Pub Date : 2025-10-10DOI: 10.1016/j.aip.2025.102369
J. Williams, A.E. Sidis
Music therapy has been used for decades to enhance wellbeing and functioning across various mental health and behavioural contexts. Music therapy has been embraced by patients and has been reported to support emotion processing and affect regulation indicating its potential usefulness as a treatment for trauma related disorders. This paper provides a review of the literature for this approach in for treatment of psychological trauma as well as an integrative summary of theories that underpin this approach. Results indicated a growing body of literature examining effectiveness, and key advances such as use of physiological measures, more detailed intervention descriptions, the emergence of manualised treatments. While theories relating to change overlapped for some models, distinct perspectives are discussed. The results of this paper suggest possibilities for addressing the divide between the mainstream clinical psychology field and music therapy, and how to boost collaboration between experts in their respective fields and diversify treatment options for individuals experiencing trauma-related disorders.
{"title":"Music therapy for psychological trauma: A theoretical integrative review","authors":"J. Williams, A.E. Sidis","doi":"10.1016/j.aip.2025.102369","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aip.2025.102369","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Music therapy has been used for decades to enhance wellbeing and functioning across various mental health and behavioural contexts. Music therapy has been embraced by patients and has been reported to support emotion processing and affect regulation indicating its potential usefulness as a treatment for trauma related disorders. This paper provides a review of the literature for this approach in for treatment of psychological trauma as well as an integrative summary of theories that underpin this approach. Results indicated a growing body of literature examining effectiveness, and key advances such as use of physiological measures, more detailed intervention descriptions, the emergence of manualised treatments. While theories relating to change overlapped for some models, distinct perspectives are discussed. The results of this paper suggest possibilities for addressing the divide between the mainstream clinical psychology field and music therapy, and how to boost collaboration between experts in their respective fields and diversify treatment options for individuals experiencing trauma-related disorders.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47590,"journal":{"name":"Arts in Psychotherapy","volume":"96 ","pages":"Article 102369"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145333210","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-10-08DOI: 10.1016/j.aip.2025.102366
David Lester
This article compares the private space of artists with the clinical setting of therapists. The Jungian prism of visionary creativity is used to elucidate the kind of dream state that is enabled from within such a private space. Presenting a psychological perspective on the artist’s intuitive approach to the development and protection of the creative process, this discussion offers the therapist a glimpse into the artistic sensibility of many clinicians, such as Freud, Bion and Ogden, who are engaged in the cultivation of a quiet state of mind.
{"title":"Private space: The setting for the work of artists and psychotherapists","authors":"David Lester","doi":"10.1016/j.aip.2025.102366","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aip.2025.102366","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article compares the private space of artists with the clinical setting of therapists. The Jungian prism of visionary creativity is used to elucidate the kind of dream state that is enabled from within such a private space. Presenting a psychological perspective on the artist’s intuitive approach to the development and protection of the creative process, this discussion offers the therapist a glimpse into the artistic sensibility of many clinicians, such as Freud, Bion and Ogden, who are engaged in the cultivation of a quiet state of mind.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47590,"journal":{"name":"Arts in Psychotherapy","volume":"96 ","pages":"Article 102366"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145267378","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-30DOI: 10.1016/j.aip.2025.102367
Melania Dovizio , Claudia Rossi , Mirko Pesce , Giulia Candeloro , Valeria Pica , Annalisa Bruno , Vincenzo De Laurenzi , Patrizia Ballerini , Doris Sommer , Pier Luigi Sacco
The Pre-Texts arts-literacy intervention has demonstrated effectiveness for reducing depression and anxiety symptoms in adolescents. However, the biological mechanisms underlying these psychological changes remain largely unexplored. This single-arm pilot study investigated the impact of Pre-Texts training on salivary metabolite profiles in adults (N = 10) undergoing facilitator training. Participants completed a 20-hour Pre-Texts program over four days, with saliva samples collected at baseline, during training (day 3), immediately post-intervention (day 4), and at 8-week follow-up. Flow injection analysis-tandem mass spectrometry quantified seven key metabolites linked to glutamate signaling (glutamic acid, glycine, valine, proline) and cellular metabolism/energy production (alanine, citrulline, C3 propionylcarnitine). Results demonstrated significant and sustained increases in glutamic acid, glycine, valine, proline, alanine, and citrulline, with concurrent decreases in C3 propionylcarnitine, versus baseline. These neurobiochemical changes were still present at follow-up, indicating the possibility of sustained effects on neurotransmission and cellular energetics. The observed metabolic shifts may reflect mechanisms involving NMDA receptor activation, neuroplasticity, cognitive flexibility, and stress response regulation. This preliminary investigation establishes methodological foundations for an expanded research examining the biological mechanisms underlying arts-based interventions, suggesting that Pre-Texts may foster neurometabolic changes that may be supportive of cognitive and emotional wellbeing.
