Open studio process

1. Introduction

Version followed: the Open Studio Process (OSP) of art therapist Pat B. Allen (PhD; registered art therapist, ATR, since 1977; on the art therapy faculty of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago 1988–2011), as practised at the Open Studio Project. Allen co-founded the studio with art therapists Dayna Block and Deborah Gadiel. It started in Wicker Park, Chicago, and moved to Evanston, Illinois, in 2000; it is now at 903 Sherman Ave. This guide also draws on summaries of Allen's Art Is a Way of Knowing (1995), Art Is a Spiritual Path (2005) and her chapter in Rubin's Approaches to Art Therapy (3rd ed., 2016). The founding year is disputed. A Daily Northwestern article that quotes Block gives 1991 in Chicago, while a 2024 J. Weekly interviewer gives 1995. A practitioner handout (citing Norton 2019) reconciles the two: Allen began the process in 1991, and the Chicago studio opened in 1995. This guide follows 1991 for the process. [uncertain: secondary, unverified] Allen's books are known here only through their publisher descriptions (Shambhala, Penguin Random House), which carry no sample text; no publicly available primary text of the procedure exists. Allen's chapter on the process is listed again, as chapter 11, in the 4th edition of Approaches to Art Therapy (Van Den Berg & Rubin, eds.; Routledge, release listed for March 2027). No book titled Art Is a Spiritual Path to Social Justice appears in publisher listings or Allen's author bios, which list the two Shambhala books and a 2016 novel, Cronation, so it is not cited. The procedure content comes from the Frontiers scoping review, programme pages from facilitators who run the process, press reports and a thesis. Two named descendants are noted where relevant: Collaborative Inquiry Through Art (CIA) and the Jewish Studio Process (JSP). [source: Gapers Block 2012; Daily Northwestern; Illinois Authors bio; Lewis & Clark 2022 symposium bio; Shambhala and Penguin Random House pages; Frontiers scoping review 2020; Publishers Weekly review; Miller 2013]

What it is: a studio-based art-and-writing practice, not a phased psychotherapy. Each session has three steps: write an intention, make art freely, then write a "witness" in response to the image, which may be read aloud to the group. Nobody comments on anyone's art or writing, positive or negative, and the facilitator makes art alongside participants. Allen developed the open studio from a group art therapy model on a short-term psychiatric unit (Allen 1983), where people could choose whether and how to take part and she made art with them. She later framed it against what she called the "clinification" of art therapy (Allen 1992): the drift of art therapists into talk-therapy roles at the expense of art. [source: Frontiers scoping review 2020, citing Allen 1983, 1992, 1995; Gapers Block 2012]

How change is thought to happen (Allen's theory): making the image, not interpreting it, is the active ingredient. Intention and witnessing work as mindfulness tools. In Allen's terms, art and writing "illuminate and further" each other. She describes a life force or creative source that shows itself when people take risks, stay open to the unknown and make art alongside one another. The image becomes a guide that "knows" more than the maker's thinking mind. The publisher's description of her 1995 book presents giving inner images, dreams and everyday experience visible form as a way for self-knowledge to mature into wisdom. For the 2005 book, the publisher describes art as "a spiritual path—not a religion" and art making as something that "can be prayer, ritual, and remembrance of the Divine". A 2022 bio describes her as one who "connects to the Creative Source through art and writing". These are Allen's own spiritual framework, not an established mechanism of change, and should be offered as hers. [source: Frontiers 2020 citing Allen 2016; Miller 2013 citing Allen 2005; Shambhala page (1995 book); Penguin Random House page (2005 book); Lewis & Clark 2022 symposium page; Publishers Weekly]

2. Framework

OSP has no treatment phases, session counts or criteria for moving on. It is a repeatable session structure used in drop-in studios, closed series, community programmes and (adapted) in therapy. [source: Gapers Block 2012; Cancer Lifeline 2019] [synthesis: no published source describes phase criteria]

