| Abstract [eng] |
Visual impairment may affect a person’s independence, emotional well-being, social relationships and relationship with the environment. Group art therapy can provide women with visual impairment with a safe space for creative expression, exploration of personal experiences, naming emotions and experiencing togetherness. Although art therapy is often associated with visual expression, when working with blind and partially sighted people, a broader multisensory understanding of creativity becomes important, including touch, movement, sound, smell, spatial experience and the textures of materials. This thesis reveals the experiences of women with visual impairment in the process of group art therapy by exploring the meanings emerging in their reflections and the characteristics of visual expression revealed in their artworks. Aim – to reveal the experiences of women with visual impairment in group art therapy. Research participants. Five partially sighted women and one blind woman accompanied by an assistant, aged 55–65. Research objectives. 1. To review scientific literature on the approaches and methods suitable for women with visual impairment in the process of group art therapy. 2. To reveal the experiences of women with visual impairment during group art therapy by applying thematic analysis. 3. To examine the experiences of women with visual impairment in visual expression by applying content analysis. 4. To identify links between the data of thematic and content analysis. Research methodology. A qualitative study was conducted. The study consisted of a review of scientific literature, thematic analysis of the participants’ audio-recorded reflections according to the method of V. Braun and V. Clarke, and content analysis of the artworks. Data were collected during ten group art therapy sessions by recording the participants’ reflections and photographing the artworks they created. The study was conducted at the premises of the Vilnius city branch of LASS. Research conclusions. 1. The thematic analysis revealed the experiences of women with visual impairment in group art therapy. Five themes were identified: life journey through the flow of time; symbolic language of nature, fantasy creatures and objects; transformation of emotions through creativity; relationships, togetherness and boundaries; creativity as a way of self-knowledge and inner balance. 2. The content analysis of the artworks showed that tactility, materiality, relief and three-dimensional forms, bright colours, contrasts, nature motifs, threads, fabrics and other means encouraging multisensory experience were important to the participants. The creative process revealed a need to make experiences tangible, to structure inner experiences and to rely not only on vision, but also on touch, form, surface and movement. 3. Linking the data of thematic and content analysis showed that the themes named in the reflections: life journey, emotional change, togetherness, boundaries and self-knowledge were repeated in the artworks through symbols, choice of materials, connections, colours, relief and composition. Group art therapy enabled the participants to express personal experiences, experience support, explore their inner world and discover creativity as a way of self-knowledge and inner balance. |
