An In-depth Interview Study of Art Therapists for the Ethical Foundation of Metaverse Art Therapy

Objectives The purpose of this study is to find the advantages and limitations of metaverse art therapy based on the metaverse art therapy experience of prospective art therapists in the undergraduate and master's courses in art therapy, and to lay the foundation for metaverse art therapy ethics by examining the components of the code of ethics. Methods This study conducted in-depth interviews with prospective art therapists who experienced art therapy using the metaverse platform in November 2024 based on a phenomenological interview method, and the interview results were categorized by four researchers after cross-analysis to derive results. Results As a result of this study, first, it was found that metaverse art therapy has several notable advantages and limitations. Second, from an ethical perspective, it was suggested that metaverse art therapy requires more careful attention and consideration than conventional face-to-face therapy. Third, we were able to recognize the ethical need for art therapy in the metaverse environment and consider new ethical code components. Conclusions The results of this study are significant in that they confirmed the advantages and limitations of art therapy experiences using the metaverse platform of preliminary art therapists. It is hoped that it will contribute to the development of specific ethics and revitalization of metaverse art therapy in the field of non-face-to-face art therapy by expanding the meaning of the ethical code component proposal of this study, and will help improve awareness of metaverse art therapy and design vision.