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Qualifying public perceptions of art therapy: A mixed methods study of community discussion forums

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posted on 2024-08-15, 00:34 authored by Theresa Van LithTheresa Van Lith, A Geldenhuys
This study explores public perspectives on art therapy, a vibrant and evolving field, revealing exciting opportunities to reshape misconceptions held by the public and healthcare professionals. It spotlights the use of social media as a communicative tool to collect authentic feedback on health services. The surge in social media usage opens new doors for capturing spontaneous, real-world opinions, with platforms like Quora and Reddit offering a treasure trove of data. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study examines online conversations about art therapy, employing precise content and thematic analyses with In Vivo coding. It identified ten themes across five key areas including efficacy, outcomes, applications, purpose, and professionalism. Significantly, the findings illuminate a rising tide of positive perceptions around art therapy methods and goals, with a trend of increasingly favourable views emerging over the last five years, showcasing the growing impact and acceptance of the field.

History

Publication Date

2024-09-01

Journal

Arts in Psychotherapy

Volume

90

Article Number

102186

Pagination

8p.

Publisher

Elsevier Ltd.

ISSN

0197-4556

Rights Statement

© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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