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1 – 10 of over 1000Gaelynn P. Wolf Bordonaro, Laura Cherry and Jessica Stallings
The relationship between learning and mental health, as well as a growing body of literature, underscores the need for art therapy in educational settings. This is particularly…
Abstract
The relationship between learning and mental health, as well as a growing body of literature, underscores the need for art therapy in educational settings. This is particularly true for learners with special needs. Shostak et al. (1985) affirmed that “for children with special needs, art therapy in a school setting can offer opportunities to work through obstacles that impede educational success” (p. 19). School art therapy facilitates improved social interaction, increased learning behaviors, appropriate affective development, and increased empathy and personal well-being. It can be adapted to meet the specific developmental needs of individual students and to parallel students’ developmental, learning, and behavioral objectives. This chapter introduces the reader to the history and basic constructs of art therapy as a psychoeducational therapeutic intervention in schools. Model programs are identified, as well as the role of the art therapist within the context of K-12 education settings. Additionally, examples of special populations who benefit from art therapy intervention within school systems are provided, along with considerations for school-wide art therapy.
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Hannah Zeilig, Julian West and Millie van der Byl Williams
The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of co-creativity in relation to artistic practice with people with a dementia. The aim of the discussion is to outline how…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of co-creativity in relation to artistic practice with people with a dementia. The aim of the discussion is to outline how co-creativity offers fresh approaches for engaging artists and people with dementia, can contribute to less restrictive understandings of “creativity” and above all, expand the understanding of people with a dementia as creative, relational and agential.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to examine current conceptions of co-creativity and to inform the artistic practice, relevant literature was explored and eight expert interviews were conducted. The interviews were thematically analysed and are included here.
Findings
This paper consequently demonstrates that improvisation, structure, leadership and equality are central elements of co-creative processes and outlines how co-creativity can offer fresh insights into the way in which the arts can engage people with a dementia, the relationship between creativity and dementia and the transformative potential of the co-creative arts for those living with a dementia.
Research limitations/implications
The paper discusses some of the difficulties that are inherent a co-creative approach, including power relations and the limitations of inclusivity. Due to ethical restrictions, the paper is limited by not including the perspectives of people living with a dementia.
Practical implications
This paper paves the way for future research into co-creative processes in a variety of different contexts.
Social implications
A more nuanced understanding of co-creativity with people with dementia could challenge the dominant biomedical and social paradigms that associate “dementia” with irretrievable loss and decline by creating opportunities for creative agency.
Originality/value
This exploration of co-creativity with people with dementia is the first of its kind and contributes to the wider understanding of co-creativity and co-creative practice.
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Wendy Osborn and Genevieve Smyth
The final report for allied health professions Enhance, Include, Evolve: New Ways of Working for allied health professionals (Care Services Improvement Partnership/National…
Abstract
The final report for allied health professions Enhance, Include, Evolve: New Ways of Working for allied health professionals (Care Services Improvement Partnership/National Institute of Mental Health in England, 2008a) is the culmination of a journey that the allied health professionals have travelled over the past six years. Their aim has been to refresh practice in the light of recent policies and initiatives and, in particular, New Ways of Working.
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Erika Pavlin, Žiga Elsner, Tadej Jagodnik, Borut Batagelj and Franc Solina
– The purpose of this paper is to set an example of how people with severe learning difficulties could be more integrated into our society.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to set an example of how people with severe learning difficulties could be more integrated into our society.
Design/methodology/approach
The installation consists of puzzles in the form of a specially designed table with an integrated touch screen. As the visual templates for the puzzles serve pictures painted by a person with severe learning difficulties. The pieces of the puzzles are manipulated directly by the player on the touch screen presenting an intuitive and easily learned user interface.
Findings
The framework for the work was a creation of an interactive art installation in the form of a game where users assemble puzzles on a touch monitor, housed in a specially designed table. Paintings by a person with severe learning difficulty served as visual templates for the puzzles. The pieces of the puzzles can be manipulated directly by the user on a touch screen presenting an intuitive and easily learned user interface, which stimulates the learning of fine motor skills and encourages practice, thus making it suitable for persons with severe learning difficulties in an art therapy setting.
