’s creative
strengths can be of enormous support the as each grieving individual charts their path through
self-expression, awareness and interconnectedness.

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Gustave Mahler
Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor, Part Four: Addagietto
Songs of a Wayfarer, No. 4
Text by Mahler, translated by Lionel Salter
“My love’s two eyes of blue
have sent me out into the wide world,
I had to bid farewell to the spot I cherish.
O eyes of blue, why did you look at me?
How grief and sorrow are forever my lot.
I went out in the still of night,
At dead of night across the gloomy heath.
No one said goodbye to me, goodbye;
My companions were love and grief.
By the road stands a linden-tree:
There at last I found rest in sleep,
Under the linden-tree,
Which snowed its blossoms down on me,
I knew naught of life’s pain;
All, all was well again—
All, all! Love and grief,
My world, my dreams.”

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References
Abbott, E. A. (2009). Review of music therapy: Death and grief. Music Therapy
Perspectives, 27(2), 135-136. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.emich.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/742968177?acco
untid=10650
Aldridge, D. (1995). Spirituality, hope and music therapy in palliative care. The Arts in
Psychotherapy, 22, 103-109.
American Cancer Society (2012)., Coping With the Loss of a Loved One., American Cancer
Society
www.cancer.org
Bertman, S. (1999). Grief and the healing arts: Creativity as therapy. Amityville, N.Y.:
Baywood Pub.
Bessett, J.F. & Dabbs, J.M. Jr (2003) Evaluating explicit and implicit death attitudes in funeral
and university students, Mortality: Promoting the interdisciplinary study of death and dying, 8:4,
352-371, DOI:10.1080/13576270310001604022
Brabant, S., & Kalich, D. (2008). Who enrolls in college death education courses? A longitudinal
study. Omega, 58, 1–18.
Bruscia, K. E. (1991). Embracing life with AIDS: Psychotherapy through guided imagery and
music (GIM). In K. E. Bruscia (Ed.), Case studies in music therapy (581-602). Gilsum,
NH: Barcelona Publishers.
Hilliard, Russell E., The Effects of Orff-Based Music Therapy and Social Work Groups on
Childhood Grief Symptoms and Bereavement., Journal of Music Therapy; Summer 2007;
44, 2; PsycINFO
Holy Bible: New International Version, (2011). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan
Jennifer L. Buckle (2013) University Students’ Perspectives on a Psychology of Death and
Dying Course: exploring Motivation to Enroll, goals, and Impact, Death Studies, 37:9,
866-882, DOI:10.1080.07481187.2012.699911
Jordan, J.V. (2001). A relational-cultural model: Healing through mutual empathy. Bulletin of
the Menninger Clinic: Treatment Approaches in the New Millennium, 65, 92-103.
DOI:10.1521/bumc.65.1.92.18707
McGill, Lucanne., (2007)., The Spiritual Meaning of Music Therapy After The Death of Loved
One: A Qualitative Study of Surviving Caregivers., ProQuest Information and Learning
Company, Ann Arbor, MI

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Peck, M. (1978). The road less traveled: A new psychology of love, traditional values, and
spiritual growth. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Sekeles, C. (2007). Music therapy: Death and grief. Gilsum,
NH: Barcelona. 149 pages. ISBN 1-891278-46-0.
Schneider, J. (1994). Finding my way: Healing and transformation through loss and grief.
Colfax, Wis.: Seasons Press.
Sophia E Terazawa (2014) The Language of Loss: Modeling a Transformative Narrative of
Grief, Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 9:1, 164-171, DOI:
10.1080/15401383.2013.859993
Winterson,
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Appendix A

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Appendix B
Results Table
Academics/University
Involvement

Somewhat/Strongly
Agree
Somewhat/Strongly
Disagree

Academic/Work
Funct.

