Revisiting the Experience of Art Therapists and Drama Therapists Working in Schools Two Years after the First Lockdown: A Qualitative Pilot

Abstract

This paper follows a preliminary study that examined how 6 (n = 6) creative arts therapists (3 art therapists and 3 drama therapists) coped with the transition to remote therapy in schools during the first lockdown in Israel due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The preliminary research explored the therapists’ experiences and views about working online upon returning to regular in-person meetings. The current paper adds a follow-up interview examining their perspective on this period, two years later. The 1st set of interviews was analyzed using the Six-Key Model, which shed light on the various aspects of the therapists’ clinical experience as creative arts therapists. The follow-up interviews were analyzed through thematic analysis and informed by Lakoff’s views on metaphor. The results suggest that, at the time, the therapists were preoccupied with the viability of the treatment, considering their little experience in remote therapy and the need to incorporate their specific art medium into the therapeutic setting. The results also highlight specific similarities and differences between art and drama therapists. The follow-up reinforces the preliminary findings, reiterating the framing of this period as a liminal space, from which the therapists emerged personally and professionally transformed, and more resilient.