Our project is motivated by the staggering prevalence of anxiety symptoms among adolescents and young adults, and the fact that millions of young people struggle to find accessible and healthy ways to manage anxiety. Our guided drawing intervention integrates an approachable and tangible activity with mindfulness elements. We have found that our guided drawing activity decreases anxiety within-session and days later and bolsters physiological regulation to a greater extent than controls. Our ongoing research examines neurocognitive and long-term effects of the intervention. We will discuss and invite feedback on ideas for potential outputs, dissemination, and applications of this work, as well as opportunities to foster future interdisciplinary arts-sciences collaborations.
Sarah Myruski | College of Liberal Arts
Bill Doan | College of Arts & Architecture