Perspective of Indian Mental Health Professionals on Expressive Art Therapy for Adolescents: A Mixed-method Study

Description

Page: 183-189

Neethu Prakashan and Bidisha Banerjee (Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS Pilani, K.K Birla Goa Campus, Goa)

Expressive Art Therapy (EAT) is an emerging field of psychotherapy in India. The current study aimed to gather opinions on the efficacy of EAT from the point of view of practicing EAT professionals and traditional Mental Health Professionals (MHPs); and to understand the application of EAT for adolescents. A total of 45 MHPs from various fields participated in a recorded telephonic interview (15) and an online survey (30). Snowball sampling and convenience sampling were employed to access the participants. The thematic analysis of the interviews generated four major themes: therapeutic essence of EAT, EAT and adolescent’s well-being, limitations of EAT, and application of EAT on psychological conditions. The online survey indicated that 29 MHPs were aware of EAT and substantiated the acceptance of EAT among the MHPs in India. The MHPs confirm the effectiveness of EAT for adolescents’ well-being and other psychological conditions. The therapeutic benefits of EAT were confirmed overpowering the usage of therapy merely for inner expression. Nevertheless, the findings also highlight the limitations of this therapy. The current study also calls for further research with a larger sample size to gain an in-depth insight into EAT from MHP’s point of view in India.