Samenvatting

Samenvatting:



The given thesis deals with a specific treatment of outpatients in clinical psycho- oncology who have difficulties in emotionregulation. The aim of the study was to find out to what extent unconscious art therapeutical activity in combination with a following cognitive observation of an adult cancer patient helps her to perceive and accept stressful emotions. The 6-week examination was conducted as a case study with a participant diagnosed with cervical cancer. In order to investigate the effect, a systemic N=1 study was carried out, in which emotionregulation before and after the intervention was measured and the cancer patient's experience of the intervention was recorded by means of interviews. In addition, the effect of different artistic materials in this context was investigated. In order to obtain a systemic view of the effect of the intervention, a family member of the patient and her music therapist from the psycho-oncological department of the Uniklinik of Cologne were, in addition to the patient itself, included in the pre- and post- measurements.
The results of the quantitative investigation show that only a very low to medium effect could be achieved and that the initial measurement was not valid. In contrast, the results of the qualitative investigation show that effects could be generated by the gain of an emotion regulation strategy, the reduction of suppression of stressful emotions and the awareness of the relativization of emotions. This contradiction is probably due to the fact that the values were influenced by the effects of the COVID- 19 pandemic.

In conclusion, the combination of unconscious art therapeutical activity with conscious cognitive integration during and shortly after the intervention, which took place during the time of the COVID-19 crisis, shows a very small to medium improvement on the emotional regulation. Especially the perception and acceptance of emotions of the adult cancer patient demonstrate improvement. However, it can be assumed that this method has in fact prevented a possible deterioration during the time of the crisis. Further studies in this context are necessary to investigate the actual effect.