Integrative Art-therapeutic Correction of Psychosomatic Disorders in Children with Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Dysplasia

Abstract

The syndrome of undifferentiated connective tissue dysplasia (UCTD) is a genetically determined condition, the detailed clinical picture of which is formed during the first five years of life. The development of vegetative-vascular dystonia in UCTD is associated with a changed collagen structure, which leads to the appearance of numerous clinical manifestations that affect the psycho-emotional status of the child, especially if the leading syndrome is anxiety. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the method of integrative art therapy using fairytale therapy for the correction of psychosomatic disorders in children with UCTD syndrome. At the end of the 6 months course of integrative art correction with fairytale therapy, a significant (p < 0.05) decrease in the level of psycho-emotional stress was observed in the patients, amounting to 13.2 ± 0.5 points. As for the level of skin-galvanic response (SGR), a positive increase was found in the group of patients who underwent sessions of classical psychotherapy: 6.9 ± 0.01 conventional points (p > 0.05), while in patients who were treated with the method of integrative art therapy, the positive increase in SGR was reliable and amounted to 8.6 ± 0.01 conventional points (p < 0.05). So, the use of the method of integrative art-therapeutic correction of psychosomatic disorders in the form of fairytale therapy is accompanied by a significant decrease in the level of psycho-emotional tension and anxiety in children with UCTD syndrome.