Perceived processes in art therapy for adults experiencing psychosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Perceived processes in art therapy for adults experiencing psychosis
IRAS ID
252229
Contact name
Helen Barrett
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Canterbury Christ Church University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 30 days
Research summary
This project will look at the processes of art therapy from the perspective of art therapists and of service users experiencing psychosis.
Art therapy is recommended for individuals experiencing ‘psychosis’ or ‘schizophrenia’ (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 2014). The British Psychological Society (BPS, 2017) contextualises psychosis within a framework of life experiences, where hearing voices and having unusual beliefs are often associated with deprivation, abuse and trauma.
Literature so far proposes that there are different core therapeutic processes within individual and group art therapy (Czamanski-Cohen & Weihs, 2016; Gabel and Robb’s, 2017). However there is limited research exploring these processes for adults experiencing psychosis. Lynch, Holttum & Huet (2018) has built a preliminary model of the processes of art therapy for individuals following a first diagnosis of psychotic disorder. This needs to be expanded to other services users and include art therapists. The current project aims to broaden understanding of the perceived processes within art therapy from the perspective of art therapists and service users experiencing psychosis (not just following first diagnosis).
Adults experiencing psychosis who are currently having art therapy, or have had art therapy within the past month, will be invited to take part in an interview lasting 75 minutes to talk about their experiences of art therapy. Interviews will take place in an NHS location familiar to the person and will be analysed using a qualitative methodology using thematic analysis (looking for common themes in what they talk about). All participants will be invited to give feedback on the results of the study.
REC name
London - Harrow Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/0463
Date of REC Opinion
19 Aug 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion