Researchers looked to investigate the live experience of art making in those who participated in mental health studio-based art groups in a forensic psychiatric hospital in South Africa. Those who participated (n = 15) had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. A phenomenological lifeworld approach was used by the researchers in order to examine the interviews and the artwork with the elements of embodiment, temporality, spatiality, sociality, and selfhood. It was reported by the participants that they had a “sense of home” while recounting their experiences in art making. The researchers noted that art making provides crucial support for those who are in mental distress, also offering resolution in emotional and exemplified disruption in patients with schizophrenia.

Reference: Mitchella J, Meehanb T. How art-as-therapy supports participants with a diagnosis of schizophrenia: A phenomenological lifeworld investigation. Arts Psychother. 2022;80:101917. doi:10.1016/j.aip.2022.101917