Stigma and art therapy with Brazilian leprosy patients

Abstract

Introduction This study is about art therapy as a resource to express and redefine the meaning of the stigma experienced by leprosy patients after being discharged from multi-drug therapy. Aim To investigate the use of art therapy as a tool for expression and redefinition of stigma in subjects affected by leprosy. Method A qualitative, descriptive exploratory study was conducted to investigate stigma among Brazilian leprosy patients through their artistic creations in art therapy workshops, combined with a focus group discussion during outpatient treatment. Patients with upper extremity impairment that had been treated with physical therapy and surgery were included. Initially, a focus group was formed to discuss previous awareness of the condition, receiving the diagnosis, and living with leprosy. Subsequently, seventeen separate art therapy workshops were held, which provided space for listening, exchanging experiences, as well as discussing and explaining the disease itself.Results and discussion These individuals' artistic creations revealed the presence of both enacted stigma as well as self-inflicted stigma. Furthermore, effects from