Tapping into museums for art psychotherapy: an evaluation of a pilot group for young adults

ABSTRACT

This article describes a pilot museum-based art psychotherapy group for seven 18 to 25-year-old adults with severe mental health difficulties. We outline existing evidence for the psychotherapeutic value of museums and describe how we tried to harness the potential of museums as socially inclusive, accessible and inspiring venues, as well as a rich source of encounters with objects and environments which can mobilise introspection and meaning-making. We explain how we evaluated the group in order to assess therapeutic outcomes and the contribution of the museum setting to these, using quantitative data from outcome measures and qualitative data from the therapy sessions and post-therapy reflective interviews. Overall, the data suggested that the therapy group was beneficial to participants. The young adults reported that the museum setting helped them to reflect on feelings and experiences, facilitated interaction between group members, encouraged independence, fostered motivation and creativity and helped them to feel valued and connected with the world outside mental health services. These evaluation findings are an encouragement to other art psychotherapists to consider tapping into the therapeutic benefits of this rich cultural resource.

KEYWORDS:

• Art therapy
• art psychotherapy
• museums
• galleries
• adults
• group
• mental health

Acknowledgements

The authors are very grateful to Angela Burton (Lead for Arts Therapies, ²gether NHS Foundation Trust), Jules Ford (Cultural Commissioning Project Manager, NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group), Angela Smith (Manager of Gloucester Life Museum and Museum of Gloucester) and all the museum staff for their support of this project, and to Dr Sue Holttum (Research Officer, British Association of Art Therapists) and Mark Walker (Senior Research Manager – Governance, Gloucestershire NHS Research Support Service) for their advice on the evaluation process.

Finally, a heartfelt thanks to all the participants for contributing so much to the group and generously agreeing to take part in the evaluation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Ali Coles is an Art Psychotherapist for ²gether NHS Foundation Trust, working as part of the Complex Psychological Interventions team in the adult community mental health service in Gloucestershire. She works with clients with severe and enduring psychological difficulties, both individually and within groups. She previously worked in the museum sector and has an MA in Museum and Gallery Management. She has a particular interest in the use of museums, galleries and other cultural and environmental resources in Art Psychotherapy, and was the co-founder of the British Association of Art Therapists’ Museums and Galleries Special Interest Group (http://www.atmag.org). She is also a Lecturer in Art Psychotherapy at the University of South Wales.

Fiona Harrison currently works as an Art Psychotherapist for Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. She works with individuals with severe and enduring psychological difficulties in the adult community mental health service. She has a special interest in Early Intervention for Psychosis, having developed and implemented a specific model of art therapy practice and facilitated groups for Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. She has held an honorary contract with the ²gether NHS Foundation Trust and maintains her interest in developing the use of museums and art galleries for art psychotherapy groups. She is a member of the British Association of Art Therapists’ (BAAT) Museum and Galleries Special Interest Group and is a BAAT regional co-ordinator.

ORCID

Ali Coles http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8330-0903

Fiona Harrison http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1200-7141

Additional information

Funding

Additional funding for this pilot group was provided by NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group through their Cultural Commissioning programme, run in partnership with Create Gloucestershire.