[Imager Theses and Major Essays] [Imager] [UBC Computer Science]


Imager

Davor Cubranic

Design and Implementation of a System for Computer-Supported Distance Art Therapy


Degree:  M.Sc.
Type:  essay
Year:  1998
Supervisor: Kellogg S. Booth
Electronic:  Not available electronically; hardcopy may be found through the UBC Department of Computer Science Reading Room.
Hardcopy: 72 pages

Abstract

Distance psychotherapy services offered via the Internet as an alternative to face-to-face couselling generally use e-mail as their medium. The computer system described here allows a much closer approximation of face-to-face therapy sessions than does e-mail therapy, without the additional expense and bandwidth required for video-conferencing. The system supports art therapy, a type of therapy in which clients express themselves by drawing or painting as well as by talking. Using this system, the therapist can see the images created by the clients as they are being made, and the participants in the session can speak to each other as if they were using speaker-phones. The presence of art images compenstes somewhat for the lack of a physical dimension to the therapeutic relationship, making the interaction more concrete. This case study produced a number of observation [sic] on Computer Science issues, from the advantages of using a participatory design approach in the system development to the specific CSCW requirements for a group paint system in a distance art therapy setting. Results of a collaborative prototyping and evaluation process are presented, including some issues in the area of computer-based distance counselling that were identified during the discussions with the participatory design team.

@MastersThesis{Cubranic1998,
	author = {Davor Cubranic, M.Sc},
	title = {Design and Implementation of a System for Computer-Supported Distance Art Therapy},
	school = {UBC},
	year = {1998},
	supervisor = {Kellogg S. Booth},
}