Art Therapy for Relief of Physical and Existential Pain in Women Diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease with debilitating symptoms often including stiffness, joint inflammation, fatigue, and mood changes. It affects more than 20 million people worldwide. The purpose of this study was to examine whether group art therapy could help decrease existential and physical pain in women diagnosed with RA. Five women with daily RA pain were recruited to participate in a four-hour workshop, during which they created two intuitive mandalas bridged by a short journalling session. For their initial mandala, the participants were invited to represent their experience of pain. Following this, they journalled about resources they used to cope with their illness. In their second mandala, the participants imaginally represented about what they had journalled. Data collection included photographs of the women’s artwork and journal entries completed during the workshop, along with transcribed audio-recordings of the women’s discussions, and post-workshop interviews. Pain rating scales were utilized to record pain levels. In addition, I created two mandalas post workshop to gain a deeper understanding of the participants’ experience. Analysis of the data yielded four major themes, along with a number of related sub-themes, including: (a) experiencing physical and existential pain, (b) holding pain in, (c) tapping into resources, and (d) how art therapy helped. The women’s mandalas, workshop, and interview conversations indicated that pain was significantly reduced at the end of the workshop. Thus, the study demonstrated the potential benefit of group art therapy with a meaning- making focus to help relieve physical and existential pain for women diagnosed with RA.