examining-changes-hrv-emotion-following-artmaking-with-three

Examining Changes in HRV and Emotion Following Artmaking with Three Different Art Materials

This protocol enables the examination of psychological and physiological responses to different types of behavioral engagements. Specifically, in this ...

University of Haifa

Art therapy encourages the use of art materials to express feelings and thoughts in a supportive environment. Art materials differ in fluidity and are postulated to thus differentially enhance emotional response (the more fluid the material the more emotion elicited). Yet, to the best of our knowledge, this assumption has not been empirically tested. The current study aimed to examine the emotional and physiological responses to art-making with different art materials. We were particularly interested in vagal activity, indexed by heart rate variability (HRV), because of its association with numerous health related outcomes. In this study, 50 adults (mean age 33 ± 10.27 years, 52% males) participated in a repeated measures experiment, in which they were requested to draw with three art materials (order randomized) differing in their level of fluidity (pencil, oil-pastels, and gouache paint) intermittent with periods of music. We measured the emotional response to art-making with each material using a self-report measure and matrices of HRV using a wearable electrocardiogram device. We calculated two indices of HRV, one indicative of parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity, and one indicative of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity. Art-making with gouache paint and oil-pastels resulted in improved positive mood, while pencil did not. Art-making explained approximately 35% of the variability in parasympathetic reactivity, which may indicate changes in emotional regulation processes during the art-making task. Yet, fluidity was not sufficient to explain the reaction to art-making. Surprisingly, the largest suppression of PNS and augmentation of the SNS occurred during art-making with oil-pastels and not with Gouache. Moreover, PNS and SNS reactivity to oil-pastels were related to emotional valance, which may point to emotional engagement. We can conclude that art-making with oil-pastels, first created in Japan in 1924 to increase self-expression of students, results in a unique emotional and physiological responses. These findings might be explained by the enhanced tactile experience of art-making with oil-pastels along with their relative fluidity, triggering an arousal pattern. Further studies that take the format and presentation of the materials as well as the content of the artwork, into account, are needed.

Emotional Response and Changes in Heart Rate Variability Following Art-Making With Three Different Art Materials.

Emotional awareness and acceptance of emotion are associated with improved health in breast cancer (BC) patients. Art therapy (AT) uses visual art-making for expression and communication and has been shown to reduce psychological and physical symptoms in individuals with cancer. A major objective of AT is to encourage increases in emotion processing; however, few studies examine these changes.  To examine the effect of an eight-week AT group on emotion processing as a mechanism of symptom reduction in women with BC.  Randomized clinical trial.  Twenty women diagnosed with breast cancer whom had completed primary treatment.  Participants were randomized to participate in eight-weeks of AT or sham AT, which was a mandala coloring group. Participants answered questionnaires before and after the intervention. We used a Cohen's D calculator for effect sizes and a t-test to examine group differences.  Statistically significant between-group differences in emotional awareness and acceptance of emotion were found after the intervention. We found large effect sizes between groups and over time in acceptance of emotion, emotional awareness and depressive symptoms.  We conclude that emotion processing in AT may be a potential mechanism reducing depression and somatic symptoms in cancer patients.  Art Therapy is a feasible intervention to increase emotional processing. A larger study is required to further examine its effect on psychological and physical symptoms in breast cancer patients.

The role of emotional processing in art therapy (REPAT) for breast cancer patients.

Integrating spiritual care into multidisciplinary care teams has seen both successful thoughtful collaboration and challenges, including feelings of competition and poor cross-disciplinary understanding. In Israel, where the profession is new, we aimed to examine how spiritual care is perceived by other healthcare professionals learning to integrate spiritual caregivers into their teams.

Johanna Czamanski-Cohen

The Emili Sagol Creative Arts Therapies Research Center,
The School of Creative Arts Therapies,
The Faculty of Health and Welfare,
The Emili Sagol Creative Arts Therapies Research Center, The School of Creative Arts Therapies, The Faculty of Health and Welfare

University of Haifa

Examining Changes in HRV and Emotion Following Artmaking with Three Different Art Materials