Art at the Start: A controlled trial and close observation of parent-infant art therapy intervention.

This two-part study seeks to evidence art therapy intervention for parent-infant attachment relationships, looking at improvements to wellbeing and relationships. Study one was a controlled trial with 105 participating parent/caregivers and their infants (0-3-years), identified due to concerns about their relationship. They were quasi-randomized to attend a 12-week art therapy group or treatment as usual. Measures focused on parents' wellbeing and their perceptions of their relationship with their infant. In study 2 we analyzed video footage from the first and penultimate sessions of a sample of 37 dyads, looking for observable changes in the different channels of communication upon which attachments are predicated. The controlled trial showed intervention participants had significantly improved parental wellbeing, significant increases in attachment warmth and significant decreases in intrusion. This contrasted with the control sample who showed a significant decrease in wellbeing, stable warmth, and significant increases in intrusion. The observation study showed that there was a significant increase in the communicative behaviors from the parents to the infant which would support attachments between the first and penultimate sessions. We conclude that these results make a robust case for the inclusion of art therapy within the range of interventions available for at risk early relationships.

Este estudio en dos partes busca evidenciar la intervención terapéutica de arte para las relaciones afectivas progenitor-infante, mirando las mejoras al bienestar y las relaciones. El primer estudio se trata de un ensayo controlado con la participación de 105 progenitores/cuidadores y sus infantes (0-3 años), identificados en atención a preocupaciones acerca de su relación. Ellos fueron asignados cuasi al azar para participar en un grupo de terapia de arte o seguir el tratamiento acostumbrado. Las medidas se enfocan en el bienestar de los progenitores y sus percepciones acerca de sus relaciones con sus infantes. En el estudio 2 analizamos grabaciones de video de la primera y penúltima sesiones de un grupo muestra de 37 díadas, buscando cambios observables en los diferentes canales de comunicación sobre los cuales se fundamenta la unión afectiva. El ensayo controlado mostró que los participantes de la intervención habían mejorado significativamente su bienestar como progenitores, mejoras significativas en la calidez de la afectividad y significativas disminuciones en la intrusión. Esto contrastó con el grupo muestra de control que mostró una significativa disminución en el bienestar, una estable calidez y significativos aumentos en la intrusión. El estudio de observación mostró que había un aumento significativo en los comportamientos comunicativos de progenitores a infantes lo cual apoyaría los acoplamientos entre la primera y penúltima sesiones. Concluimos con que estos resultados formulan un caso sólido para la inclusión de la terapia de arte dentro de la gama de intervenciones disponibles para relaciones tempranas bajo riesgo.

Cette étude en deux parties s'est attachée à examinant l'intervention de thérapie artistique pour les relations d'attachement parent-nourrisson, étudiant les améliorations dans le bien-être et les relations. La première étude a consisté en un essai contrôlé avec 105 parents/personnes prenant soin des enfants et leurs bébés (0-3 ans), ayant été identifiés du fait d'inquiétudes à propos de leur relation. Ils ont été quasiment randomisés pour participer à un groupe de thérapie par l'art ou le traitement habituel. Les mesures ont mis l'accent sur le bien-être des parents et leurs perceptions de leur relation avec leur bébé. Dans la deuxième étude nous avons analysé des prises à la vidéo de la première et de la dernière session d'un échantillon de 37 dyades, cherchant des changements observables dans les différentes chaînes de communication sur lesquelles reposent les attachements. L'essai contrôlé a montré que les participants à l'intervention faisaient preuve d'améliorations importantes dans leur bien-être parental, dans la chaleur de l'attachement et de diminutions importantes dans l'intrusion. Cela a contrasté avec le groupe de contrôle qui a fait preuve d'une baisse importante du bien-être, d'une chaleur stable et d'augmentations importantes dans l'intrusion. Cette étude d'observation a montré qu'il y avait une augmentation importante des comportements communicatifs de la part des parents envers les bébés qui soutiendrait les attachements entre la première et la dernière session. Nous concluons que ces résultats présentent des arguments solides en faveur de l'inclusion de la thérapie par l'art au sein d'une éventail d'interventions disponibles pour les relations précoces à risque.

The Experiences of Parents and Infants Using a Home-Based Art Intervention Aimed at Improving Wellbeing and Connectedness in Their Relationship.

During the period of COVID-19 restrictions, we offered vulnerable families with 0 to 3 year old children boxes of art resources and guided creative activities to do together at home. This paper explores families' experiences of this intervention, highlighting their perceptions of change in wellbeing and attachment. There is a developing case for the social benefits of art, including the impact of arts on mental health and on the wellbeing of children. However, we know that social factors impact upon arts participation, and existing inequalities and mental health difficulties have been exacerbated in the context of the pandemic. This project aimed to adapt to restrictions, to provide a meaningful remote intervention, supporting parent-infant dyads to have positive interactions through art making. We sought to explore the benefits of this intervention for infants and parents with a view to understanding more about the psychological benefits of art participation and about ways to engage families into art making, as well as thinking about how best we can evidence these kinds of arts in health interventions. Preliminary findings showed promising outcomes from the art boxes and this paper brings together the full results, primarily based on interviews with sixteen parents and four referrers alongside collected feedback. We highlight potential mechanisms for change within the intervention and detail the perceived impact of the art boxes in supporting attachment. Parents felt that the art-boxes facilitated changes in their own wellbeing that would make them more available to connection, and recognised changes for babies that reflected their increased capacity to mentalise about their child. Importantly, there were also concrete changes for the dyad that represented improved connection, such as more playful time together and increased shared attention and eye contact. Our observations suggest that the quality of the parent-infant relationship benefited from home-based art intervention, and we speculate about the potential efficacy of this approach beyond the pandemic.