Art therapy in acute inpatient care

ABSTRACT Background There is a long tradition of offering art therapy to inpatients. NICE guidelines (2009 p.25) recommend considering offering ‘arts therapies to all people with psychosis or schizophrenia, particularly for the alleviation of negative symptoms’. However art therapy can still be unavailable. Context This paper describes how art therapy is offered to people on acute inpatient wards, and focuses on their experience of art therapy. A service evaluation was registered and approved by the NHS Trust allowing non – identifiable information collected within the art therapy service. People with acute mental health problems attending art therapy were invited to complete a short survey. The thoughts and experiences of respondents (n = 24) are reported here. Approach The art therapy approach offered is informed by psychodynamic thinking and is adapted to meet the needs of people in acute inpatient settings who may be experiencing psychotic symptoms or have experienced trauma. Outcomes Results found art therapy to be a positive experience. Themes included the ability for self –expression, to think more clearly, a reduction in stress levels, anxiety, anger, and voice hearing. Conclusions People receiving art therapy while in hospital reported it to be a helpful part of their treatment and contributed to their overall recovery and discharge. Implications for research Further views from people receiving art therapy and from staff would be helpful using a different method for example interviewing and focus groups. Plain-language summary This paper describes art therapy as it was offered to people while they are staying on acute inpatient wards. We asked people who had attended art therapy for their feedback and we discuss how art therapy was offered in acute wards. The approach and theoretical framework of art therapy in acute inpatient care is explained as well as describing the experiences and views of 24 people who attended art therapy while in hospital and who agreed to take part in the service evaluation. People who used the service commented that they liked the calm atmosphere of the art therapy room and found it allowed time for them to express difficult feelings. People described feeling listened to and one person said it made them feel more human. Feedback indicated attending art therapy could lead to a reduction in symptoms such as anxiety, suicidal thoughts, voice hearing and stress. People using the service said art therapy was a welcome alternative or addition to medication in the treatment of their difficulties. To summarise, the paper describes how attending art therapy offers inpatients an opportunity to express difficult thoughts and feelings in a calm and relaxing setting and people reported that this helped reduce symptoms such as anxiety, suicidal thoughts and stress.