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This research study investigates the development of art therapy in Latvia taking in account the a... more This research study investigates the development of art therapy in Latvia taking in account the art therapy’s organizational model partly deriving from the UK and partly from strong influences of traditions from Russia. Following a discussion of the development of art therapy in Latvia, this paper provides an opportunity for empirically based comparisons between the general characteristics of practice in particular comparison of working environments in three countries, namely Latvia, the UK and Russia. Mutual interactions are also considered.

Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 2014

Falls from bed are common in subacute hospital settings, particularly for patients with cognitive... more Falls from bed are common in subacute hospital settings, particularly for patients with cognitive impairment. This repeated measures, single cohort study in 1 subacute ward evaluated effectiveness of an electronic sensor alarm in reducing falls in patients (n = 34) with cognitive impairment. Nursing staff feedback (focus group, survey) was used to determine electronic sensor alarm feasibility. The electronic alarm system was found to be a feasible, effective, and acceptable fall prevention strategy for patients with cognitive impairment.

Children

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

The Arts in Psychotherapy, 2021

Frontiers in Psychology, 2021

Background: Women's health has received renewed attention in the last few years including hea... more Background: Women's health has received renewed attention in the last few years including health rehabilitation options for women affected by breast cancer. Dancing has often been regarded as one attractive option for supporting women's well-being and health, but research with women recovering from breast cancer is still in its infancy. Dancing with Health is multi-site pilot study that aimed to evaluate a dance programme for women in recovery from breast cancer across five European countries.Methods: A standardized 32 h dance protocol introduced a range of Latin American dances presented within a sports and exercise framework with influences from dance movement therapy. Fifty-four women (M age 53.51; SD 7.99) participated in the study who had a breast cancer diagnosis <3 years, chemotherapy >6 weeks, no indication of metastasis, or scheduled surgery/chemotherapy/radiation treatment for the duration of the intervention. Primary outcome data was collected for anthropome...

Drawing on historical and contemporary examples from different European countries, this paper exp... more Drawing on historical and contemporary examples from different European countries, this paper explores the diverse landscape of training and professionalisation in the arts therapies. As such different approaches and pathways of development are outlined alongside considerations of the socio- political conditions of different countries. After a brief historical note regarding the development of the arts therapies, we focus on training within modern European contexts and explore issues of collaboration and integration. Within this context, we discuss the role of professional bodies and reflect on the balance between shared standards and diversity in the arts therapies. This leads to a consideration of professional recognition and of its complexities. Keywords: arts therapies, training, professionalisation, Europe

Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 2018

Frontiers in Psychology, 2020

BackgroundOver the last decades there has been a change in the way schooling is perceived recogni... more BackgroundOver the last decades there has been a change in the way schooling is perceived recognizing that children’s learning is closely linked to children’s health. Children spend most of their time at school, which is often the place where problems are identified and interventions are offered, not only for treatment but also prevention. Embedding arts therapies into the educational system may help address children’s emerging needs and have a positive impact on their wellbeing.MethodsA pilot cross-over randomized controlled design was employed to investigate the effectiveness of an arts therapies intervention on a series of child- and teacher-reported outcome measures, specifically, health related quality of life (assessed using a HRQOL scale; EQ-5D-Y), wellbeing and life functioning (assessed using the child outcome rating scale; CORS), emotional and behavioral difficulties (assessed using the strengths and difficulties questionnaire; SDQ), as well as duration of sleep (assessed ...

Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 2020

Depression affects many adults in the UK, often resulting in referral to primary care mental heal... more Depression affects many adults in the UK, often resulting in referral to primary care mental health services (e.g. Improving Access to Psychological Therapies, IAPT). CBT is the main modality for depression within IAPT, with other approaches offered in a limited capacity. Arts psychotherapies are rarely provided despite their attractiveness to clients. However, the recent drop-out rate of 64% within IAPT suggests that clients' needs are not being fully met. Therefore, in order to expand clients' choice we developed a new creative psychological therapy integrating evidence-based approaches with arts psychotherapies. Method: A three-level approach was used: a) thematic synthesis of client-identified helpful factors in evidence-based approaches for depression and in arts psychotherapies; b) studio practice exploring Cochrane Review findings on arts psychotherapies for depression; c) pilot workshops for clients with depression and therapists. Findings and Discussion: Eight key ingredients for positive therapy outcomes were identified: encouraging active engagement, learning skills, developing relationships, expressing emotions, processing at a deeper level, gaining understanding, experimenting with different ways of being, and integrating useful material. These ingredients were brought together as Arts for the Blues for clients with depression: a 12-session evidencebased pluralistic group psychotherapy integrating creative methods as well as talking therapy. Conclusion: The evidence-based foundation, creative content, and pluralistic nature of this new approach aligned with eight client-identified key ingredients for positive therapy outcomes, make it a promising therapy option that can be adapted to individual therapy. Implications include consideration for NICE approval as an additional therapy for depression.

