Evaluation and review of art psychotherapy in private practice

ABSTRACT

This article considers the ways in which gathering evaluative evidence may be inhibited when working beyond the supportive frameworks provided by an employing organisation. While recognising these difficulties, the article then focuses on the differences in the practice setting and the ways in which visual arts-based methodologies are evolving. Two arts-based evaluation methods are described – the ‘retrospective review’ and the ‘reflect interview and audio-image recording’. This article also considers how art psychotherapists in private practice might adapt these methodologies in order to gather arts-based evaluative evidence within a collaborative client/therapist paradigm.

KEYWORDS:

• Private practice
• evaluation
• validation
• arts-based methodologies
• retrospective review
• audio-image recording
• clinical audit

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the therapists at the London Art Therapy Centre for their support with engaging in the clinical thinking behind this work. The survey of practitioners and setting up an ‘art therapy and clinical evaluation in private practice forum’ has enabled the complexities discussed to be worked with creatively over several years. All images used in this article are taken from the author’s personal art therapy reviews recorded over a period of years.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Gary Nash, Dip AT, MAAT, trained in 1989 and 1995 at both Goldsmiths’ and St Albans. He has developed a private practice since 1995 alongside his work in social services, the voluntary sector and mainstream education. Gary co-founded the London Art Therapy Centre in 2009, where he is Clinical Co-Director providing individual and group art psychotherapy and delivering professional workshops and training for arts therapists. He also established the BAAT Special Interest Group in Private Practice in 2010, which provides a professional forum for art therapists working in private practice.