Art Psychotherapy Practice

This module focuses on the central role of the therapeutic relationship in art therapy/art psychotherapy. You will develop personal reflection and professional reflexivity relevant to client work and group collaboration. The module integrates experiential learning with theoretical understanding.

On this module you will: 

• Experience and evaluate art-making as a psychotherapeutic process expressing perception, feeling, and thought.
• Explore interpersonal and intrapersonal dynamics within individual, group, and organisational settings.
• Understand the interwoven relationship between theory and practice in therapeutic contexts.

You’ll study topics such as:

• Psychological Impact of Art-Making
• Understanding how creative processes affect emotional and psychological states.
• Reflexive practice and Experiential Learning
• Using self-awareness and critical reflection to inform therapeutic engagement.
• Boundary Setting
• Establishing and maintaining professional and therapeutic boundaries.
• Visual Image Making with Different Media
• Engaging with diverse materials to support client expression.
• Relationships in Therapy
• Examining dynamics within the therapeutic relationship, including trust and containment.

Placements are a core component of the training programme, providing a minimum of 85 days (637.5 hours) of practice-based learning and at least 100 hours of face-to-face art therapy with service users individually or in groups. You may complete two placements to achieve the days required. In the first placement, you will apply theoretical and practical learning from modules such as Theoretical Approaches to Art Therapy, Contextualising Art Therapy practice, and Creative Studios. You will engage in inter-professional collaboration, contribute to multi-disciplinary team discussions, and use a client-centred approach to co-create formulations that guide therapeutic goals. Communication is adapted to support co-production and promote equality. Regular supervision supports your clinical development and enhances your reflective practice and self-awareness. The module promotes professionalism in line with HCPC standards, requiring adherence to mandatory training and organisational policies. A mid-point placement review supports your critical reflection, identifying your strengths and areas for development, with action plans used to guide ongoing professional growth and help you develop a confident professional identity.

This module provides a critical overview of the theories that underpin art therapy/art psychotherapy practice. It integrates key psychological theories with the knowledge, understanding, and skills required to meet the HCPC Standards of Proficiency: Arts Therapies (2023) and the HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics (2016). 

You’ll study topics such as:

• Psychotherapeutic Theories and Mental Health
• Exploration of diverse therapeutic models and their relevance to understanding psychological distress. Emphasis on the therapeutic relationship, transference, counter-transference, and how these are shaped by art-making.
• Ethical Art Therapy practice
• Examination of ethical considerations linking the therapeutic relationship, trauma informed practice, creative process, and the client’s personal context and setting.
• Developmental and Diagnostic Models
• Critical engagement with psychological and diagnostic models trainees may encounter during placements, enhancing understanding of client presentations.
• Imagination, Play, and Symbolism
• Analysis of key theories informing art therapy's use of imagination, symbolic processes, and play in therapeutic practice.

Placement B enables you to build on your experience within a health, social care, or other setting, developing their skills and confidence as art therapy practitioners. Through direct work with service users, you will strengthen professional practice, contribute to the wider team, and develop your professional identity. For part-time students, this 2nd placement begins in January of your third and final year, with a minimum commitment of one day per week. It may take place in a new organisation or continue in the same setting as Placement A. Each placement day mirrors a standard working day, beginning with induction and gradually progressing to a small caseload. Time is also dedicated to reflective practice, supervision, note-writing, and team communication. You placement will be reviewed at the mid-point and are approved and quality assured by the Faculty, meeting professional accreditation requirements.

This module aims to develop your understanding of the wider social, political, economic, and organisational contexts in which art therapy is practised. You will consider the lived experiences of service users and the settings in which therapy takes place, while continuing to adapt and apply theory ethically within supervised placement work. On this module you will:

• Explore and apply art therapy theory in relation to diverse client needs and service settings.
• Enhance skills in articulating and adapting practice across different professional contexts.
• Develop the ability to advocate for the therapeutic use of art and communicate its benefits to other professionals.

You’ll study topics such as:

• Theories of Therapeutic practice and Assessment
• Development of Practical Therapeutic Skills
• Approaches Across Different Specialities and Settings
• Professionalism and Ethical practice
• Bio-Psychosocial Model and Lifestyle Factors
• Public Health and Wellbeing
• Organisational Policies and Practice Guidelines

This module enables you to critically reflect on and evaluate the key components of integrated health and social care required to effectively support service users, carers and their families who have complex health and care needs.

You’ll learn through content linked to the case studies which are used to frame the module. This will include specific interventions related to physical and psycho-social challenges in addressing complex needs of patients with acute and long term conditions across a range of delivery settings in which you will work with other disciplines. Other elements of content will address the following:

• Co-morbidity
• Policy and legislation
• Care pathways
• Clinical reasoning
• Integrated care and advanced practitioner roles
• Leadership

The aim of this module is to enable you to apply knowledge of research theories, including epistemology, and methods in order to critically evaluate research paradigms and evidence for practice. It will enable you to develop a critical understanding of research approaches, principles and processes that underpin research activity in the workplace and address the ethical dilemmas and organisational complexities of undertaking practice-based research.

Indicative content:

• Research paradigms
• Research context
• Research Question Development ·
• Research methods
• Systematic literature review
• Data collection
• Methods of data analysis
• Ethics and research governance Service user involvement in research
• Inclusive perspectives of research
• Proposal development

Placement B enables you to build on your experience within a health, social care, or other setting, developing your skills and confidence as art therapy practitioners. Through direct work with service users, you will strengthen professional practice, contribute to the wider team, and develop your professional identity. For part-time students, this 2nd placement begins in January of your third and final year, with a minimum commitment of one day per week. It may take place in a new organisation or continue in the same setting as Placement A. Each placement day mirrors a standard working day, beginning with induction and gradually progressing to a small caseload. Time is also dedicated to reflective practice, supervision, note-writing, and team communication. Placements are reviewed at the mid-point and are approved and quality assured by the Faculty, meeting professional accreditation requirements.

This module will enable you to develop and conduct an in depth investigation of a topic that challenges and contributes to your area of professional practice. It provides the opportunity to engage in and apply an understanding of research methods and demonstrate your ability to work with relative autonomy in undertaking a sustained, in-depth piece of independent learning, disseminating findings to your professional community

Indicative content:

• Creating and contributing to research and evaluation for practice 
• Application of approaches to research, research methods including improvement and evaluation methodologies
•  Project planning 
• Data Analysis & Interpretation 
• Data Management 
• Dissemination of findings 
• Challenges in applying study outcomes to practice
•  Addressing inclusivity in your research process.

This module develops your knowledge and understanding of art therapy practice in meeting contemporary mental health challenges.

You will use both conventional study and experiential learning to study the following topics:

• Adapting art therapy to different contexts: e.g., health, education, community, social care
• Combining mental health and art therapy research for work alongside clients with different experiences: e.g. a psychosis diagnosis, trauma, or health inequalities
• Service-user movements and socio-economic stressors on services and colleagues
• The development of your cultural knowledge for practice (including using popular culture, mixed media, stories, etc.)
• The development of approaches to individual and group therapy is consolidated using supervision groups