“Painting to Find my Spirit”: Art Making as the Vehicle to Find Meaning and Connection in the Mental Health Recovery Process

Abstract

This study involved gaining a deeper understanding of the role of art making in mental health recovery among consumers of two psychosocial rehabilitation services in Victoria, Australia. Specifically, the study explored changes over 1 year in the lives of 12 participants who attended a variety of art-based programs. To gain a multifaceted perspective of this inquiry mixed methods were used, by incorporating pragmatism, empathetic phenomenology, co-operative inquiry, as well as case study and art-based approaches. An analysis of the findings resulted in the identification that art making provided a spiritual aspect to the recovery process. The art process acted as a vessel by which personal meanings could be made, encouraged interdependency, and assisted the development of multiple forms of identification beyond having a mental illness. Future strategies within mental health services could further integrate these aspects of art making into their practices, which would help to enhance the discovery of meaning, purpose and hope during the recovery process.

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