This study is intended to find out the influence of in-group art therapy using a technique called "Storytelling" such as alleviation of alexithymia and improvement in expression of emotion. The object of study is children at com- munity child center. Children have basic needs for expressing something they've seen, heard, felt and experienced. In this manner, art activities using storytelling play a role as medium that children are able to express their needs and thoughts. Art activity through picture storybook can be the only useful means of expressing oneself to children who have difficulty in expressing complex and subtle thoughts, emotions, and concepts as it allows children to articulate something inside themselves and to grant a form of everything that children see, feel, think, experience, and imagine.
In substance, children have difficulty in expressing their emotions and needs as they are in the process of growing physically and mentally. picture storybook plays a role as medium that stimulates children's imagination and interests. They are valuable for expression of children's emotion and desire. When listening to picture storybooks, children pursuit a topic, educational meaning, and pleasure that picture storybooks provide. In addition, picture storybooks arousing emotion and interests make children immersed in imagined world.
In this perspective, this study has set up research problems to see what effects art therapy using storytelling has to children.
1. According to the test of expressing emotions, how does a child's Alexithymia mitigation effect?
2. How does the in-group art therapeutic program of story telling influence children's improvement in expression of emotions?
3. What content does children's experience in emotional transformation include?
4. What meaning do children find from art therapy of story telling for the purpose of improving expression of emotions?
5. Based on Erikson's psychosocial theory, how does group art therapy program that applied periodically, influence a child's Alexithymia miting action and emotional transformation?
This study was proceeded aiming for 6 students in S elementary school of Gwangyeoksi who are in 1st to4th grade(9years old boy, 9years old girl, 11years old girl) participating in after-school programs. This researcher proceeded the study and for the objective informational l data was recorded. Top roof the sematters, program formation and information was all collected from May 2014 to August 2014 And he study was proceeded for 8 weeks starting from beginning of September to the end of October. Proceeded program included before, and after test, which was practiced twice a week, 90minutes each for 16rounds. Quantitative measurement of Korean Version scale was applied to measure Alexithymia and qualitative measurement of Star-Wave Art Test(SWT), Kinetic House Tree Person(KHTP), was applied to observe before and after emotional expression changes. This researcher an alyzed the datar ecorded to observe that changes occurred in each child's applied the rapeutic picture storybooks.
First, art therapeutic-story telling influenced inadequate effect on defense mechanism alleviation and motivation to mitigate Alexithymia. Self-expression skills improved, a child with passive attitude and low self-esteem improved dignity. On this account they expressed their repressed emotions thus Alexithymia was significantly liberated.
Second, in-group story telling of art therapy does influence in a child's emotion expression. Children's improvements were that they grew a bigger imagination, capacity of expression also as they improved their presentation skills, they became more self-confidence person.
Third, as far as kids' experiences in changes of emotional expression they have learned to think of others other than themselves also improved their expression skills. Furthermore, through picture storybooks they naturally built and learned the skills to be able apply and communicate emotion languages.
Fourth, art therapy-story telling to improve kids expression has a significance that it uses language to help kids who are struggling with their emotional expressions and it finds the most suitable picture storybook for kids to paint and decorate, which ultimately helps those particular children to control their emotions and improve in self-esteem. This has a value that storytelling is worth increase of interaction. Fifth, Based on Erikson's Psychosocial Theory, this researcher validated that in-group art therapy of story telling program has influenced a kid's changes in improvement of emotions and Alexithymia.
Through storytelling art therapy that is based on Erikson's psychosocial development, child's trust on others, goal-directed behavior, and even linguistic competence has been improved. Also, having interactions with their peers not only had an effect on the aspects of recognition, social development, ability of self-expression but also alleviated sense of inferiority, low self-regard, Alexithymia. Therapeutically, child's aggression and anger had decreased by expressing repressed emotions. Furthermore, children were able to undergo purification of emotion by expressing emotions as much as they like through creative children's story and art in a safety space. To summarize this research result, composing group storytelling art therapy program and implementing this program on child in practice is a great help to child for their difficult emotion
Moreover, verifying that utilizing natural language treated child's psychology and had positive effects on expressing emotions, Alexithymia have a significant meaning.