Touching the Loss and Creating a New Sense of Being in Clay Field Therapy: A Longitudinal Phenomenological Research

Year 2025, Volume: 10 Issue: 1, 19 - 46, 01.02.2025

Saba Basoglu

https://doi.org/10.37898/spiritualpc.1575609

Abstract

This longitudinal phenomenological study explores the experiences of individuals undergoing Clay Field Therapy to process complex grief. Clay Field Therapy is a sensorimotor art therapy rooted in haptic perception. The combination of three fundamental materials creates Clay Field: a rectangular wooden box, filled with smooth clay and warm water. It emphasizes the tactile relationship between the individual and materials providing a non-verbal avenue for a deep therapeutic processing. Five participants, all women aged 30-45, suffering from complicated grief. The study employs Longitudinal Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (LIPA) to examine how participants attributed meaning to their experiences. Data was collected through participant-led, in-depth, process oriented and semi- structured interviews conducted after the first and twelfth Clay Field sessions of each participants. Four superordinate themes emerged from the longitudinal phenomenological analysis of data: beyond words, from nothingness towards existence, from tangible experiences towards a transformative spiritual experience, and a comprehensive sense of being. The findings suggest that Clay Field Therapy facilitates not only grief resolution but also profound existential and spiritual growth, offering individuals a renewed sense of life meaning through haptic engagement and “embodied reflection”.

Keywords

Longitudinal Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Clay Field Therapy, Complicated Grief, Sensorimotor Art Therapy, Expressive Art Therapy, Haptic Perception, Embodiment, Embodied Reflection

Ethical Statement

Compliance with Ethical Standards: Ethical approval was obtained from Istanbul Galata University Ethical Committee, Turkey (Approval Date: 22nd of October, 2024 Approval Number: E-77300296-050.04-13149). Conflict of Interest: The author declares that she has no conflict of interest.

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