| Summary: | 碩士 === 臺北市立師範學院 === 國民教育研究所 === 92 === This study aims to explore the traumatic experience of bereaved elementary school-aged children, and how they recuperate through the strategic action and support of art therapy groups. Five children in grades three and four participated in the group. They were in therapy two hours per week, for ten weeks.
Qualitative data was collected through observation of the children’s behavior, through interviews with teachers and the bereaved parents, and through analysis of the children’s artistic performance. The findings were generalized so as to examine changes within and throughout the process of recovery. The tools of research included outlines of interviews with parents, outlines of interviews with homeroom teachers, feedback forms and questionnaires from group members, and follow-up questionnaires. Recordings were made of each interview and films were taken of the group in therapy, etc.
The research found that art therapy could assist bereaved children to express their inner experience and emotions through works of art, revealing their unconscious selves. Under such circumstances, the children were able to re-experience their sorrow in a safe manner, naturally releasing their sad memories and feelings. In the art therapy group, they were able to affirm their connection to their lost parents and find completion through symbolic expression. Group activities and individual artwork nourished the children’s sense of self-satisfaction and self-realization, strengthening their confidence. Through interaction with each other as part of a bereaved group, the children were able to find a sense of security and support from other children with the same experience. This helped to accelerate the children’s recovery from the loss of a parent.
The research found that bereaved children express the loss of a parent in many ways. Repression, anger, denial, hyper-sensitivity, sense of incompleteness, loneliness, withdrawal, nightmares, bed-wetting, and crying are all common responses. Several factors were found to influence the confrontation and acceptance of loss, such as the coping skills and adjustment of the survived parent, the children’s understanding of death, the children’s awareness that their parent was dying, the parent’s ability to help children express themselves, and the support systems available to the family
After continued research and examination, the following points can be outlined as references for those who wish to help and guide bereaved children to work out their sadness:
1. The bereaved children in the research group demonstrated greater “impulse control”; a reflection of pre-therapy emotional introversion, withdrawal, and constraint.
2. The bereaved children often presented the desire to reconnect with their lost parents through both their artwork and the use of traditional customs and ceremonies to make contact with the dead.
3. The process of recovery for bereaved children consists of three identifiable steps: “the inability to express,” “the ability to express via artwork,” and finally, “the ability to openly express.”
4. The stronger the identification between group members, the less the children responded with inappropriate and self-destructive defense mechanisms.
5. The art therapy activities were often so enjoyable and engrossing for the children that they would share experiences that they were otherwise unable to express.
6. Mother’s Day and Tomb Sweeping Day were found to be particularly difficult triggers for the children. Organizing guided art therapy activities on these days can help to combine the traditional network of popular customs with the children’s healing, allowing bereaved children to find peace and completion with their lost parents.
Further research on the practice of guided art therapy activities is recommended in order to help bereaved children work out their sadness and loss according to the findings of this study.
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