Rowing Your Own Boat: Benefits of Integrating Art Therapy into an Addictive Disorders Recovery Group for Women

By Jessica Dawn Winnicki-Reinsch

This thesis examines the benefits of integrating art therapy into an addictive disorders recovery group for women. Through this research I explore the themes that arose in a group of women who met once a week in an after-care group. The art therapy approach I elected to use to explore this retrospective case study is person-centred and positive art therapy, coming from a trauma-informed lens.

These women engaged primarily in intentional spontaneous art as discussed in Carpendale (2009). This group exists to meet the needs of those individuals who have previously completed a live-in addiction treatment program and who wanted to stay connected during post-treatment to support their sobriety, self-acceptance, and personal growth. This research is important to me, due in large part to my passion for the client-artists I had the pleasure of walking alongside on their recovery journey. It is also important to me because I too have experienced the many challenges that one endures when faced with addiction, both personally and through family and friends.

The women who are explored in this thesis have made powerful internal shifts, altered old patterns of thinking and behaving, and are finding a sense of peace, all the while showing great dedication to a life of sobriety. This will be illuminated through the art/data.

This thesis highlights the deep personal work done in a post-treatment group, the power of the women in the circle, and the vital function of art throughout their entire process. To honour the experience of the client-artists I chose to use the phenomenological hermeneutic research approach. This approach allowed me to sensitively and respectfully explore the phenomenon that presented itself in the group and the artwork.