Art As Therapy For Mentally Ill Inmates In Zambian Facilities

Richards et al (2000) performed a study on male maximum security psychiatric inmates in 2000. The study focused on effects of disclosure of traumatic events on illness behavior among psychiatric prison inmates. inmates who had undergone traumatic experiences were offered writing sessions over the course of three days and required to complete a self-report study at the end of each day. It was discovered that participants visited the infirmary less often after writing. Those who were charged with sex offenses were more likely to show health improvement after writing and there was a general decrease in infirmary disputes pre-to- post writing.

In Australia, an evaluation of the J Block Women of Art Project was done by Belton & Barclays in 2008 in Darwin. This program aimed to provide a safe, inclusive and creative space in which incarcerated women who had undergone traumatic experiences and domestic violence could communicate openly and express themselves through art. It also delivered informal education on domestic and family violence. Activities included semi-structured visits, discussing domestic and family violence, art for creative expression and individual discussions between facilitators and the women. The program ran for two and a half hours, once a week. Each decided the activities they wanted to engage in, ranging from beading, knitting, card making or painting on canvas or walls within the confines of the facility.

Therapists facilitated the activities and engaged the women in conversation. The therapists felt that arts and crafts were a suitable medium for therapeutic interaction and reflection without being intrusive. This program was noted to be especially good for women who had their parole coming up because it was a chance for them to address their issues and problems and gain a new and better attitude as they left the facility. For this evaluation, eighteen inmates were interviewed, seven project workers and four prison staff. Inmates were interviewed in a group and no psychological metrics were used so as to align the design with feminist research principles. Findings showed that participants were happy that there was a new and creative way to spend their time. They also stated that the procedure was calming, engaging and enjoyable. The therapists noted that participants were able to open up and discuss their traumatic experiences. Furthermore, art therapy was also quite beneficial to institutional management itself as meed for disciplinary control was reduced when inmates found appropriate ways of venting their emotions (Belton & Barclay, 2008).

A second study was done by Gussak in 2009 in which forty eight participants from a medium to maximum security correctional facility in north-western rural Florida were given art therapy sessions. It was a four week program with two sessions per week and examples of the tasks done were name-embellishment, white-paper sculpture, draw and pass and group colored paper sculpture of the participants’ dream environment. All participants were diagnosed with either manic bipolar disorder or major depression and about fifty one percent of them were receiving psychotropic medication. A six-point Likert Scale survey was done and participants were also asked to draw a person picking an apple from a tree (PPAT) in the first and last session. The Likert Scale was completed pre and post program by the facility’s health counselor giving feedback from correctional staff and personal observations of the interactions of the participants with the general population. The PPAT was measured using the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS) rating guide. Characteristics such as logic, detail, problem-solving, line quality and prominence of color were rated on the scale to assess the prominence of depression and schizophrenia. Significant change was noted after the therapy, increased space was used and there was more detail which reflected awareness and acceptance of their surroundings. Prominence of color and implied energy of the drawing improved which showed that there was a decrease in depression and elevation of mood. Participants also completed a survey at the end of the project in which they shared their thoughts on the art therapy sessions, what they learned and how it could be improved. It was also noted that women were more affected by the art intervention than men in both depression and locus of control. While men focused on the final product as opposed to the process, women used it as an opportunity to facilitate discussion and empathetic interaction (Gussak, 2009).

Another study was done by Gussak in the same year. He compared the effectiveness of art therapy in depression and locus of control of male and female inmates. The study was done in two medium to maximum security adult correctional facilities in Florida, USA. It incorporated both qualitative and quantitative methods to gather data. The findings showed that both male and female participants showed improvements in mood and locus of control, more especially for female inmates as a result of the visual therapy program (Gussak, 2009).

In 2010, a study was done in Northern California, USA on inmates at the correctional facility. Arts-in-Corrections was one of the first arts programs for correctional institutions in the nation. It offered individual and group instruction in the visual, performing, literary and media arts and fine crafts disciplines. Both adult male and female former inmates were represented in the study with a sample size of 18. Data was collected using in-depth interviews, assessing the impact of the AIC program on inmates during and after incarceration. Results showed that those who participated in the program had enhanced self-esteem, work ethic, discipline and identity as artists. They also successfully completed parole and some even earned all or part of their living through art (Gardner, 2014 ).

Freud’s Psychodynamic Theory

Sigmund Freud developed a theory in based on research which showed that the mind of a human being has three states of consciousness. The first is the Conscious which consists of thoughts that are our wishes and desires that we are aware of. These are usually not harmful and the information stored is important for everyday use. The next state is a bit deeper and is known as the Pre-conscious. It is a sort of guard between the conscious and the unconscious and it also holds information that we are not always consciously aware of but can be easily recalled if needed. The third state is the Unconscious and it represents wishes, desires and thoughts that are very disturbing and threatening and cannot be voluntarily accessed or are repressed in the back of the mind. However, these thoughts and desires still have a large influence on our everyday behavior even if we are not directly aware of it. This is known as unconscious motivation (Plotnik & Kouyoumdjian, 2011).

Sometimes, people become so immersed with a fantasy life or inner world that they create for themselves to escape the realities of life or traumatic experiences that the real world is distorted. Past experiences, both good and bad are internalized and every desire, loss, fear and deprivation is shown from the unconscious to the conscious. Art therapy is a way of entering the unconscious and understanding the ways in which it influences relationships in the real world or conscious. It is believed that through making images and objects, buried feelings and conflicts can be brought to the surface and expressed in a proper manner and the client can be able to understand themselves. The client can stand apart from the experience, analyze it and change the implications it has on their life (Glover, 2000).

When it comes to inmates in correctional facilities, art therapy has been seen to contribute in a number of ways. It is educational and integral to a person’s growth, contributing to their well being and giving improvement for life opportunities (Dean & Field, 2003). Since most inmates are people with low education, literacy and skill levels, art provides an alternative for them to learn and express themselves. Art provides enjoyment and fulfillment which gives inmates motivation to learn more and re-enter the education system.