Developing art therapy practice guidelines for people who have received a diagnosis of a psychotic disorder: consensus versus innovation?

Art therapists have worked with people experiencing severe mental distress for nearly a hundred years and many service users speak positively about art therapy. However, a large trial, the MATISSE study, cast doubts on the... [ view full abstract ]

Art therapists have worked with people experiencing severe mental distress for nearly a hundred years and many service users speak positively about art therapy. However, a large trial, the MATISSE study, cast doubts on the usefulness of this resource for people who have received a diagnosis of schizophrenia.  The British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT) decided to learn from this experience and convened a special interest group of art therapists who work with people who have received the diagnosis.  This group has interrogated what many art therapists regard as a consensus for a non-directive psychodynamic approach.  We have examined trauma-informed practice and the role of social issues and we believe it is time for innovation in this field. We will present the group’s research and suggest how art therapy innovations have the potential to make positive and lasting differences for service users. We will reflect on the professional tension when comfortable consensus no longer seems appropriate. 
Dr Val Huet, CEO of BAAT, will talk about BAAT’s aims of supporting its members to engage in research and service development with the help of service users and carers and informed by shared human experiences.
Dr Sue Holttum, BAAT Research Officer and Senior Lecturer at the Salomons Centre for Applied Psychology, Canterbury Christ Church University, will describe findings from a national survey of art therapists, and preliminary findings from in-depth interviews with art therapists about their practice.
Tim Wright, Head of Arts Therapies, WLMHT will talk about recent changes in understandings of psychosis and new approaches to therapy, and the implications for art therapy practice. Can art therapy help re-humanise mental health treatment in relation to psychosis?