Journal of Applied Psychological Research

Journal of Applied Psychological Research

Development and Validation of a Digital Art Therapy Package for Treating Rumination in Patients with Diabetes, Based on a Preliminary Needs Assessment

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Author
Hoda Purrezaian
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Tehran
10.22059/japr.2026.417411.645590
Abstract
Objective: The present study aimed to develop and validate a brief digital art therapy package specifically designed to address rumination in individuals with diabetes. Method: This applied research was conducted in three main phases: (a) a preliminary needs assessment using a qualitative phenomenological approach based on an analysis of the lived experiences of patients with diabetes; (b) the design of the art therapy package; and (c) the validation of the package using the Delphi method. Results: Thematic analysis of data from semi-structured interviews with patients revealed four core themes related to their ruminative thoughts: (a) self-blame; (b) failure to externalize thoughts; (c) fear of disease progression; and (d) excessively negative perceptions of diabetes. Following the identification of these themes, four original art therapy techniques were mapped onto these four core themes. The scores assigned to each technique by the experts yielded a Kendall's coefficient of concordance (W = /745) and a significance level (P = /007), indicating excellent inter-rater agreement on the validity of the newly developed art therapy package. Conclusion: Based on the findings, the developed art therapy package can be considered valid; however, further research is needed to evaluate its effectiveness.
Keywords
Art therapy
Diabetes
Digital art therapy
Fear of disease progression
Rumination
Journal of Applied Psychological Research

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 15 November 2026

  • Receive Date 28 June 2026
  • Revise Date 05 September 2026
  • Accept Date 30 September 2026
  • First Publish Date 15 November 2026
  • Publish Date 15 November 2026