Sushchuk A.Y.,
first-year master’s student
Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education “Belgorod State National Research University”
ART THERAPY AS A MEANS OF DEVELOPING THE EMOTIONAL-VOLITIONAL SPHERE OF PRESCHOOLERS
Annotation. The article analyzes the theoretical and empirical foundations of using art therapy to develop the emotional-volitional sphere of preschool children. It examines the neurophysiological and psychological mechanisms that account for the effectiveness of nonverbal creative methods. The author systematizes data from contemporary studies on specific modalities (visual art therapy, fairy-tale therapy, clay therapy), identifies limitations of the evidence base, and outlines prospects for further research.
Keywords: art therapy, emotional-volitional sphere, preschool age, emotional regulation, visual art therapy, fairy-tale therapy, clay therapy.
Introduction
Preschool age is a sensitive period for the formation of the emotional-volitional sphere: the child learns to recognise his or her own and others’ emotions, to manage impulsive reactions, to obey rules, and to carry actions through to a result. However, contemporary children develop under conditions of increasing sensory and information load, which is accompanied by a rise in anxiety states already at older preschool age. Traditional verbal methods of correction often prove ineffective in this context: a limited vocabulary and insufficient reflective maturity do not allow the child to “tell” about his or her internal state.
Art therapy offers an alternative (nonverbal, symbolic) channel of access to emotional experience. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to analyse the mechanisms underlying the developmental and corrective effects of art therapy on the emotional-volitional sphere of the preschool child, and to assess the degree of empirical substantiation of such methods.
The Emotional-Volitional Sphere of the Preschool Child
The emotional-volitional sphere at preschool age is characterised by a number of specific features: the predominance of concrete, visually mediated forms of emotional responding; a gradual transition from impulsive behaviour to voluntary regulation; and the formation of skills of emotional expression and recognition of another person’s states. Disturbances in this sphere manifest themselves in increased anxiety, aggressiveness, fears, an inability to complete what has been started, and low frustration tolerance.
The assessment of the emotional-volitional sphere of a preschool child relies mainly on observation, projective drawing tests, and experimental methods. At the same time, it is important to avoid creating a “situation of failure” for the child and to limit the duration of the examination to age norms (up to 15 minutes for 4–5-year-olds and up to 20 minutes for 5–7-year-olds). It is indicative that the diagnostic tools themselves largely overlap with art-therapy techniques: drawing acts simultaneously as a means of assessment and as a means of correction.
Contemporary research allows us to speak of two complementary levels of explanation for the effectiveness of art therapy: neurophysiological and psychological.
– Neurophysiological level.
Creative visual activity stimulates interaction between the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex, which plays a key role in the processing and regulation of emotions. Tactile materials (clay, sand, paints, etc.) provide predictable proprioceptive feedback, which helps reduce amygdala hyperactivity and frees cognitive resources for tasks of executive control. Visual self-expression, in turn, activates reward systems in the prefrontal cortex, forming positive pathways for regulating thoughts, actions, and emotions.
– Psychological level.
Art therapy makes it possible to “materialise” an image: a feeling, fear, or aggression is brought outward—onto paper, into plasticine, into a fairy-tale plot—and ceases to be all-consuming. The child gains the opportunity to express what he or she does not yet have words for, without fear of judgment. An additional mechanism is sublimation: destructive energy (aggression, anxiety) is translated into a constructive creative form, which in itself has a regulatory effect. Finally, discussing the created product with an adult develops a reflective stance toward one’s own feelings.
Empirical Data
Visual art therapy (isotherapy). This is one of the most studied areas. In A. L. Chevokina’s master’s study, a programme for developing the emotional-volitional sphere of older preschool children who actively use digital devices was developed and tested by means of visual art therapy. The programme showed positive dynamics: after its implementation, the experimental group demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in anxiety indicators and improved parameters of emotional regulation compared with the control group (using the Mann–Whitney U test) [5].
Clay therapy. Working with clay is regarded as a method with a pronounced psychoemotional effect: it helps reduce anxiety, aggressiveness, and nervous tension caused by fears and negative emotions. In V. I. Kozlovskaya’s article, the correctional possibilities of clay therapy and its advantages in developing specifically the emotional sphere of preschoolers are identified [4].
