PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

This article was downloaded by: [Elena, Gogoase Nistoran Daniela][Romanian Ministry Consortium]
On: 14 June 2010
Access details: Access Details: [subscription number 918910072]
Publisher Routledge
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-
41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
Asia Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy
Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t916846986
Calligraphy therapy: A complementary approach to psychotherapy
Henry S. R. Kao
ab
a
Department of Psychology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
b
Department of Psychology, Fu
Jen Catholic University, Hsinjong, Taipei County, Taiwan
Online publication date: 16 February 2010
To cite this Article Kao, Henry S. R.(2010) 'Calligraphy therapy: A complementary approach to psychotherapy', Asia
Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 1: 1, 55 66
To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/21507680903570334
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21507680903570334
Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf
This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or
systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or
distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.
The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents
will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses
should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss,
actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly
or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
Asia Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy
Vol. 1, No. 1, March 2010, 5566
ISSN 2150-7686 print/ISSN 2150-7708 online
2010 Taylor & Francis Ltd.
DOI: 10.1080/21507680903570334
http://www.informaworld.com
RAPC 2150-7686 2150-7708 Asia Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, Vol. 1, No. 1, Jan 2010: pp. 00 Asia Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy
Calligraphy therapy: A complementary approach to psychotherapy
Asia Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy H.S.R. Kao
Henry S.R. Kao*
Department of Psychology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong and Department of
Psychology, Fu Jen Catholic University, Hsinjong, Taipei County, Taiwan
Three decades of theory-based research has established the effectiveness of Chinese
calligraphic handwriting (CCH) in causing cognitive activation, physiological slow-
down, emotional stability and perceptual sharpening. Successful applications of these
findings have included (1) behaviour changes in children with autism, ADHD and
mental retardation; (2) elderly disorders in Alzheimers and stroke patients; (3) psy-
chosomatic diseases in hypertension and diabetes; and (4) emotion and conduct
changes in psychiatric patients. A general CCH system has been developed for users of
Chinese as well as alphabetic writing systems.
Keywords: calligraphy; calligraphy therapy; health; psychology
To date, empirical study on Chinese calligraphy has focused mainly on how to execute
and appreciate it artistically, following generally the practical experiences of the calligra-
phers. Little systematic research has been done on the fundamental behaviours associated
with Chinese calligraphic handwriting (CCH) practice, such as visual perception, cogni-
tion and emotions.
Over the last three decades, our research has demonstrated the practice of CCH
being capable of improving ones visual attention and perception, cognitive activation,
physical relaxation, emotional stability and motor coordination (Kao, 2006). For
example, in one study, we measured the brush writers physiological changes (e.g.
pulse rate, blood volume pressure (BVP)) during their CCH practice and showed that
they experienced relaxation and emotional calmness throughout this writing act (Kao,
Lam, Robinson, & Yen, 1989). Moreover, in another study, it was found that the prac-
titioners EEG activities in the right hemisphere were found to be significantly greater
than those in the left hemisphere during writing (Kao, Shek, Chau, & Lam, l986). In
this paper, we will present our recent studies on CCH and attempt to provide a frame-
work to understand our findings.
Basic research
Psychophysiological effects of CCH
We have conducted a series of experiments to investigate the effect of CCH on the psy-
chophysiological responses of the practitioners. The results are summarized below:
*Email: hrnyksr@hkucc.hku.hk
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

B
y
:

[
E
l
e
n
a
,

G
o
g
o
a
s
e

N
i
s
t
o
r
a
n

D
a
n
i
e
l
a
]
[
R
o
m
a
n
i
a
n

M
i
n
i
s
t
r
y

C
o
n
s
o
r
t
i
u
m
]

A
t
:

