Space for Emotions: investigation into an arts therapy service working with at risk children within a sample of Irish schools

Author(s):

Antonia Brown(presenting / submitting)Jim Gleeson Ed Kuczaj Patricia Mannix McNamara

Conference:

ECER 2014

Network:

05. Children and Youth at Risk and Urban Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

05 SES 11, Children and Youth at Risk and Urban Education

Paper Session

Time:

2014-09-04

17:15-18:45

Room:

B017 Anfiteatro

Chair:

Ruth Leitch

Contribution

This research enquires into the complex factors that influence the accessing of an arts therapy service to address the emotional needs of distressed children and young people 17 schools in the Limerick region of Ireland. This ‘not for profit’ service evolved from initial inception in one school and grew to its current size (19 schools) in answer to the demand from schools located in marginalised communities in Limerick. Though a significant number of arts therapists work individually in schools around Ireland, it is extremely unusual to find an entire organisation, set up and run by arts therapists, that is dedicated to this work. The arts therapy service is directed towards addressing the emotional needs of children who are identified by the schools as having difficulties that cannot be met within the classroom situation or by the existing care structures within the school.

The initial results of this research indicate that the proportion of children requiring support is directly related to the demographic profile of each school. For instance, in regeneration areas the proportion of need was cited as up to 75% of the school population, indicating the scale of needs in this area. There has been a considerable amount of research into social exclusion in the Limerick area (Fitzgerald 2007; Limerick Regeneration, Vision Plan 2008; Hourigan, 2011) from a variety of disciplines and perspectives. There is a recognition arising from this body of research of the profound impact of living in marginalised areas on that population’s physical, emotional and psychological well-being (Limerick Regeneration Health Impact Survey, 2008, Humphreys McCafferty and Higgins 2011, Hourigan, N. 2011).

The research reported here explores the emotional impact of marginalisation upon children and young people through the perceptions of the principals, teachers, parents, children, young people and therapists who are involved in the arts therapy service.

This research is undertaken from a hermeneutic phenomenological perspective and is situated in the ontological position that ‘the truth’ of any phenomena does not exist objectively outside its social, cultural and temporal construction. The first author who carried out the field work is a former teacher who currently works as an art therapist within the service reported here. This location facilitates appreciation of a number of interacting theoretical perspectives drawn from educational, therapeutic and artistic paradigms as well as from prevailing political and sociological thought.

The research question asks why a significant number of schools in Ireland are accessing arts therapy for emotionally distressed children and young people.

The research objectives are as follows:

1. What are the expressed needs of urban schools in Limerick in relation to children from socially disadvantaged areas with emotional difficulties?

2. How is the arts therapy service responding to these perceived needs and what are the perceived effects with children in these schools?

3. How does the arts therapy service interface with the culture of the school system?

Method

The 102 research participants included: 17 school principals; 8 home-school liaison teachers; 50 primary and secondary students using the service; 18 of their parents; and 9 arts therapists. Semi-structured interviews (n=17) were chosen as a research method with school principals, as they enable a rapport to build between the researcher and the participant (Smith Flowers and Larkin 2009), allowing the participant the space to think, speak and to follow their own trains of thought whilst being heard by the researcher. Initial thematic analysis of these interviews was conducted which involved devising a coding system with a code definition table. This was followed by a further thematic analysis using NVivo 8 to collect sections of text under the relevant coding categories. A further analysis based on Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) principles of deep reading was used to sense the emotional climate of the interviews and the feelings of the participants. In focus groups with teachers (1 x n=8) and with therapists (2xn=9) the discussions were taped with prior agreement, transcribed and summarised and were returned to the groups for comments. The transcribed discussions were analysed using thematic analysis, comparing themes with those from the principal interviews, and secondly using elements of IPA to illuminate emotional content. Therapists involved with seeing the children for therapy collected three drawings from each consenting child (n=50) before, during and at the end of a course of therapy (usually lasting the school year from September to June). Participation of each child was entirely voluntary, and not part of the therapy content. One of the main concerns of arts therapy is to promote a sense of self, therefore it followed that asking children and young people to draw pictures of themselves seemed most appropriate, with the proviso that they could represent themselves in any way they chose. 44 sets of completed picture sets (3 pictures per set), with some accompanying verbal input, were collected and reviewed by a group of arts therapists. These pictures and words served as a visual record of the views of children about their therapy and feelings about themselves. The subjective nature of the interpretation of images led to the simple presentation of the children and young people’s images as they are. This allows for each individual viewer to see the drawings through their own interpretive filter, rather than imposing the researchers’ interpretive view.

Expected Outcomes

The data illuminated that some of the children were experiencing significant unaddressed trauma that was interfering with their engagement in school, their relationships with peers and their ability to learn. Principals and teachers expressed that the extent of their students’ emotional needs stretched well beyond what the school system could provide. Principals, teachers and children all evidenced emotional trauma. For the children it was specific to their experience but for the education professionals it was related to their exposure to children who were deeply emotionally distressed. The presence of this unique arts therapy service within the schools opened up the space to engage at a deeper emotional level and in so doing to address the emotional needs to distress children.

References

Fitzgerald, J. 2007. Addressing Issues of Social Exclusion in Moyross and other Disadvantaged Areas of Limerick City. www.limerickregeneration.ie. [Online] Report to the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion,, April 2007. [Cited: 10th May 2009.] www.limerickregeneration.ie/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/social_inclusion_limerick.pdf. Hourigan, N. (ed). 2011. Understanding Limerick: Social Exclusion and Change. Cork : Cork University Press, 2011. Humphreys, E. McCafferty, D. and Higgins, A. 2011. How Are Our Kids. IKOS Research & Consultancy Ltd with Mary Immaculate College Limerick Limerick Regeneration. 2008. Health Impact Assessment of Early School Leaving, Absenteeism and Truancy. s.l. : HSE, 2008. Smith, A. Flowers, P. and Larkin, M. 2009. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, Method and Research. London: Sage Publications, 2009.

Author Information

Antonia Brown (presenting / submitting)

Blue Box Creative Therapy Centre

Co Cork

Jim Gleeson

University of Limerick

Ed Kuczaj

Cork Institute of Technology

Patricia Mannix McNamara