The Relationship between Art as a Therapeutic Resource and the Quality of Life in Patients with Schizophrenia

Abstract

The general aim of this study was to check the relationship between an Artistic Ceramics Workshop (ACW) and Quality of Life (QOL) of people with clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia of both genders and check if the obtained results were stable in time. Therefore was constituted a convenience sample (n=9) in Socio-Occupational Centers and the participants were medicated and in a stabilized phase of the disease. The ACW was implemented over five months, with a weekly frequency of two sessions of 90 minutes each and the evaluation instrument (WHOQOL-BREF) administered at three different observation moments (before, after the intervention and 27 days after the intervention). Considering the obtained results, the ACW produced significant improvement in the QOL of participants and it was also verified that the obtained results were not stable in time, and with the female gender the intervention was more efficient in terms of the general perception of QOL and general perception of health. We can also conclude that the lack of motivation of the participants regarding interventions that use art as a therapeutic resource can influence its effectiveness.