On 14 July 2024, the AYA Cancer Art Therapy Workshop was successful organised by the 15th Executive Committee of Medical Outreachers, in cooperation with Youth Cancer Hong Kong, Self Love Tripment and Embrace Pro-diversity Education. Under the lead of a licensed expressive art therapist and a social worker, our committee members facilitated art creation and self-reflection sessions with 15 AYA patients/survivors. 

 

Adolescents and Young Adults (AYA) cancer patients and survivors refer to the group aged 18 to 39 years old. Not only do they have to navigate through the medical complexities of cancer treatment and recovery, but also deal with unique challenges during this critical transitional phase from adolescence to adulthood. These include difficulty in resumption of their academic or career development. insecurities over physical appearances, fertility concerns and impaired family relationships. Some unique psychosocial challenges are starkly different from those of children, mature adults or the elderly and may affect their self perception, leading to some degree of psychological stress. 

 

We recognise that elements of art have been increasingly adopted in therapies promoting psychological wellbeing in recent years. It is also scientifically proven to be associated with reduced stress and anxiety, increased self-efficacy and improvement in positive mood and pain scores. Hence, we aim to introduce and provide means of psychological relief to AYA cancer patients and survivors through 2 channels of expressive artwork, namely Black Paper Dot Therapy and Fluid Painting with Alcohol Ink.  

 

To ensure that our volunteers were well-equipped, we attended several  trainings sessions across months prior to the service, hosted by The Hong Kong Cancer Fund and Youth Cancer Hong Kong. These trainings introduced to us the common challenges presented to AYA patients or survivors and guided us to engage in meaningful communication with them. We also took a facilitator-training session to learn the art-marking skills and how to lead reflections of oneself through expressive art. 

 

In Black Paper Dot Therapy, participants were invited to write a word or a motto they valued in the middle and decorate the spaces around it. There were no colour schemes or patterns to stick to, instead emphasis on embracing imperfections and free flow of thought was encouraged to enjoy the process. In Fluid Painting with Alcohol Ink, participants were invited to symbolise their past, present and future by employing ink, alcohol sprays and metallic highlights. Again, there was no “correct” way for colour choice, alcohol diffusion and canvas tilting. Free experimentation and expression was encouraged to reflect the unique experiences in the past and envisions of the future. During the workshop, facilitators accompanied them to make their own painting and discussed why they chose the colours and what they thought the art resembled. 

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Scroll to see the beauty artwork made by our committee and AYA cancer patients / survivors!