Art therapy for personality disorder: 2012 UK professional consensus guidelines, development process and outcome

Abstract

This article outlines the development process of a UK professional consensus guideline for art therapy with service users who have the condition of personality disorder undertaken by the special interest group of the British Association of Art Therapists. The process involved the use of National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance, a three-round Delphi Cycle and a final consensus check. It resulted in a 10-point guide for art therapists based on the first UK consensus on practice in this clinical area. This was then circulated for a final consensus check within the special interest group and achieved 100% consensus with signatories to the guidelines' total clinical experience amounting to 446 years of experience. The aim of publishing the guidance is to stimulate debate so that the guidelines may be further developed.

Keywords:

• Personality disorder
• professional consensus guidelines
• process commentary

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Acknowledgements

An early version of this article was presented to the Art Therapy Practice Research London symposium on 11 November 2011.