Developing a shared language within arts psychotherapies: A personal construct psychology approach to understanding clinical change

Abstract

This study aims to answer the question, 'How do arts psychotherapists describe their practice in sessions with clients who have severe mental illness?' The authors explore the use of personal construct psychology (PCP) methods to gather and build consensus about how arts psychotherapists describe in-session therapeutic interventions (constructs) in adult mental health services, working with patients diagnosed with severe mental illnesses. We used PCP techniques to interview seven arts psychotherapists (art, music, drama and dance movement psychotherapists) about in-session constructs relating to clinically significant events. PCP assumes that the interviewee holds personal perspectives and makes decisions based on their system of personal constructs. The results showed that there were overarching categories for the in-session constructs elicited from arts psychotherapists during interviews. These constructs were subjected to an intensive categorising process that produced a final set of 14 bipolar constructs describing 28 alternative therapeutic constructs. The in-session constructs cover a wide range of interventions from empathic attunement to narrative reconstruction.

A thematic synthesis of therapeutic actions in arts therapies and their perceived effects in the treatment of people with a diagnosis of Cluster B personality disorder

“…The process of engaging in arts as a way of developing symbolisation that could remain implicit to the process and not verbalised is an idea shared by many of the authors (for example, see Eren et al, 2014;Johns & Karterud, 2004;Levens, 2002;Pool & Odell-Miller, 2011). However, the majority of extracts described how the therapist intervened to either interpret the work (Cukier & Marmelszetjn, 1998;Johns & Karterud, 2004) or assist in making an implicit meaning in the arts more explicit (Haeyen et al, 2015;Havsteen-Franklin et al, 2017; through the use of clarifying and deepening an understanding of the arts form and what it might represent. In this way the arts form was usually considered to form a foundation for enabling symbolisation to assist with developing a symbolic language where 'one object or idea is employed to represent another' (Moschini, 2005).…”

“…The types of sequential structure can be seen in the composition of music or being 'taskorientated' (Odell-Miller, 2016), having 'artistic assignments' (S. Haeyen et al, 2015) or 'using a structured exercise or game' (Havsteen-Franklin et al, 2017). The arts form is also described as having a containing function (Manford, 2014) and appeared to be considered as facilitated primarily by the therapist offering specific arts materials or arts responses.…”

“…This is commonly referred to as 'joint attention' Thorne, 2016) or 'joint observation' (Strehlow & Piegler, 2007). The third area of shared experience relates to the process of being 'in the here and now' (Cukier & Marmelszetjn, 1998;Havsteen-Franklin et al, 2017;Lefevre, 2004;Morgan et al, 2012;Teglbjaerg, 2011).…”

“…Recent literature suggests that arts therapists working in mental health contexts are regularly referred people with a diagnosis of PD (S. Haeyen et al, 2015;Havsteen-Franklin, Jovanovic, Reed, Charles, & Lucas, 2017;Springham, 2015). This paper is also a response to emerging evidence that suggests that engagement in the arts in therapy or treatment programmes involving arts therapies may have an impact on primary diagnostic features of PD (Bateman & Fonagy, 2009;Franks & Whitaker, 2007;S.…”

“…Within the arts therapies professions, researchers are increasingly identifying the need to systematically summarise clinical practice in a meaningful way (Edwards & Kaimal, 2016;Gabel & Robb, 2017;Gruber & Oepen, 2018) and to develop methods that help to integrate learning across the arts therapies (Zubala and Karkou 2018;Havsteen-Franklin et al, 2017). Edwards and Kaimal (2016 ,p30) state, 'Greater understanding of the procedures undertaken in metasynthesis of qualitative studies, will assist in further transferability of qualitative research findings into creative arts therapy practice.'…”