Session structure (as practised):

Stage	Goal	Typical time and format
Arrive and settle	Arrive bodily, see the materials, let the day fall away	About the first 30 minutes in the Cancer Lifeline version: settling in, exploring materials, preparing [source: Cancer Lifeline 2019]
1. Intention	Name what you are inviting or receiving, in a short written statement	A few minutes, written privately, present tense recommended [source: Gapers Block 2012]
2. Art making	Follow the image and the materials, without a plan or critique	Long: about an hour at OSP Evanston; 1.5 to 2.5 hours at Cancer Lifeline. All studio materials available [source: Gapers Block 2012; Cancer Lifeline 2019]
3. Witness writing	Receive what the image has to say	About 15 minutes of silent free writing while looking at the work; can be written as a dialogue with the image [source: Gapers Block 2012; Publishers Weekly; Miller 2013]
Reading (optional)	Be heard without being judged	Each person may read part or all of their witness; no dialogue or comment follows. Facilitators also read, and at OSP Evanston the session closes with a facilitator's witness [source: Gapers Block 2012; Cancer Lifeline 2019; CIA page]

Sessions are longer than a clinical hour on purpose, to allow deep engagement (about 2 to 3+ hours overall). [source: Frontiers 2020; Cancer Lifeline 2019] The Publishers Weekly review of Allen (2005) says the art-making step itself moves through inquiry, engagement and celebration; the review gives no detail, so treat this as a loose description. [uncertain]

Formats seen in sources: open drop-in community studio (OSP Evanston); weekly series in a cancer support centre (Cancer Lifeline, Seattle); free programmes through partner agencies, including referred teens and the "All Our Sons" programme for boys aged 10 to 14 (Block, Harris & Laing 2005); inpatient open studio groups (Allen 1983). [source: Gapers Block 2012; Frontiers 2020]

Using it inside psychotherapy [synthesis]: in individual or group therapy, run it as a contained block (for example a 90-minute session: about 5 minutes intention, 50 minutes art, 15 minutes witness, the rest reading and therapy) and decide beforehand whether you will discuss the image afterwards (a departure from OSP's no-comment rule; see 3 and 5). Move from structured directives towards full OSP when the client can tolerate unstructured time, self-soothe during art making and write without becoming flooded. Go back to more structure if they cannot.

Professional frame: OSP is a facilitated studio practice, not a regulated profession or a protected title. Facilitators at the original studio and its offshoots train in-house or with Allen (e.g. the Cancer Lifeline facilitator trained under Allen). The Open Studio Project runs introductory one-day workshops in the process (about 2.5 hours in a 2015 listing). A practitioner bio from 2022 uses the title "certified Open Studio Process facilitator", so a certification route exists. JSP runs its own Creative Facilitator Training, whose curriculum was funded by a 2018 grant. [source: Patch 2015 listing; Lewis & Clark 2022 symposium page; Covenant Foundation grant page; Gapers Block 2012; Cancer Lifeline 2019; JTS page] [uncertain: who issues the OSP certificate, and its length and prerequisites] Run as a community arts activity, it is not therapy. Used as art therapy with clinical populations, the art therapy credential applies: HCPC registration (UK, usually with BAAT membership); ATR-BC via ATCB (US, with AATA membership); or the national equivalent. A psychotherapist without art therapy training can use the OSP structure as an adjunct within their own scope. Do not present it as "art therapy", and refer clients needing image-based trauma work to a credentialed art therapist. [synthesis]

Materials and physical safety [synthesis]: use non-toxic materials (AP-labelled or equivalent); good ventilation for solvents and sprays (or don't use them); wet methods for clay and pastel dust, no dry sweeping; supervise or remove craft knives and other sharps on psychiatric, youth and self-harm-risk units, and count tools back in; no open flame or wax-melting without a fire plan; non-slip floors and clear spaces where paint drips (OSP Evanston tapes paper to walls and expects mess [source: Gapers Block 2012]); check for allergies such as latex.

