Admission to an acute inpatient mental health unit can be a daunting step on the road to recovery for a young person. At this challenging time, art therapy is there to offer a safe and creative form of self-expression.
Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy utilising creative approaches, primarily visual arts, to improve and inform physical, mental and emotional well-being. It differs from traditional artmaking in that the emphasis is on the process of creation and reflection, rather than on technical components, or the end product.
Offered as part of the multidisciplinary treatment program across the acute psychiatric inpatient services at Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network (SCHN), art therapy is used alongside other therapeutic interventions to support the recovery process and improve mental health outcomes for young people.
“Many young people who have struggled to engage in treatment both prior to, and during their admission, have found art therapy an accessible and engaging form of psychotherapy," Sarah Versitano, Senior Art Therapist, said.
"In challenging times, it may provide a renewed sense of hope."
Ms Versitano works on Hall Ward, the acute mental health inpatient unit at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead (CHW). Across Hall Ward and Saunders Unit, the acute inpatient units at Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, a team of specialist mental health professionals including medical, nursing, and allied health staff work in collaboration to care for some of the most vulnerable young people in New South Wales.
Many of these young people need additional specialised support during their stay in hospital. This support includes art therapy, which provides young people with a judgment-free space to express themselves creatively.
“With art therapy, young people often start to see that perhaps there is another way they might be able to express themselves, to feel empowered, and develop greater self-awareness to support improved wellbeing.”
“Even the experience of being calm, or self-soothing through art making might be enough to re-engage a young person in their recovery journey, at a time when they are in a heightened state of distress or overwhelm,” Ms Versitano said.
“It is so important that we provide young people this creative, accessible, therapeutic alternative to support their overall engagement in inpatient care.”
Art therapy at Hall Ward and Saunders Unit is part of the broader multidisciplinary group therapy program and is offered in both individual and group sessions. The art therapists delivering the service use a range of therapeutic techniques and interventions, often adopting a non-directive approach, meaning patients have the freedom to create whatever it is they need to explore in the session - whether it be connected to their thoughts, feelings, or experiences.
“Art therapy is a patient-centred form of psychotherapy, empowering young people to have choice and agency in their creative expression,” Ms Versitano said.
“Often a young person might have felt judged or scrutinised for creating evocative artwork in another context, however art therapy has the capacity to hold space for, and integrate often very confronting imagery, to support a safe avenue to explore and process complex emotional states.”
In a recent research paper published in The International Journal of Art Therapy, Ms Versitano alongside colleagues Gretel Butler and Dr Iain Perkes, analysed feedback from a cohort of patients on an acute inpatient child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) unit about group programs.
The study found the use of creative elements in groups enhanced engagement and were highly enjoyable, with the art therapy group being rated the most helpful group by a clinically meaningful margin.
“It is especially important for young people to access art therapy when they might not feel able to, or ready, to engage in talk therapy interventions – whether that is due to the severity of their illness, or challenging and potentially unhelpful past experiences,” Ms Versitano said.
“Reflecting on the artwork and supporting young people to explore personal meaning in the work are important aspects of the session. Often the process of creating the artwork, and being supported and witnessed by the art therapist, can be an intrinsically therapeutic experience.”
Ms Versitano says the study supports what she has witnessed firsthand and validates the importance of integrating art therapy into mental health care.
“I’ve observed that engagement with art therapy tends to have a positive flow-on effect, where young people appear more open to engaging in treatment on the inpatient unit overall.”
“It is humbling to witness the evocative and meaningful changes in the artworks created by young people, and to see the value of art therapy in providing this non-verbal avenue for self-expression.”