Nothing less than a creative triumph: a study of children admitted to hospital for serious somatic illness or injury and their experience of art therapy

TL;DR

This study explores how art therapy helps hospitalized children feel safe, express themselves, and experience personal triumph through creative activities.

Contribution

The study identifies specific elements of art therapy that foster a connection with the healthier aspects of the self in hospitalized children.

Findings

Art therapy promotes a sense of safety and competence in hospitalized children.

Children experience personal triumph and enhanced self-expression through guided art-making.

Therapeutic alliance and creative freedom are key to effective art therapy sessions.

Abstract

Hospitalization can be an extremely distressing experience for seriously ill and injured children. Art therapy has a well-established clinical history, and recent research has begun to demonstrate its effectiveness in somatic pediatric wards. Descriptive and statistical research indicates that art therapy can alleviate anxiety and fear, improve mood, and enhance communication among children, parents, and healthcare professionals. This study aims to enhance our understanding of the specific elements of art therapy that facilitate a connection with the healthier aspects of the self.

A total of 12 hospitalized children, aged 4–12, participated in an art therapy session led by a certified art therapist. Verbalizations during the sessions were recorded, and subsequent observations were synchronized with verbatim transcriptions of audio recordings. A reflexive thematic analysis was conducted to identify relevant patterns of meaning.

The study identified four significant dimensions of the children’s experiences during art therapy: (1) The child feels safe, (2) The child becomes a competent artist, bursting with creativity, (3) The healthy child emerges, and (4) The child achieves something beyond its limits – a triumph.

The active ingredients contributing to effective art therapy include the stimulation of creativity, guided art-making with scaffolding support, task variation, granting children control over the artistic process, encouragement of free expression, and the display of positive regard. This study also delves into the therapeutic alliance, emphasizing its role in facilitating children’s learning, self-expression, concentration, and the creation of work they take pride in. Additionally, certain psychotherapy-like interactions, such as control-mastery dynamics, were observed. Nevertheless, more extensive research with larger sample sizes is required to draw broader conclusions.

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