Routledge international handbook of therapeutic stories and storytelling

This unique book explores stories from educational, community, social, health, therapeutic and therapy perspectives, acknowledging a range of diverse social and cultural views in which stories are used and written by esteemed storytellers, artists, therapists and academics from around the globe. Storytelling is a major activity of human communication;it is an age-old tradition, used in many ways by different societies at different moments. Storytelling and stories can be entertaining, therapeutic and educative. The book is like the old saying a 'stitch in time'-stories are a way of dealing with difficulties before they become real problems. The book perfectly fits the context of arts, arts in health and creative arts therapies in that, through the cross-section of chapters, it touches on every single function of storytelling. The book is fascinating in the way it harnesses our day-to-day realities as seen from the storytelling perspective. It is divided into five parts, each created around a particular theme, with chapters from renowned world-class scholars on aspects of stories and storytelling. The first part is dedicated to COVID-19 stories. Part II delves into stories and therapeutic texts. Part III paints a picture of how stories can be used in educational, community and social settings for general therapeutic purposes. This somehow connects with Part IV, which examines stories and therapeutic texts in a health and therapy context. The book provides a deeper understanding of the different contexts and settings in which stories are, can and should be used. Finally, it finishes with a moving story about memory loss. It is evident in this book that stories provide consolation and encouragement to continue search for answers to our human condition. The stories and therapeutic stories and ideas around them presented in this international handbook tell the underlying truth of human existence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Inviting the body, movement, and the creative arts into telehealth: A culturally responsive model for online EMDR preparation

This chapter addresses the emerging need to enhance the cross-cultural applications of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) over telehealth to effectively respond to the COVID-19 crisis. The chapter aims to provide therapists with skills to expand Phase Two of EMDR treatment to increase safety and readiness for online trauma reprocessing. It presents The COME BACK Tool, a set of eight stabilization practices that integrates movement and creative arts, as a comprehensive framework for Phase Two of EMDR. The chapter discusses the benefits of using body-based practices when working with complex trauma and dissociation as well as its application to intercultural work, and also presents a case example of using yoga to facilitate dual attention during trauma reprocessing in Phase Four of EMDR over telehealth. The chapter then outlines eight COME BACK Tool scripts, one practice for each letter, so that readers can easily and immediately begin offering these practices to clients and even applying them to their own self-care routine. By integrating movement and creative arts therapies, the whole body is engaged for a present-moment experience and provides a concrete, external focus so mindfully connecting to thoughts, feelings, and sensations is more tolerable and titrated. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Benefits and challenges of tele-dance movement psychotherapy with children with autism and their parents.

Dance movement psychotherapy can be physically and psychologically beneficial for children with autism spectrum disorder. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic required therapy to take place online. However, tele-dance movement psychotherapy with children with autism spectrum disorder has yet to be studied. This mixed methods study involving qualitative research and movement analyses entailed providing tele-dance movement psychotherapy to children with autism spectrum disorder and their parents, during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, and exploring its potential benefits and challenges. The parents who completed the programme reported positive outcomes including the child's social development, enjoyment, improved understanding of their child, insight and ideas, as well as relationship-building. Movement analyses using the Parent Child Movement Scale (PCMS) lent greater insight into these developments. All of the parents reported challenges in participating in tele-dance movement psychotherapy. These were related to screen-to-screen interactions, home, and physical distance. There was a relatively high attrition rate. These findings highlight the challenges of tele-dance movement psychotherapy with children with autism spectrum disorder and the unique benefits of meeting in person whilst the positive outcomes may indicate that tele-dance movement psychotherapy can be beneficial, perhaps particularly as an interim or adjunct form of therapy. Specific measures can be taken to enhance engagement.

Spirituality During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Online Creative Arts Intervention With Photocollages for Older Adults in Italy and Israel.

The present study aimed to examine how expressions of spirituality were stimulated and reflected in an online creative arts intervention for older adults during COVID-19 lockdowns. The online process focused on the creation of digital photocollages together with narrative elements of dignity therapy. Twenty-four Israeli and Italian community-dwelling older adults aged 78-92 participated in a three-session online intervention involving the production of three photocollages. The visual and verbal data (participants' chosen photos and photocollages, and transcripts of the sessions) were qualitatively analyzed within an abductive framework. Four themes were generated, representing the four domains of spirituality that were stimulated by and expressed in the process: (1) Connectedness with the self, (2) connectedness with others, (3) connectedness with the environment, and (4) connectedness with the transcendent. The findings show how photographs can serve as projective visual stimuli which elicit personal content through spontaneous thinking, and they reveal the multifaceted nature of spirituality, wherein each domain nourishes the others. Overall, the findings illustrate how creative arts intervention guided by the tenets of dignity therapy can contribute to the spiritual care of older adults during periods of social isolation, or to the spiritual support provided in palliative care.

