A case study on the effects of the creative art therapy with stretching and walking meditation—Focusing on the improvement of emotional expression and alleviation of somatisation symptoms in a neurasthenic adolescent

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the creative art therapy with stretching and walking meditation can improve the emotional expression of a neurasthenic adolescent and alleviate her somatisation symptoms. The subject is a female third-year high-school student in D city in South Korea. The art therapy programme was conducted from 22 July 2012 to 30 August 2012, 3–4 times a week, for a total of 21 therapy sessions, with each session lasting 40–90min. The following research tools were used in this study: a measure of alexithymia as a cognitive-affective disorder, and a measure of somatisation symptoms pre-test and post-test with a follow-up test were conducted and the results were compared. A content analysis of every session was also conducted. The results are as follows. First, creative art therapy led to an improvement in the emotional expression of a neurasthenic adolescent. Second, creative art therapy alleviated somatisation symptoms in the neurasthenic adolescent. The follow-up test revealed that the effects of the therapy continued beyond the treatment period. In conclusion, the creative art therapy with stretching and walking meditation improved the emotional expression and alleviated somatisation symptoms in a neurasthenic adolescent.