Arts Therapies and Psychotherapy Training: an International Survey

This paper presents a comparative analysis of data received from the dissemination of a qualitative questionnaire to 12 countries. The survey was concerned with the extent to which group therapy was incorporated into the personal development (PD) aspect of arts therapies and group psychotherapy training. It asked respondents for their rationales, which include or omit such an experience in their programme, together with details of the form, structure and orientation if it was included. The paper provides the reader with a breakdown of the responses by category. Table 1 illustrates a comparison of the numbers of programmes in each category surveyed with those responding and not responding. Table 2 presents an analysis of category to countries. Table 3 compares the number of programmes in each category which included or omitted a group therapy experience as part of their training programme, and shows the numbers of programmes discontinued. With the support of these numerical distribution of data outlines, a qualitative textual analysis of three questions most relevant to the research study undertaken (Payne 1996) is presented. The study, for which this survey had as context, examined student perceptions of a dance movement therapy (DMT) group as part of the PD aspect of their postgraduate training. It brought student reflections on the group experience into relationship with their developing competencies as clinicians, both during and following their training. The survey found that both group psychotherapy, expressive arts therapies and music therapy in particular thought the inclusion of a group therapy component during training was important for trainees. Some of the programmes for training individual psychotherapists and dance movement therapists were found to be less convinced of the value of such a group. The overall issue to emerge was the role personal and professional development plays in group therapy when part of training. For example, the need for it to be free from evaluation and assessment procedures and the importance of enough staffing to enable a separate facilitator to run the group. The DMT programmes in the UK appear to have held views that were more akin to group psychotherapy, dramatherapy and music therapy programmes run both nationally and internationally at the time.