Untold stories – the art of imagination in later life

Abstract

An exploration of a storytelling and multi-modal arts psychotherapy group, created by collaborative dual working between an Integrative Arts Psychotherapist and a Drama Psychotherapist on an older adult mental health inpatient ward. The different arts modalities weave together within an integrative theoretical framework underpinned by trauma informed practice offering choice, agency, community, and resource. The concept of liminality and rites of passage is explored in the context of working within an inpatient setting. Complex trauma, together with the many bereavements and losses faced by this age group, are considered in creating a safe therapeutic space where personal stories can find expression through graded engagement with the arts. Clinical vignettes illustrate how different creative modalities complement each other within a session – music, sensory movement, relationship with nature, storytelling, art making, and poetry. Critical thinking is given to the importance of sharing diverse narratives within the group, and the containment of intense affect through the expression of untold stories layered in multiple art forms.