Abstract

This pilot study investigated the applicability of Acceptance and Commitment Art Therapy (ACAT) for primary caregivers of individuals with disabilities in a rehabilitation hospital, focusing on state anxiety and psychological flexibility. We employed a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Seventeen primary caregivers of individuals with disabilities admitted to a rehabilitation hospital in Seoul, South Korea, were assigned to either the treatment group (n=9) or the comparison group (n=8). The treatment group received eight weekly 40-minute individual ACAT sessions, while the comparison group received no intervention during the same period. To examine changes before and after ACAT, state anxiety, psychological flexibility, and salivary cortisol levels were measured at pretest and posttest. Due to the small sample size, nonparametric statistical methods were used for data analysis. Results showed that the treatment group experienced significant within-group decreases in state anxiety and significant within-group increases in psychological flexibility, while the comparison group showed no significant changes in these variables. Although the between-group difference in state anxiety changes was not statistically significant, there was a significant between-group difference in the change in psychological flexibility. However, in the additional analysis controlling for pretest scores, no significant between-group differences were found in state anxiety, psychological flexibility, or salivary cortisol. No significant changes in salivary cortisol levels were observed in either group. These findings indicate the applicability of ACAT for primary caregivers of individuals with disabilities in rehabilitation hospitals and offer preliminary data for systematizing tailored psychological support programs in rehabilitation settings.