{"title":"A single-arm pilot study to assess salivary metabolites in facilitators tested with Pre-Texts arts-literacy intervention","authors":"Melania Dovizio , Claudia Rossi , Mirko Pesce , Giulia Candeloro , Valeria Pica , Annalisa Bruno , Vincenzo De Laurenzi , Patrizia Ballerini , Doris Sommer , Pier Luigi Sacco","doi":"10.1016/j.aip.2025.102367","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aip.2025.102367","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Pre-Texts arts-literacy intervention has demonstrated effectiveness for reducing depression and anxiety symptoms in adolescents. However, the biological mechanisms underlying these psychological changes remain largely unexplored. This single-arm pilot study investigated the impact of Pre-Texts training on salivary metabolite profiles in adults (N = 10) undergoing facilitator training. Participants completed a 20-hour Pre-Texts program over four days, with saliva samples collected at baseline, during training (day 3), immediately post-intervention (day 4), and at 8-week follow-up. Flow injection analysis-tandem mass spectrometry quantified seven key metabolites linked to glutamate signaling (glutamic acid, glycine, valine, proline) and cellular metabolism/energy production (alanine, citrulline, C3 propionylcarnitine). Results demonstrated significant and sustained increases in glutamic acid, glycine, valine, proline, alanine, and citrulline, with concurrent decreases in C3 propionylcarnitine, versus baseline. These neurobiochemical changes were still present at follow-up, indicating the possibility of sustained effects on neurotransmission and cellular energetics. The observed metabolic shifts may reflect mechanisms involving NMDA receptor activation, neuroplasticity, cognitive flexibility, and stress response regulation. This preliminary investigation establishes methodological foundations for an expanded research examining the biological mechanisms underlying arts-based interventions, suggesting that Pre-Texts may foster neurometabolic changes that may be supportive of cognitive and emotional wellbeing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47590,"journal":{"name":"Arts in Psychotherapy","volume":"96 ","pages":"Article 102367"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145221441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-30DOI: 10.1016/j.aip.2025.102365
Smadar Korn
This article discusses how psychodynamic principles can be combined with techniques in dance/movement psychotherapy (DMP) to deal with non-verbal traumatic memories. It revisits the conceptualization of using experiential processes as what I term “interpretation in action, “ i.e., incorporating bodily, movement-based, and non-verbal exploration and creation, either by the patient alone or in interactions with the therapist. The contribution of interpretive action is examined, especially in cases where very early memories, from the realm of the unthought encoded in the body-psyche are triggered. These memories often involve somatic imprints of early traumatic events. A clinical case study illustrates the application of interpretative action in a patient struggling with anxiety and fears related to pregnancy stemming from her own premature birth. At a pivotal point in therapy, the patient was physically held by the therapist for a few minutes, similar to a mother cradling her. Subsequently, the experience was processed through artistic creation, involving sensorimotor play. This leads to the presentation of a new conceptualization of DMP involving sensorimotor play as a resource when addressing early life trauma. This type of play emerges spontaneously during therapy through authentic movement, dance improvisation, and artistic creation and can reconnect with early traumatic experiences to enable the creation of new meaning and the healing of the impact of the early trauma.
