The Effectiveness of Visual Art Therapy In Dealing With Cognitive Emotion Regulation And Anxiety Among Single Mothers

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the use of Visual Art Therapy in dealing with cognitive emotion regulation and anxiety among single mothers. Quasi-experimental method involving pre-test and post-test were used to achieve the objectives. A total of 32 respondents were selected for this study by using purposive sampling method and respondents are from Kuala Terengganu and Marang. They were divided into four groups, with eight people per group. Visual Art Therapy was implemented through structured group counselling for eight weeks. The data collection used two instruments; Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) to measure the cognitive emotion regulation level and Symptoms Checklist 90 (SCL-90) to measure the anxiety level before and after the therapy process. Interviews and document analysis were also carried out to gain supporting data in this study. The findings showed that there are significant differences between pre-test and post-test of cognitive emotion regulation and anxiety for single mothers. The results of interviews and document analysis also showed that the respondents managed to disclose their cognitive emotion regulation and anxiety during the group sessions. The study was effective in helping single mothers to handle their way of thinking, evaluate the situation faced by them and reduce anxiety. Furthermore, this study contributes to the development of knowledge in the counselling field.