Review of Arts and Humanities

Exploring and Discovering the Self Art Therapy–Based Activity
Chun-Chieh Catherine Chen

Abstract
For immigrant students, the cultural values and norms at home and at school can vary widely. Under these conditions, it is difficult to participate in school activities because of insecurity or the fear of offending or angering others, which in turn compromises self-esteem and academic expectations. This research focused on how therapeutic art activities can help immigrant students enhance their self-identity. Therapeutic art activities can be regarded as a decolonizing medium because they are not structured based on mainstream educational or curricular frameworks. Traditional art classes may also ask students to draw from their imaginations; however, from the art therapy perspective, students’ inner worlds of images, feelings, thoughts, and ideas are always of primary importance to the learning experience. In this research, art therapy–based activity was practiced as an effective tool for helping college students cope with troubling feelings and negotiate difficult experiences.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/rah.v4n1a7