Frontiers in Psychology, 2019

The Oxford Handbook of Dance and Wellbeing, 2017

This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance ... more This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note that the online publication date for this handbook is the date that the first article in the title was published online. For more information, please read the site FAQs.

Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 2017

Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 2016

The role of embodiment within contemporary psychotherapy practice and its discussion are gatherin... more The role of embodiment within contemporary psychotherapy practice and its discussion are gathering momentum, and are part of a paradigm shift in psychotherapy in which theory and practice are being reformulated. Body Psychotherapy (BP) and Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) are playing a leading role in these deliberations. Although these two professions have separate professional bodies, distinct theoretical grounding and clinical methodology, they both place enormous value on the central role of the body and its movement as indicators of relational problems, and as agents of therapeutic change. There are few authors comparing and contrasting Body Psychotherapy and Dance Movement Psychotherapy although they have much in common as they are both embodied, enactive psychotherapies. However, neither their overlaps in theory, methodology and some of their clinical practice nor their distinct character have been sufficiently delineated. This article elucidates some similarities and differences in fundamental assumptions, compares and contrasts definitions and terms, and considers common and contrasting theoretical perspectives, techniques and methods. It is expected that this will contribute to the ongoing discussion of the articulation of core characteristics in both professions and will facilitate a better understanding and collaboration between them.

International Journal of Art Therapy, 2016

Current therapies do not offer universal solutions for the 'global burden' of depression. By focu... more Current therapies do not offer universal solutions for the 'global burden' of depression. By focusing on non-verbal communication and creativity arts therapies might present a relevant treatment option but their effectiveness remains unclear. A pilot study was undertaken to evaluate a brief art therapy group for adults suffering from depression. Method Adults experiencing mild to moderate depression took part in art therapy and completed questionnaires at three points in time. The intensity of depression, levels of anxiety and general wellbeing were measured. Semi-structured interviews focused on participants' expectations and experience of therapy. Results A decrease in depressive symptoms was observed immediately after the therapy and at the follow-up, and a trend for improvement of subjectively perceived wellbeing was recorded. Potential benefits of therapy recognised by participants included: acceptance of depression, readiness to express emotions, sense of self and awareness of others, readiness for meaningful relationships, sense of achievement, sense of balance and new insights, growth and meaning. Conclusions The statistically significant results and participants' experience indicate that art therapy may offer a valuable treatment option for depression and further research is recommended. Future studies should explore ways of addressing both the outcomes and the process of therapy through creative methodological designs.

Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 2014

Dear Readers, Welcome to this special issue with an exclusive focus on current research articles.... more Dear Readers, Welcome to this special issue with an exclusive focus on current research articles. The special issue also provides us with an opportunity for some reflections on current research perspectives. We regard research as an indispensable aspect for advancing our collective knowledge. However, the marriage between research and clinical practice has not been an easy one. Research has been seen as an add-on, an external requirement, a practice imposed upon practitioners and, as a result, many cannot see its value for daily clinical practice. The article ‘Somatic psychotherapy and research: Walking the common ground’ in the previous issue raised a very relevant point for reflection and discussion. In his article, Johnson (2014) points to a number of common elements shared by a therapy session and a research study and similarities between the roles of therapists and researchers, for example the strategic curiosity cultivated intentionally by both researchers and psychotherapists. Johnson’s (2014) reflections challenge the traditional polarisation between research and clinical practice which arguably does little to advance our collective knowledge. This journal, and this special issue in particular, attempts to bridge that divide in that it offers examples of ways in which research and clinical practice can meet. In order to bring these two equally crucial aspects of our fields together, an understanding of the nature of research becomes relevant. In the experience of one of the editors for this special issue, the understanding, and often demystifying, of research is half of the battle. Once one realises that good clinical practice involves curiosity about human nature, a willingness to offer the best possible treatment and a commitment to improve practice, the overlaps with research are obvious. The next step is very much about learning the particular language that is used in research and, if one wants to delve deeper, the philosophical underpinnings of this type of work/ research-based practice. The first article of this issue, ‘Becoming visible as a profession in a climate of competitiveness: The role of research’ by Bonnie Meekums, does exactly this: it offers an overview of research paradigms available and potentially useful for the field, inviting practitioners to engage with the language of research and the philosophical premises it is built upon. Drawing upon widely ranging research methodologies used in dance movement psychotherapy (DMP) research, this paper sets out with perceptions and projections that contextualise contemporary research before discussing research approaches such as post-positivist mixed methods systematic reviews, constructivist research or ways to evaluate quality in nonpositivist research. Meekums also explores service-user contributions and the challenges posed by ethical considerations in research projects, concluding with an