{"title":"Interpretation in action: The significance of non-verbal experiences in therapist-patient interactions as catalysts for change and breakthroughs in therapy","authors":"Smadar Korn","doi":"10.1016/j.aip.2025.102365","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aip.2025.102365","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article discusses how psychodynamic principles can be combined with techniques in dance/movement psychotherapy (DMP) to deal with non-verbal traumatic memories. It revisits the conceptualization of using experiential processes as what I term “interpretation in action, “ i.e., incorporating bodily, movement-based, and non-verbal exploration and creation, either by the patient alone or in interactions with the therapist. The contribution of interpretive action is examined, especially in cases where very early memories, from the realm of the unthought encoded in the body-psyche are triggered. These memories often involve somatic imprints of early traumatic events. A clinical case study illustrates the application of interpretative action in a patient struggling with anxiety and fears related to pregnancy stemming from her own premature birth. At a pivotal point in therapy, the patient was physically held by the therapist for a few minutes, similar to a mother cradling her. Subsequently, the experience was processed through artistic creation, involving sensorimotor play. This leads to the presentation of a new conceptualization of DMP involving sensorimotor play as a resource when addressing early life trauma. This type of play emerges spontaneously during therapy through authentic movement, dance improvisation, and artistic creation and can reconnect with early traumatic experiences to enable the creation of new meaning and the healing of the impact of the early trauma.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47590,"journal":{"name":"Arts in Psychotherapy","volume":"96 ","pages":"Article 102365"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145267379","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In this paper, six art therapists utilize an art-based focus group to explore their experience of facilitating an Open Studio in the context of mass trauma. The Open Studio, in this case, was formed to serve as a non-directive art-making healing space for preadolescent war evacuees. First, the literature review focuses on the conceptualizations of mutual recognition and the analytic third and their relevance to the Open Studio model for shared trauma processing. Second, using interpretative phenomenological analysis and visual analysis as the multimodal approach (Boden et al., 2019), the therapists' art responses and verbal reflections that were thematically analyzed are presented. The finding highlighted the shared group experiences for both the participants and therapists. Challenges and advantages arose from working within an ongoing and shared traumatic reality of war, as did the art therapists’ role when operating as members of a team. Art making and witnessing art made within a communal space appeared to support the emergence of the analytic third, in which multiple opportunities for profound mutual recognition, self-exploration, and connections played out despite and because of the context and setting.
在本文中，六位艺术治疗师利用以艺术为基础的焦点小组来探讨他们在大规模创伤背景下促进开放工作室的经验。在这种情况下，开放工作室的成立是为了为青春期前的战争撤离者提供一个非指导性的艺术创作治疗空间。首先，文献综述的重点是相互认知的概念和分析的第三，以及它们与共享创伤处理的开放工作室模型的相关性。其次，使用解释性现象学分析和视觉分析作为多模态方法（Boden et al., 2019），呈现了主题分析的治疗师的艺术反应和口头反思。这一发现突出了参与者和治疗师共同的群体经历。挑战和优势来自于在持续和共同的战争创伤现实中工作，正如艺术治疗师作为团队成员所扮演的角色一样。在公共空间中进行艺术创作和目睹艺术创作似乎支持了分析性第三的出现，在这种空间中，尽管有背景和环境，但仍有多种机会进行深刻的相互认可、自我探索和联系。
{"title":"\"Holding the Space\": An art therapy open studio for preadolescent war evacuees as an analytic third","authors":"Irit Birger Sagiv , Einat Metzl , Tova Goren , Keren Sahar , Rachel Sussman , Shosh Indyk","doi":"10.1016/j.aip.2025.102364","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aip.2025.102364","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this paper, six art therapists utilize an art-based focus group to explore their experience of facilitating an Open Studio in the context of mass trauma. The Open Studio, in this case, was formed to serve as a non-directive art-making healing space for preadolescent war evacuees. First, the literature review focuses on the conceptualizations of mutual recognition and the analytic third and their relevance to the Open Studio model for shared trauma processing. Second, using interpretative phenomenological analysis and visual analysis as the multimodal approach (Boden et al., 2019), the therapists' art responses and verbal reflections that were thematically analyzed are presented. The finding highlighted the shared group experiences for both the participants and therapists. Challenges and advantages arose from working within an ongoing and shared traumatic reality of war, as did the art therapists’ role when operating as members of a team. Art making and witnessing art made within a communal space appeared to support the emergence of the analytic third, in which multiple opportunities for profound mutual recognition, self-exploration, and connections played out despite and because of the context and setting.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47590,"journal":{"name":"Arts in Psychotherapy","volume":"96 ","pages":"Article 102364"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145221443","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-29DOI: 10.1016/j.aip.2025.102363
Tami Gavron , Judith Harel
