Abstract

As arts therapists are increasingly working in schools, there is growing interest in identifying applicable therapeutic approaches and expanding on relevant research evidence. This book outlines the potential uses of music, art, drama and dance movement therapies in educational settings, and the contribution they have to make to the emotional and social development of children and adolescents. 

Drawing on international evidence, the book outlines a wide range of innovative applications of arts therapies across a range of settings, including mainstream classrooms, special schools and student support units. Examples of subjects covered include solution-focused brief dramatherapy groupwork in mainstream education, art therapy for children with specific learning difficulties who have experienced trauma and music therapy in special education. Particular emphasis is placed upon collaborative work, whether it be between arts therapists from different disciplines, arts therapists and teaching staff or arts therapists and researchers.

Arts Therapies in Schools will be of great interest to arts therapists, and will also be useful to others who want to know about the potential of arts therapies in the classroom, including teachers and other education professionals, health professionals, educational psychologists, school counsellors and policy makers.

…a "must read" for creative arts therapists, teachers, administrators, school psychologists, school social workers, mental health counselors and other school personnel. Further, it is an excellent choice for university preservice and continuing education courses focusing on the bridging of research and practice agendas of the creative arts therapies in school settings.
Janet Bush, Ed.S., ATR-BC, art psychotherapist and founding member of the Florida Art Therapy Association
Vicky Karkou has selected an excellent group of international contributors to produce this much needed collection of research and case study-based chapters. The strengths of the book are that it covers all the arts therapies – art, dance, drama and music, and it is highly relevant and accessible to arts therapists and related professions in both the UK and elsewhere, not least because of the clear and lively style of the contributors. There is now much more attention being given to using the arts therapies in schools yet we have lacked literature that encompasses practice informed by research. This book fills the gap admirably.
Diane Waller, OBE MA(RCA) DPhil FRSA, Professor of Art Psychotherapy, Goldsmiths, University of London
Finally, a comprehensive work showcasing art, dance/movement, drama, and music therapies in the schools! This excellent book shows the pioneering work carried out by arts therapists in schools and establishes the importance of these approaches in supporting schools’ curricula, as well as fostering learning for the child with developmental disorders. Through specific arts-based interventions, techniques, case studies and, of course, research, Arts Therapies in Schools shows how to engage in collaborative work with pupils, teachers and other therapists.
Dr. Patrizia Pallaro LCMFT, ADTR, psychotherapist and dance/movement therapist