1
0
:
2
6

1
4

J
u
n
e

2
0
1
0
56 H.S.R. Kao
(1) Breathing and heart rate We used inter-beat interval (IBI) as an indicator of
heart rate (an increase in IBI implies a decease in heart rate) and showed that heart
rate decreased in the first 10 seconds of brush handwriting (Figure 1). In addition,
greater control of breathing takes place during brush writing than during normal
resting breathing both in terms of breathing interval between breaths (Figure 2)
and the ratio of breathing in and breathing out. (Figure 3).
(2) Blood pressure in another experiment, we investigated the changes in blood
pressure associated with CCH practice. Two groups of subjects, one with profes-
sional calligraphers having over 10 years of writing experience and the other with
ordinary individuals having no experience with calligraphy practice, were asked
to do CCH while their BVP levels were measured. As shown in Figure 4, the
calligrapher group had experienced a greater reduction in blood pressure as com-
pared with the novice group before, during and after the writing session. The
results indicate both a long-term effect and on-site effect of CCH on changes in
blood pressure.
Figure 1. Mean reduction of IBI in two writing styles.
11 1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
0.02
Writing Process (second)
I
B
I
Regular
Seal
0.01
0.03
0.04
0.05
0.06
0
Figure 2. Mean respiration intervals in two writing styles and normal condition.
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Regular Seal Normal
R
e
s
p
i
r
a
t
i
o
n

I
n
t
e
r
v
a
l
(
1
/
7

s
e
c
o
n
d
s
)

Figure 3. Mean changes of inhalatoryexhalatory ratio in two writing styles.
0.8
Normal Regular Seal
I
n
h
a
l
a
t
o
r
y
-
E
x
h
a
l
a
t
o
r
y

R
a
t
i
o
(
1
/
7

S
e
c
o
n
d
s
)
1
1.2
1.4
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

B
y
:

[
E
l
e
n
a
,

G
o
g
o
a
s
e

N
i
s
t
o
r
a
n

D
a
n
i
e
l
a
]
[
R
o
m
a
n
i
a
n

M
i
n
i
s
t
r
y

C
o
n
s
o
r
t
i
u
m
]

A
t
:

1
0
:
2
6

1
4

J
u
n
e

2
0
1
0
Asia Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy 57
(3) EEG activities a third experiment studied the likely effect of practising CCH
on EEG activities. As shown in Figure 5, we found that the right hemisphere
activation was significantly higher than that of the left hemisphere in the course
of the calligraphic writing task. This finding provides preliminary support to the
hypothesis that CCH is a visualspatial activity (right hemisphere) rather than a
verbal activity (left hemisphere). During CCH, the individual must constantly
pay attention to and concentrate on the specific strokes as well as the structure
and forms of each character. These mental activities should have greater activa-
tion on the right hemisphere, which primarily process visual forms, shapes and
imageries.
In summary, the above experiments, along with our many other studies, would suggest
that CCH may simultaneously: (1) facilitate a state of physiological slowdown and psy-
chological quiescence as well as (2) increasing cognitive activation and perceptual sharp-
ening. In the next section, we will present some of our studies investigating the effect of
CCH on the cognitive functioning of its practitioners.
Cognitive effects of CCH
We have conducted a series of studies to examine the effects of calligraphy writing on
perceptual and cognitive abilities. In one study, we measured the differential aptitude
Figure 4. Mean blood pressure for subjects with and without calligraphic experience.
0.26
0.27
0.28
0.29
0.3
0.31
0.32
Before writing While Writing After Writing
B
l
o
o
d

P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e
H
i
g
h
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
L
o
w
P
u
l
s
e

T
r
a
n
s
i
t

T
i
m
e
(
S
)
Inexperienced
Experienced
Figure 5. Mean EEG in left and right hemisphere after writing.
0
Left Hemisphere Right Hemisphere
M
e
a
n

E
E
G
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

B
y
:

[
E
l
e
n
a
,

G
o
g
o
a
s
e

N
i
s
t
o
r
a
n

D
a
n
i
e
l
a
]
[
R
o
m
a
n
i
a
n

M
i
n
i
s
t
r
y

C
o
n
s
o
r
t
i
u
m
]

A
t
:

