Life's final chapter: A psychoanalytic reading of the 'six-part story making' projective tool with older adults

As global populations age, art therapists increasingly face the challenge of addressing older adults’ complex psychological needs, particularly regarding death anxiety and end-of-life concerns. While death is a natural process, Western cultural taboos often leave older adults isolated in their end-of-life journey. This paper examines how the Six-Part Story Making (6PSM) projective tool can provide a structured framework for processing death-related material in art therapy. Drawing on two in-depth case studies and psychoanalytic theory, we demonstrate how 6PSM's inherent narrative fragmentation can serve as a protective mechanism, allowing clients to safely explore challenging emotional content. Our analysis highlights how this structured method enables the gradual working-through of split-off aspects of experiences related to mortality. The findings suggest that 6PSM's unique structure supports older adults in addressing end-of-life concerns while maintaining psychological safety, offering valuable implications for art therapy practice with aging populations.