Loss, adaptation and growth: The experiences of creative arts therapists during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, mental health professionals have been called upon to cope with various challenges, including the shift to telehealth without prior training, overload in the workplace, increased risk of infection, and personal stressors relating to the pandemic. This article presents the qualitative findings of a larger international mixed-method study that explored the experiences of creative arts therapists around the globe during the first year of the pandemic (Feniger-Schaal et al., 2022). Twenty creative arts therapists were interviewed between July 2020 and March 2021. Transcriptions of the interviews were qualitatively analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis. Three main themes were identified: an experience of processing the losses caused by the pandemic, a restorative orientation that focused on adaptations the therapists made, and innovations that lead to personal and professional growth. Artistic engagement and creativity were found to be a resource when coping with losses and helped therapists adapt to the shift to tele-creative arts therapies (tele-CAT). Although this shift can lead to advances in the field of creative arts therapies, it requires further consideration, including the need for ethical guidelines, specific training, the development of digital methods that support the creative process, and dedicated supervision for therapists. The findings also point to the importance of psychological support to mitigate the burden therapists experience during stressful events.

Creating an inclusive community in your school through Barrier-Free Theatre

The COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns that academic skills would wither away during the lockdown and with it, social-emotional skills. This is assumed to be as true for neurotypical students as for neurodiverse ones. When students return to their schools, how will they function again in their social environment? The key to addressing the transition back to the “new normal” is the arts, which encompass the whole child: cognition, emotions, social, and physical aspects. This article highlights how creating Barrier-Free Theater programs that include drama, music, dance, art, and creative writing could help all students regain the academic progress they have lost, and with the support of creative arts therapists, could lead to the blossoming of a welcoming and inclusive school community in which everyone, regardless of difference, is valued for their innate creativity and human spirit. Barrier-Free Theater can be integrated in classroom curricula, after-school programs, or with community-school partnerships. Creative arts therapists approach students from a strengths-based perspective. We share processes and strategies to incorporate Barrier-Free Theater, where participants are provided the opportunity to make choices, be respected, and learn through solving problems together. This holistic group process allows the arts to heal trauma and disconnection, while enhancing executive functioning and social-emotional connections. © 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Shifting to tele-creative arts therapies during the COVID-19 pandemic: An international study on helpful and challenging factors.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented shift to online treatment. For the creative arts therapies (CATs) - a healthcare profession that involves the intentional use of the visual art, drama, music, dance, and poetry within a therapeutic relationship - this shift has been highly consequential for practice. This study examined (a) how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted clinical practice in the CATs, and (b) the features characterizing online practice in an international sample of 1206 creative arts therapists aged 22-86 (92% female). It aimed to identify changes in the use of the arts in therapy, resources that contributed to the delivery of therapy, and the role of therapists' creative self-efficacy in adapting to these changes. Respondents completed close and open-ended questions providing examples of what does and does not work in online practice. The results indicate that creative self-efficacy plays a meaningful role in buffering the impact of therapists' computer comfort on their perceived difference in online clinical practice; confidence in one's abilities positively contributed to their adaptation to online practice. The qualitative analysis yielded four main categories: the challenges of tele-CATs, continuing the therapeutic process through tele-CATs, adaptations for tele-CATs, and future directions. Overall, the results present a timely report on the inevitable transition of the CATs to online practice.

Crafting Life Stories in Photocollage: An Online Creative Art-Based Intervention for Older Adults.

Creative arts therapies (CAT) provide a safe and creative environment for older adults to process life experiences and maintain personal growth while aging. There is a growing need to make creative arts therapies more accessible to the aging population, as many have limited access to these services. This need has been catalyzed by the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tele-CAT offers a possible solution. This study explored the experiences of older adults who participated in an online creative process of digital photocollage based on CAT. Twenty-four Italian and Israeli community-dwelling older adults aged 78 to 92 participated in this research through Zoom teleconferencing software. Transcriptions of the sessions and the art produced through the photocollage were qualitatively analyzed through Thematic Analysis. The findings show that the projective stimuli of digital photographs supported older adults' narratives and engaged them in a more embodied emotional experience. Participant experiences involved artistic enjoyment within a positive and safe interaction with therapists. The creation of digital photocollages allowed the participants to process their life experiences and create an integrative view of their life, a vital developmental task in late life. These results point to the advantages and challenges of tele-CAT for older adults.

Aesthetic presence: The role of the arts in the education of creative arts therapists in the classroom and online.

Literature about the integral role of the arts in learning is widely available, but much less has been written about how the arts and aesthetics support education in the creative arts therapies, particularly in the online learning environment. This article introduces the concept of aesthetic presence within the Community of Inquiry pedagogical model in line with values espoused within a Universal Design for Learning framework. The authors contextualize this concept with examples of how attention to the use of aesthetic and multimedia strategies in the classroom and in the online learning environment may foster openness and connection, encourage flexibility, humor, critical thinking, and animate and facilitate conversations about emergent and emotionally difficult themes while increasing accessibility for different kinds of learners.