An exploratory study of art therapy intervention in the primary school: Perspectives of children and art therapists

Robinson, Doreen Roslyn 2020. An exploratory study of art therapy intervention in the primary school: Perspectives of children and art therapists. DEdPsy Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

An exploratory study was carried out to elicit the views of primary school children from the ages of eight to ten years. The aim of the study was to learn what the children thought about art therapy intervention in the school setting and to obtain their perspectives about any skills they learned and continue to use after attending art therapy. Promoting children’s mental health has become increasingly in focus and many schools have employed art therapists to support children to help maintain their mental health wellbeing. The method used to gather the data for the research was semi-structured interviews with ten children. During the interview, the children used the “draw write and tell” approach to support their recall. Three art therapists participated in a focus group and provided another perspective about the children’s views. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data from both the therapists and the children. Overall the findings of the study revealed that the children enjoyed therapy sessions and developed skills that they had utilised after they attended therapy. The therapists indicated that they valued working in the school environment because it was an enjoyable experience and there were advantages to working in the school setting such as the opportunity to communicate with school staff as well as link with parents. There were some constraints connected with art therapy sessions in the school setting which included sharing resources and waiting list of children that required art therapy intervention. The outcome from the study indicated that there were areas that may benefit from further exploration which may have implications for EP practice. These include carrying out research into innovative approaches for supporting children to make informed decisions as specified in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), Article 13 (1989). In addition, the perceived reduction of art in the curriculum and its impact on children’s mental health and wellbeing which links to UNCRC Article 31.

Item Type:	Thesis (DEdPsy)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	2 November 2020
Last Modified:	02 Nov 2020 09:34
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/136038

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