Parent-Child Art Therapy (PCAT) integrates the principles of dyadic psychotherapy with creative processes to address relational difficulties between parents and children. This therapeutic approach fosters communication and transformation within the parent-child relationship through artmaking. The "rose-colored glasses" approach introduced by Harel (2022) underpins this work, where the therapist’s positive, integrative stance toward parents is aimed at strengthening their representation of themselves as a "good object" for their child. This paper explores the theoretical and clinical foundations of PCAT, and more specifically how therapists can cultivate epistemic trust, mentalization, and reflective functioning in parents, thus enabling them to better understand and support their children. A detailed vignette illustrates the use of PCAT in addressing the complex dynamics of an adoptive parent-child dyad. Artmaking facilitated relational repair and mutual growth, which enabled the parents to navigate feelings of guilt and frustration while augmenting their emotional connection with their child. Through shared creative processes, the parents transitioned from a critical self-perception to a good parental representation that contributed to bolstering the child’s emotional resilience and self-expression. The discussion centers on the issues therapists face in maintaining a positive view of parents amidst negative relational dynamics, and advocates for the use of art therapy to support multidimensional relational transformation. By adopting the "rose-colored glasses" approach, therapists can facilitate the restoration of positive internal representations that increase trust within the parent-child relationship and can lead to relational growth and repair.
{"title":"Parent-child art therapy: Strengthening parents’ representations of the ‘good object’ through the ‘rose-colored glasses’ approach","authors":"Tami Gavron , Judith Harel","doi":"10.1016/j.aip.2025.102363","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aip.2025.102363","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Parent-Child Art Therapy (PCAT) integrates the principles of dyadic psychotherapy with creative processes to address relational difficulties between parents and children. This therapeutic approach fosters communication and transformation within the parent-child relationship through artmaking. The \"rose-colored glasses\" approach introduced by Harel (2022) underpins this work, where the therapist’s positive, integrative stance toward parents is aimed at strengthening their representation of themselves as a \"good object\" for their child. This paper explores the theoretical and clinical foundations of PCAT, and more specifically how therapists can cultivate epistemic trust, mentalization, and reflective functioning in parents, thus enabling them to better understand and support their children. A detailed vignette illustrates the use of PCAT in addressing the complex dynamics of an adoptive parent-child dyad. Artmaking facilitated relational repair and mutual growth, which enabled the parents to navigate feelings of guilt and frustration while augmenting their emotional connection with their child. Through shared creative processes, the parents transitioned from a critical self-perception to a good parental representation that contributed to bolstering the child’s emotional resilience and self-expression. The discussion centers on the issues therapists face in maintaining a positive view of parents amidst negative relational dynamics, and advocates for the use of art therapy to support multidimensional relational transformation. By adopting the \"rose-colored glasses\" approach, therapists can facilitate the restoration of positive internal representations that increase trust within the parent-child relationship and can lead to relational growth and repair.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47590,"journal":{"name":"Arts in Psychotherapy","volume":"96 ","pages":"Article 102363"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145221442","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-16DOI: 10.1016/j.aip.2025.102362
Liat Cohen-Yatziv , Dafna Regev , Sharon Snir
As schools increasingly adopt holistic approaches to education, multidisciplinary teams have become key to supporting students with disabilities in general education settings. In Israel, the Special Education Law (SEL) enables students with disabilities to receive tailored services and be integrated into the regular education system. These services are provided by multidisciplinary teams (MDTs), composed of professionals from various disciplines who work together to develop and implement individualized education programs (IEPs) that outline the support and interventions for eligible students. Multidisciplinary collaboration involves coordinated teamwork among professionals from diverse fields, requiring clear communication, shared goals and mutual respect. Grounded theory research, based on semi-structured in-depth interviews, was used to examine the perceptions and attitudes of 36 members of multidisciplinary school teams, including arts therapists, working in general education schools in Israel. Five themes emerged from the data: team interaction as the core of collaborative work, implications for multidisciplinary collaboration, features that sustain and strengthen team collaboration, barriers and complexities to promoting and sustaining team collaboration, and the role of arts therapists in multidisciplinary teams. The findings shed new light on the feasibility of multidisciplinary collaboration in Israeli special education school teams that include arts therapists. They confirm previous studies and contribute to the growing literature on interdisciplinary practice in inclusive education.