Art-discussion programmes. M. N. Gavrilova’s experimental study evaluated the effectiveness of the programme “Look. See. Discuss.”, based on structured discussion of paintings with children aged 5–6. In the study with a control group (n = 62), participants in the experimental group demonstrated a statistically significantly greater increase in emotion understanding and a significantly greater reduction in behavioural manifestations of stress compared with the control group (ANCOVA) [2].
Meta-analytic data. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 100 randomised controlled trials (children and young people aged 5–24 from 29 countries) showed that art-therapy interventions are associated with a reduction in anxiety (SMD = 0.75; 95% CI 0.57–0.94; n = 3898), depression (SMD = 1.06), and an increase in well-being (SMD = 0.53). A separate meta-analysis confirmed a significant improvement in anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents under the influence of art therapy (SMD = −1.42). At the same time, the authors note high heterogeneity and limitations of the evidence base [1, 6].
Limitations and Problem Areas of the Evidence Base
Notwithstanding the validity of the empirical data, their limitations must be acknowledged. A significant proportion of studies have been conducted on small samples, often without control groups or with quasi-experimental designs [5, 2]. Qualitative and projective assessment methods predominate, whereas standardised quantitative scales of emotional regulation are used less frequently [3]. In addition, the effects of art therapy are often confounded with the effects of group interaction, adult attention, and structured play activity as such.
Meta-analytic reviews indicate high heterogeneity and low or very low certainty of evidence for a number of outcomes (anxiety, depression) due to the risk of bias and imprecision of estimates. The question of differentiating the effects of various art-therapy modalities requires special attention, as does the long-term sustainability of the achieved changes. Most studies are limited to recording the immediate post-effect [6].
Conclusion
Art therapy has a theoretically grounded and empirically supported potential for developing the emotional-volitional sphere of preschoolers. Its key advantage is its nonverbal, symbolic character, which corresponds to the child’s age-related capabilities and allows the limitations of conceptual language to be bypassed. Neuroscientific data link the effectiveness of art therapy to the stimulation of cortico-limbic interaction and a reduction in amygdala hyperactivity; psychological data link it to the mechanisms of exteriorisation of emotions, sublimation, and reflective discussion of the product.
At the same time, the transition from a «promising method» to «evidence-based practice» requires more rigorous designs: randomised controlled trials with adequate samples, standardised instruments for assessing emotional regulation as dependent variables, and longitudinal tracking of delayed effects. A priority task is also the comparative analysis of the contribution of individual art-therapy modalities, rather than only of complex programmes. Addressing these tasks will make it possible to transform art therapy from an intuitively appealing technology into a validated instrument of psychological and pedagogical support for child development.
References
1. The effects of arts and art therapy on mental health outcomes in children and young people: a systematic review and meta-analysis // eClinicalMedicine. – 2026. – Vol. 101.
2. Gavrilova, M. N. Emotional development and stress reduction in preschool children: an experimental evaluation of an art-discussion programme / M. N. Gavrilova // National Psychological Journal. – 2026. – Vol. 21, No. 3. – P. 57–68.
3. Gibadullina, A. I. Development of the emotional-volitional sphere of children by means of art therapy / A. I. Gibadullina // Molodoy Ucheny. – 2024. – No. 22 (521). – P. 496–498.
4. Kozlovskaya, V. I. The influence of clay therapy on the development of the emotional-volitional sphere in preschool children / V. I. Kozlovskaya // Preschool and Primary Education: Experience, Problems, Prospects: collection of scientific articles of the XVI International Scientific and Practical Seminar, Baranovichi, 24–25 April 2025. – Baranovichi: BarSU, 2025. – P. 138–142.
5. Chevokina, A. L. Art therapy as a means of developing the emotional-volitional sphere of older preschool children using digital devices: master’s thesis / A. L. Chevokina; Togliatti State University. – Togliatti, 2025.
6. Zhang, B., Wang, J., Abdullah, A. B. The effects of art therapy interventions on anxiety in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis / B. Zhang, J. Wang, A. B. Abdullah // Clinics. – 2024. – Vol. 79.