3. Guiding principles

Art is central (against "clinification"). The art, not talk about it, does the work. Practical meaning: protect art-making time and resist turning the session into interpretation. [source: Frontiers 2020 citing Allen 1992, 1995]
The facilitator is an artist among artists. You make art alongside participants, and your status equals theirs. Practical meaning: you write an intention, make art, write a witness and read it like everyone else. [source: Frontiers 2020 citing Allen 1995; Gapers Block 2012]
Equality and intersubjectivity over hierarchy. Allen describes moving from therapist–patient hierarchy towards an approach based on equality. Practical meaning: no one is the expert on another person's image. [source: Frontiers 2020 citing Allen 1993]
No comment, "supportive non-interference". No praise, critique, interpretation or questions about anyone's art or witness. Practical meaning: after a reading, say nothing (or a neutral "thank you" if that is the group's custom) and move to the next reader. [source: Gapers Block 2012; Cancer Lifeline 2019; Open Studio Project listing, Art Hives] Block's rationale is that it "levels the playing field" and returns the art's power to the maker. [source: Gapers Block 2012]
Freedom to choose participation. Allen's 1983 model let participants choose whether and how to take part. Practical meaning: invite, don't require. At OSP's youth programme teens were never forced to make art but were asked to stay in the studio. [source: Frontiers 2020; Gapers Block 2012]
Intention, not goal-setting. Intentions are living, present-tense statements of what one invites, not targets. Practical meaning: coach phrasing away from "I want" and "my intention is to". [source: Gapers Block 2012; JTS page; CIA page]
Witness, not analysis. The maker receives what the image offers, often by dialoguing with it in writing, without self-censorship. Practical meaning: prompt curiosity towards the image, not explanation of it. [source: Publishers Weekly; Miller 2013; JTS page]
Openness to the unknown and to risk. Change comes from letting the image lead into unplanned territory. Practical meaning: when a client wants to fix or erase, invite them to follow what is happening a little further. [source: Frontiers 2020 citing Allen 2016; Gapers Block 2012 (facilitator Rindal: if it drips, maybe it is supposed to drip more)]
Follow pleasure. In the JSP descendant, participants follow what feels pleasurable in the materials so that the intellectual mind recedes. Practical meaning: choose materials by attraction, not by plan. [source: JTS page]
Everyone is an artist; creativity is a birthright and a common resource. No skill required. Practical meaning: never instruct technique unless asked, and never rank work. [source: Open Studio Project listing, Art Hives; CIA page; Cancer Lifeline 2019]
Live with the images. Allen encourages hanging images up and letting them guide over time. Practical meaning: keep, date and revisit work across sessions. [source: Miller 2013 citing Allen 2005]
The space matters. A reliable, welcoming studio with plentiful, visible materials is part of the method. Some writers link it to Winnicott's "capacity to be alone in the presence of another" (Deco 1998, a related open studio model). Practical meaning: set up the same way each time and keep the studio predictable. [source: Frontiers 2020]
Spiritual framing is Allen's own. Allen presents art as a spiritual path open to any tradition (her book draws on Catholic, Jewish, shamanic and Goddess imagery). Practical meaning: offer this framing only to clients who want it; secular language works equally well. [source: Penguin Random House description; Publishers Weekly] [synthesis: secular adaptation]

4. Intervention inventory

The secondary sources describe a small set of named procedures. They are listed here in session order, followed by the published variants and adaptations. Step-by-step detail beyond what the sources state is marked [synthesis]. Allen's books contain further exercises and themed applications whose instructions are not publicly available, so they are not reproduced here. Publishers Weekly mentions work with gender roles and inherited religious traditions (2005 book). The publisher's description of the 1995 book lists these activity areas: finding a personal myth, spotting recurring patterns, releasing painful memories, combining journaling with image making, active imagination, and sharing work with others. [source: Publishers Weekly; Shambhala page] [uncertain]

