Exploring Whether a Collage Art Intervention Enhances Levels of Resilience in Asian Americans Who Have Experienced Emotional Suppression

Emerging research has shown cross-cultural differences when coping with negative emotions (Yoshie & Sauter, 2020). The Asian American population uniquely experiences both western and eastern cultures, which have different ideologies around expressing negative emotions. In Eastern Cultures, it is common to suppress negative emotions, while Western cultures find it more accepting. Suppressing emotions is a form of emotional dysregulation and can cause a negative effect on one’s psychopathology. This mix-methods study explores whether collage art-based intervention enhances levels of resilience with Asian Americans who have experienced emotional suppression. The theoretical orientation, Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), was used as a guide for participants to aim for psychological flexibility. Although the results found within the study do not support the hypothesis of collage art intervention enhancing resilience, the use of ACT demonstrates its effectiveness with the Asian American participants. With the results from this study, the student researcher aims to cultivate awareness regarding mental health stigmas as it is still prevalent within the Asian American population. Contributing to Asian American research may assist in normalizing and discovering different outlets of therapy