De-stigmatization: A Case Study on Art Brut Therapy Narratives and Their Impact on Mental Disability Group
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Date
2025-03
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Abstract
This study examines how Art Brut therapy narratives reconstruct the identities of individuals with mental disabilities and reshape societal perceptions of mental illness in contemporary China. By analyzing 375 WeChat articles from the Nanjing Art Brut Center through sentiment analysis and semantic network analysis, alongside semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, this research explores how the "artification" of psychiatric patients’ work fosters new social identities. The findings reveal that Art Brut narratives frame individuals with mental illness as creative, authentic, and naturally artistic, shifting away from traditional stigmatized representations. However, this transformation also raises concerns about the romanticization of mental illness, replacing previous pathological portrayals with an idealized image of the “positive Other.” This study contributes to discussions on mental illness discourse, symbolic interactionism, and alternative therapeutic practices, offering insights into the complex interplay between stigma, identity, and artistic representation.
Description
Business, Society, and International Relations (The Ohio State University Denman Undergraduate Research Forum)
Keywords
Art Brut, Art Therapy, Stigma, Mental Illness