Dealing with art requires an active sensual involvement and, furthermore, art creates form and meaning. Research in phenomenological psychopathology finds, that schizophrenic psychopathology develops from a destruction of the patient's very primary sense of self (ipseity) leading to a breakdown of meaning. Art therapy may therefore be useful in the treatment of schizophrenia.

Art therapy research is very sparse and inconclusive although it is used rather extensively in psychiatry. The lack of a common theory and practice within this field may be an obstacle for further investigation.

This study describes a phenomenological based art therapy and presents a qualitative analysis of possible connections between the art making and the psychopathology.

Two groups of five patients received art therapy during one year. The logbooks, pictures, interviews and evaluations were used for a narrative description and a hermeneutic, phenomenological analysis.

All patients found the art therapy helpful. Common trends were that the patients obtained a more clear sense of who they were or that they accepted themselves and their illness better. In addition, the paranoid patients experienced a subjective reduction of anxiety while painting. These effects seem to be connected to the active and sensing interaction with the art material and the creation of meaning in the paintings.

The study shows that art making may affect psychopathology. A possible connection between art and psychopathology was established via phenomenological psychopathology and the philosophical concept of primary sense of self.