Stigma and art therapy with Brazilian leprosy patients

Introduction
This study is about art therapy as a resource to express and redefine the meaning of the stigma experienced by leprosy patients after being discharged from multi-drug therapy.

Aim
To investigate the use of art therapy as a tool for expression and redefinition of stigma in subjects affected by leprosy.

Method
A qualitative, descriptive exploratory study was conducted to investigate stigma among Brazilian leprosy patients through their artistic creations in art therapy workshops, combined with a focus group discussion during outpatient treatment. Patients with upper extremity impairment that had been treated with physical therapy and surgery were included. Initially, a focus group was formed to discuss previous awareness of the condition, receiving the diagnosis, and living with leprosy. Subsequently, seventeen separate art therapy workshops were held, which provided space for listening, exchanging experiences, as well as discussing and explaining the disease itself.

Results and discussion
These individuals’ artistic creations revealed the presence of both enacted stigma as well as self-inflicted stigma. Furthermore, effects from sharing their deepest feelings about the singular experience of contracting leprosy were observed, as well as the formation of bonds and solidarity, which may have contributed to the return of certain individuals to the labor force and social life. This study presents an innovative approach to help people cope with the stigma associated with leprosy.

Conclusions
This research does not intend to establish a framework, but rather to reveal issues of intersubjectivity related to the stigma experienced by leprosy patients. Art therapy workshops represented an important aspect of their healthcare regime, helping them understand and process how the disease is seen by society and its repercussions on their own lives.