This study aimed to investigate the effect of therapy and therapeutic changes through
spontaneous drawings in dynamically oriented art therapy. The client, who complained various
clinical symptoms due to disengagement, was involved in a long-term individual art therapy. The colors and self-images of spontaneous drawings were analyzed to verify the effect of art therapy in diminishing clinical symptoms and to scrutinize the reflected psychological changes in drawings.
Art therapy had been conducted once a week for a year and two months, and the client created
more than 100 artworks. The Symptom-Checklist-90-R was conducted every three or four months.
The number of used colors, each color usage and the contents of self-image were analyzed.
The process of art therapy was as follows. Beginning stage focused on identifying the client's
problems and setting therapeutic goals. Intermediate stage focused on helping the client express her feeling freely, understand major problems which were connected to emotions, and correct them.
On the latter stage, transference relationship was resolved, and the changes made in therapy
sessions were applied to real life. After identifying the outcome of therapy, it came to the end.
The conclusions from this case study were as follows.
First, art therapy proved its effectiveness on decreasing clinical symptoms. The results of
Symptom-Checklist-90-R, which conducted three times, showed diminishment of the scores of
most test items.
Second, the number of colors in drawings did not changed, but the kind of used colors changed.
As therapy proceeded, the use of black and dark blue decreased, and that of yellow, light green and light blue increased.
Third, analysis of self-image in spontaneous drawings showed that art therapy helped the
expression of emotions and the identification of main problems. The positive changes of the client were reflected in the contents of drawings.
Therefore this case study demonstrates positive effects of art therapy as it helps the client
express emotions, recognize main problems, and make self-image healthy. These changes were reflected in color usage and self-image in drawings.
Key Words : Dynamically Oriented Art Therapy, Spontaneous Art, Color usage, Self-image.