Over the past two years 2018-2020, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my placement experiences at the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) and how they have shaped my thinking as an Art Psychotherapy student.
When I first began working in a gallery setting, I was drawn to the possibilities that these cultural spaces seemed to offer. I could see that people engaged with artwork in deeply personal ways, often finding it easier to begin talking about themselves through a painting, sculpture or exhibition. The gallery felt different to a traditional therapy room, but it also raised important questions.
How do we ensure that Art Psychotherapy remains safe and ethical when practised in a public cultural space?
That question became the focus of my MSc research at Ulster University.
My dissertation is an autoethnographic study based on my placement experience at the RHA. Through reflecting on my own practice, supervision, placement notes and professional development, I have been exploring how the HCPC Standards of Proficiency can guide Art Psychotherapists working in museums and galleries.
For me, this research has never been about taking therapy out of the therapy room simply because it is different. Instead, it has been about asking whether cultural spaces can become appropriate therapeutic environments when they are underpinned by the same professional values that guide all Art Psychotherapy practice.
Those values include creating psychological safety, working ethically, maintaining appropriate boundaries, developing a strong therapeutic relationship and ensuring that every participant feels respected and supported throughout the process.
As my thinking has developed, I have continued using the term Cultural Art Therapy to describe this way of working. I feel like it represents the meeting point between Art Psychotherapy and meaningful engagement with museums, galleries and other cultural spaces. While the idea is still evolving, I think it captures something that I have been exploring since the beginning of my placement.
One of the things I have enjoyed most about this research is that it has constantly challenged me to reflect on my own practice. Every placement day, supervision session and participant interaction has encouraged me to think more carefully about what I am doing and why.
That, I believe, is one of the greatest gifts of training as a therapist. We are continually learning, not only from books and research, but from the people who trust us enough to share part of their journey.
As I came towards the end of my MSc (which is officially done!), I am excited to continue exploring where Cultural Art Therapy might lead. There is still so much to learn, but I hope this research will contribute, even in a small way, to conversations about how museums and galleries can become welcoming, ethical and reflective spaces for therapeutic practice.
It feels like this is only the beginning.