The ancestral journey narrative

A pilot study using art-based research to explore migration, trauma and resilience

Bibliographic Data

ID17818889
AuthorsKim Valldejuli (0000-0002-3876-5872, Drexel University, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume17
Issue1
Pages9-25
Publication date2025-06-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Applied Arts and Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2040-2457 • E-ISSN: 2040-2465
PublisherIntellect (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1386/jaah_00195_1
OpenAlexW4411378444
LanguageEN
References cited20

This pilot study explores the impact of traumatic migrations on the mental health of people within the Caribbean diaspora, focusing on storytelling and creative arts as tools for addressing historical trauma. Using a phenomenological approach, it examines how African Caribbean experiences reflect broader histories of colonial violence and migration, utilizing data collection methods such as response art, participant feedback and in-depth group discussion with four creative art therapists. Findings show that storytelling helps inspire discussion, creating pathways for processing trauma, with participants expressing themes of survival, resilience and emotional responses like sadness and hope. Using art-based research, the study connects individual participants’ narratives to the history of enslavement, fostering empathy and offering a therapeutic healing tool. The study highlights the importance of culturally sensitive, intersectional therapy practices, integrating lived experiences to develop transformative multicultural approaches to creative art therapy practice

Aesthetics · Art · Literature · Narrative · Psychological resilience · Resilience (materials science) · The arts · Visual arts · Art Therapy and Mental Health · History · Identity, Memory, and Therapy · Participatory Visual Research Methods · Psychology · Social Psychology

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