This study is to investigate if and how art therapy is effective to help un-hospitalized
alcoholics gain self esteem from abstinence, expect consequences of a drink, and prevent
themselves from relapse.
The study subjects are two alcoholics who were once hospitalized in a mental institution for
alcohol poisoning. They received total 24 art therapeutic sessions, each lasting 120 minutes.
The art therapeutic program of this study is based and modified on the transforming
strategies in Prochaska & DiClemente(1984), which could help alcoholics recover or rehabilitate, focusing on each stage of their transforming process.
The results are as follows.
There has been no big difference in the subjects\'s self esteem from alcohol abstinence,
according to the comparison between before and after the art therapy. However, their
expectations as to consequences of drinking alcohol decreases after the therapy.
The alcohol relapse which used to last more than one month when happening now lasts less
than two days, thanks to the therapy.
With above results, this study shows a possibility that art therapy is effective to reduce
relapse of alcohol poisoning.
Based on the study results, I would like to suggest the following.
First, the result of study has a limited effect in the sense that the subjects chosen for the
study are only among the low income population and male. It\'s hard, therefore, to generalize the results for the whole population, so I suggest a further study with an enlarged population.
Second, it may be required that there should be more specific or supplementing strategies and
stages to fit into different characteristics of alcoholism, and that we should develop and practice more diversified and professional art therapeutic programs for alcoholism.
Key Word : Alcoholics, Prevent from Relapse, Alcoholics Gain Self Esteem from Abstinence,
Expect consequences of a Drink, Art Therapy