Creating doorways: finding meaning and growth through art therapy in the face of life-threatening illness

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.

The study design used in this study is a qualitative cross-case comparative case.

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.

Categories include the following: the significant benefits of art therapy on their sense of self-efficacy; 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.

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.