Music, Health, and Wellbeing, 2012

The Arts in Psychotherapy, 2014

Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 2014

Children

The Arts in Psychotherapy, 2021

Frontiers in Psychology, 2021

Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 2018

Frontiers in Psychology, 2020

Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 2020

Frontiers in Psychology, 2019

The Oxford Handbook of Dance and Wellbeing, 2017

Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 2017

Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 2016

International Journal of Art Therapy, 2016

Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 2014

Music, Health, and Wellbeing, 2012

The Arts in Psychotherapy, 2014

Patrick was referred for Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) because he did not interact with his ... more Patrick was referred for Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) because he did not interact with his classmates and participated in classroom group activities only when he was requested to and only for small periods of time. His verbal abilities were limited and he usually spent his time on his own, wandering apparently without aim. Patrick has a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). When Patrick arrived in the therapy room he moved directly towards the window and started looking through it. The therapist felt that 'holding' Patrick's desire to stand by the window and watch through it (i.e. his immediate experience) could be the starting point of their in-between relationship. Just standing with him by the window and mirroring his light and quick hand movements helped them to connect with each other... This chapter describes a series of case studies in which we explore how DMP can support children with ASD to establish relationships. Here we use artistic enquiry, otherwise known as arts-based research, in an attempt to avoid an over reliance on the use of numbers and words, and so come closer to the non-verbal

Full reference: Karkou V (2012) Aspects of theory and practice in dance movement psychotherapy in... more Full reference:
Karkou V (2012) Aspects of theory and practice in dance movement psychotherapy in the UK in R MacDonald, G. Kreutz and L Mitchell (eds) Music, Health and Wellbeing. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.213-229.

Full reference: Karkou, V (2013) Dance movement therapy in the community: Group work with people ... more Full reference:
Karkou, V (2013) Dance movement therapy in the community: Group work with people with enduring mental health difficulties. In: Dance Movement Therapy: Theory, Research and Practice, Second Edition. Taylor & Francis, pp. 31-48

Full reference: Joseph, Julie and Karkou, Vicky (2016) The Moving and Movement Identities of Ado... more Full reference:
Joseph, Julie and Karkou, Vicky (2016) The Moving and Movement Identities of Adolescents: Lessons from Dance Movement Psychotherapy in Schools. In: MacDonald, Raymond, Heardgreaves, David and Miell, Dorothy (eds). The Handbook of Musical Identities. Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 232-244. ISBN 9780199679485 (In Press)

As arts therapists are increasingly working in schools, there is growing interest in identifying ... more As arts therapists are increasingly working in schools, there is growing interest in identifying applicable therapeutic approaches and expanding on relevant research evidence. This book outlines the potential uses of music, art, drama and dance movement therapies in educational settings, and the contribution they have to make to the emotional and social development of children and adolescents.

Drawing on international evidence, the book outlines a wide range of innovative applications of arts therapies across a range of settings, including mainstream classrooms, special schools and student support units. Examples of subjects covered include solution-focused brief dramatherapy groupwork in mainstream education, art therapy for children with specific learning difficulties who have experienced trauma and music therapy in special education. Particular emphasis is placed upon collaborative work, whether it be between arts therapists from different disciplines, arts therapists and teaching staff or arts therapists and researchers.

Arts Therapies in Schools will be of great interest to arts therapists, and will also be useful to others who want to know about the potential of arts therapies in the classroom, including teachers and other education professionals, health professionals, educational psychologists, school counsellors and policy makers.

Dear Readers, We are delighted with the number of entries for our new researcher award. The entr... more Dear Readers,

We are delighted with the number of entries for our new researcher award. The entries are of a high standard and are forging new ground in dance movement psychotherapy (DMP) and body psychotherapy (BP). We envisage that in forthcoming issues we shall publish as many of these research articles as possible. We intend to foster clinicians and researchers early on in their careers. In so doing we want to move away from what is often seen as a false dichotomy between research and clinical practice. Please watch out for the award-winning article, which will be announced in a future issue.

