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Art therapy and self-image: A 5-year follow-up art therapy RCT study of women diagnosed with breast cancer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 September 2021

Karin Egberg Thyme Open the ORCID record for Karin Egberg Thyme [Opens in a new window] ,
Björn Tavelin ,
Inger Öster ,
Jack Lindh  and
Britt Wiberg
Karin Egberg Thyme*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Sciences, Division of Psychiatry, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Björn Tavelin
Affiliation:
Department of Radiation Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Inger Öster
Affiliation:
Department of Nursing, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Umeå University, UmeåSweden
Jack Lindh
Affiliation:
Department of Radiation Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Britt Wiberg
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
*
Author for correspondence: Karin Egberg Thyme, Department of Clinical Sciences, Division of Psychiatry, Umeå University, SE-90187 Umeå, Sweden. E-mail: egbergthymekarin@gmail.com
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Abstract

Objective

This follow-up study on perceived self-image and psychophysical distress/psychic symptoms was based on a ranomized contolled study of art therapy on women with breast cancer.

Method

The aim was to examine the long-term effects of time-limited art therapy using the instruments of Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) and Symptom Check List-90 (SCL-90).

Results

Three attachment clusters of the SASB showed significant changes post therapy: Autonomous self (cluster 1), Accepting self (cluster 2), and Loving self (cluster 3). Clusters 2 and 3 continued to change in favor of the intervention group at the 5-year follow-up. There were no significant differences in the SCL-90 results between the intervention group and the control group in the follow-up study.

Significance of results

The art therapy intervention was both therapeutic and psycho-educative. The conclusion of this study is that approaching emotions through time-limited art therapy seems to have a long-lasting effect on the attachment behavioral system shown in the SASB model post intervention, and this effect remained 5 years later.

Keywords

Art therapyBreast cancerFollow-upSASBSCL-90

Information

Type
Original Article
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 20 , Issue 4 , August 2022 , pp. 482 - 490
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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