This study investigated the art therapy experience of a female elderly diagnosed with multiple system atrophy (MSA) and its meanings. The participant was a 69-year-old female patient with MSA. The study collected data from October 6, 2021, to January ...
This study investigated the art therapy experience of a female elderly diagnosed with multiple system atrophy (MSA) and its meanings. The participant was a 69-year-old female patient with MSA. The study collected data from October 6, 2021, to January 19, 2022, through the pre-intervention interview and art therapy activities. The therapy performed 12 sessions once weekly for about 90 minutes per session. The study analyzed data using the narrative inquiry methodology proposed by Clandinin & Connelly and narrated her art therapy and life experiences. Her derived experience storieswere as follows. First, ‘Haesuk’s life stories’ were summarized as ‘Life before marriage,’ ‘Life after marriage’ and ‘Her life since MSA has occurred'. The art therapy experience stories participant-generated were as follows: ‘Having lost freedom,’ ‘Nobody understands my feelings,’ ‘My appearance as a poor and dispirited person,’ ‘People to whom I feel both apologetic and grateful at the same time,’ ‘My family is the power that sustains me,’ ‘There are things that I am good at,’ and ‘I have lived earnestly and happily.’ The meanings of the art therapy experience were as follows. First, sacrifices became elements making up life. Second, the participant rediscovered her lost self. Third, the participant found the meaning of life that gave her a reason to live. As described above, the participant underwent physical and psychological difficulties due to MSA and an incurable disease that occurred unexpectedly. However, her art therapy experience helped her to accept her life and find the meaning of life in reconstructing and narrating her life through art therapy.