The Visual Life Story Approach: A Tool for Transformation and Well-Being in Museum Art Therapy With Immigrant Adults (L’approche visuelle du récit de vie : un outil de transformation et de bien-être en art-thérapie muséale auprès d’adultes immigrants)

Abstract

The narrative, arts-based research described in this article explores the visual life story approach with a group of immigrant adults (N = 7) of various cultural origins conducted in partnership with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA). The art therapy research examines the joint contribution of life story and artistic creation to enhancing the coherence of the participants’ narrative identities and psychological well-being. The phenomenological, narrative, arts-based method includes in-depth interviews focusing on the participants’ verbal accounts of their lives, followed by 12 art therapy sessions that allowed the embodiment of their lived experience into artworks. Results identify the therapeutic factors that enhance psychological well-being and highlight the integrative function of the visual life story approach. They demonstrate the healing power of art making in the company of others, and its capacity to promote reflexivity and facilitate the exploration of existential themes of universal significance. Ultimately, museum-based art therapy contributes to a heightened sense of well-being and empowerment.

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