The purpose of this study was to explore in depth how a woman in her thirties experiencing depression engaged in psychological processes through Acceptance and Commitment Art Therapy, and to examine the meanings of changes in psychological flexibility...
The purpose of this study was to explore in depth how a woman in her thirties experiencing depression engaged in psychological processes through Acceptance and Commitment Art Therapy, and to examine the meanings of changes in psychological flexibility and early maladaptive schemas within those experiences. Drawing on Stake’s (1995) case study perspective, the analysis approached the participant’s experiences from multiple interpretive angles.
The researcher conducted a total of 16 sessions of ACT Art Therapy, including one preliminary interview, with a woman in her thirties who reported symptoms of depression, from June 27 to October 15, 2025. The art therapy program was structured based on the six core processes
of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and the conceptual framework of maladaptive schemas.
Data sources included the participant’s artworks, session transcripts, and the researcher’s observational notes. These materials were analyzed following the case study data analysis procedures proposed by Stake (1995).
As a result of the 16-session intervention, the participant engaged with sensory qualities of art materials, directed attention to the present moment, and gradually adopted a more accepting stance toward her emotional experience. Within the ACT framework, six overarching themes and eighteen sub-themes were identified, reflecting changes in psychological flexibility. Within the schema-based analysis, three overarching themes and nine sub-themes were extracted.
This study provides evidence that acceptance and commitment art therapy offers a meaningful lens for examining shifts in psychological flexibility and early maladaptive schemas in a woman in her thirties experiencing depression.