Supportive care with art therapy, for patients in isolation during stem cell transplant.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the art therapy study was twofold: 1) to identify the specific factors of the art therapy experience perceived as helpful by patients undergoing an allogenic hemopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT); and 2) to establish an appropriate criterion for referral to art therapy among this population. METHOD: Between 2006 and 2010, a dedicated art therapist met all the patients who were referred to her by the hematologist. The art therapy approach and techniques are described. Outcome was evaluated by self-assessment, based on written questionnaires that were given to the patients before discharge. RESULTS: Seventy-four patients followed the weekly individual sessions during isolation and filled out the questionnaire. All of them defined the art therapy experience as "helpful" and specified in which way it had been helpful. Through a thematic analysis of the patients' written comments, three specific aspects of art therapy, which the patients found most helpful, were identified: (1) being able to calm down from anxiety, through the use of art therapy techniques (77.02%); (2) feeling free to express and share difficult feelings, which they had not communicated verbally (75.67%); and (3) establishing meaningful connections with their loved ones, through images made in art therapy (36.48%). Case illustrations are provided. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: The results suggest that referral to art therapy from the team might be helpful and appropriate: (1) when patients are anxious; (2) when they are uncommunicative and hide their feelings; and (3) when they feel disconnected from their loved ones at home.

A communication tool for cancer patients with pain: the art therapy technique of the body outline.

OBJECTIVE: The multidimensional aspect of pain suggests the use of multimodal interventions. The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has recently utilized the art therapy modality to help patients communicate the painful side of their illness in such a way that they can feel understood and respected. In this paper we describe a simple innovative art therapy intervention that we have developed within the Art Therapy Service in the Psychiatric Department of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. METHOD: The patients work with a Body Outline as a starting template, together with the art therapist, in sessions lasting approximately 45 minutes. They are encouraged to fill the space inside and outside the Body Outline. They can use colored pastels, markers, or watercolor or cut out images for a collage. RESULTS: Seventy hospitalized adult cancer patients, 60 women and 10 men, used this intervention between January 1999 and May 2000. We have analyzed the variety of responses from the 70 patients, and three main groups have emerged, which have focused on the following issues: (1) visualization of physical pain, (2) communication of emotions, and (3) search for meaning/spirituality. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: The results suggest that because of its abstract symbolic feature, the Body Outline is a very flexible therapeutic intervention. It must be offered within the relationship with the art therapist, and it may fulfill quite a variety of expressive needs, from the description of physical pain to the elaboration of spiritual longings.