Promoting Well-Being and Gerotranscendence in an Art Therapy Program for Older Adults

Abstract

This article describes a community art therapy program that was designed to promote health and well-being in old age. Observations of diverse participant interactions in the nondirective therapy studio over the course of 6 years revealed the benefits of art making and how it may influence well-being during the process of advancing age. Program goals that evolved over time were to (a) foster artistic identity, (b) activate a sense of purpose and motivation, (c) use art as a bridge to connect with others, and (d) support movement toward the attainment of gerotranscendence. The theory of gerotranscendence serves as a particularly appropriate theoretical framework to understand aging and art therapy with older adults.

Acknowledgments

Editor's Note: Raquel Chapin Stephenson, PhD, ATR-BC, LCAT, is an assistant professor in the Expressive Therapies program at Lesley University, Cambridge, MA, and an adjunct instructor at New York University. The author acknowledges the generous financial support for the New York University Creative Aging Therapeutic Services program from the Werner and Elaine Dannheisser Fund.