Art HeAls K
A L Y A K O R N
N
A K S O M P O P
USING ARTS
TO COPE WITH EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE IN CHILDREN Study Based on a Study Case Using Art Based Inquiry
The report submitted in partial fulfillment of the course
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ED 6008 Educational Psychology, Semester 1 / 2009 Graduate School of Education Assumption University, Thailand
USING ARTS
TO COPE WITH EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE IN CHILDREN Study Based on a Study Case Using Art Based Inquiry
By KALYAKORN NAKSOMPOP
The report submitted in partial fulfillment of the course
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ED 6008 Educational Psychology, Semester 1 / 2009 Graduate School of Education Assumption University, Thailand
CONTENT Page COVER ………………………………………………………………..…………….…
1
CHAPTER I: I: INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY …………………...…………... …………
4
Rationale Purpose of the Study Objectives of the Study Hypothesis
4 5 6 6 6
Significance of the Study
CHAPTER II: II: STUDENTS INFORMATION AND REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE……... Student Information Student Background Family Environment
Theoretical Review Theoretical Framework Conceptual Framework
Empirical Review Literatures Focusing on Emotional Disorders
8 8 8 9
9 9 10
11 11 12
Literatures Focusing on Art Therapy
CHAPTER III: III: METHODOLOGY, REPORT, AND RECOMMENDATIONS.....…………. …… Research Methodology Report
15 15 18 18
Artworks and Evaluation
32
Interviews and Observations
33
Analysis and Results
34
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Recommendations
REFERENCE ……………………………………………………………...…………..
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY
“Young people can have mental, emotional, and behavioral problems that are real, painful, and costly. These problems, often called ‘disorders,’ are sources of stress for children and their families, schools, and communities” (SHIN, 2006). It is estimated that one in every five children and adolescent may have a mental disorder. With this number, it is considered a serious problem. Educators and psychologists are aware of and have been seeking treatments for such disorders. “Reliving a traumatic experience in a supportive environment helps one integrate and work through the experience, preventing further development of psychological disorganization and chronic mental health problems” (Pizarro, 2004). This particular study, however, concentrates only on emotional disorder or disturbance in children who are traumatized by environmental factors. Based on a case of Tharini Thepruksa, in comparison with her brother Kunawut Thepruksa, the study suggests that one of the ways to cope with children who have emotional disorder is to use visual art as a form of image-based approach in a continuous manner.
RATIONALE Emotional disorder is not an actual medical term, but it is commonly used to refer to psychological disorder (Health Grades, 2009). Such disorders are regularly categorized accordingly to the symptoms (Pinapang, Hasook, Poomma, Tiangtham, & Kotama, 2004); such as anxiety, depression, or instability. Medical reports indicated that such
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disorders are likely to be caused by two main reasons. One is the environmental factors; including family, school, and society, and the other is the biological factors (Special Education Administration, 2009). Children who have emotional disorders have history of behaviors that “don't conform to the expectations of their culture or society. The behavior of sufferers can cause them more stress or reduced ability with respect to their personal, social and working life (Health Grades, 2009). Due to the disorders, many times it seems very difficult to find the way to communicate with these children. Therefore, even if we want to help, it seems almost not impossible because we do not know where to begin. An instrument this particular suggests is the using of art to communicate with these children. In many cases, problems or disturbance in a child can be indicated through his or her art works. That is simply because art is another form of communication (Alter, Hays, & O’Hara, 2009). When a child cannot communicate through verbal, physical, or any other lingual forms, they can use arts to express their thoughts, feelings and emotions. Arts “employ similar cognitive processes, ultimately allowing language and thought to be expressed through a variety of representations” (Alter, Hays, & O’Hara, 2009, p. 2). To create an art work is to directly interpret how you view the world through symbolic shapes, forms, lines and colors. It enables you “to encode visual concepts…and to decode meaning by responding to society’s images, ideas, and media which permeate our increasingly complex visual world” (Sandell, 2009). Not only that it can be used for communication, using art in a form of imagebased inquiry, or art therapy, can positively affect mental health and generate creative healing energy (Neiman, 2006). A previous study indicated that creating art pieces about trauma or stress improves health and reduces stress. Using the techniques of visual arts, including painting and sculpture, patients are able to “work through fear, anger, resentment, and isolation” (Pizarro, 2004). The same method has been regularly practiced in places such as hospital by art therapists to help patients who have been disturbed as results from war, terminal illness, natural disaster, and family crisis (Pizarro, 2004). Many cases are likely to be reported successful. If art therapy is effective in such cases, there is no reason for the similar or same method to not be successful in the case of healing disturbed children.
