This paper introduces the bodymind model of Art Therapy and delineates the processes through which it has salutary effects on individuals coping with a variety of health related challenges. The goal of this model is to articulate how activation, reorganization, growth and reintegration of the self can emerge from bodymind processes activated by art therapy. It provides a framework for the conduct of research that will test the key theoretical mechanisms through which art therapy benefits clients. We expect this model to be a spring board for discussion, debate and development of the profession of art therapy. Furthermore, this model contribute to procedures to conduct sound mechanistic studies. Social scientists and medical professionals can also use the information to consider further how art making contributes to health.

/pdf/the-bodymind-model-a-platform-for-studying-the-mechanisms-of-26mo0wwuib.pdf

The bodymind model: A platform for studying the mechanisms of change induced by art therapy.

This systematic review aims to develop a bridge between what art therapists know and what they do in supporting those with mental health issues. Research undertaken between 1994 and 2014 was examined to ascertain the art therapy approaches applied when working with people who have mental health issues, as well as to identify how art therapy approaches were used within the clinical mental health system. Thirty articles were identified that demonstrated an art therapy approach to a particular mental health issue. The search strategy resulted in articles being grouped into four diagnostic terms: depression, borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress disorder. A synthesis of the identified articles resulted in the identification of research areas that need advancement. Future studies could incorporate more details on the art therapy approaches used to enhance transferability of practice. Moreover, adding art therapists’ critique about the art therapy approach from their applied perspective, would assist in the development of evidence-based practice that is not just current, but feasible, too. Finally, the client voice needs to be incorporated in future studies to address questions of the relationship between client expectations and the perceived success of art therapy.

Art therapy in mental health: A systematic review of approaches and practices

This article evaluates a pilot mentalization-based treatment programme for borderline personality disorder (BPD), which had an art therapy group as one of its three components. Evaluation involved a range of standardised measures and showed the programme had positive results with increases in distress tolerance, lowered service use and at least two participants no longer meeting criteria for the BPD diagnosis. The question was asked about what art therapy might contribute to mentalization in this context. A qualitative research strategy was undertaken to explore one of the author's experience of art therapy as one of the programme's service users. Repeated rounds of audio-recorded interviews resulted in eight themes which describe what helped and what should be avoided in art therapy treatment of BPD. The service user view was that art therapy was an essential ingredient in helping to develop greater mentalization. The study suggests that in anchoring mental content in an externalised form, art t...

How can art therapy contribute to mentalization in borderline personality disorder

Art therapy (AT) is frequently used in the treatment of patients diagnosed with cluster B/C personality disorders, but there is little evidence for its efficacy. This study aimed to provide insight into the perceived effects of AT. We interviewed 29 adult patients in individual and focus-group in-depth interviews, including a ‘negative case’, starting with a topic list coming from the literature study. Data were gathered and analysed using the Grounded Theory Approach in order to generate concepts and interrelated categories. The constructed theoretical model of effects of AT consisted of five core categories: improved sensory perception; personal integration; improved emotion/impulse regulation; behaviour change; and insight/comprehension. Compared to verbal therapy (VT), patients experienced AT as an experiential therapeutic entry with a complementary quality next to VT and a more direct way to access emotions, which they attributed to the appeal of art materials and art making to bodily sensations and emotional responses. AT was found to fit well the core problems of patients with personality disorders, to offer a specific pathway to more emotional awareness and constructive emotion regulation. The perceived effects give input for further development and research and the development of an assessment tool to examine the efficacy of AT and within clinical practice.

Perceived effects of art therapy in the treatment of personality disorders, cluster B/C: A qualitative study

Questions concerning the regulation or dysregulation of emotions in mental distress states are not only of fundamental concern in psychotherapy research but also a key issue in the art therapy field. Nevertheless, few studies have investigated the effectiveness of artistic activities in emotion regulation. This review aims to identify and analyze studies that investigate art-making to regulate emotions. Most studies to date have examined the effects of short-term mood repair, but some did investigate emotion regulation models in a psychotherapy setting. They revealed that in positive mood enhancement resulted from art-making. A few comparative studies suggested that art-making was more effective than other therapies, with distraction strategy demonstrating special success in regulating emotion. Future research on emotion regulation in art therapy should also address psychological models and take specific active factors of art into consideration.

Emotion regulation strategies and effects in art-making: A narrative synthesis

This case study concerns the dual experience of being both a mental health professional (art therapist) and a service user on a mental health inpatient ward. The study uses heuristic methodology to explore how the experience of being a service user affected being a service provider. The art therapist was unable to use art therapy when a service user and this offers a rare chance to try to understand the barriers and opportunities to engaging with therapy in acute states. The experience of being an inpatient was both hard to recall and to articulate and so a repeating interview cycle approach was used involving another art therapist asking questions, working from a comparable provider perspective, aiming to understand the user experience. Both parties grouped the interviews transcripts into key learning themes.

On learning from being the in-patient

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How can art therapy contribute to mentalization in borderline personality disorder

On learning from being the in-patient