Safety in a person-centred, garden-based art therapy group for people with dementia

Abstract

Background This article describes a garden-based art therapy group for people with dementia and sets out to explore the factors that created a sense of psychological safety. We explore the theory around a person-centred approach and working outdoors in a garden.Context The authors worked together to facilitate an ongoing, open art therapy group, which met weekly in a community garden. This was a unique setting for art therapy, presenting both benefits and challenges in facilitating a sense of safety.Approaches We used feedback gathered from group members and artwork during sessions and from individual interviews. We also drew on vignettes from the group and our own observations.Outcomes Although there were challenges to working in a garden, there were many benefits. Through providing familiarity and consistency we offered a safe space. Our person-centred approach meant we could offer participants opportunities for expression, communication and experiences of being valued, independent and successful in their art-making. In addition, key factors in creating a sense of safety seemed to be the regulating effects of being outside in a non-clinical space, and the inspiration and focus provided by being in a garden.Implications for practice Using settings that may have previously not been considered for art therapy could bring benefits outweighing the challenges they present.Implications for research More research is needed in the areas of outdoor art therapy and art therapy groups for people with dementia.Plain-language summary Creating a sense of psychological safety was necessary in garden-based art therapy for a group of people with dementia. This practice paper describes an ongoing, open, in-person group, which met weekly in a community garden. The three authors facilitated the art therapy group using a person-centred approach to connect with group members and understand their needs. They explore the factors that contributed and detracted from a sense of safety in this setting. The observations of the co-facilitators, as well as feedback from clients, suggested that the garden setting was calming and added focus and inspiration. The art therapists’ person-centred approach led to experiences of success and being valued as well as increases in communication and self-expression. The benefits of using alternative, outdoor settings may outweigh the challenges they present, though more research in this area is needed.

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