Family Art Therapy: A Contribution to Mental Health Treatment in an Adolescent Inpatient Setting

Abstract

Art therapy has been increasingly used in mental health settings, particularly for children and families who experience trauma‐induced symptoms. However, there is limited literature on family art therapy in child and adolescent inpatient settings. We describe the use of family art therapy in an inpatient child and adolescent mental health services unit, including images to demonstrate effectiveness. Patient and family member artworks were photographed and used to describe three case studies. Artworks made in art therapy can reveal hidden dysfunction in the family. Recent trauma research supports capacity to access this material safely through non‐verbal visual communication. Family art therapy is a useful intervention to support the identification of an illness in the parent, to improve the attunement between the parent and the child, and for the parent to detach from their child’s symptoms by agreeing to get treatment for themselves. If the patient cannot separate from the illness in the parent their symptoms may remain.

Art Therapy

“…11.9 Art materials them to do. Families have also contributed to feedback and reported they have found art therapy to be helpful (Nielsen et al, 2021). The young people and sometimes family members also contribute to their art therapy reports by choosing their images and finding the words to communicate their experiences.…”

“…Supporting them with their capacity to communicate difficult internal experiences safely has been the focus of the art therapy at the Walker Unit with the main goal, to stabilise emotional dysregulation and increase tolerance for distress. Responsive art making (Havsteen-Franklin & Altamirano, 2015;Nielsen, 2018;Nielsen et al, 2019Nielsen et al, , 2021) is an emerging clinical practice within art therapy. This practice is used in this setting with the young people and their families and challenges common beliefs that the purpose of images is to solicit a narrative.…”

“…The art therapist in this unit provides structured individual, family and group-based art therapy treatment by working non-verbally with art materials as part of care. The nonverbal approach of art therapy has been effective in engaging this difficult to treat group of young people (Nielsen, 2018;Nielsen et al, 2019Nielsen et al, , 2021.…”

“…In some cases, the family members may present as distressed as the young person. As a right brain to right brain non-verbal activity, artmaking alongside the family member and the young person has had the potential to evoke the curative factor of a shared dysregulated to regulated experience (Nielsen et al, 2021;Schore, 2011). This has given these young people and their families hope for agency and change, despite the losses in their capacities to verbally communicate their feelings.…”