Abstract:
The “Arts” or art forms as therapeutic intervention has been documented in
professional journals as being as effective as talk therapy in reducing stress related
symptoms. The advantage the “Arts” has over talk therapy is that the former can
allow clients feel without talking, thereby leading to healing. To explore the
experiences of counselling psychologists in using art forms (music, photography,
dance, and drama) as therapy, 12 counsellors were purposively sampled. Gestalt
therapy served as the theoretical foundation of the study. From a qualitative
approach, the study employed hermeneutic phenomenology as the research design.
Thematic analyses from interviews indicated that creative arts therapies are helpful
in reducing depression and trauma-related symptoms such as dissociation, anxiety,
nightmares, and sleep problems. Other positive outcomes recorded were that creative
arts therapies increased emotional control, improved interpersonal relationships,
improved body image and assertiveness. However, the study revealed some
challenges about the use of arts as therapy. These are: lack of professional training in
the various forms of art for therapy, infrastructural deficit, and client perceptions of
the forms of arts. The study recommended that continuous professional development
sessions for practising counsellors to help improve the use of art forms in therapy,
and also, psychological associations should accept the practice and promote it to ease
client negative perceptions. Implications for future research have been explored in
the study.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Psychology and Education,
Faculty of Educational Administration, submitted to the School of
Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
award of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
(Guidance and Counselling)
in the University of Education, Winneba
