This issue contains five articles which demonstrate different ways of studying art therapy and art therapy processes. Irit Belity et al. and Rachel Deboys et al. consider art therapy in schools – although in very different ways and in different contexts. Ania Zubala et al. address short term group art therapy with people diagnosed with mild to moderate depression. Emily Palmer et al. examine how veterans perceive the acceptability of art therapy as a treatment approach, while Neil Springham and Paul Camic describe a video based observation of three mentalization-based treatment art therapy groups.
The article by Irit Belity et al. adopts a Consensual Qualitative Research approach to addressing the subject of art therapy in the Israeli education system. Through interviews with art therapy supervisors it considers the benefits and some of the difficulties associated with this. It also suggests ways in which art therapy may be better integrated in future.
The article by Ania Zubala et al. is of importance in focusing on the common condition of mild to moderate depression in adults. As with all such studies, there should be interest for the reader in seeing how particular study methods are used. It also focuses on brief work, which is an area that many art therapists will be familiar with. The follow-up work done is also important in helping us think about the possible lasting positive impacts of the work we do.
Rachel Deboys et al. consider the subject of art therapy in schools. They use grounded theory to help analyse interview data related to one to one art therapy offered to children in primary schools. The article examines the processes of change associated with this. The mental health problems of young people are well known and a focus of serious concern for children parents/ carers, clinicians and society as a whole. This study uses a rigorous qualitative approach to try to understand more about what helpful things may be happening when young people engage in art therapy in this context.
The article by Emily Palmer et al. adds to the growing field of art therapy with Veterans. It considers the perspective of the client and in that respect also addresses the 'client voice' which is something of interest to art therapists in the wider context. It also helps us consider the clients' position when offered art therapy as possible intervention. It is encouraging to see that their conclusions support the idea that art therapy may be an acceptable approach for veterans in the UK.
The article by Neil Springham and Paul Camic describes mentalization-based art therapy. It involves grounded theory, multi-disciplinary working and the use of video recording. It describes ways of examining the processes which can happen in art therapy groups for people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. The complexity of group interaction is often difficult to fully comprehend but Springham and Camic offer some ways of addressing this through the uses of multiple perspectives and analytic methods. It also contributes to the literature which shows something of the clients' view point.
The variety of ways that are shown should offer others who wish to engage in such study food for thought, and ideas which may be pursued into their own writing ventures. I believe it is important to publish such work as the need to produce evidence around art therapy remains a crucial part of the ongoing development of the profession. I would like to make the point that some of the formal and structured ways of researching which are presented here are not the only ways of writing which IJAT:Inscape considers for publication. While it is true that there has been an increase in the presence of high quality structured research methods in the journal, there is still a place for other approaches. I feel it is worth reiterating what is said in the journal’s ‘Aims and Scope':
'It presents articles from art therapists on practice, research, theory and the development of the profession. It welcomes contributions from disciplines that contextualise art therapy and that introduce theories and practices relevant to the profession.’
With this in mind I hope that readers will be encouraged to consider writing for the journal - even if they have no formal research background. Potential writers are free to contact me to discuss proposals.