Strokes of Strength: An Expressive Arts-based Intervention with Adolescents

Authors

  • Khwaish Sharma Department of Psychology, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, New Delhi, Delhi, 110024, India
  • Priti Dhawan Department of Psychology, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, New Delhi, Delhi, 110024, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/jpr.v3i4.3585

Abstract

In order to explore how adolescents who have been affected by traumaticexperiences would respond to an expressive arts-based intervention, amodule was designed, implemented and its effect on certain behavioraland emotional constructs was evaluated. The sample included 10 femaleadolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 who underwent a 2-month longgroup expressive arts therapy in their institutional home, namely, PrayasJuveline Aid Centre, New Delhi, India. The tools which were used toassess the changes in the pre – post intervention scores in self – reportedbehavioral and emotional difficulties were: The Youth Self Report Form(YSR Form 11-18, CBCL; ASEBA, 2001) and the ‘Severity of Post –Traumatic Stress Scale’ (NSESSS; APA, 2013). The tools used to assessthe changes in the pre – post intervention ratings of the caregiver were,the ‘DSM – 5 Parent / Guardian Rated Level 1 Cross Cutting SymptomMeasure’ (APA, 2013) and the ‘Caregiver’s Observation Checklist:Children at – risk’ (WCCL, 2013). The results revealed that 4-weekexpressive arts -based intervention elicited a statistically significantdifference in the self – reported behavioural and emotional difficultiesby the participants. The verbatim reports, diary excerpts and paintings ofthe participants were qualitatively analysed. In future, there is room toinvestigate how an intervention with a longer duration and a representativesample would explain the effectiveness of expressive – arts-based therapywith such populations.

Keywords:

Intervention Effectiveness, Trauma, Child Sexual Abuse, Adolescents From Traumatised Backgrounds, Expressive Arts Based Therapy

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How to Cite

Sharma, K., & Dhawan, P. (2021). Strokes of Strength: An Expressive Arts-based Intervention with Adolescents. Journal of Psychological Research, 3(4), 36–41. https://doi.org/10.30564/jpr.v3i4.3585

Issue

Vol. 3 , Iss. 4 (October 2021)

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