1
0
:
2
6

1
4

J
u
n
e

2
0
1
0
58 H.S.R. Kao
test (DAT) performance of the subjects before and after a session of brush character
writing and found that there were significant increases in clerical speed and accuracy
scores (Figure 6), abstract reasoning (Figure 7) and spatial ability (Figure 8) after CCH
practice.
Although the practice effect may impact the reliability of our findings, these findings
support our hypothesis that CCH practice may enhance certain aspects of visual percep-
tion and cognitive functioning. This observation is further reinforced by our preliminary
data on EEG-based event-relate potential (ERP). In one experiment, each subjects EEG
was recorded with a 32-channel Neuroscan ERP system before and after a session of
CCH. The ERP measured the subjects response to a character recognition task before and
after a 30 minute brush writing session. The data of the experimental subjects ERP before
and after the session are compared with those of the control subjects under similar condi-
tions but only resting. For the calligraphy writing subject, the post-writing cortical arousal
Figure 6. Mean score of clerical speed and accuracy before and after Chinese brush handwriting.
26
28
30
32
34
36
Pretest Posttest
M
e
a
n

s
c
o
r
e
Figure 7. Mean score of abstract reasoning before and after Chinese brush handwriting.
Pretest Posttest
15
17
19
21
M
e
a
n

s
c
o
r
e
Figure 8. Mean scores in memory test before and after Chinese brush handwriting.
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
Direction Non-directional Control
M
e
a
n

s
c
o
r
e
Pre-test
Post-test
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

B
y
:

[
E
l
e
n
a
,

G
o
g
o
a
s
e

N
i
s
t
o
r
a
n

D
a
n
i
e
l
a
]
[
R
o
m
a
n
i
a
n

M
i
n
i
s
t
r
y

C
o
n
s
o
r
t
i
u
m
]

A
t
:

1
0
:
2
6

1
4

J
u
n
e

2
0
1
0
Asia Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy 59
and activation is shown to be significantly greater than his pre-writing baseline. For the
control subject, no such changes were observed (Kao, Gao, Miao, & Liu, 2004).
Effects of character geometricity on CCH tasks
A similar effect of visualspatial properties of Chinese characters has been investigated in
terms of the corresponding behavioural changes associated with the act of CCH. Recently,
we conducted five studies in the Department of Psychology, Hong Kong University. The
first investigated the general attention of 26 secondary school teenagers associated with
the practice of CCH for 6 weeks. Using the response time on the TOVA test of attention,
the performance of the subjects improved significantly after 4 weeks of CCH training.
A second experiment studied the effects of CCH performance of symmetric and asym-
metric characters on visual-spatial abilities. Using university students as subjects and the
2D and 3D subtests of the Multiple Aptitude Test, the post-CCH scores showed an
increase in 2D and 3D spatial abilities irrespective of whether the characters were sym-
metric or asymmetric. This finding suggests an effect of the CCH in facilitating the spatial
abilities of the subjects in a preliminary investigation.
A third experiment compared the CCH writing of Chinese characters and English let-
ters on the space relations ability of 80 secondary school students. Linear-stroked Chinese
characters and uppercase printed letters were target writing stimuli. The post-writing
scores on the Space Relations subscale of the Differential Aptitude Test showed a positive
trend of test improvement as associated with the act of brush handwriting in both writing
systems.
In summary, a series of studies has positively confirmed our general hypothesis on the
effect of variations of the visualspatial properties of the Chinese characters as well as
those in other writing systems on our cognitive activities. These are encouraging but still
preliminary investigations.
Applications and clinical validation
In the last decade, we have explored the application of the above findings on CCH towards
the enhancement of general health, the clinical treatment of a host of behavioural, mental,
emotional and psychosomatic disorders, as well as improvement in perceptual, cognitive
and motor functions.
Childhood disorders
In the first experiment on behavioural changes, children having tendencies of autism,
attention deficit disorfer (ADD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were
found to benefit from calligraphy training with varying durations. In one study, the CCH
training improved ADHD childrens attention and increased their social communication.
(Kao, Chen, & Chang, l997). Figures 9 and 10 present findings on the facilitative effects
of calligraphy writing on childrens selective attention (Figure 9) and spontaneous and
sustained attention (Figure 10). It is obvious that, for both types of visual attention, the
post-writing attention scores are significantly better than the pre-writing scores for both
the low activity and high activity children. The controls show no significant changes after
a rest session of the same duration.
In another study, an 8-week CCH treatment of autistic children resulted in their
improvement on general negative behaviour, group negative behaviour and communication
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

B
y
:

[
E
l
e
n
a
,

G
o
g
o
a
s
e

N
i
s
t
o
r
a
n

D
a
n
i
e
l
a
]
[
R
o
m
a
n
i
a
n

M
i
n
i
s
t
r
y

C
o
n
s
o
r
t
i
u
m
]

A
t
:

1
0
:
2
6

1
4

J
u
n
e

2
0
1
0
60 H.S.R. Kao
within the family and in the schools (Kao, Lai, Fok, Gao, & Ma, 2000e). In the case of
mild-grade mental retardation, the treatment resulted in an increase of visual attention,
auditor attention, reasoning, judgement and cognitive speed and accuracy, hand steadiness
and control precision as well as problem behaviours (Kao, Hu, & Zhang, 2000d). Figure 11
reveals a facilitative effect of the calligraphy writing treatment in childrens disorders of
impulsivity and hyperactivity, but not in the controls doing only plain resting for the same
duration.
Figure 9. Mean changes in selective attention in different activity groups.
30
32
34
36
38
40
42
P
Pet-test Post-test Pre-test Post-test
High activity Low activity
Con.
Exp.
Figure 10. Mean changes in spontaneous and sustained attention in different activity groups.
Con.
Exp.
170
180
190
200
210
220
230
Pre-test Post-test Pre-test Post-test
Low activity High activity
Figure 11. Mean changes of problem behaviours under different conditions.
7
8
9
10
11
M
Pre-T Post-T Pre-T Post-T Pre-T Post-T
Inattention Impulsivity Hyperactivity
Con.
Exp.
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

B
y
:

[
E
l
e
n
a
,

G
o
g
o
a
s
e

N
i
s
t
o
r
a
n

D
a
n
i
e
l
a
]
[
R
o
m
a
n
i
a
n

M
i
n
i
s
t
r
y

C
o
n
s
o
r
t
i
u
m
]

A
t
:

1
0
:
2
6

1
4

J
u
n
e

2
0
1
0
Asia Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy 61
Other studies focused on the effect of calligraphy writing training on mild mentally
retarded (MMR) and ADHD childrens performance in cognitive and motor control tasks,
and also showed similar effects. After a training schedule of 2 months, performance sig-
nificantly improved in the post-task re-test of reaction in a character recognition test
(Figure 12), Ravens Progressive Matrix test (Figure 13), digit cancellation task (Figure 14)
and hand steadiness test (Figure 15). The control subjects made no significant improve-
ments in these response measures.
A further experiment examined the effect of calligraphy writing treatment on enhanc-
ing childrens condition of mental health as well as their auditory attention. Their global
condition of mental health is significant improved after the calligraphy training of a 30-
day schedule (Figure 16) while their auditory attention also improved (Figure 17). The
controls in both experiments did not show any significant changes in the retest of the
respective measures.
Figure 12. Mean reaction time in Chinese character recognition test before and after practising cal-
ligraphy by different groups.
600
650
700
750
800
Pre-test Post-test
R
T
Con.
Exp.
Figure 13. Mean performance in Raven test before and after practising calligraphy.
Con.
Exp.
10
15
20
25
Pre-test Post-test
S
Figure 14. Mean performance in digit cancellation test before and after practising calligraphy.
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
Pre-test Post-test
N
Exp.
Con.
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

B
y
:

[
E
l
e
n
a
,

G
o
g
o
a
s
e

N
i
s
t
o
r
a
n

D
a
n
i
e
l
a
]
[
R
o
m
a
n
i
a
n

M
i
n
i
s
t
r
y

C
o
n
s
o
r
t
i
u
m
]

A
t
:

1
0
:
2
6

1
4

J
u
n
e

2
0
1
0
62 H.S.R. Kao
Cognitive facilitation in the elderly
We have carried out three experiments to apply CCH treatment to enhance cognitive abil-
ities of elderly individuals (Kao, Gao, Wang, Cheung, & Chiu, 2000c). These experiments
aimed to demonstrate whether CCH training could help normal aged people or probable
Alzheimers patients by altering and improving some of their symptoms and disorders.
When assessing Clinical Memory Scales, the results showed that both spatial ability and
pictorial memory were enhanced after normal aged subjects wrote Chinese characters with
specific visualspatial forms containing directionality for 30 min, and that long-term prac-
titioners of CCH improved in spatial ability, but not in pictorial memory (Figure 18).
Figure 15. Mean performance in steadiness test before and after practising calligraphy.
12
17
22
Pre-test Post-test
S
Exp.
Con.
Figure 16. Mean performance in inventory of pupils mental health before and after practising
calligraphy.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
S
Con. Exp.
Pre-test
Post-test
Figure 17. Mean reaction time in auditory attention test before and after practising calligraphy.
300
400
500
600
700
800
RT
MMR ADHD Con.
TOVA-auditory(RT)
Pre-test
Post-test
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

