Drawing and talking usage within primary schools: A phenomenological study of practitioners’ experiences

Abstract

With the increasing awareness of the impact of life experiences upon children and young people’s (CYP) mental health (Vostanis, 2017) together with the suggestion that education systems provide a platform to provide CYP with emotional support (Hobbs et al., 2019), school systems are exploring the usage of therapeutic interventions. This phenomenological study gathered the experiences of five practitioners trained in one art therapy intervention who worked within primary schools to address the research question: ‘What are practitioners experiences of using Drawing and Talking within primary schools?’ Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and thematic analysis was used to analyse the data, consistent with Braun and Clarke’s (2006) approach. The researchers‘ analysis generated ten subthemes which were refined under three higher order themes: the value of intervention, challenges, and practitioner construct. Participants reported that this specific art therapy intervention supports children who have experienced trauma by allowing them to explore emotions, providing containment and an opportunity to build positive relationships with the practitioner. Challenges included practical and logistical issues. Further, the practitioners’ construct influenced how they delivered the intervention. This raised wider ethical questions of supervision, consent, the child’s voice and agency. Implications of these issues for the intervention and educational psychology practice are discussed in the report.