Page 52 - ART FORM AND MENTAL HEALTH - Ingrid Pénzes

is deciding whether to offer further treatment and choosing appropriate art interventions (Betts, 2006; Gilroy, Tipple & Brown, 2012). A previous study (Pénzes, van Hooren, Dokter, Smeijsters & Hutschemaekers, 2014) shows that material interaction is an important source of information in art therapy assessment. Material interaction refers to the way a client interacts with art materials, specifically with the properties of art materials that provide either high or low structure. Material interaction describes how a client constructs the art product; what is the client doing with the art materials and how does he do that? It describes the actual observable behaviour in terms of the categories movement, dynamic, space, tempo, pressure, lining, shaping, repetition and control. Observing a client’s material interaction enables art therapists to gain insight into the client’s amount of rationalization, flexibility and motivation. It is unknown how exactly art therapists observe material interaction and which information this precisely provides in order to meet the goals of assessment.
The research question of this study is how the categories of material interaction should be refined, subdivided and (inter) related and how material interaction can be theorized further. The goal of this study is to explore which information is needed in art therapy assessment and to specify how material interaction can best be observed.
METHODS
Three sequential studies were conducted to refine the initial categories of material interaction (Study 1), relate the categories (Study 2) and specify the relationship between material interaction, art products and clients’ psychological characteristics (Study 3).
Data-collection
Focus group methodology was applied (Kitzinger, 2013; Liamputtong, 2011; Litosseliti, 2003). This methodology is characterized by interactive group discussions in which selected participants respond to and build on the views expressed by others in the group about a particular topic (Kitzinger, 2013; Litosseliti, 2003; Morgan, 1998). In these three studies, the focus groups participants included art therapists.
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