Expressive Arts for Grieving Youth: A Pilot Project

Abstract

The experience of loss due to death, illness, and social mitigation was inevitable during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health services are chronically difficult to access in Canada, and this barrier is further exacerbated when trying to access certified art therapists to deliver expressive arts therapy. This pilot project attempted to provide an alternative to this service through an interprofessional alliance with a professional artist and certified counselors. A small group (n = 6) of vulnerable youth who had suffered the recent loss of a loved one and were at risk for mental health issues participated in an expressive arts therapy program, over a four-week period in the late Spring of 2021. Expressive arts activities such as clay mask making to express the emotions of grief, provided opportunities for the youth to learn healthy ways of coping with grief and loss. A mixed-methods approach involving quantitative data was collected with a battery of well-validated instruments to assess changes in depressive symptomatology, social and emotional loneliness and satisfaction with life. These measures were complemented with qualitative data collected during a focus group at the end of the program. Measures conducted before and after the program found decreases in loneliness, coupled with youth expressing the shared experience was comforting, reduced feelings of isolation, and increased a sense of belonging. Preliminary evidence supports that expressive arts programs for vulnerable youth may help to stabilize mood, decrease feelings of isolation/loneliness, and may generate a supportive community of peers, providing a safe space for the expression of grief through creative outlets.