4.1 Studio set-up and arrival

Purpose / when: Every session. The space and materials carry the method: a welcoming, predictable studio with plentiful, visible materials. [source: Frontiers 2020; Gapers Block 2012]
Steps: (1) Lay out a broad, visible range of materials (OSP Evanston offers everything in the studio: paints, brushes, crayons, paper, found materials such as road maps and twine; paper may be taped to walls). (2) Allow an unhurried arrival: at Cancer Lifeline the first ~30 minutes are for settling, exploring materials and preparing. (3) State the no-comment agreement and the optional nature of reading. (4) Occasionally offer a specific material or an existing image as a starting point. [source: Gapers Block 2012; Cancer Lifeline 2019] [synthesis: stating the agreements at the start of each session, and step order]
Example language (illustrative): "Take your time to arrive and look around. Everything here is for you to use. We'll each write an intention, make art, then write about what we made. Reading is optional, and nobody comments on anyone else's work."
Watch for: people who freeze in front of too many choices (offer one starting material); participants unfamiliar with the agreement (repeat it plainly). Working: people move towards materials without being told what to make. [synthesis]

4.2 Writing the intention

Purpose / when: Opens every session. A brief written statement of what the person invites into the session, used as a mindfulness anchor rather than a goal. [source: Gapers Block 2012; Frontiers 2020 citing Allen 2016]
Steps: (1) Invite a moment of quiet. The CIA description calls this coming into quiet alignment of body, mind and spirit. (2) Each person writes a short intention in their notebook. It can be simple or personal. (3) Coach present-tense phrasing: OSP facilitation director Karla Rindal advises against "I want" or "my intention is to", which she says create distance. JSP describes moving from "I want" towards receiving. (4) Intentions are kept private unless read later. (5) The facilitator writes one too. [source: Gapers Block 2012; JTS page; CIA page]
Example language (illustrative): "Write one or two lines, as if it is already happening: 'I am open to what wants to come through today', or 'I receive some clarity about my mother.'"; a client's reframe, from "I want to stop feeling stuck" to "I am meeting what feels stuck".
Watch for: intentions that become performance targets ("I will make a good painting"; gently reframe towards process); intentions about self-harm or harm to others (follow your risk-assessment duties; see 5). Working: shorter, more personal and present-tense intentions over time. [synthesis]

4.3 Free art making

Purpose / when: The core of the session, and the longest step: the image is the active ingredient. [source: Frontiers 2020; Cancer Lifeline 2019]
Steps: (1) Participants choose materials freely, usually within the medium a series is built around. (2) Work without a plan, following attraction and pleasure. (3) Mess is expected, and accidents (drips) may be followed rather than corrected. (4) The facilitator makes their own art and does not direct, demonstrate, praise or interpret. (5) Allow 1 to 2.5 hours. (6) Announce the transition to writing with some notice. [source: Gapers Block 2012; JTS page; Cancer Lifeline 2019; Frontiers 2020 (process "not directed or moderated by the facilitators")] [synthesis: time warnings]
Example language (illustrative): "There's nothing you have to make. Start with whatever colour or material calls to you." If someone stops at an accident: "You could see what happens if you follow that." Time cue: "About ten minutes, then we'll move to writing."
Watch for: self-critical commentary aloud (don't reassure about quality; quietly restate that nothing has to be good); comparisons with others' work; dissociation or agitation (see 5). Working: longer stretches of absorbed work, more risk-taking with materials, less checking of others' work. [synthesis]

