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ART THERAPY FOR INFERTILITY: A CASE STUDY

L. M. Petre, M. Gemescu, D. Bulgari, S. M. Radu

First published: 2019https://doi.org/10.5593/SWS.ISCSS.2019.3/S11.014View metrics

Abstract

Background: Infertility is consistently associated with reduced quality of life. This brings about a negative impact on emotional, social, and physical functioning. Moreover, the infertile individual is often faced with feelings of resentment, anxiety, uncertainty, or grief. So far, various psychological interventions have validated their effects on the psychological functioning of infertile participants, yet very few creative-expressive techniques have been documented. Accordingly, art therapeutic interventions tailored for infertility should be developed and tested for effectiveness. Methods: The Fertility Quality of Life (FertiQoL), Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), Ways of Coping Scale, and California Psychological Inventory: Femininity (Fe-CPI) were used pre– and post-treatment for assessment of the psychological correlates of infertility. The creative-expressive intervention consisted of 7 sessions in a group format. Each therapeutic session included two phases: art creation (drawing, collage, modeling, and art genogram) and therapeutic intervention. Results: Art therapy led to an improvement in the emotional expression of the patient, reduced the symptomatology associated with the infertility condition. Conclusions: The art therapeutic approach should be applicable for most patients with infertility and could be considered as a standard for the treatment of psychological effects related to infertility.

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Publication details

Title
ART THERAPY FOR INFERTILITY: A CASE STUDY
Authors
L. M. Petre, M. Gemescu, D. Bulgari, S. M. Radu
Proceedings
6th SWS International Scientific Conference on Social Sciences ISCSS 2019
Publisher
STEF92 Technology
Year
2019
Pages
103-110
SWS Citekey
Petre201911103110
ISSN
2682-9959
ISBN
978-619-7408-93-5
Language
en
Publication type
Proceedings Paper
Keywords
infertilityart therapycreative-expressive techniquesart genogramart genogram.
References10

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