The article examines psychology students’ perceptions of the potential of integrative art therapy in developing creative competence. The purpose of the study was to identify students’ views on the potential of integrative art therapy to enhance creative thinking, emotional reflection, and professional readiness. The study was conducted within a qualitative research framework using semi-structured interviews. The participants included 15 third- and fourth-year students enrolled in the Educational Program «Pedagogy and Psychology» at M. Auezov South Kazakhstan University. Data processing and interpretation were carried out using the thematic analysis approach proposed by V. Braun and V. Clarke. The thematic analysis identified the main categories reflecting students’ perceptions of the nature of creative competence, the possibilities of integrative art therapy, expected personal and professional outcomes, potential barriers to the use of creative methods, and the prospects for introducing the discipline «Integrative Art Therapy». The findings indicate that psychology students hold positive perceptions regarding the potential of integrative art therapy and support the inclusion of the discipline «Integrative Art Therapy» in the professional training of future educational psychologists.

NURKHANOVA G.B.

2nd year doctoral student of educational program 8D01101-Pedagogy and psychology, M.Auezov South Kazakhstan university, Shymkent, Kazakhstan.

Е-mail: gulmira_84_bk@mail.ru,   https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8353-7514

KNISSARINA M.M.

PhD, associate professor of the department of psychology, West Kazakhstan M.Ospanov medical university, Aktobe, Kazakhstan.

Е-mail: uku_malika@mail.ru,  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7350-1768

1. Verbickij A.A. Kompetentnostnyj podhod i teoriya kontekstnogo obucheniya: materialy k IV zasedaniyu metodologicheskogo seminara, 2004 g. – M.: Issledovatel'skij centr problem kachestva podgotovki specialistov, 2004. – 84 s.
2. Amabile T.M. Creativity in Context. – Boulder CO: Westview Press, 1996. – 317 p.
3. Csikszentmihalyi M. Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1996. – 528 p.
4. Gardner H. Creating Minds: An Anatomy of Creativity Seen Through the Lives of Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Gandhi. New York: Basic Books, 1993. – 464 p.
5. Kaufman J.C., Beghetto R.A. Beyond Big and Little: The Four C Model of Creativity. Review of General Psychology, 2009. Volume 13. Issue 1. 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013688 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013688
6. ZHarikbaev K. B. Psihologicheskaya nauka v Kazahstane (istoriya i etapy razvitiya v XX veke). – Almaty: Qazaq universitetі, 2002. – 308 s.
7. Dzhakupov S.M. Psihologicheskaya struktura processa obucheniya. – Almaty: Qazaq universitetі, 2004. – 312 s.
8. Zimnyaya I.A. Klyuchevye kompetentnosti kak rezul'tativno-celevaya osnova kompetentnostnogo podhoda v obrazovanii – M.: Issledovatel'skij centr problem kachestva podgotovki specialistov, 2004. – 38 s.
9. Malchiodi C.A. Handbook of Art Therapy (2nd ed.) – New York: Guilford Press, 2012. – 496 p.
10. Malchiodi C.A. The Art Therapy Sourcebook (2nd ed.). – New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. – 276 p.
11. McNiff S. Art Heals: How Creativity Cures the Soul. – Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, 2020. – 256 p.
12. Rubin J.A. Approaches to Art Therapy: Theory and Technique (3rd ed.). – New York: Routledge, 2016. p.512–528 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315716015
13. Braun V., Clarke V. Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 2006. Volume 3. Issue 2. 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa DOI: https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
14. Creswell J.W., Poth C.N. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2018. – 488 p.

creative competence, integrative art therapy, psychology students, qualitative research, semi-structured interview, thematic analysis, professional training