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PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The study is purely developed and designed to benefit the education in general. Previous interviews with teachers of regular schools with normal education revealed that it is common to see emotional disturbed children, mild and severe, in regular classes with classmates who are normal children. Thus, present study aims to find ways to cope with these children with disorders who are suffered from the symptoms and probably from being an outcast in the society (school), for the benefits of teachers, the emotional disturbed children themselves as well as their fellow classmates.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 1.
To determine if a child’s emotional disturbance is transferred through their visual art works.
2.
To examine if art based approaches (art therapy) promote positive improvement in child’s mental health.
3.
To determine if producing visual arts heals emotional disorder in a long term.
HYPOTHESIS Visual arts can be used as a tool to detect child’s emotional disturbance. Using visual arts as image-based approach helps the child with such disturbance to recover from the symptoms or trauma.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY As mentioned in the beginning that with a number of one in every five children having a possibility to have a mental disorder, it is rather a serious problem. This means that in reality, 20% of students in each classroom are likely to be emotionally disturbed, ranging from mild to severe. Supposed there are twenty students in a class, four of them have a potential to have the disorders. What if there are fifty students, which is a common number for most classes Thai schools? Then, it is quite a big number of disturbed students from to deal with. In addition to the level of the symptoms, we regularly find children with mental disorders walking among others. Sometimes, it is obvious that you can see signs by just
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looking at them. Sometimes, you have to talk to the child before noticing that he or she has problems. The other times when the symptoms are mild, the only way to detect this is by looking at his or her art works. For these reasons, present study is very relevant to the real situation in classrooms. It suggests how mental disorders, particularly the emotional disorders, can be detected using art works. It also recommends an approach educators can use with these children, which is image-based. Learning about this approach gives more options to both teachers and students. In addition, with such number of children who have the disorders, it is not possible to put all of them to special school with special education, due to various conditions. Therefore, it is important for educators to learn how to cope with these children and, hopefully will be able to apply method suggested in this study to compromise the gaps between the students of same classroom. The study should purely benefit teachers as well as the students, both classmates and the ones with disorders themselves.
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CHAPTER II STUDENT INFORMATION & REVIEW OF LITERATURES
STUDENT INFORMATION There are two participants in this study. The main focus is Tharini Thepruksa, a 16-year-old girl who was diagnosed with hyperactivity disorder before she was 10 years old. Another case included in present study is Tharini’s brother, Kunawut Thepruksa. Kunawut’s performances are used as a reference and a comparison to Tharini’s case for a clearer picture and a more accurate outcome.
STUDENT BACKGROUND Tharini is a 16-year-old girl who is now studying in Mathayom 9 in xxxxx school. She has been suffering with emotional disturbance since she could remember. A psychiatrist diagnosed her with hyperactivity disorder and had been treated with medication. The children who suffer from such disorder are unable to focus their attention and are often impulsive and easily distracted (Health Grades, 2009). Not only that she has problems with the inability to focus, Tharini can also be seen with frustration and aggression with impulsive behaviors. She is usually aware of her behaviors, but is lack of ability to control them. Often times, the girl finds herself “against” the world, where no one seems trustworthy and lovable. Thus, Tharini always hates and rejects other people. As much as how she is anti social, the society seems to reject her as well, because to others, Tharini seems rude and angry. For this reason, she finds it difficult to get along with her teachers and fellow classmates, resulting in multiple changes of schools.
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Kunawut, on the other hand, has always been under the radar, in terms of emotional disorder, in his family. Growing up, he has had some difficulties with the emotional instability, but at the level that is acceptable for the society. Kunawut is now 24 years old and had graduated with a degree in fine arts from Silapakorn University. The difference between Kunawut and his sister, besides the emotional disorder, is that he started producing art works since he was young and has continued to do that until now, where Tharini has a history of producing arts but only for a certain period of time.
