Shifting to tele-creative arts therapies during the COVID-19 pandemic: An international study on helpful and challenging factors

“Migrated onto the Screen”: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the clinical practice of drama therapy

“…Practitioners who have been most able to consistently inhabit the fluency position were those able to experience the online setting as a space where new application of one’s existing concepts or principles can be playfully discovered, rather than a gap, which renders one’s techniques less effective or relevant. Many interviewees mentioned feeling that their fluent moments hinged on creativity and adaptability ( Feniger-Schaal, et al, 2022 ), on playing with what is there, qualities they equated with the essence of drama therapy ( Mashiah & Pendzik, 2021 ), indicating its inherent presence-oriented perspective: “ We are creative beings, we’re working in the moment, with what’s there and we’re highly adaptable .”…”

“…However, in spite of the massive movement to online practice deriving from the pandemic, its use is still regarded by many drama therapists as taking place outside of their comfort zone ( Buxton & Morley, 2020 ), evoking complex feelings, and eliciting questions regarding professional identity ( Kingwill, 2020 ; Sajnani 2020). In fact, a recent study of 1206 creative arts therapists ( Feniger-Schaal, Orkibi, Keisari, Sajnani, & Butler, 2022 ) states that despite their creative efforts to adapt and use a variety of tools (sometimes even switching to other art modalities), creative arts therapists reported using less artwork in online therapy. Furthermore, as online drama therapy is becoming a new routine (often a mandatory one, due to repeated lockdowns or restrictions), the experiences, feelings and stances that practitioners express began to resonate with the semantic field of migration and exile.…”

Loss, adaptation and growth: The experiences of creative arts therapists during the Covid-19 pandemic

“…Since the outbreak of the pandemic, several studies have examined the experience of clients and therapists in the virtual and distanced space. For example, psychodrama ( Biancalani et al, 2021 ), drama therapy ( Atsmon et al, 2022 , Wood et al, 2020 ), music therapy ( Lee et al, 2021 ), art therapy ( Biro-Hannah, 2021 , Zubala et al, 2021 ), dance movement therapy ( Lotan Mesika et al, 2021 ) and expressive writing therapy studies ( Bechard et al, 2021 ) all indicate that despite the challenges, tele-CAT is perceived as a good-enough alternative under some circumstances, such as social and geographic distancing, and may even have some benefits ( Feniger-Schaal et al, 2022 ).…”

Spirituality During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Online Creative Arts Intervention With Photocollages for Older Adults in Italy and Israel

“…To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to develop an online creative arts intervention for older adults, which can be conducted during periods of social distancing ( Kordova and Keisari, 2020 ; Feniger-Schaal et al, 2022 ). As such, the method goes beyond the current COVID-19 pandemic, as it can also be applied in other circumstances that entail social isolation—for example, among individuals who are homebound or have limited mobility ( Milaneschi and Penninx, 2014 ).…”