4.4 Witness writing

Purpose / when: After art making. The maker receives what the image has to say instead of analysing it. [source: Publishers Weekly; Miller 2013]
Steps: (1) Place the image where it can be seen. (2) Write silently for about 15 minutes while looking at it. (3) The writing need not be coherent and should not be self-censored. (4) The writer may address the image directly, or write a dialogue in which they ask the image questions and write its answers. The Publishers Weekly review describes Allen's "witness dialogues" as question-and-answer exchanges with the finished image. (5) The writer can return to the intention and note any links. [source: Gapers Block 2012; Publishers Weekly; Miller 2013; JTS page; CIA page] [synthesis: step 5]
Example language (illustrative): "Look at what you made and write whatever comes. You can describe it, talk to it, or ask it something and let it answer. Don't correct or tidy anything." Possible prompts: "What do you want me to know?" / "What do you need?" (addressed to the image).
Watch for: writing that slides into interpretation of the self ("this proves I'm damaged"; invite them back to describing and dialoguing); distress arising from the dialogue (see 5). Working: the image's "voice" says things that surprise the writer. [synthesis]

4.5 Reading aloud without comment

Purpose / when: Closes the session. Each person can be heard and seen without judgement. [source: Gapers Block 2012; Cancer Lifeline 2019]
Steps: (1) Invite (never require) each person to read part or all of their witness. (2) Group members listen without dialogue, comment, applause or advice: the group "holds space". (3) Facilitators read too. At OSP Evanston the class ends with a facilitator's witness. (4) Pass is always acceptable. (5) Optional: some OSP descriptions add a "fifth element" after the readings, a short open conversation about the experience of the process and questions about it, not about anyone's image or witness. [source: Gapers Block 2012; Cancer Lifeline 2019; CIA page; step 5 and the naming of the art-making step as "attention": Heartspace OSP handout citing Norton 2019, uncertain: secondary, unverified]
Example language (illustrative): "Anyone who'd like to read some or all of their witness can. We'll just listen, no comments. 'Pass' is fine."
Watch for: people who break the rule with praise or advice (gently restate it right away, without shaming); a reader in visible distress (see 5). Working: participants read more freely over time. Rindal reports that it is easier to read something difficult in this setting. [source: Gapers Block 2012] [synthesis: the rest]

4.6 Facilitator as artist-participant

Purpose / when: Throughout. It models the process and keeps the relationship equal. [source: Frontiers 2020 citing Allen 1995; Gapers Block 2012]
Steps: (1) Do each step yourself: intention, art, witness, reading. (2) Keep a split attention: absorbed enough to model, alert enough to monitor safety and the room. (3) Keep your readings authentic but boundaried, not clinical disclosures. [source: Gapers Block 2012] [synthesis: steps 2 and 3]
Example language (illustrative): "I'll be making art with you. If you need anything, just come and get me."
Watch for: your own absorption crowding out monitoring (in clinical groups, consider a co-facilitator who stays in an observing role); witness readings that disclose too much. [synthesis]

4.7 Living with the image (hanging and revisiting)

Purpose / when: Between sessions or across a series. Allen encourages artists to hang up their images, live with them and let them guide. [source: Miller 2013 citing Allen 2005]
Steps: (1) Date and keep each image with its intention and witness. (2) Display it at home or in the studio (with consent, and with confidentiality protected). (3) Return to it in a later session, perhaps with a fresh witness or a new image that responds to it. [synthesis: steps 1 and 3]
Example language (illustrative): "You might put this up where you'll see it this week and notice whether it says anything new."
Watch for: images that become distressing reminders at home (keep them in the studio instead). Working: the client reports the image "speaking" or shifting meaning over time. [synthesis]

4.8 Starting from a given material or existing image

Purpose / when: An occasional variation, e.g. to focus a series or help people who freeze. [source: Cancer Lifeline 2019]
Steps: Offer a single material or an earlier image as the starting point, then run the usual intention, art and witness steps. [synthesis: integration with steps]
Example language (illustrative): "Today there's clay on every table. Start there and see where it goes."
Watch for: the offer turning into a directive. Keep it optional. [synthesis]

4.9 Open studio group in inpatient settings (Allen 1983)

Purpose / when: Allen's original form, a group art therapy model on a short-term psychiatric unit. [source: Frontiers 2020 citing Allen 1983]
Steps (as reported): Patients could choose whether and how to take part in art making, and the art therapist made art too. The Frontiers review gives no session length, structure or outcomes for this model, and the 1983 paper is not openly available. [source: Frontiers 2020 citing Allen 1983] [uncertain: further procedure]
Example language (illustrative): "The studio's open for the next hour. You're welcome to make something, watch, or just sit with us."
Watch for (inpatient) [synthesis]: sharps and tool counts, ligature-risk items (string, wire, twine), patients' mental-state changes; liaise with ward staff about risk before each group.

