A Review of Illustrated Storytelling as an Intervention for Emotional Regulation and Psychological Resilience in Children and Adolescents
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Keywords
illustrated storytelling, children and adolescents, emotional regulation, psychological resilience, art therapy
Abstract
Emotional disturbances and a lack of psychological resilience are prevalent among children and adolescents. Traditional speech therapy, which relies on verbal expression, has limited effectiveness for children and adolescents who experience communication difficulties or find it hard to speak. Illustrated storytelling, as a non-verbal intervention that integrates the visual art of drawing with narrative communication therapy, offers an excellent alternative therapeutic approach. This review focuses on psychological intervention studies centred on illustrations, picture books and graphic storytelling. Five databases including PubMed and PsycINFO were searched to identify empirical studies on illustrated narrative interventions targeting adolescents. The results indicate that illustrated narrative primarily exerts its effects through three mechanisms: emotional externalisation, cognitive restructuring and the construction of resilience narratives. Most studies demonstrated a reduction in anxiety and depressive symptoms following the intervention, as well as improvements in emotional regulation and psychological resilience. However, existing research has limitations in terms of sample size, follow-up duration and measurement standards. Nevertheless, as a low-cost, accessible and highly feasible psychological support tool, illustrated storytelling stands out as a particularly promising psychological support tool for children and adolescents.
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