An art-based labyrinth activity workshop experience: a qualitative study on psychological counselor candidates from the perspective of acceptance and commitment therapy

PurposeArt-based activities provide a flexible, nonverbal medium for exploring emotions, personal values, and inner experiences. Within the framework of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), art-making has been discussed in relation to psychological flexibility processes, such as acceptance, cognitive defusion, self-as-context, and value-based action. This study aimed to explore psychological counselor candidates’ descriptions of their cognitive, emotional, and behavioral experiences related to participation in an art-based labyrinth activity workshop from an ACT perspective.MethodsThis study employed a qualitative descriptive research design with 81 psychological counselor candidates (53 females and 28 males) who were final-year undergraduate students in the Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University. Participants engaged in an art-based workshop utilizing a symbolic labyrinth technique and completed written reflections on their experiences. A deductive content analysis approach was employed for data analysis, as the codes, subcategories, and categories derived from the data were interpreted within the framework of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).ResultsThe findings indicated that the participants’ reflections corresponded with the ACT processes. Under the category of “contact with the present moment and acceptance,” the subthemes “emotional relief” and “emotional confrontation” emerged. Within “self-as-context,” the subcategories included “self-esteem and inner observer,” “reconciliation with personal experiences and the self,” and “self-awareness.” The “values” category comprised “valuing challenges and solutions,” “assigning value to emotions,” “valuing experiences and actions related to family members,” and “attributing value to early childhood memories, first toy.” Under “defusion,” the subcategories “cognitive defusion, a new perspective on thoughts” and “emotional defusion, a new perspective on emotions” were identified. Finally, the “committed action” category encompassed the subcategories “decisive steps” and “a new journey.” Overall, the participants’ reflections suggested categories related to openness toward internal experiences, metaphorical meaning-making, and value-based reflections.ConclusionThe candidates’ narratives suggested that the art-based labyrinth activity workshop provided a reflective and experiential context for exploring emotional shifts, values related to important personal contexts and situations, and meaning-making processes. The findings highlight the potential relevance of art-based activities for experiential reflection, self-exploration, and well-being-related reflection in counselor education and supervision contexts.