| Abstract: |
Patients who have finished their treatment often face a particularly difficult situation of finding themselves removed from the support of the hospital environment and attempting to process and integrate the experience of cancer in their lives. Art Therapy and Meditation are non-directive approaches, which have been offered in the Department of Psychiatry of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, with a good response from the patients. In this paper we describe the results of a 5-day Creative Retreat, which was held in Assisi, Italy. Art therapy, creative writing and meditation were integrated into a structured schedule, and were the two basic therapeutic tools during the supportive treatment. Nineteen patients from four different countries, United States, Italy, Turkey, United Kingdom who had completed cancer treatment participated in this program. The illustration of the setting, the daily program, and the special role of silence are presented, as well as the patients' self-reports written at the end of the supportive treatment in the frame of applied assessment methods. The patients reported a decrease of negative feelings, an increase in their self-esteem, and often a positive inner change. The results suggests that "creativity" and "meditation", provided by a professional team in a safe setting, may enhance each other's effectiveness and may be a powerful tool for the resolution of distress. |
