Page 54 - ART FORM AND MENTAL HEALTH - Ingrid Pénzes

as age, work setting, training background and years of work experience. This information was integrated into profile memos of each participant and ensured diversity of backgrounds.
Member checking has taken place to minimize the interviewer effect. In preparation of the analysis in Study 1 all data was sorted by each participant and member-checked individually by email. The opportunity was offered to add new, additional or different insights about material interaction. All reactions confirmed, elaborated or added to the already given input. The focus groups of Study 2 and 3 were video taped and transcribed into text. Initial reports were sent by email to the art therapists for member checking until no further changes were suggested. This meets the criteria of credibility.
To make sure that the findings were grounded in data and not biased by the investigator’s motivation or interest, the whole process of analysis was peer debriefed by a senior lecturer in art therapy who has asked questions and has provided us with critical remarks. This meets the criteria of confirmability.
The in-depth exploration of the concept of material interaction and the comparative analysis with the interviews of the previous study, in which several art therapists individually spoke in detail about the art making processes of clients during art therapy assessment (Pénzes et al., 2014) enhanced the transferability. The cases of Study 3 were based on the descriptions of the psychologists and art therapists working with these clients. This meets the criteria of authenticity.
STUDY 1
A large exploratory focus group (Bloor, Frankland, Thomas, & Robson, 2001) was conducted to explore if material interaction could be used as a source in art therapy assessment and to refine the categories that were already developed in the previous study (Pénzes, et al., 2014).
Method
Participants
Thirty-eight art therapists working in diverse mental health care settings and with different training backgrounds participated. They were recruited at
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