Creating doorways: finding meaning and growth through art therapy in the face of life-threatening illness

This article presents the findings of a pilot study situated in tertiary care cancer centre and examines impact an art therapy group on experiences women living through breast cancer. The design used this is qualitative cross-case comparative case. Ten were interviewed about their making art, many for first time. Interviews transcribed analysed, along with participants’ artist statements. Categories include following: significant benefits sense self-efficacy; emotionally enhancing nature time; power artwork to trigger insights themselves (including subcategories self-actualization, existential growth, post-traumatic growth) or communicating loved ones; how changed worldview life philosophies, creating doorways possibilities. suggests that provides safe context reflect profound personal changes re-story losses following adversity creative practices as dimension care.