B
y
:

[
E
l
e
n
a
,

G
o
g
o
a
s
e

N
i
s
t
o
r
a
n

D
a
n
i
e
l
a
]
[
R
o
m
a
n
i
a
n

M
i
n
i
s
t
r
y

C
o
n
s
o
r
t
i
u
m
]

A
t
:

1
0
:
2
6

1
4

J
u
n
e

2
0
1
0
Asia Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy 63
Patients with Alzheimers disease
We have also conducted a number of experiments on the practice of Chinese calligraphy
training in improving some of the cognitive deficiencies of Alzheimers disease patients.
Their calligraphy training lasted in different cases from 2 weeks to a month. Standard
clinical assessment scales were used, including the MMSE and some memory scales. The
results were very promising and in agreement with those we conducted with other groups
of subjects. We demonstrated that patients with CCH treatment showed significant
improvement in short-term memory tasks (Figure 19) and verbal ability (Figure 20). For
the control patients, there was no such improvement whatsoever in either group.
While the normal elderly in separate studies also improved in their spatial ability and
pictorial memory after the treatment (Kao & Gao, 2000; Kao, Gao, & Wang, 2000b; Kao
et al., 2000d; Kao, 2003), our further investigation confirmed the effect of the calligraphy
Figure 18. Means of (A) spatial ability and (B) pictorial memory measured before and after prac-
tising CCH in three groups of normal aged individuals.
0
5
10
15
20
25
Con Dir Non-dir
(B)
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Pre-
Post
Pre
Post
Total score
(A)
Figure 19. Mean scores in short-term memory subtest before and after practising calligraphy.
2
3
4
5
Experimental Control
M
e
a
n

s
c
o
r
e
Pre-test
Post-test
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

B
y
:

[
E
l
e
n
a
,

G
o
g
o
a
s
e

N
i
s
t
o
r
a
n

D
a
n
i
e
l
a
]
[
R
o
m
a
n
i
a
n

M
i
n
i
s
t
r
y

C
o
n
s
o
r
t
i
u
m
]

A
t
:

1
0
:
2
6

1
4

J
u
n
e

2
0
1
0
64 H.S.R. Kao
writing task to improve patients motor control abilities in terms of motor positioning task
(Figure 21) and motor task time (Figure 22).
Patients with stress and psychosomatic problems
We also looked into patients with psychosomatic diseases. Our first clinical study focused
on the reduction of blood pressure in patients with essential hypertension (Guo, Kao, &
Liu, 2001). After the brush writing practice, systolic and diastolic blood pressures showed a
significant reduction from that of the pre-writing condition. A related study indicated a
reduction of anxiety score, an increase in alpha wave patterns as well as a decrease in heart
rate after the writing training. After treatment, introverted patients had greater blood pres-
sure decrease than those who were extraverted (Kao, Guo, & Liu, 2001). Furthermore,
stress-related conditions of Diabetes II patients and working executives were investigated.
For both groups, CCH intervention significantly reduced the states of anxiety as well as
distress (Kao, Ding, & Cheng, 2000a; Goan, Ng, & Kao, 2000). A reduction of stress was
Figure 20. Mean scores in verbal subtest before and after practising calligraphy.
3.5
3
M
e
a
n

s
c
o
r
e
2.5
2
1.5
Experimental Control
Pre-test
Post-test
Figure 21. Mean scores in positioning subtest before and after practising calligraphy.
Pre-test
Post-test
9
8
M
e
a
n

s
c
o
r
e
7
Experimental
6
Control
Figure 22. Mean control response time in GSM (Gibson Spiral Maze Test) before and after prac-
tising calligraphy.
160
140
M
e
a
n

r
e
a
c
t
i
o
n

t
i
m
e

(
S
e
c
o
n
d
)
Pre-test
Post-test
120
100
Control Experimental
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