FAMILY ENVIRONMENT Tharini and Kunawut grew up in family of four; including them, their father who is a civil engineer, and their mother who is a housewife. The mother is reported to have treated her children with regular severe corporal punishment as well as brutal verbal assault. She is always found with rage and is often aggravated at her children. When the family sought for help with Tharini’s disorders, the psychiatrist asked the mother to switch role with the father – let the father take care the children instead of her. Since then, Tharini’s aggressive behaviors seem to slightly reduce, but her anger still remains. The father tends to have a softer character. He is strict, but not as harsh on the children as the mother. However, to Tharini and Kunawut, he symbolizes the weakness and the incompetence of the family. This is probably because of his inability to stop his wife from hurting the children, and also because he did not step into the role of taking care and protecting his children until the psychiatrist asked him to.
THEORETICAL REVIEW THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Emotional disorders are reported to be caused by two reasons. One is genetic and another, which is more likely the true reason in most cases, is the environmental factors (Special Education Administration, 2009). This means that how the child’s psychological development is shaped throughout the childhood is very important. Erikson proposed a taxonomy that explains how humans grow their personal and social development. He divided a person’s personal and social development into eight stages. Since present study
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only focus on child’s development, hence it only concentrates on the first three stages of this taxonomy. First stage starts when a child is born. Erikson’s theory stated that children develop their basic fundamental sense of trust and mistrust through the relationships with their mothers. If the mother is inconsistent or rejecting, the child would likely to develop the inability to trust. The second stage begins after eighteen months, when children stat forming the character of an “autonomy”. Erikson suggested that children of this age start to want to do things themselves. Their desires to do things, however, often conflict with the parents’ desires. Over restrictive parents may create the sense of incompetence and powerless in the child. Finally, the third stage refers to development of initiative and guilt when children are three years old. With maturing motor and language skills, aggressive exploration of environment occurs. The process continues until the children reach the age of six. Children at this age need to be convinced that it is ok to be the person on his own. Parents who severely punish child’s initiative may turn the child into feeling guilty about natural urges (Slavin, 2009). As suggested in the beginning that one of the treatments commonly practiced for the children with such problems is art therapy. The present study, however, focuses purely on the image-based theory. The theory based on believes that “images are a rich source of data for understanding the social world and for representing our knowledge of that social world” (Mathison, 2004). Every image created has meaning because it is made to mean (Becker, 1998). An image we create reports what we know or think about ourselves and the societies (surroundings) we live in. Using this approach includes participant or researcher produced visual products of drawings, paintings, sculptures, photographs, and other visual forms of expression and representation.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The present study focuses to investigate the effect art therapy in the form of image-based inquiry. In other words, the study aims to determine if creating visual arts helps children with their emotional disturbance.
FIGURE 1 The Conceptual Framework on How Mental Health in Child who are Emotional Disturbed Can be Improved Using Visual Arts in Image-Based Approach
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MENTAL DISORDERS
↑ TRAUMA
↔ ↓
VISUAL ARTS
MENTAL HEALTH IMPROVEMENT
EMPIRICAL REVIEW LITERATURES FOCUSING ON EMOTIONAL DISORDERS Health Grades (2009) suggested in WrongDiagnosis.com that there are at least twelve kinds of emotional disorders categorized by its symptoms, such as follow. 1) Anxiety Disorders − The children who experience excessive fear, worry, or uneasiness. It is the most common with conditions range from mild to severe. 2) Depression/Unipolar Disorder − The children who often feel sad, cry, or feel worthless for no obvious reasons. 3) Bipolar Disorder − The children who demonstrate exaggerated mood swings. 4) Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder − The children who are unable to focus their attention and are often impulsive and easily distracted. 5) Conduct disorders − The children who out their feelings or impulses in destructive ways. 6) Instability − The children who are lack of stability in emotions and behaviors.