15/19

(79%)

4/19

(21%)

EMU
Conducive
to
Recovery

11/16

(69%)

5/16

(31%)

Seek
Meaning/
life
purpose

16/19

(84%)

3/19

(16%)

Use
of
Music
and
Creative
Modalities

Yes

No

Formal/Informal
Music

20/20

(100%)

0/20

(0%)

Used
Expressive
Modalities

13/21

(62%)

8/21

(38%)

Formal/Informal
Counseling

Yes

No

Aware
of
formal
grief
counseling

13/19

(68%)

6/19

(32%)

Received
Formal
Talk
Therapy

7/18

(39%)

11/18

(61%)

Participated
in
Group
Therapy

4/20

(20%)

16/20

(80%)

This table presents the numeric results of the survey as a supplement to distinguish and
compare the quantitive results exhibited by the survey results. The statistics are evaluated in
regards to the number of people who answered the question. The qualitative implications
strongly support the use of creative arts therapies in coping with bereavement and the importance
of seeking meaning and life-purpose after one’s loss. The results demonstrate that while
individuals find their academic/work functioning negatively impacted when coping with
bereavement, they found the university environment conducive to their recovery. Further studies
should examine the different university and academic avenues employed by grieving individuals
in the EMU community.

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Appendix C
This graph demonstrates the prevalence of the use of music during the time coping with
loss. The overwhelming response in favor of using music, speaks directly to the possibility of
using music in a formal creative arts therapy and the importance of music in daily life. All
respondents who answered this question used music in some way to cope with their loss. Only
one respondent skipped this question; however, when including this score (20/21), the majority
(over 95%) of respondents used music. The use of formal music therapy as a therapeutic
intervention is displayed, illustrating an important implication: out of the 65% of individuals who
reported awareness of formal avenues of support, one individual was aware of and used a formal
method of creative arts therapy. While evidence-based and effective, music therapy is an
emerging practice that continues to seek recognition. While statistically insignificant, because of
the high number of respondents that asserted that they did used music in some way to cope with
their grief, the qualitative implications of the use of music in/as therapy, are of great importance.

Running
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23

Appendix D
The majority of respondents asserted that they were aware of different support and
counseling networks and services offered to individuals dealing specifically with grief, loss and
bereavement; however, 30% of respondents stated that they did not. Because of the complex
cognitive and emotional processes involved bereavement, this study intends to inform
individuals as to the possible avenues for therapeutic self-expression. Individuals seeking formal
bereavement counseling may refer to Eastern Michigan University’s Counseling and
Psychological Services, a free service to EMU students. Formal talk therapy (psychotherapy),
group therapy and creative arts therapies are available options to members of the EMU
community. In a qualitative sense, the 30% of individuals who were unaware of formal therapies
represent a significant sample of people who may need additional support in coping with their
grief.
Q4
65.00% 13
30.00% 6
5.00% 1
Q5
Minimum
1.00
Maximum
5.00
Median
2.00
Mean
2.05
Standard Deviation
0.97
PAGE 5
I am aware of the different support &
counseling networks/services that deal
specifically with grief, loss and
bereavement.
Answered: 20 Skipped: 1
Total 20
Minimum
1.00
Maximum
3.00
Median
1.00
Mean
1.40
Standard Deviation
0.58
PAGE 6
I receive(d) formal, verbal “talk” therapy or
counseling in the wake of my loss.
Answered: 20 Skipped: 1
Basic Statistics ?
ExportCustomize
Yes
65.00% (13)
No
30.00% (6)
NO RESPONSE
5.00% (1)
Answer Choices – Responses –
Yes (1)–
No (2)–
NO RESPONSE (3)–
Basic Statistics ?
ExportCustomize

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24

Appendix E
An overwhelming majority of respondents lost members of their immediate family and
many individuals lost close friends. It is possible that the respondents are referring to the loss of
the same persons, and may be seeking the same avenues of support. One’s relationship with the
deceased is an important factor in both the manner and method of self-expression regarding
one’s loss.

Hoffman - Research Paper

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