Practical implications
As the work has the format of an interactive art installation, this enables it to gain publicity through exhibitions in art galleries.
Social implications
The installation demonstrates how people with severe learning difficulties can be integrated into the broader society. At the same time, these people are encouraged to use modern computer information technology, which is becoming a necessity also for this group of users. Ethical issues regarding how this group of people can get involved in such work are also discussed.
Originality/value
Combining the habituation of people with severe learning difficulties with computer technology in the form of a game, and framing the whole process as a fine art undertaking, to win the public recognition, is a novelty in addressing the needs of these people.
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Alexandra Eleftheria Broupi, Dimitrios Kokaridas, Vasileios Tsimaras and Panagiotis Varsamis
Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) present challenges in their social and communication skills such as difficulties in developing interpersonal relationships and…
Abstract
Purpose
Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) present challenges in their social and communication skills such as difficulties in developing interpersonal relationships and verbal and nonverbal communication; repetitive and restricted behaviors concerning resistance to environmental change, stereotyped movements and unusual reactions to sensory stimuli; and significant delays in motor development and performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a combined visual arts and exercise program on the communication and social behavior skills of people with ASD.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was conducted in a Creative Employment Center of People with Disabilities, and the sample consisted of 18 participants with ASD divided randomly into a control group (CG) (n = 8) and an experiment group (EG) (n = 10). The Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) was used prior and after the implementation of the intervention program. EG participants attended an intervention program, whereas CG individuals followed their daily routine activities, and they only completed the SCQ prior and after the program.
Findings
EG demonstrated statically significant improvements in communication skills and social behavior, compared to the results of the CG. Furthermore, participants with Asperger’s syndrome showed a higher improvement rate compared to participants with autism, while no statistically significant differences were noticed concerning gender and age of the participants.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to investigate the effect of a combined visual arts and adapted physical activity program on the social and communication skills of people with ASD.
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Emanuela Saita, Monica Accordini and Del Loewenthal
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the use of a phototherapeutic technique called “Talking Pictures” within the forensic setting. This approach involves the use of a set of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the use of a phototherapeutic technique called “Talking Pictures” within the forensic setting. This approach involves the use of a set of photographs to facilitate clients’ disclosure, self-growth and promote the development of positive self-narratives. The use of art therapies and the construction of adaptive identity narratives have been proven to support desistance and increase resocialization in the prison population.
Design/methodology/approach
A 42-year-old Italian male offender was met for six therapy sessions and invited to talk about his past, present and future through the use of photographs. Session transcripts were analysed using the software for linguistic analysis T-LAB.
Findings
Results show a progression in the language used during the sessions: in the beginning the client uses a denotative language with many concrete nouns and no emotional words, in subsequent sessions his speech begins to assume more symbolic connotations and emotional words are used to describe past traumas as well as to find new meanings to present events. Moreover, the fixity of the client’s self-image is contrasted with the emergence of new sides to his personality encompassing agency and self-worth.
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on a single case, therefore results cannot be generalised to the prison population; moreover, the absence of any follow-up and standardized measurements of the client’s progression should be addressed by future research by both involving larger samples and including follow-up and quantitative measures of the study results.
Practical implications
The paper provides details on an innovative technique that might be used to explore the offenders’ goods and values and to develop truly redemptive rehabilitation programmes.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the scant literature on phototherapy in prisons and connects it with a reflection on desistance indicating that phototherapeutic interventions might be used to promote positive self-narratives, thus increasing desistance.
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There remains a lack of clarity regarding what constitutes “normal” or “complicated” grief within this client group. The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that…
Abstract
Purpose
There remains a lack of clarity regarding what constitutes “normal” or “complicated” grief within this client group. The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that complicate grief and considers interventions which would be beneficial.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on previous research by the author and others to comment on some of the issues discussed by Hannah Young in her article.
Findings
Three domains contribute to complicated grief in people with learning disabilities. These are the learning disability itself, environmental factors and the impact of disability on attachment.
Practical implications
A relational approach to support is important in preventing complicated grief. If the grief becomes complicated, a relational psychotherapy is recommended as the preferable intervention.
Originality/value
This paper gives important consideration to practical factors that can lower vulnerability to complicated grief for this client group.
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