B
y
:

[
E
l
e
n
a
,

G
o
g
o
a
s
e

N
i
s
t
o
r
a
n

D
a
n
i
e
l
a
]
[
R
o
m
a
n
i
a
n

M
i
n
i
s
t
r
y

C
o
n
s
o
r
t
i
u
m
]

A
t
:

1
0
:
2
6

1
4

J
u
n
e

2
0
1
0
Asia Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy 65
also found for executives high on extraversion and psychoticism (Goan & Ng, 2001).
Finally, a study focused on the effects of a 2-week brush writing treatment protocol on
stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation. The results indicated significant improvements in
palm strength of the affected hand and fine motor coordination (Chiu, Kao, & Ho, 2002).
Conclusions
This paper has presented an overview of our research on Chinese calligraphic handwrit-
ing. This effort has modestly ushered in a new area of psychological endeavour, the prac-
tice of calligraphy therapy, on the basis of our theoretical formulations, associated basic
research studies and applied and clinical validation (Kao, 2006). In addition, we have also
applied with success some of the empirical findings to the treatment of behavioural as well
as clinical disorders (Kao, 2000), including the first psychophysiological comparison of
three interventions of calligraphy, biofeedback and meditation calligraphy study for stress
reduction. Significant positive effects of the practice of calligraphy outnumbered those of
biofeedback and meditation (Kao, Chao, Chen, Chu, & Lin, 2005). These outcomes are
satisfying, encouraging and significant accomplishments. We are currently developing a
new treatment system, the biofeedback-based system of calligraphy therapy, for health
and behavioural intervention in broader areas of application for different user populations
and writing systems (Kao & Lam, 2007). It is hoped that this complementary and indige-
nous system of calligraphy therapy will complement and contribute to enhancing the over-
all effectiveness of the treatment techniques used in conventional psychotherapy.
Notes on contributors
Henry Kao obtained his PhD from the University of Wisconsin Madison. He is a former member
of the British Psychological Society, American Psychological Association and Ergonomics Society
(UK) and a current member of the Society of Behavioural Medicine, USA. He is a former President
and Fellow of the Hong Kong Psychological Society, a former Presidentof the Division of Psychol-
ogy and National Development, International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP), the
founder of the International Graphonomics Society, former Head and Chair Professor of the Psy-
chology Department and Honorary Professor and Professor Emeritus, University of Hong Kong. He
is a pioneer in and founder of the field of Psychology of Calligraphy and Calligraphy Therapy. He
has over 200 publications in calligraphy, health and therapy.
References
Chiu, M.L., Kao, H.S.R., & Ho, S.M.Y. (2002). The efficacy of Chinese calligraphic handwriting on
stroke patients: a multiple cases study. In: A.D. Korczyn (Ed.), Proceedings of the 2nd Interna-
tional Congress on vascular dementia, Salzburg, Austria, 2427 January 2002.
Goan, C.H. & Ng, S.H. (2001). Calligraphy, personality and executive stress. Presented at the 6th
International Conference of Behavioural Medicine, 2001, Brisbane.
Goan, C.H., Ng, S.H., & Kao, H.S.R. (2000). Calligraphic practices and emotional states of manag-
ers and administrators. International Journal of Behavioural Medicine, 7(S1), 72.
Guo, N. F., Kao, H.S.R., & Liu, X. (2001). Calligraphy, hypertension and the type-A personality.
Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 23, S159.
Kao, H.S.R. (2000). Calligraphy psychotherapy. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Kao, H.S.R. (2003). Chinese calligraphic handwriting for health and rehabilitation of the elderly. In
Book of abstracts. 2nd World Congress of the International Society of Physical and Rehabilita-
tion Medicine, Prague, 1822 May 2003 (p. 68).
Kao, H.S.R. (2006). Chinese calligraphic handwriting (CCH): a science for health and behavioural
therapy. International Journal of Psychology, 41(4), 282286.
Kao, H.S.R. & Gao, D. (2000). Effects of practicing Chinese calligraphy on visual-spatial ability
and pictorial memory in normal aged people. International Journal of Psychology, 35(3/4), 302.
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

