Investigating how art therapy delivered through e-therapy influences the resilience in adolescents experiencing high psychological stress

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how art therapy delivered through e- therapy can influence the resilience of adolescents experiencing high levels of psychological stress. The use of technology has permeated society’s daily functioning in all aspects, especially with the younger generations. Digital devices are then often used in the mental health field either for administrative purposes or incorporated in therapy with clients.

Art therapy can be described as the use of creative processes (e.g. visual arts, as applied in this study) in therapy to meet the specific needs of the client. Resilience is a broad concept referring to an individual’s ability to cope with stress or adverse events. Today’s adolescents are exposed to several stressors such as navigating their developmental phase, academic expectations, establishing social and family relationships, future expectations as well as global societal issues. The researcher therefore found it important to investigate how adolescents can be assisted in improving their resilience skills when experiencing high psychological stress levels. As they are also a technological confident generation who has shown to generally respond positively to art therapy, the researcher found it significant to combine the above-mentioned concepts and investigate the use of art e-therapy sessions to enhance the resilience of adolescents experiencing high psychological stress levels.

A literature review was conducted to explore all relevant concepts such as e-therapy, art therapy, adolescence, psychological stress, resilience as well as the theoretical framework consisting of positive psychology theory, strength-based approach theory, resilience theory in the psychological field, and art therapy theory. An empirical research process was then conducted using an interpretive, qualitative, bounded single-case study design from which data were collected, interpreted, analysed and presented to gain insight into the participants’lifeworlds and collective experience of the intervention phase, namely the art e-therapy sessions.

The findings indicated that art e-therapy can be considered a useful therapeutic method to enhance the resilience of adolescents experiencing high levels of psychological stress and thereby improve their mental well-being and daily functioning. The researcher also identified contributions, limitations, and areas for further research in this field.