Arts-Based Compassion Skills Training (ABCST): Channelling Compassion Focused Therapy Through Visual Arts for Australia’s Indigenous Peoples

Abstract

The last 20 years have seen the development of a new form of therapy, compassion focused therapy (CFT). Although CFT has a growing evidence base, there have been few studies of CFT outside of an Anglo-European cultural context. In this paper, we ask: Might a CFT-based approach be of value for Indigenous Australians? If so, what kind of cultural adaptations might be needed? We report the findings from a pilot study of an arts-based compassion skills training (ABCST) group, in which usual CFT group processes were significantly adapted to meet the needs of Indigenous Australians. At face value, CFT appeared to be a promising approach to enhancing the social and emotional wellbeing of Australia’s Indigenous peoples. However, despite initial consultations with Indigenous health professionals, the first attempts to offer a more conventional group-based CFT to Indigenous clients were largely unsuccessful. Following a review and advice from two Indigenous clients, we combined elements of CFT with visual arts to develop a new approach, “arts-based compassion skills training” (ABCST). This paper reports an evaluation of this pilot ABCST group. The group had 6 × 4 h sessions of ABCST, facilitated by two psychologists (1 Indigenous, 1 non-Indigenous) and two artists (1 Indigenous, 1 non-Indigenous). There were 10 participants, who attended between 2 and 6 sessions: five were clients, five were health professionals. Between 1 and 3 months later, six of the participants (2 clients, 4 health professionals) were interviewed. Qualitative analysis of interview data identified that two key processes—creating a positive group atmosphere and channeling compassion skills training through the medium of visual arts—led to four positive outcomes for participants: planting the seeds of new understandings, embodying the skills of compassion, strengthening relationships with others, and evolving a more self-compassionate relationship. We suggest that the preliminary results are sufficiently encouraging to warrant further development of ABCST in Indigenous communities.

El giro del concepto de empatía al de amor compasivo en el abordaje de las vulnerabilidades a través de las artes

“…En relación con esto, resulta útil revisar la experiencia de acercamiento terapéutico a la compasión basada en las artes que llevaron a cabo Bennett-Levy et al (2020) con una población vulnerable, los indígenas australianos, quienes históricamente han sido víctimas de la explotación, el racismo y el trauma de la colonización europea. Los autores desarrollaron una novedosa aproximación para mejorar el bienestar social y emocional de los pueblos indígenas de Australia, la cual denominaron Formación en Habilidades de Compasión Basadas en las Artes.…”

Compassion informed co-design? Exploring the promise of compassion in co-design practice.

“…This includes Compassion Mind Training (CMT) developed by Prof Paul Gilbert (2009Gilbert ( , 2020. Furthermore, co-designed, culturally responsive applications of CMT have shown early evidence of effectiveness (Bennett-Levy et al, 2020). However, further research needs to determine whether, how and why these results from other disciplines and contexts may be relevant to the field of design.…”