Integrating mindfulness and the expressive arts for meaning making in cancer care: A grounded theory of the processes, facilitators, and challenges.
Kendra L Rieger, Thomas F Hack, Miriam A Duff, Heather J Campbell-Enns, Christina H West
Supportive Care in Cancer July 19, 2023 DOI: 10.1007/s00520-023-07909-x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study (constructivist grounded theory) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 32 |
| Population | Patients with cancer who participated in a 10-week mindfulness-based expressive arts group intervention at a tertiary cancer center in mid-Western Canada |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-based expressive arts group intervention |
| Duration | 10-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Arts Cancer Grounded theory Oncology Psychosocial care |
| Key findings | Participants described that mindfulness-based meaning making helped them let go of ruminations and calm their minds, which enabled fuller engagement in arts activities, and that mindfulness meditation inspired new forms of artistic expression. Although the work was challenging, the authors report that combining mindfulness and the arts created a unique healing space in which individual work was nested within group processes, with personal factors and group design and facilitator factors shaping experiences. |
Abstract
There is a growing interest in mindfulness-based expressive arts interventions in oncology, to help patients process their experiences, learn how to live with cancer, and ameliorate psychological distress. Our research purpose was to explore how patients with cancer experience a mindfulness-based expressive arts group intervention, and to articulate individual and contextual factors influencing their experiences. We conducted a constructivist grounded theory study and recruited 32 participants who experienced a 10-week mindfulness-based expressive arts group intervention at a tertiary cancer center in mid-Western Canada. We gathered socio-demographic data and descriptions of their experiences through semi-structured interviews. Participants brought art they had created to facilitate art elicitation. Socio-demographic data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and all other data with grounded theory methods. Our findings revealed how entering the group and meaning making processes through mindfulness enabled participants to let go of their ruminations and calm their minds so they could fully engage in arts activities. Participants found inspiration for their artistic expressions in mindfulness meditation which allowed them to express themselves in new ways. Although this work was challenging, combining mindfulness and the arts created a unique healing space in which individual work was nested within group processes. There were notable personal factors and perspectives that influenced participants' experiences, as well as factors related to the group design and facilitator. Our findings provide insight into how and when this intervention was meaningful for patients, and have important implications to guide ongoing intervention development, implementation, and evaluation.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on meditation, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- A Movement-Based Pedagogical Perspective on Mindfulness in Embodied Music Learning Intersection of Psychology, Esotericism, and Cultural Development July 16, 2026
- Meditation Art Therapy: AIGC-Assisted Psychotherapy to Improve Anxiety in Retired People Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications March 22, 2024
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