The causes for the disorders are varied from drug abuse, injuries, to difficulty in chronicle illness. Special Education Administration (2009) suggested two main factors effecting child’s emotional and behavioral developments. One is biological factors where
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the mental health is genetic. However, it is more likely to believe that more cases of emotional disorders are caused by environment factors. A previous study by Dodge (1993) has identified three primary casual factors that influence the development of conduct disorder, one of the most common emotional disorders. First is the adverse environment, especially on the early stage, that the child is raised. Dodge suggested that “the relationship children have with their parents, particularly during the early years, is critical to the way they learn to act. Interactions between parents and their child influence the child's opinions, behaviors, and emotions” (Special Education Administration, 2009). Two is an aggressive pattern of behavior that is displayed to child on entering school. Three deals with society when the child is rejected by peers.
LITERATURES FOCUSING ON ART THERAPY Art Therapy has been somewhat a popular alternative for therapist in the process of healing pains in traumatized patients for the past few years. Why Art Therapy, an article by Terri Pifalo, an art therapist in Lowcountry’s Children in South Carolina, suggested that anyone who has experienced trauma usually have difficulty expressing their thoughts and feelings in effective words, especially in children who are not able to possess vocabularies as adults. In addition, “art is a non-threatening way to visually communicate anything that is too painful to put into words” (Pifalo, 2008). Using arts, then, opens the opportunity for nonverbal expression and communication. Therefore, therapists are likely to use art as the instrument to diagnose patients who have emotional disturbance and to communicate with them. An interesting case study of how children’s internal emotional schema can be indicated through their works of art was revealed when an art therapist, Karla Leopold, visited the children, who were the young victims of Hurricane Katrina. In Using Crayons to Exorcise Katrina (Dewan, 2007), the article reveals that Karla was intrigued when saw how many of the children drew similar pictures of their house, symbolized with a shape of triangle, are damaged by rains. From the outside, these young victims seemed happy like other normal children, but their drawings showed that “the trauma of the hurricane has influenced thoughts of home and safety” (Dewan, 2007). Katrina victims expressed their fear not verbally, but through drawings (visual art) with symbolic like snakes in swimming pool, dead birds, and rescue boat, because it is the collective unconscious.
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Besides indicating child’s disturbance with their drawings, Using Crayons to Exorcise Katrina (Dewan, 2007) also discussed how these negative feelings can be cured. Karla practiced art therapy on these children by asking them to think what can be put (drawn) in the picture to create the positive feeling of safety. In such approach, children are asked to process the positive thinking and should eventually help them, more or less, overcome their fear. A few samples of art works made by children who are victims of Hurricane Katrina are shown as follow. Looking at these works, it is obvious that the children were traumatized by the effects of the hurricane.
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“Brown in the center is the hurricane. The rest of the brown is the water. The buildings are the stores and houses. The big one is my house (upper right corner). Lower left corner is my auntie who died, she was 89. We went to the shelter to drop stuff off and when we got back she was already floating. My uncle and my grandmother were waiting too but they were in a safe place - in the closet. We tried to take my auntie with us but she wanted to stay with my grandma then she drowned. We walked back to the shelter through the water - it was up to my tummy." (http://www.katrinaexhibit.org/photoalbum/source/4.htm)
“One day there was a hurricane and her name was Katrina. She was full of water and wind. She did bad damage. She destroyed my dad’s truck and my house. It made me sad. The water was high and it was dirty. Full of fishes and dead dogs and humans.” (http://www.katrinaexhibit.org/photoalbum/source/12.htm)
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“A triangle house drawn by an eight-year-old male. For many of these children, a triangle house has replaced the typical drawn house. This is indication that the internal schema of these children has been compromised. The roof now provides the sense of safety.” (http://www.katrinaexhibit.org/photoalbum /source/16.htm)
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY, REPORT, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
METHODOLOGY Present study investigates on how producing visual arts effects children’s emotions, particularly those who have emotional disorders. It also aims to find if the disorders or disturbances can be detected through their art works. To find answers for the objectives, qualitative approaches are selected to perform on two case studies. The main case study is Tharini Thepruksa, a girl who was diagnosed with hyperactivity disorder. Another is the case of her brother, Kunawut Thepruksa, which is used as a comparison to Tharini’s case
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for a clearer outcome. The methods include interviews and observations, which play most important role, in association with the using of visual arts in form of image-based approach.
