Exploring a dyadic approach to art psychotherapy with children and young people: A survey of British art psychotherapists

Abstract

Dyadic art psychotherapy, which routinely involves parents and carers together with the child in sessions, appears to be an important emerging practice. We designed a non-standardised questionnaire to estimate how many art psychotherapists working with children and families adopt a dyadic parentÁchild approach and what influenced them to do so. Participants were asked about the frequency of involving parents and carers in assessment and therapy, their theoretical influences and their degree of familiarity with related interventions. The majority (60%) of the respondents reported involving parents and carers in art therapy sessions with some degree of frequency.

Family Art Therapy: A Contribution to Mental Health Treatment in an Adolescent Inpatient Setting

“…The parent’s needs may need to be addressed before the young person can engage in the therapy. The non‐verbal approach in art therapy can assist the parent and young person to work through what is difficult for them to do verbally (Taylor Buck et al, 2013). A common goal for young people struggling with their mental health is to improve communication with their family members.…”

“…In this setting the family art therapy was an integrated therapeutic intervention which supported and accelerated recovery in the young person and their family. In a recent study by Taylor Buck et al (2013) there was one case that included parents/carers in art therapy sessions. The most common parent contact made was in the initial assessment period for the child/young person.…”

“…While there is increasing evidence for the effectiveness of art therapy with adolescents (Major, 2020; Nielsen, Isobel, & Starling, 2019) there is less evidence of the use of art therapy with families, although it appears to be an evolving discussion in practice settings (Coulter, 2015; Kerr, 2008a; Linesch, 1993; Taylor Buck et al, 2013; Taylor Buck, 2014). Because there is very little literature on this topic and a growing need for more clarity about the process and practice of family art therapy (Coulter, 2015; Taylor Buck et al, 2013), this paper presents three cases illustrating some of the ways art therapy has been useful for families.…”