Qualitative Study on the clinical Practicum, Supervision, and Undergraduate Experiences of Art Therapy Majors

Objectives The purpose of this study is to explore through qualitative research the experiences of undergraduate students majoring in art therapy in clinical practice, supervision, and undergraduate courses, and to analyze the intrinsic meaning of these experiences. Methods Data were collected through two in-depth interviews with six undergraduate students majoring in alco-hol treatment. The interviews used a semi-structured questionnaire to encourage undergraduate students to talk freely about their experiences in clinical practice, supervision, and undergraduate courses. The collected data were analyzed using open coding according to qualitative research methodology, and themes were derived inductively. Through this, the main themes and subcategories experienced by the participants were identified and the research results were derived. Results As a result of the analysis, 6 main areas, 14 categories, and 37 subcategories were derived. In clinical practice, external factors such as conditions of the practice institution, workload, communication between thera-pists, and changes in clients, and internal factors such as self-criticism, tension while performing roles, and sense of accomplishment after practice were identified. The supervision experience consisted of process aspects such as close supervision and shared experiences with colleagues, as well as academic and emotional support from the supervisor. During the bachelor's course, self-exploration, anxiety and burden about art work, and interaction with classmates served as factors that promoted improved future vision and psychological growth. Conclusions These findings provide significant implications for establishing criteria for selecting clinical practice institutions, improving supervision education, and enhancing the role of school education in undergraduate pro-grams aimed at training art therapists.