A arte no enfrentamento do luto na vida e obra de Viktor Frankl : um recurso terapêutico

Abstract

Research in the field of Religious Sciences, specifically in the area of spirituality and health, has gained greater prominence in academic studies. This is the line of research in which this dissertation also fits. It is essential, especially in view of the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in almost 15 million deaths, according to the WHO (2022), and created a global society in mourning. In addition, millions of people suffered from psychological disorders due to the long period of the pandemic (2020-2022), which affected essential areas such as health, education, and the economy. Although the grief caused by Covid-19 is not the focus of the study, it serves as a backdrop for the analysis of how grief, in general, is a common human experience and important for emotional and psychological development. The study proposes to investigate how art can act as a therapeutic resource for overcoming grief, based on the experience of Viktor Frankl, psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor. Although Frankl did not consider himself an artist, he had experiences with art, such as literary production, theater and drawing, which were significant in his process of coping with the grief of the loss of family members during the Second World War. For Frankl, art manifests itself as a way of resignifying suffering, being able to help the individual find meaning even in situations of inevitable suffering, such as mourning. The research aims to analyze the therapeutic application of art in light of Frankl's Logotherapy, considering the following value categories: creative, experiential and attitudinal. Frankl believed that, when facing uncontrollable situations such as death, human beings can find dignity by attributing new meaning to suffering. The research also aims to develop an experiential itinerary to help people in the process of mourning, using art as a means of emotional healing. The methodology adopted is qualitative and interpretative, based on the works of Frankl and other theorists, to understand how art can help in overcoming mourning and in emotional strengthening, especially through Frankl's experience with art during and after his release from concentration camps.