| Abstract [eng] |
Title: Emotional Experiences in Art Therapy of Primary School - Aged Children after Parental Divorce. Research problem: Parental divorce is a distressing event for young school-age children, which can lead to difficult emotional experiences and increase the risk of emotional and behavioural difficulties. Art therapy can be a tool to help children cope with these emotions, but there is no research in Lithuania on the emotional experiences of younger school-age children in art therapy. The aim of the study was to theoretically and empirically analyse the emotional experiences of younger school-age children in art therapy by conducting a thematic analysis of children's experiences and an analysis of the drawings created during the art therapy process. Participants: 4 children of younger school age (8 - 10 years old) who have experienced parental divorce. Methodology: qualitative research strategy, semi-structured interviews, observation notes of the therapeutic process and collection of children's drawings. The verbal data and the notes were analysed using the inductive thematic analysis method according to Braun and Clarke (2006), and the children's drawings were analysed using the formal drawing element analysis method. Results: 4 themes were identified for thematic analysis: Children's expressed feelings about family changes in art therapy; Art therapy as a space for experiencing complex feelings; Children's emotional changes in art therapy: from failure to creative joy; Art therapy as a medium for pleasant experiences. Children's emotional experiences, which have emerged through thematic analysis, are revealed and integrated with the formal elements of the drawings: central composition, abstract shapes, tree motif, red colour, circle shape, human representation, chaotic lines, initial representation with crayons, representation with markers, watercolour. Conclusions: parental divorce can lead to strong emotional experiences for primary school-age children and increase the risk of emotional and behavioural difficulties. The art therapy sessions revealed that the children were experiencing feelings of longing for their dad, sadness, insecurity related to the break-up of their family and home; In the safe environment of the art therapy sessions, the children openly expressed anxiety, anger, fear and sadness; The children's closedness and lack of self-confidence that had been evident at the beginning of the art therapy sessions was transformed during the process into a more positive attitude towards themselves, and the children experienced feelings of happiness, security, success. A review of the theoretical and empirical material reveals that art therapy helps children who have experienced parental divorce to express difficult experiences, evoke good emotions, and foster a positive relationship with oneself. |
