Master of Mental Health Art Therapy Exhibition 2024

…And Becoming

“Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about un-becoming everything that isn’t really you, so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.”

- Paulo Coelho

The students chose the title “…And Becoming” for this year’s exhibition. For many, this marks the beginning of a new career… of becoming an Art Therapist. Through the research process and Master program overall, the students have gone on a journey of discovery and transformation. This has required commitment to their studies, clients and personal development, which staff have had the privilege of supporting and witnessing. It is appropriate, then, that the students chose this title as there is no doubt they each have their own individual experience of “becoming” and discovering new aspects of their authentic selves.

Welcome to the 2024 Master of Mental Health Art Therapy Exhibition. The Master of Mental Health Art Therapy is an intensive program, which most students complete over two years. Each year, this exhibition marks the completion of the student’s independent research project, and often the student’s graduation from the program.

The art works included in this exhibition are the student researchers’ personal reflections on the research process. For many students, it was their first experience of planning and completing a research project; from dreaming up an idea, deepening knowledge through a review of current literature, executing data gathering in line with an evidence-based methodology, and finally, writing a thesis in the form of a journal article suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Each student has been supported by an individually assigned research supervisor. The research supervisors walk with the students, providing guidance throughout their research process and we would like to express our gratitude to this year’s research supervisors, whose support has been invaluable.

You will see a diverse and exciting collection of research projects and ideas throughout the exhibition this year. Some focus on the efficacy of art therapy interventions, such as visual journalling, or the impact of parallel artmaking. Two students have completed scoping reviews of existing literature, exploring the use of the mandala in art therapy, and the practice of art therapy with parents of children with a life limiting condition. Another student has worked directly with professional art therapists, exploring intersectional cultural humility within our profession.

Many students have conducted heuristic enquiries this year, which involves sitting in the dual role of both researcher and participant. These have explored the impact of social media on wellbeing, the use of ancestral ritual and symbol in art making, and the impact of combining art therapy with yoga. Some heuristic studies have focussed specifically on the experience of the student art therapist, including the impact of concealed aspects of identity, the different capacities various art media have in supporting therapists’ wellbeing, and the experience of self-doubt as an emerging art therapist.

We congratulate and celebrate all students on their work and commitment to the research process, and on their contribution to the growing body of Art Therapy research worldwide.