Impact of Art Therapy on Emotional Wellness among Incarcerated Women

Abstract

The paper is developed with the objective of exploring the effectiveness of art as a therapeutic tool for understanding and managing emotion among incarcerated women. Art is viewed as a medium of their expression to perceive and facilitate the thought process. Emotionally healthy person can understand and cope with stress and adapt to change with the circumstances. The emotional balance enables an individual to identify the heart's desires, take affirmative actions, and make changes in life devoid of worries, stress, and lead life with vision, inspired action, and an inner state of creativity. Using purposive sampling method 60 incarcerated women were selected from prisons by obtaining permission from the concerned authorities. These women were the sole bread winners for their families, and their imprisonment orphaned their children and elderly parents who are dependent on them. The art form chose as an intervention for this study was Tanjore Painting and these paintings are known for their surface richness, vivid colours, compact composition and especially the glittering gold foils used to give the paintings their rich look. The art programme was conducted by arranging several sessions enabling them to learn and develop art form. After learning the art in depth interview techniques was used to obtain data, Thematic analysis of the responses on art therapy gave rise to four broad themes as Mindful practice; Clarified feelings; Catharsis and Explore relationships