Objective 1: 1:
To determine if a child’s emotional disturbance is communicated through their visual art works. For the first objective, assessment of art works created by participants is performed.
Art works are randomly selected from the past and present, if any. Each art piece is evaluated to see if it reflects the participant’s disturbance, using evaluation sheet in Table 1. The researcher looks for signs, such as symbols, colors, and strokes, which can be interpreted into story. Information on participants’ background is also included as an instrument for result analysis. The researcher looks for connections between moods and stories displayed in the works and the story of the participants themselves.
TABLE 1 Evaluation Sheet for Art work of Participants
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Objective 2: 1:
To examine if image-based approach (art therapy)
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promotes positive improvement in child’s mental health. Interviews and observations are conducted on the participants as well as their family, teacher, and friends. Questions for the interviews (Table 2 and Table 3) cover whether the participants have improved in behaviors and emotions during the time period that they produce the art works.
TABLE 2 Listing of Questions for Interviewing the Participants No
Questions
1
How was your life when you started producing arts?
2
What is your motivation?
3
What did you feel when you were creating each art piece? How was your emotion?
4
How often did you produce works?
5
What do you think of art
6
Do you think it is easier to talk through words or through arts?
7
Did you notice any changes in yourself or your moods and behaviors from the time before you started producing arts?
TABLE 3 Listing of Questions for Interviewing Others Around Participants No
Questions
1
How were participant’s moods and behaviors before he/she started producing arts?
2
Are there any obvious emotional or behavioral problems of the participant that you could spot before he/she started involving arts?
3
What was going on in participant’s life when he/she started producing arts?
4
What do you think is his/her motivation?
5
Do you notice any changes in participant’s moods and behaviors from the time before he/she started producing arts?
6
Do you think producing arts help the participant? How?
7
Did you notice any changes in yourself or your moods from the time before you started producing arts?
8
Do you feel more, less, or as equal comfortable being around the participant after he/she started practicing arts?
9
Do you feel there are any problems about art curriculum and instruction in your school?
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Objective 3: 1:
To determine if producing visual arts heals emotional disorders in long term. Similar to methods used for Objective 2, interviews and observations are
conducted on the participants as well as others associated with them, such as teachers, friends, and family. This part of the study, however, aims to investigate how the effect producing visual arts has on each participant in a long term. The questions are more likely to ask about then and now.
REPORT To analyze the results, the outcomes for each part of the study are collected systematically. First part is the evaluation of participants’ art works. This method was performed by using researcher’s interpretation of each work combining with the interviews of participants about each particular piece. Second and third parts are likely to be conducted at the same time. Methods used for these two parts are interviews and observations. The information was then placed in categories; before arts, during arts, and after arts (for Tharini’s case) or now (for Kunawut’s case).
ART WORKS AND EVALUATIONS Evaluating art works of both Tharini and Kunawut, several common symbols and forms are found. Both often use free form shapes with not many geometric forms. The lines are usually heavy and bold. The works mostly contain colors, if not black and white, that are dark with strong contrast. Both created arts that are negative. In Kunawut’s works, the stories usually imply to the society and how he views it. He usually picks a story from his own experience in the real world and displays it in the paintings or drawings. The moods and feelings that are transferred through his works are usually negative and displeasure. It can be implied to how he does not appreciate the truth that he found in the society. Tharini’s themes are usually much smaller. She is likely to imply her works to the closer ones, such as family and friends. Most works are intense. Hence, the art works and evaluation of each are displayed on the following pages. Unfortunately, Tharini agreed to share her works only with the researcher and did not allow the researcher to share them
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with any other persons. This means that her works are not permitted to be published in this report. Descriptions of how each of Tharini’s works look like are made with the best attempt to be as accurate as possible.
Tharini’s Work 1 In this first piece of hers, Tharini drew a picture of her aunt, whom she thinks of as a liar. She transferred her hatred and anger through several symbols. The aunt’s character of lying is represented with ugly face, curly messy hair, dog body, hug lips, and extremely long tongue. The tongue wraps around the body very tight that the aunts seems torture. Seen in her drawing, Tharini used very bold lines in the black and white pencil drawings. Her anger is transmitted through the heaviness of the lines as well as the forms she chose to draw. It is clear that she is disgusted by her aunt’s behavior and personality. This is shown through the symbols she used to describe the aunt; ugly face, distorted dog body, and long tongue. Based on this picture she drew, Tharini seems very aware of reality of people’s true colors.