{"title":"Exploring the feasibility of multidisciplinary collaboration in Israeli school inclusion teams: Structures, barriers, and the role of arts therapists","authors":"Liat Cohen-Yatziv , Dafna Regev , Sharon Snir","doi":"10.1016/j.aip.2025.102362","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aip.2025.102362","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As schools increasingly adopt holistic approaches to education, multidisciplinary teams have become key to supporting students with disabilities in general education settings. In Israel, the Special Education Law (SEL) enables students with disabilities to receive tailored services and be integrated into the regular education system. These services are provided by multidisciplinary teams (MDTs), composed of professionals from various disciplines who work together to develop and implement individualized education programs (IEPs) that outline the support and interventions for eligible students. Multidisciplinary collaboration involves coordinated teamwork among professionals from diverse fields, requiring clear communication, shared goals and mutual respect. Grounded theory research, based on semi-structured in-depth interviews, was used to examine the perceptions and attitudes of 36 members of multidisciplinary school teams, including arts therapists, working in general education schools in Israel. Five themes emerged from the data: team interaction as the core of collaborative work, implications for multidisciplinary collaboration, features that sustain and strengthen team collaboration, barriers and complexities to promoting and sustaining team collaboration, and the role of arts therapists in multidisciplinary teams. The findings shed new light on the feasibility of multidisciplinary collaboration in Israeli special education school teams that include arts therapists. They confirm previous studies and contribute to the growing literature on interdisciplinary practice in inclusive education.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47590,"journal":{"name":"Arts in Psychotherapy","volume":"96 ","pages":"Article 102362"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145106518","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-15DOI: 10.1016/j.aip.2025.102361
Rui Luo , Rui Ding , Xiaohui Wang , Wangyu Zhou , Yaru Hou
Psychodrama is gaining traction in China as both a therapeutic modality and a developmental intervention. This pilot study evaluated the feasibility, preliminary efficacy, and procedural refinement of an eight-week psychodrama program designed to enhance emotion regulation among Chinese college students. Using a two-arm, non-randomized controlled design, 22 undergraduates attended weekly 150-minute sessions led by a trained social worker. A convergent mixed-methods approach combined quantitative self-reports with qualitative reflections. Compared with controls, participants in the psychodrama group showed significant post-intervention reductions in expressive suppression; qualitative data further revealed heightened emotional expression, broadened cognitive insight, and uniformly positive experiences. These findings suggest that psychodrama can effectively improve emotional well-being in China and merits wider application in social work practice.
{"title":"Enhancing emotion regulation through group: A pilot study of psychodrama intervention among college students in China","authors":"Rui Luo , Rui Ding , Xiaohui Wang , Wangyu Zhou , Yaru Hou","doi":"10.1016/j.aip.2025.102361","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aip.2025.102361","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Psychodrama is gaining traction in China as both a therapeutic modality and a developmental intervention. This pilot study evaluated the feasibility, preliminary efficacy, and procedural refinement of an eight-week psychodrama program designed to enhance emotion regulation among Chinese college students. Using a two-arm, non-randomized controlled design, 22 undergraduates attended weekly 150-minute sessions led by a trained social worker. A convergent mixed-methods approach combined quantitative self-reports with qualitative reflections. Compared with controls, participants in the psychodrama group showed significant post-intervention reductions in expressive suppression; qualitative data further revealed heightened emotional expression, broadened cognitive insight, and uniformly positive experiences. These findings suggest that psychodrama can effectively improve emotional well-being in China and merits wider application in social work practice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47590,"journal":{"name":"Arts in Psychotherapy","volume":"96 ","pages":"Article 102361"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145118976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Creative arts therapists are interdisciplinary professionals with diverse backgrounds and fields of intervention, required to be experts at integrating expressive-creative processes with the therapeutic process. Due to the complexity and duality of this work, and the multiple influences they experience, the professional identity of creative arts therapists has been under discussion, mainly in countries where the profession is recognized and professional institutions established. The objective of this study was to explore the foundations, characteristics and paths of the professional identity of creative arts therapists in a country where the profession is not yet recognized.
