Art therapy for patients diagnosed with personality disorders cluster B/C: A thematic analysis of emotion regulation from patient and art therapist perspectives

ABSTRACT

This study examined the explanation for the found causal relationship between art therapy and positive therapeutic effects, in a previously conducted randomised controlled trial (RCT) with personality disorders cluster B/C. In-depth interviews were used to collect the data, in order to examine the experience without preconceived notions or expectations. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data to generate and interpret themes. Eight patients who participated in the RCT intervention were asked to evaluate their experiences with art media highlighting emotion regulation and Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) levels. Also three art therapists were asked to evaluate the artwork made by these participants. Thematic analysis resulted in five themes. These results suggested that through the targeted use of art assignments, material handling, and preferred approaches to art process and ETC levels, patients experienced, shaped and shared emotions not previously wilfully encountered. The therapeutic effects were explained by combined specific art therapy factors linked to the art media. These factors were reported by participants as evoking and helping them understand and regulate internal images and emotions. Results suggested that art therapy encourages a present-focused awareness and stimulates emotional processes evoked by material interaction.

KEYWORDS:

• Art therapy
• emotion regulation
• personality disorders
• Expressive Therapies Continuum
• thematic analysis

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Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Suzanne Haeyen, Art Therapist (MA, PhD student), works in an intensive multidisciplinary outpatient treatment of ‘Scelta’, an expert centre for personality disorders, and is chairperson for the arts therapists, both at GGNet (Mental Health Institute in the Netherlands). She is also a senior lecturer of the part- time study for Art Therapy of the University of Applied Science of Arnhem & Nijmegen (HAN CTO). She has several publications about art therapy with personality disorders and participated in the development of the national multidisciplinary guidelines for the treatment of personality disorders.

Marlous Kleijberg, Art Therapist, works in a multidisciplinary elderly treatment programme at GGNet (Mental Health Institute in the Netherlands). She is also a 1st degree art teacher and currently working as independent art coach on behalf of arts and culture projects for culture education and the social domain.

Lisa D. Hinz, Ph.D., ATR, is a licensed clinical psychologist and a registered, board certified art therapist. She studied art therapy at the University of Louisville where she worked with Drs. Kagin and Lusebrink, the originators of the Expressive Therapies Continuum. Dr. Hinz is an adjunct professor of art therapy at Notre Dame de Namur University and she is the author of many professional publications including the Expressive Therapies Continuum: A Framework for Using Art in Therapy.

ORCID

Suzanne Haeyen http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0351-7729