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The Evaluation Sheet for Tharini’s Work No. 1
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THARINI’S WORK 2
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Similarly to the first drawing, in present work, Tharini tried to tell a story about the person that she hates. She portrayed a picture of one of her neighbors as a greedy man. The eyes pops out, the hands reaches for money, and the body is twisted. Even with his body almost crumbled by the piles of banks and coins that collapses onto his body, the guy in the picture still seems very happy to be surrounded by wealth. Tharini explained that this neighbor of hers is willing to do anything for money and he never seems to have enough money. She thinks that one day, he may die of his greed. It is obvious, looking at the drawing, that Tharini does not like this neighbor. Her feelings are very well transferred through her black and white pencil drawing. She used bold outlines with no shadings or colors. Her lines are very tense and heavy. Very similar to the first drawing, the curvy-free forms are used to create loathing feelings to the viewers. The face of the man is disproportioned and ugly – showing the ugliness of his character. Tharini shows her hatred and anger with sarcasm through her drawing, using lines and forms that create negative feelings and moods. The pessimistic way of viewing the clearly comes through Tharini’s art works. She has hatred and anger. She also does not know how to see the goodness in people, especially the adults.
The Evaluation Sheet for Tharini’s Work No. 2
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KUNAWUT’S WORK 1
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The Art Work
As seen in this drawing, Kunawut used strong pencil strokes, crossing back and forth with heaviness. The colors are black and white since it is a quick sketch on a notebook with pencil. The drawing contains bold lines that are heavy. The artist probably drew lines with intensity. There are forms that are rather free-forms. However, there are noticeable shapes of humans with limbs that are intentionally disproportional. Every shape and form seems to head towards the same direction-towards the light. It seems as if people are struggling and trying to reach towards the light.
The Evaluation Sheet for Kunawut’s Work No. 1
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KUNAWUT’S WORK 2
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The Art Work
Very obvious symbols are presented in this piece of Kunawut’s work. He drew shapes that remind viewers of something that can create loathsome feelings. Colors are used, but not as important as curvy forms in bugs’ legs and bold lines, which seem to be the most outstanding elements in the drawing. Most importantly, Kunawut transfers his feelings of disdain and disgust towards this creature, in which he calls “Wealth– Sucking Spider”.
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The Evaluation Sheet for Kunawut’s Work No. 2
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KUNAWUT’S WORK 3
The Art Work
Kunawut chose to display his feelings towards the white collars and those of higher rank in the society with sarcasm. He used shapes of animals, such as buffalo and bugs, dressed with aiguillettes walking on the red carpet to create some kind of metaphor. This piece is all about story-telling and the moods that he created instead of lines or strokes. Colors are dynamic with contrasts between blue-red and green-red.
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The Evaluation Sheet for Kunawut’s Work No. 3
KUNAWUT’S WORK 4
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The Art Work
The symbols in these painting are very obvious. Kunawut used high heals, hair, and dress to refer to woman. He also used aiguillettes and sashes to represent status of people in higher rank of society. Different sizes of shapes are also used as symbols to represent the socio-status. Kunawut mostly used dark colors with dynamic contrasts in some part. The message transferred through this piece is how he does not appreciate the society or people in the society being the way he implied in his painting.
