How do Individuals with Fears of Social Situations Experience Making Art of their Feared Situation

This qualitative case study aimed to explore how individuals with fears of social situations would experience first drawing depictions of their feared social situations and then modifying those drawings in a way that would make the situation seem positive or less fear or anxiety producing. Besides the fact that many individuals with social fears avoid seeking treatment due to perceived embarrassment and avoidance of confronting their fears, many individuals with social fears do not benefit from available exposure treatments due to attentional biases, which interrupt the fear activation necessary for effective fear extinction. No known research has used art making with the concept of cognitive restructuring, an effective cognitive behavioral treatment method for social phobia, in an attempt to find a nonthreatening, nonverbal alternative for individuals with social fears.;Seven participants with self-reported fears of specific social situations completed a two-part art making activity in which they first drew their feared social situation and then modified their original drawing in a way that would make the social situation seem less fear provoking. Participants' responses to a written questionnaire and open-ended interview about their experiences suggested that the participants' anxiety was either reduced from the first drawing to the second drawing or, at least, did not increase. The data also suggested that the participants accredited this reduction to the modification drawing and discussing their social fears with the researcher. Finally, all seven participants reported a new insight or realization about their social fear that was either positive or that challenged a distorted belief about the perception of their fear.