4.10 Community youth programme (Block, Harris & Laing 2005)

Purpose / when: OSP as a social-action programme for at-risk children and youth, e.g. teens referred from substance-use programmes, and "All Our Sons" for low-income boys aged 10 to 14. [source: Gapers Block 2012; SAJAT article citation of Block et al. 2005]
Steps (as reported): The full OSP structure. Teens are never forced to make art but must stay in the studio. The facilitator reports they almost always join within about 15 minutes. Programming is free through partner agencies. [source: Gapers Block 2012] [uncertain: the 2005 paper is not openly available. The Frontiers review confirms only that Block et al. (2005) describe an open studio project for youth at risk, with the emphasis on taking part in the creative process rather than on the final product]
Example language (illustrative): "You don't have to make anything. You do need to stay in the room. Materials are here if you want them."
Watch for (children and young people) [synthesis]: written assent from the young person and consent from a parent or carer (or the referring agency's legal basis); a safeguarding lead and procedure known to all facilitators; images or witness texts that disclose abuse or risk must be handled under safeguarding and mandatory-reporting rules, but must never be treated as evidence of abuse in themselves; age-appropriate writing (younger children can dictate their witness or draw a response); the no-comment rule may need explaining as "we don't judge each other's art".

4.11 Exhibition without comment

Purpose / when: OSP holds gallery events where viewers are also asked not to comment on work. [source: Gapers Block 2012]
Steps [synthesis]: get explicit, revocable consent for each piece and for any witness text shown; remove identifying details in clinical contexts; brief viewers on the no-comment request.
Watch for: pressure to exhibit, and loss of confidentiality (clients of a therapist should not be identifiable without informed consent). [synthesis]

4.12 Variant: Collaborative Inquiry Through Art (CIA)

Purpose / when: A group version for shared questions, published alongside OSP on the Art Hives network. [source: CIA page] [uncertain: author and date not stated]
Steps: (1) The group words one intention together, ideally by consensus. (2) Everyone makes art (or uses another imaginal process). (3) Everyone free-writes a witness, with optional reading under the no-comment rule. (4) An added phase, "harvesting the learning": each person notices how they are called to take part next, joins others to support the work, and the group sets next steps. The page adds that when an intention seems not to manifest, hidden obstacles may be surfaced and understood. [source: CIA page]
Example language (illustrative): "Let's find one sentence we can all hold for today's work." Harvest: "What is this asking of you next, and who will you do it with?"
Watch for: louder members dominating the consensus. Use a round so each voice is heard. [synthesis]

4.13 Variant: Jewish Studio Process (JSP)

Purpose / when: A Jewish-community descendant of OSP, founded in 2015 in Berkeley, California, by Rabbi Adina Allen (Pat Allen's daughter) and her husband Jeff Kasowitz, which adapts the process to a Jewish context. Pat Allen is listed as its senior consulting faculty. It is a religious-learning practice, not a clinical method. Adina Allen sets out the approach in The Place of All Possibility (Ayin Press, 2024). [source: JTS page; J. Weekly 2024; Lewis & Clark 2022 symposium page]
Steps (as published): (1) Grounding and intention setting. (2) Study of a Jewish text, usually a Torah passage, in pairs (havruta), likened to learning in a beit midrash. (3) Art making that follows pleasure and expresses how the person sees the text rather than illustrating it. (4) Witness writing without self-censorship. (5) Optional reading in a ritually held space, with no comment. It is taught by JSP-trained facilitators through JSP's Creative Facilitator Training. [source: JTS page; J. Weekly 2024; Covenant Foundation grant page]
Clinician's role [synthesis]: the text-study element belongs to Jewish religious practice and its own teachers. For Jewish clients who want it, refer them to JSP-trained facilitators or support their participation, rather than running the text-study component yourself.