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The Evaluation Sheet for Kunawut’s Work No. 4
KUNAWUT’S OTHER WORKS 5
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INTERVIEW AND OBSERVATION
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By interviewing and observing both participants, it is very likely to make assumption that both Tharini and Kunawut show symptoms of emotional disorders. Both grew up in the same family with a very similar environment, with an aggressive an impulsive mother. They both have difficulties trusting and liking others around them. They tend to be aware of the worst in people before seeing the best. Furthermore, Tharini’s case seems much more severe. Her symptoms have been very apparent since before she reached the aged of 10. Her parents sought for professional help from a psychiatrist who diagnosed her with hyperactivity disorder and treated her with medication. Direct observations and interviews indicated more multiple emotional disorders. Tharini shows signs of possible instability as well as conduct and bipolar disorders. She has very impulsive behavior with noticeable anger. She is also very anti-social. Kunawut said his sister was very much more expressive with her anger when she was little. Her behaviors toned down a little bit during the time she produced art works. After she stopped associating with visual arts, she turned to fashion and music as she reached adolescent. Her parents said, “That’s when her mood swings came back, but she did not express it the way she used to. She tends to contain her anger inside more in front of others.” She is also reported to currently have other risky behaviors with alcohol and clubbing with friends. The researcher, however, failed to get in contact with Tharini’s teachers, due to her multiple changes of schools. Nonetheless, her friends and family agreed that she usually has problems in schools, mostly with teachers and often with fellow classmates. Those she has problems with her tend to not understand her and reject her, as much as how she rejects them. In addition, Tharini is usually the one who requests for change of school. Kunawut’s case is rather different. Growing up in the same environment, but with the help from visual arts, his life has been much easier. All of his teachers and friends confirmed that he is a competitive person, but his competitiveness did not come out as aggressive to anyone. Kunawut said that he was also an angry kid, but he put all of his anger into the art works. “If I didn’t have art, I wouldn’t be like what I am today. I would have lost it like my sister,” said Kunawut.
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ANALYSIS AND RESULTS This study investigates how emotional disturbance can be detected through art works and how it can be healed using a form of arts-based inquiry. The study based on a case study of Tharini’s Thepruksa, a 16-year-old girl who had has problems dealing with her instable emotions and behaviors before she reached adolescent, in a comparison with Kunawut Thepruksa, a 24 year-old-man who is her brother. The relationship between emotional disorders and visual arts produced by the participants is found to be positive. The emotional disturbance was shown in both Tharini’s and Kunawut’s art works. The result is confirmed to be accurate when interviews and observations could only detect the signs of such disorders in Tharini but not in Kunawut. This is probably because Kunuwut’s case is mild. He also learned to control his behaviors and feelings as he grew older and became more mature. Art is the only place he allows himself to express his emotions freely. Tharini’s case is, as mentioned, very obvious since her symptoms are rather severe. Although her inability to focus and her instability are apparent, looking at her works clarifies more specific problem of what bothers her. Interviews and observations indicated that producing arts do have positive effect on participants. It improved their emotions and behaviors. In Tharini’s case, her improvement was noticeable during the time she was producing art works, but it lasted only a short period of time after she stopped. Unlike the first case, Kunawut has been associating with arts since he was young and he is still producing arts today. It was not obvious that because of arts, Kunawut’s case is mild that his behavior, although it shows signs of instability and aggression, but they are at the level that is acceptable for the society. From this outcome, it is likely to conclude that emotional disturbances can be detected through art works. Moreover, producing art works can heal such disorders, but only if it is practiced in a continuous manner.
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RECOMMENDATIONS A lot of times, teachers have to face situations where parents put their children, who have emotional disorders, in the same school and same class with other normal children. Teachers then have to find ways to cope with those disturbed children, hoping to compromise the flow in the classroom. Present study proposes one effective method for teachers to deal with such situation that is to use visual arts to detect the problems as well as to improve the symptoms that other children may find disturbing. This is because, through this study, art is found to be a great instrument for communication with emotional disturbed children. It is the only place children feel free to express themselves, allowing others to see what is in their mind. In addition, the activity can be entertaining for other fellow classmates as well. Nonetheless, there are some limitations to this study, due to a small number of study cases that this research based on. Future study may aim to investigate with a larger number of participants with more details how to practice this methods in classroom.
“If I didn’t have art, I wouldn’t be like what I am today. I would have lost it like my sister.”
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Kunawut Thepruka (September 7, 2009)
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USING ARTS
TO COPE WITH EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE IN CHILDREN Study Based on a Study Case Using Art Based Inquiry
By KALYAKORN NAKSOMPOP
Kalyakorn Naksompop | 41
The report submitted in partial fulfillment of the course ED 6008 Educational Psychology, Semester 1 / 2009 Graduate School of Education Assumption University, Thailand