We are pleased to be able to begin publishing some of this exciting material in this issue of the journal. Our first article, by Julie Wadsworth and Simon Hackett and from the UK about ‘Dance movement psychotherapy with an adult with autistic spectrum disorder: An observational single-case study’, is a successful collaboration between an MSc student in placement and her clinical supervisor. Julie's final project was an observational case study of ‘Mike’, a 23-year-old who received seven structured and consistent weekly DMP sessions of 45 min. The DMP sessions involved selecting symbols for his emotional state at the start, a warm up to release tension and mirroring activities. The main part of the sessions included an adaptation of the six-part narrative approach used in dramatherapy, adapted for movement. The session ended with relaxation activities and completed with the selection again of a symbol matching his mood. The authors conclude that the work was beneficial, and narrative approaches to DMP may be suited to adults with autism spectrum disorder. Their findings, generated through therapist observations and in-therapy responses from the patient, warrant further studies of this nature. Their work is innovative given that most previous studies of autistic spectrum disorder and DMP have been conducted with children.

Next, we have a research study by a team from Italy – Cristina Endrizzi, Roberta Bastita, Mirella Palella, Paola Cossino and Gabriella D'Amico – entitled ‘Health workers faced with death: The influence of training on the language employed in the passage from life to death’. Health workers attended courses focussing on death within palliative care. After the training, the health workers were asked to select words from a list to represent death. The authors analysed the choice of words used by health workers to describe the passage of life to death. They compared those who had looked at death in the training through brainstorming with a group who had had mind–body training. Their study found some flexibility in the choice of words by participants and also ‘stable words’ that were not modified by training. This is an intriguing study, which again merits follow-up studies.

The topic of research continues through the article by Rae Johnson from Naropa University, USA, ‘Somatic psychotherapy and research: Walking the common ground’. Johnson draws upon her lengthy experience in the field to highlight shared characteristics between somatic psychotherapy and specific types of research. She makes references to innovative qualitative methodologies such as heuristic inquiry, organic research, grounded theory, participatory action research, anti-oppressive research and feminist research. She argues that, similar to somatic psychotherapy practice, in these methodologies there is emphasis on the personal experience and the process, there are clear attempts to avoid preconceived ideas and allow things to evolve organically and there is a marked departure from regarding the researcher/therapist as the expert and the participant/client as needing outside expertise. This characteristic mirrors approaches such as the well-established collaborative research methodology. Johnson concludes:

Research that conscientiously and systematically advances our knowledge of somatic psychology not only provides our community of practitioners with current information and ideas for new ways of working, but it also opens doors to dialogue with colleagues in different modalities and disciplines, supports funding proposals for new initiatives, and builds credibility for an approach to psychotherapy that I believe deserves much wider recognition. (p. 91)

We can see this being relevant to both somatic psychotherapy and DMP. We also regard this journal as an important medium that can showcase research studies in the field and thus advance our clinical practice.
The final article in this issue comes from a UK DMP clinician, Bethan Manford, and is called ‘Insecure attachment and borderline personality disorder: working with dissociation and the “capacity to think”’. It explores time-limited DMP with a female offender who was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Her main argument is that through developing the therapeutic relationship, DMP has enabled the client to increase her ‘capacity to think’. She also describes how the work provided alternative approaches for managing emotions opposed to ‘acting out’ difficulties. For this client who has had early experiences of deprivation and trauma, the therapeutic relationship, conceptualised through attachment theory, provided a containing and holding environment that supported the development of healthy attachments. Laban movement analysis, psychodynamic and mentalisation approaches were used to underpin the assessment, formulation of treatment and therapeutic interventions.

We also have a conference report held in the Czech Republic ‘ARS TERAPEUTICA – 3rd International Conference of Arts Therapies in Olomouc, the Czech Republic’ from Libuše Cvaková. Our first book review is from Ronen Levy on Asaf Rolef Ben-Shahar's book published in Hebrew An Anatomy of Therapy – Body Psychotherapy. The second book review and last publication in this issue comes from Rosa Sellarès Viola on the book The Emergence of Somatic Psychology and Bodymind Therapy, by Barnaby B. Barrat.

We hope you enjoy reading through this issue and you will continue engaging in sharing your clinical and research work with us. Also, look out for the special issue on research that is coming out in the autumn.

Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 2014

Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 2010