Acceptance of Anxiety through Art Therapy: A Case Report Exploring How Anthroposophic Art Therapy Addresses Emotion Regulation and Executive Functioning

Abstract

Anxiety is a major problem for many individuals, causing impairment in daily life. Art therapy is often deployed and although positive results are communicated in clinical practice, its effectiveness and working mechanisms have hardly been studied. Therefore, it is important to systematically describe the intervention process and to detect the working mechanisms to be able to evaluate them. Narrative case studies help to understand the intervention in more depth. A typical case file was selected for case reporting according to scientific (CARE & CARE-AAT) guidelines, with the aim to explore the therapeutic elements that contributed to the reduction of anxiety. The report describes the intervention process of a 54-year-old female, suffering from anxiety since childhood and diagnosed with panic disorder, agoraphobia, claustrophobia and hypochondria. After 14 sessions of anthroposophic art therapy, reduction of anxiety was shown, as well as improvements of emotion regulation and executive functioning. The client indicated that she became more tolerant and accepting towards her anxiety. She noted a softened attitude towards herself and her complaints, even one year after art therapy. The course of treatment suggests that aspects of emotion regulation and executive functioning were addressed through implicit learning processes in different art therapy assignments.

Can anxiety be a predictor of task-oriented cognitive function in individuals over 60 years of age?: a systematic review

“…Emotion valence was another important concept to be considered with anxiety. Some studies demonstrated that symptoms of anxiety were associated with emotion valence tendency and attentional bias and confirmed the relationship between anxiety and the emotional information memory of the elderly [31][32][33][34]. Some studies emphasized that pure symptoms of anxiety would not be able to predict the decline of cognitive function in older people and that both anxiety and depression should be considered [11,20,21].…”

“…anxiety and depression could reach various levels in life, and this has a positive or negative impact on the person's life in the long term. in a previous study, 45% of patients who experienced psychiatric symptoms reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety as well, and it is one of the symptoms that you should consider when you are counseling to solve memory related problems [29,33].…”

College Students’ Self-Acceptance: A Paint Therapy Group Counseling Intervention

“…rough artistic expressions, PTG counseling greatly reduced the psychological defense mechanism and resistance of group members. rough painting, individuals were able to project unhealthy emotional stressors into works, express their feelings and experiences into the creative process, relieve psychological anxiety, and eliminate problem behaviors [27]. e humanistic treatment orientation created a group member-centered atmosphere so participants felt valued and accepted.…”

Inspiring art pieces and legendary stories for cancer patients and medical staff: experience from a single institution

“…Patients can find a therapeutic outlet through activities such as coloring, drawing, writing, singing, and dancing, enabling them to express emotions, explore their inner selves, and cultivate self-compassion, agency, and possibly resilience [10,11]. Thus, art therapy becomes a medium through which patients can enhance their spiritual insight, cope with the challenges of illness and treatment, and promote mental and emotional well-being [12].…”