Research on Trauma Art Narrative Therapy™
TANT Research at Long Island University
Dr. Bills has been collaborating with Dr. Thomas Demaria from Long Island University’s Post Campus. He developed LIU’s Trauma Response Team. Graduate students at LIU who are involved in the clinical psychology program have had opportunities to participate in TANT Level One trainings and also in developing research on the TANT method.
- First formal study on TANT at Long Island University now completed- Melody Wysocki PhD.
- Compared TF-CBT with TANT with children/adolescents in residential care
- TANT reduced anger and depression vs. TF-CBT in the children participating in the study.
- There is a research affiliation with LIU and more TANT research planned.
Research Summary: TANT™ PILOT STUDY
The first pilot research study has been completed on the use of TANT™ with adolescents who experienced the Katrina disaster. The following is a summary of the research results with a group of adolescents in Mississippi who experienced Katrina. This was in collaboration with Mississippi Children’s Home Services. It was done by Ariel Moss Lloyd from Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi who graduated with her PhD in May 2010.
The results suggest that TANT™ significantly reduced Trauma Symptom Checklist (TSCC-A) scores for individuals that experienced more severe trauma or more incidents of trauma. In addition, TANT™ significantly decreased the number of participants with clinical depressive symptoms, and it decreased the number of participants with clinical PTSD symptoms by 50%. However, there was no significant difference in the mean TSCC-A scores of participants in the treatment/intervention group versus those in the waitlist group. There was no significant difference in the mean PTSD scores before and after treatment. Additionally, the type of trauma experienced did not significantly affect TSCC-A scores.