‘I like your new coat’: The emergence of secure base and sense of self and other through an art psychotherapy relationship

Abstract

ABSTRACTArt therapists working with learning disabled clients are used to adapting an art therapy model to work in a way meaningful to the individual. The attuned response to working with past trauma may often be a more interactive responsive style depending on the ability of the client to process cognitive material. This article illustrates in detail an example of an art therapy intervention which demonstrates a flexible, collaborative approach as well as presenting retrospectively gathered evidence of the outcomes of the work. It highlights the ability of an art therapy relationship to enable positive changes in a client whose distressed behaviour could not be managed by behavioural strategies or use of psycho-active medication alone.