Art psychotherapy

Domain VIII · Creative & expressive arts therapies · United Kingdom

What it is

Art psychotherapy is a profession with several theoretical orientations, not a single manualised therapy. No treatment manual is cited even in the main UK trial. BAAT describes it as "an established form of psychotherapy, delivered by trained art therapists". Art-making is the main mode of…

Format

• No staged phase model with formal transition criteria is described in the primary sources drawn on. The documented course of therapy and the formats are as follows.
• Course of therapy

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Consent and contract. Get informed consent, given verbally and in writing, and record it in the notes. Explain benefits, risks (including that the client may feel worse at first) and alternatives, including NICE-recommended treatments. Agree a written contract covering start date, expected length, frequency, boundaries and the limits of confidentiality.
• Long-term group (MATISSE, psychosis). Weekly 90-minute sessions for up to 12 months, with no more than 8 active members. Led by an HCPC-registered art therapist with a co-facilitator. Monthly group supervision and a fidelity proforma after each session.
• Mentalization-informed psychoeducational course (Parkinson et al. 2024). Ten weekly 2-hour sessions, co-led by an art psychotherapist and a psychiatric registrar, held in a community art studio, for an Early Intervention in Psychosis service. Adapted from a 12-session MBT introductory programme. Topics: mentalizing, basic emotions, attachment, mentalizing culture (held in a gallery), anxiety, trauma, depression and…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Withdrawal. Keep it light.
• Access and anxiety in public spaces. Plan travel.
• Self-criticism. Work toward a dialogue between the parts.
• Shame about revealing the inside. Allow partial disclosure.
• Therapist self-disclosure that pulls focus. Keep it modest.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.