Reilly, Rosemary C. 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7274-4488, Lee, Virginia, Laux, Katherine and Robitaille, Andréanne
(2021)
Creating doorways: finding meaning and growth through art therapy in the face of life-threatening illness.
Public Health, 198
.
pp. 245-251.
ISSN 0033-3506
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661kBAccepted Creating Doorways.pdf - Accepted Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. |
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2021.07.004
Abstract
Objectives: This article presents the findings of a pilot study situated in a tertiary care cancer centre and examines the impact of an art therapy group on the experiences of women living through breast cancer.
Study design: The study design used in this study is a qualitative cross-case comparative case.
Methods: Ten women were interviewed about their experiences making art, many for the first time. Interviews were transcribed and analysed, along with the participants’ artist statements.
Results: Categories include the following: the significant benefits of art therapy on their sense of selfefficacy; the emotionally enhancing nature of making art for the first time; the power of their artwork to trigger insights about themselves (including subcategories of self-actualization, existential growth, and post traumatic growth) or in communicating their experiences to loved ones; and how making art changed their worldview and life philosophies, creating doorways of possibilities.
Conclusion: This study suggests that art therapy provides a safe context to reflect on profound personal changes and to re-story losses following adversity through creative practices as a dimension of care.
| Divisions: | Concordia University > Faculty of Arts and Science > Applied Human Sciences |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Article |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Authors: | Reilly, Rosemary C. and Lee, Virginia and Laux, Katherine and Robitaille, Andréanne |
| Journal or Publication: | Public Health |
| Date: | September 2021 |
| Funders: |
|
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI): | 10.1016/j.puhe.2021.07.004 |
| Keywords: | art therapy; breast cancer; existential growth; posttraumatic growth; open studio method; women |
| ID Code: | 991982 |
| Deposited By: | Rosemary Reilly |
| Deposited On: | 06 Apr 2023 21:08 |
| Last Modified: | 12 Apr 2023 15:11 |
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