Empowering African American Mothers Utilizing a Community-Based Mindfulness Painting Intervention to Create Safety and Belongingness (Autonomisation de mères afro-américaines par l’utilisation d’une intervention communautaire de peinture de pleine conscience pour créer sécurité et appartenance)

Abstract

Painting in art therapy is a mindfulness activity that fosters relaxation, increases self-awareness, and can create a positive shared experience between participant and therapist. The Relational-Cultural Theory framework guided this mixed methods study. Using the Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) and a brief demographic questionnaire, the study examined the mental health levels of 24 African American mothers (N = 24) who attended a Moms Empowerment Workshop in a community-based setting two years after the COVID-19 global pandemic was declared over. This study explored how eight mothers (N = 8) who participated in structured interviews after the workshop, described their experiences of the workshop and mindfulness painting activity. It was hypothesized that doing a mindfulness painting activity facilitated by an African American Mental Health Art Therapist in a community-based setting would be received positively by the participants. The results indicated that the majority of the mothers exhibited positive mental health and having an African American Mental Health Art Therapist facilitate the intervention in a community-based setting fostered belonging, psychological safety, and strengthened their connections with one another.

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