Arts therapists’ perceptions of working in educational settings in youth psychiatric wards

Hospitalized adolescents are in a state of crisis, undergo mental and social changes, and often have difficulty expressing their conflicts, difficult experiences and fears. In such cases, arts therapy can provide a safe form of expression and a way to cope with their distress. The present study examined the perceptions of arts therapists, their integration into educational frameworks in psychiatric youth wards, and their work alongside and together with a multi-disciplinary team in psychiatry and education. Twelve female and two male arts therapists took part in this study. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted and analyzed using the Thematic Analysis approach. Three themes emerged from the findings: (1) features of arts therapy in a closed psychiatric youth ward, (2) implementation of arts therapy on the ward and (3) the duality of the therapists’ role: between formal affiliation and professional affiliation. These findings provide a broader understanding of the factors that influence the place of arts therapy in this framework, and by extension can contribute to enhancing its status, and the quality of care provided to adolescents hospitalized on these wards.