4.14 Integrating OSP into individual psychotherapy [synthesis]

Purpose / when: For clients who are overly verbal or intellectualise, are blocked creatively, or want a reflective practice between sessions. This is derived application, not a published Allen protocol.
Steps: (1) Agree the frame: whether you will make art too (Allen's model) and whether the image will be discussed afterwards. If so, ask permission, and stick to the client's own witness words rather than your interpretation. (2) Run intention, art and witness in session, or set it as home practice. (3) The client reads the witness, and you receive it without comment at first. (4) If agreed, link the witness to the therapy's themes only with the client's lead.
Example language (illustrative): "I won't interpret your picture. If you'd like, after you read, we can talk about what struck you in your own words."
Watch for: sliding back into interpretation (the clinification Allen warns about); clients who feel abandoned by your silence. Name the agreement and check how it lands.

5. Handling problems

The published sources say little about problems. The Frontiers scoping review reports no risks or contraindications specific to OSP and notes that the evidence is small-sample and uncontrolled. A South African open studio programme (Lefika La Phodiso, not Allen's OSP) warns that low structure may not suit children needing more intensive support, and that peer interaction can retraumatise without skilled facilitation. Everything below beyond these points is [synthesis] unless tagged. [source: Frontiers 2020; SAJAT article]

Blank page / "I can't do art". Restate that no skill is needed and nothing has to be good. [source: Cancer Lifeline 2019; Art Hives listing] Offer one material or an existing image to start from (4.8). [source: Cancer Lifeline 2019] Suggest a few minutes of play with a material with no aim (e.g. making marks only in one colour). [synthesis]
Refusal or non-participation (especially youth). Don't push. The OSP youth convention is "you needn't make art, but stay in the room", with participation usually coming within about 15 minutes. [source: Gapers Block 2012] Keep your own art making visible as a quiet invitation. [synthesis]
Not writing / not reading. Reading is always optional. [source: Cancer Lifeline 2019; Gapers Block 2012] For people with literacy difficulties, dyslexia or low vision, allow bullet words, a drawn response, audio notes or dictation. [synthesis]
Inner critic, perfectionism, erasing or destroying work. Invite following the "mistake" further (Rindal's drip example). [source: Gapers Block 2012] If someone wants to destroy work, ask them to write a witness to it first, then decide. Don't forbid it, and don't save work against their wishes. [synthesis]
Rule breaks (praise, advice, interpretation by group members). Restate the no-comment agreement immediately and neutrally. Repeat it at the start of each session. Praise is also a comment. [source: Gapers Block 2012 (no comment "positive or negative")] [synthesis: handling]
Clients who experience no-comment as coldness or rejection (common in people with attachment trauma). Explain the reason before the first reading: the art's meaning belongs to the maker. In therapy, agree a short check-in after the reading in which you reflect only the client's own words. [synthesis]
Overwhelm, flooding or dissociation during art making or witness dialogue. Long unstructured time and personifying the image can intensify trauma material. (1) Screen beforehand for acute psychosis, current trauma flashbacks, severe dissociation and acute suicidality. (2) Offer grounding (feet on floor, name five things in the room, switch to a tactile, low-arousal material). (3) Permit stopping, and switch the witness to plain description (colours, shapes) rather than dialogue. (4) In groups, have a second facilitator who can step aside with a distressed participant. (5) Close with something containing: fold or cover the image, or put it away in the studio. [synthesis]
Psychosis or derealisation. Talking to an image as a living being may be destabilising. Use witness description, not dialogue, and keep sessions shorter and more structured. Psychiatric care stays primary. [synthesis]
Disclosure of self-harm, suicidality or abuse in an intention, image or witness. Under the no-comment rule, a disclosure can pass without response. The facilitator must override the rule privately and promptly. Speak with the person after the reading or during art making, assess risk using your service's standard protocol (current ideation, plan, intent, protective factors, safety plan, access to means: storage and removal), and follow safeguarding and mandatory-reporting duties for children and adults at risk. Never treat the image itself as evidence of abuse or of a disorder. No projective drawing validity is claimed for OSP images. [synthesis]
Spiritual framing that does not fit. Some clients will be uncomfortable with Allen's spiritual language, and others will want religious imagery. Offer secular wording ("intention", "what the image shows you"). Don't impose a tradition. For religious content (e.g. the JSP havruta), refer to that community's own teachers. [source: Penguin Random House description (Allen's interfaith framing); JTS page] [synthesis: handling]
Group dynamics: comparison, envy, dominance. Lay the room out so each person has their own workspace. Rotate who reads first. In CIA-style consensus intentions, take a round so all voices are heard. [synthesis]
Facilitator absorption or over-disclosure. Making art yourself is part of Allen's model. In clinical groups, keep your intention and witness modest and appropriate to your role, and stay aware of the room. [source: Frontiers 2020 citing Allen 1995] [synthesis: limits]
Rupture over the frame (a client wants interpretation, or feels the therapist is "doing their own thing"). Name the agreement, ask what they need, and adapt openly. Some clients need a more directive art therapy approach. Refer to a credentialed art therapist if so. [synthesis]
Physical safety incidents (slips on wet paint, cuts, allergic reactions, inhaled dust). Follow the materials precautions in section 2, keep a first-aid kit and an incident log, and have a sharps count on high-risk units. [synthesis]

