The purpose of this study was to investigate if and how group art therapy influence positively students self-esteem and schoolmate relationship that are direct and crucial for the student to develop appropriate mentality and emotion, so as to grow as a healthy member of the society.
The subjects of this study was five elementary 4th graders who marked low scores on Measurement of Self-Esteem and Test for Friendship. Research instruments used are, first, group art therapy through which scores on pretest and posttest for self-esteem and friend-relation are compared; second, KSD with which the students language and behavior are compared and analyzed. The group art therapy program consists of a total of 12 sessions and have three stages of trust-building stage, self-understanding and self-acceptance, and interaction with reality recognition.
The results of this study are as follows.
First, group art therapy induced positive effects on the students self-esteem.
Second, group art therapy positively encouraged the children's friendship with schoolmates.
Third, group art therapy positively encouraged the children's friendship with KSD.
To conclude, the student were able to gain a sense of achievement by expressing their inner experience through the group art therapy program, which gave them enhanced self-esteem and improved friendship.