Safe Place collage protocol: Art making for managing traumatic stress

ABSTRACT

The Safe Place collage protocol is an intervention developed by an art therapist that offers clients a structured method for acknowledging and managing both comfortable and disturbing emotional experiences simultaneously. The objective of this pilot study was to determine: 1) the effectiveness of this protocol in reducing anxiety for clients who experienced trauma and 2) their experience of the protocol. This study utilized a practice-oriented research design methodology that incorporated both quantitative and qualitative evaluations. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) measured the degree to which the Safe Place affected anxiety. For the 22 participants in an art therapy clinic who completed the intervention, the results indicated a statistically significant decrease in anxiety. Qualitative analysis identified three art making strategies: negating, tolerating, and integrating. Analyzing the STAI scores of these three groups indicated that participants who utilized an integrating strategy had the greatest reduction in anxiety. The Safe Place collage protocol may be a useful intervention for helping clinicians assess readiness for trauma therapy, as well as aiding clients in addressing traumatic material and managing distressing experiences.

KEYWORDS:

• Trauma
• phase-oriented treatment
• safety
• art therapy
• art making

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express gratitude to Michael Arango and Charles Garrett Eason for statistical support as well as graduate art therapy students and their clients at The George Washington University Art Therapy Clinic.