Sources

Web sources:

Books and papers cited (content taken from the secondary sources above):

Allen, P. B. (1983). Group art therapy in short-term hospital settings. American Journal of Art Therapy, 22, 93–97.
Allen, P. B. (1992). Artist-in-residence: An alternative to "clinification" for art therapists. Art Therapy, 9, 22–29.
Allen, P. B. (1993). Commentaries. Art Therapy, 10, 192–193.
Allen, P. B. (1995). Coyote comes in from the cold: The evolution of the open studio concept. Art Therapy, 12, 161–166.
Allen, P. B. (1995). Art Is a Way of Knowing. Shambhala.
Allen, P. B. (2005). Art Is a Spiritual Path: Engaging the Sacred through the Practice of Art and Writing. Shambhala.
Allen, P. B. (2016). Art making as spiritual path: The open studio process as a way to practice art therapy. In J. A. Rubin (Ed.), Approaches to Art Therapy (3rd ed., pp. 271–285). Routledge.
Allen, P. B. (forthcoming, listed for 2027). Art making as a spiritual path: The open studio process as a way to practice art therapy. In Z. D. Van Den Berg & J. A. Rubin (Eds.), Approaches to Art Therapy: Theory and Technique (4th ed., ch. 11). Routledge.
Norton, M. (2019). Facilitating reflective inquiry through the Open Studio Process: Workshops with art therapists in community-based practices (unpublished capstone project). St. Stephen's College, Edmonton. (As cited in the Heartspace handout.)
Block, D., Harris, T., & Laing, S. (2005). Open studio process as a model of social action: A program for at-risk youth. Art Therapy, 22(1), 32–38.
Allen, A. (2024). The Place of All Possibility: Cultivating Creativity Through Ancient Jewish Wisdom. Ayin Press.

[uncertain]: the Open Studio Project's own site (openstudioproject.org), the JSP process article, the Frontiers 2020 supplementary table and the full texts of Block, Harris & Laing (2005) and Allen (1983) are not reflected in this guide; Allen's own procedure text is in her books and in her Rubin chapter (3rd ed. 2016; 4th ed. listed for 2027).

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