부산대학교 도서관

The purpose of this study was to find out the experiences and meaning of ETC-based slime art therap y for verbal and non-verbal emotional expression in children with cochlear implants. The participant was a 10-year-old girl attending the 4th grade of a general elementary school who underwent cochlea r implant surgery at the age of 3 due to congenital hearing loss. From November 2022 to March 2023, she participated in eight sessions of art therapy, once a week, for 50 minutes per session. The art therapy program was designed based on the ETC (Exploration, Transformation, and Creation) stage. Data collection involved the art therapy facilitator's research diary, result images, recorded vide os, observer's behavioral observation record, and interview data with the participant's guardians. Throu gh the analysis of the collected data, five main themes and fourteen sub-themes were derived. The main themes were as follows: , , , , and . Based on these themes, the participant's experiences were analyzed. The results of this study are as follows. First, the participant found her shrinking self due to difficulties in expression. Second, she actively selected and tried different art media and experienced subjective exploration. Third, she discovered the empowering force of positive self-growth. Fourth, she experienced a creative dimensi on in her art expression by integrating the ETC level. Fifth, through ETC-based slime art therapy, she pursued tactile and auditory stimulation, leading to a sense of security. Lastly, children with cochl ear implants showed an expansion of verbal and non-verbal behavioral expression through slime art therapy. In conclusion, this study found that ETC-based slime art therapy for children with cochlear implants helped alleviate suppressed and atrophied emotions, restore psychological stability, and facili tate emotional expression.