Method
Content analysis of semi-structured interviews with beginners and senior arts therapists working in Portugal.
Results
Six themes emerged: Training conditioning, Practice conditioning, Creative and Expressive path, Therapeutic path, Intervention, and Self-Reflection. Participants mentioned social and personal influences on their path, including family, creative-expressive aspects and personal therapy. Arts were the main theoretical foundations referenced by the participants, with emphasis on drama and movement, and within psychology, mainly dynamic and group approaches. The main guides of professional practice are the patients they work with, highlighting the therapeutic relationship. Other relationships are also highly relevant as motivators for self-reflection, especially those with colleagues. The main conflicts regarding professional identity occur in the art and therapy axis, while the main point of cohesion is between personal and professional life.
Conclusion
These results are crucial for shaping both academic training and professional practice, ensuring the continued growth and recognition of arts therapy as a vital profession in Portugal.
{"title":"Professional development of creative arts therapists: Foundations, experiences and paths","authors":"Joana Machorrinho , Luana Prado , Graça Duarte Santos","doi":"10.1016/j.aip.2025.102358","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aip.2025.102358","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Creative arts therapists are interdisciplinary professionals with diverse backgrounds and fields of intervention, required to be experts at integrating expressive-creative processes with the therapeutic process. Due to the complexity and duality of this work, and the multiple influences they experience, the professional identity of creative arts therapists has been under discussion, mainly in countries where the profession is recognized and professional institutions established. The objective of this study was to explore the foundations, characteristics and paths of the professional identity of creative arts therapists in a country where the profession is not yet recognized.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>Content analysis of semi-structured interviews with beginners and senior arts therapists working in Portugal.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Six themes emerged: Training conditioning, Practice conditioning, Creative and Expressive path, Therapeutic path, Intervention, and Self-Reflection. Participants mentioned social and personal influences on their path, including family, creative-expressive aspects and personal therapy. Arts were the main theoretical foundations referenced by the participants, with emphasis on drama and movement, and within psychology, mainly dynamic and group approaches. The main guides of professional practice are the patients they work with, highlighting the therapeutic relationship. Other relationships are also highly relevant as motivators for self-reflection, especially those with colleagues. The main conflicts regarding professional identity occur in the art and therapy axis, while the main point of cohesion is between personal and professional life.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>These results are crucial for shaping both academic training and professional practice, ensuring the continued growth and recognition of arts therapy as a vital profession in Portugal.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47590,"journal":{"name":"Arts in Psychotherapy","volume":"96 ","pages":"Article 102358"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145020285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-02DOI: 10.1016/j.aip.2025.102348
Annie Heiderscheit , Alison Short , Gro Trondalen , Laurel Young
The Hero’s Journey narrative is prevalent in literature and the cinema and is also often utilized as a framework within which to explore and understand the circuitous nature of a client’s therapeutic process. The Hero’s Journey is conceptualized and discussed predominantly as a psychological process occurring within the mythological and imagery world of the client in psychotherapy, which is also applied to music psychotherapy approaches such as Guided Imagery and Music (Bonny Method). A cross case analysis of case studies conducted by researcher-clinicians from four different countries have revealed unexpected affordances of the Hero’s Journey for both physical and psychological domains via narrative and thematic analyses of clients’ GIM experiences. This cross-case analysis compares four GIM clients’ narratives from four different countries of origin within four applied clinical contexts: substance use disorder, a single musician, cancer care, and cardiac rehabilitation. A brief client history and summarized therapeutic case material from each case study (research or clinical) is presented in terms of methodology, emergence, and significance of the Hero’s Journey. The cross-case analysis explores and reviews these GIM case studies, where clients have undergone literal physical and psychological transformation and/or engaged with both physical and psychological aspects of their health conditions as integral components of their therapeutic and recovery processes. Further, links are made to manifestations of mental and physical health with the Hero’s Journey in the GIM process.
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