A Study on the Effect of Expressive Arts Therapy on Marital Empathy and Emotional Stability

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of expressive arts therapy in enhancing marital empathy and emotional stability among married individuals. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 30 married individuals (15 per group) in Georgia. Participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental group receiving an eight-session expressive arts therapy intervention or a control group placed on a waitlist. Each session lasted 60–75 minutes and integrated multiple modalities including visual arts, movement, music, and storytelling. Assessments were conducted at three time points: pretest, posttest, and five-month follow-up. Standardized tools were used to measure marital empathy and emotional stability. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA with Bonferroni post-hoc tests, and all assumptions were met. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS-27. Significant time × group interactions were observed for both marital empathy (F(2,54) = 20.18, p < .001, η² = .436) and emotional stability (F(2,54) = 18.44, p < .001, η² = .413), indicating that the experimental group experienced greater improvement over time compared to the control group. Bonferroni post-hoc comparisons showed significant increases from pretest to posttest and pretest to follow-up in both marital empathy (p < .001) and emotional stability (p < .001), with no significant decline at follow-up, suggesting that the therapeutic gains were maintained. Expressive arts therapy proved to be an effective and sustainable intervention for improving marital empathy and emotional stability. The results support the integration of creative, multimodal therapeutic approaches into marital counseling programs and highlight the enduring benefits of symbolic, embodied, and narrative-based interventions for couples’ emotional health.