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In clinical practice, formal elements of art products are regularly used in art therapy observation to obtain insight into clients’ mental health and provide directions for further treatment. Due to the diversity of formal elements used in existing studies and the inconsistency in the interpretation, it is unclear which formal elements contribute to insight into clients’ mental health. In this qualitative study using Constructivist Grounded Theory, eight art therapists were interviewed in-depth to identify which formal elements they observe, how they describe mental health and how they associate formal elements with mental health. Findings of this study show that art therapists in this study observe the combination of movement, dynamic, contour and repetition (i.e., primary formal elements) with mixture of color, figuration and color saturation (i.e., secondary formal elements). Primary and secondary elements interacting together construct the structure and variation of the art product. Art therapists rarely interpret these formal elements in terms of symptoms or diagnosis. Instead, they use concepts such as balance and adaptability (i.e., self-management, openness, flexibility, and creativity). They associate balance, specifically being out of balance, with the severity of the clients’ problem and adaptability with clients’ strengths and resources. In the conclusion of the article we discuss the findings’ implications for practice and further research.

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This piece of writing has focused on the first stage of creating a co-production arts wing of the Recovery College and is written with the intention of demonstrating the practical value of a dramatherapy and ‘experts by experience’ collaboration. It includes an introduction to ‘recovery’ and the contemporary NHS guidelines for a Recovery College. The first four classes of co-production in action with a dramatherapist are described with feedback from students. Followed by a sharing of the evolution of this process into three new courses leading to a workshop, performance and exhibition on World Mental Health Day. It also includes a BASIC Ph evaluation analysis of group work through the three courses run in collaboration with a dramatherapist at the Recovery College. The following questions are addressed by the evaluation – Can dramatherapy effectively support the co-production process? Can these co-production situations be creatively defined and described by their participants? The conclusions are that dramatherapy lends itself to collaborative work. Service users share languages of resilience and, through forming social networks, improve in confidence and self-esteem.