B
y
:

[
E
l
e
n
a
,

G
o
g
o
a
s
e

N
i
s
t
o
r
a
n

D
a
n
i
e
l
a
]
[
R
o
m
a
n
i
a
n

M
i
n
i
s
t
r
y

C
o
n
s
o
r
t
i
u
m
]

A
t
:

1
0
:
2
6

1
4

J
u
n
e

2
0
1
0
66 H.S.R. Kao
Kao, H.S.R. & Lam, S.P.W (2007). A biofeedback-based system of calligraphy therapy. Presented at
the 2007 World Mental Health Congress, Hong Kong, 1923 August 2007.
Kao, H.S.R., Chao, A.A., Chen, H.Y., Chu, L.C., & Lin, A. (2005). Experimental study on three
methods of stress intervention: Chinese calligraphic handwriting, meditation & biofeedback
training. Annals of Behavioural Medicine, 29, S126.
Kao, H.S.R., Chen, C.C., & Chang, T.M. (l997). The effect of calligraphy practice on character rec-
ognition reaction time among children with ADHD disorder. In Proceedings of the 55th Annual
Convention of the Council of Psychologists, Gfaz, 1418 July l997 (pp. 4549).
Kao, H.S.R., Ding, B. K., & Cheng, S. W. (2000a). Brush handwriting treatment of emotional prob-
lems in patients with Type II diabetes. International Journal of Behavioural Medicine, 7(S-1), 50.
Kao, H.S.R., Gao, D.G., Miao, D.M., & Liu, X.F. (2004). Cognitive facilitation associated with
Chinese brush handwriting: the case of symmetric and asymmetric Chinese characters. Percep-
tual & Motor Skills, 99, 12961273.
Kao, H.S.R., Gao, D., & Wang, M. (2000b). Brush handwriting treatment of cognitive deficiencies
in Alzheimers disease patients. Neurobiology of Aging, 21(1S),14.
Kao, H.S.R., Gao, D.G. Wang, M.Q., Cheung, H.Y., & Chiu J. (2000c). Chinese calligraphic hand-
writing: treatment of cognitive deficiencies of Alzheimers disease patients. Alzheimers
Reports, 3(5/6), 281287.
Kao, H.S.R., Guo, N. F, & Liu, X. (2001). Effects of calligraphy practice on EEG and blood pres-
sure in hypertensive patients. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 23, S085.
Kao, H.S.R., Hu, B., & Zhang (2000d). Effects of Chinese calligraphic handwriting on reasoning,
executive abilities and psychological health of children with mild mental retardation. In Kao,
H.S.R. (Ed.), Chinese calligraphic therapy (pp. 321344). Hong Kong: Hong Kong University
Press (in Chinese).
Kao, H.S.R., Lai, S.F., Fok, W.Y., Gao, D.G.., & Ma, T.H. (2000e). Brush handwriting treatment of
negative behaviours in school and at home in children with autism. In Book of Abstracts, 8th
Glasgow, Autism-Europe Congress, 1921 May 2000.
Kao, H.S.R., Lam, P.W., Robinson, L., & Yen, N.S. (1989). Psychophysiological changes associ-
ated with Chinese calligraphy. In Plamondon, P., Suen, C.U., & Simner, M.L. (Eds.), Computer
recognition and human production of handwriting (pp. 349381). Singapore: World Scientific.
Kao, H.S.R., Shek, D.T.L., Chau, A.W.L., & Lam, P.W. (1986). An exploratory study of the EEG
activities accompanying Chinese calligraphy writing. In Kao, H.S.R. & Hoosain, R. (Eds.),
Linguistics, psychology and the Chinese language (pp. 223244). Hong Kong: University of
Hong Kong.
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

B
y
:

[
E
l
e
n
a
,

G
o
g
o
a
s
e

N
i
s
t
o
r
a
n

D
a
n
i
e
l
a
]
[
R
o
m
a
n
i
a
n

M
i
n
i
s
t
r
y

C
o
n
s
o
r
t
i
u
m
]

A
t
:

1
0
:
2
6

1
4

J
u
n
e

2
0
1
0