“I Need A Bigger Sandbox” - Exploring Story Landscapes In Art Therapy With Seniors

This is a qualitative art therapy study examining the question: What are the benefits of the story landscapes as a therapeutic intervention in art therapy with seniors? The exploration of this modality explored the benefits with the current literature about art therapy with the senior population. Data was generated and recorded over four months with six seniors participating in weekly art therapy sessions. Three people were in assisted living and three in long term care. The participants were given pseudonyms to ensure their anonymity. Benefits were discovered by seeing how the act of creating story landscapes connected with the participants nonverbally, verbally, and metaphorically to meet their needs. Themes that emerged in the sessions were explored as well as the benefits. Some of the research was shared through a narrative storyteller and some was shared through a third person researcher narrative.