Learning Disability Group Art Therapy: Looking and Asking (GATher-LD)

Group Art Therapy Practice for People With a Learning Disability (GATher-LD): A Qualitative Study

A qualitative study of group art therapy in England for adults with a learning disability accessing community services. Different stakeholder views and experiences will be gathered using ethnographically-informed group observation, semi-structured individual interviews and a focus group. People with a learning disability will support the data analysis and dissemination of findings in accessible means.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Mental Health; Learning Disability, Adult
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Ethnographically-informed group observation; Other: Semi-structured Interviews; Other: Focus Group

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 22

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Nicki Power; Phone Number: 0207 540 6755; Email: n.r.power@qmul.ac.uk

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Bristol, United Kingdom, BS15 9TR
    • Sirona Adult Learning Disability Health Service
  • Coventry, United Kingdom, CV6 7AT
    • Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust
  • Kent, United Kingdom, DA2 7WG
    • Oxleas NHS foundation trust
  • London, United Kingdom, E1 8DE
    • East London NHS Foundation Trust
  • Manchester
    • Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom, M6 8HD
      • Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

There are three different participant groups in this study. They are:

1. Professionally qualified and HCPC registered Arts Therapists delivering group arts therapy in the community settings in the UK
2. Adults with a learning disability who are currently attending an arts therapy group
3. An identified support person who is well-known to the service user (e.g. NHS staff, paid support staff or family members who are carers) who provides practical and/or emotional support to the person with a learning disability attending the art therapy group

Description

INCLUSION CRITERIA:

Participants who are art therapists must:

• Be a HCPC registered arts therapist practicing in the UK
• Have experience of delivering group arts therapy in a community setting to this population
• Be able to give informed consent and communicate in English

Participants who are adults with a learning disability must:

• Be 18 years old or over
• Have a diagnosed learning disability or be accessing an NHS specialist learning disability service or using their personal budget to access a third sector art therapy group for this population
• Have experienced mental distress, have a diagnosed mental health condition or be accessing support for their mental health
• Be currently accessing group arts therapy
• Be able to give informed consent with adapted communication aids and approaches to meet their communication preferences
• Have a level of verbal ability to ensure they can communicate their views and meaningfully engage in the study

Participants who are paid support staff or family carers must:

• Be 18 years old or over
• Be identified by the person with a learning disability as someone who knows them well and could represent the carer perspective in this study
• Be able to give informed consent
• Have adequate command of the English to be able to meaningfully engage in the study

Participants will be excluded if they:

• Are unable to engage in the informed consent process; this is likely to exclude people who have a more severe form of learning disability
• Delivering the arts therapy group on an inpatient or acute ward
• Trainee arts therapists, or those who have yet to complete registration with the HCPC

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

3

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Art Therapist; Professionally qualified and HCPC registered Arts Therapists delivering group arts therapy in the community settings in the UK	Other: Ethnographically-informed group observation; The chief investigator will visit each art therapy group 3-6 times; there will be up to 5 groups recruited. They will record observational data and insights; making use of visual reflective journaling where appropriate. These will later be written up as full field notes.; Other: Semi-structured Interviews; Individual interviews will take place with all three key stakeholders in group art therapy at different stages of the study. Each interview will have a topic guide to structure the discussion and will combine arts-based methods with conversation to maximise accessibility. Interview location, timing and format (online or in-person) are flexible, and the chief investigator will adapt to the needs of the participants.; Other: Focus Group; After data collection and initial analysis (likely 3-5 months after final observation and/or interview) a focus group will be held with the art therapist participants. This session will use arts-based engagement to support member checking of the initial results and triangulation of the findings, which is likely to include potential active ingredients in group art therapy and principles of practice with this client group.
People with a Learning Disability; Adults (18 years+) currently attending an art therapy group who have a learning disability and can consent and communicate in a way that supports meaningful engagement in the study.	Other: Ethnographically-informed group observation; The chief investigator will visit each art therapy group 3-6 times; there will be up to 5 groups recruited. They will record observational data and insights; making use of visual reflective journaling where appropriate. These will later be written up as full field notes.; Other: Semi-structured Interviews; Individual interviews will take place with all three key stakeholders in group art therapy at different stages of the study. Each interview will have a topic guide to structure the discussion and will combine arts-based methods with conversation to maximise accessibility. Interview location, timing and format (online or in-person) are flexible, and the chief investigator will adapt to the needs of the participants.
Identified Support Person; Person who is well-known to the person with a learning disability (e.g. NHS staff, paid support staff or family members who are carers) who provides practical and/or emotional support to the person with a learning disability attending the art therapy group	Other: Semi-structured Interviews; Individual interviews will take place with all three key stakeholders in group art therapy at different stages of the study. Each interview will have a topic guide to structure the discussion and will combine arts-based methods with conversation to maximise accessibility. Interview location, timing and format (online or in-person) are flexible, and the chief investigator will adapt to the needs of the participants.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
To understand the features of current group art therapy practice for people with a learning disability	Through using ethnographically informed observation of art therapy groups, arts-based semi-structured interviews and focus group to gather key stakeholder perspectives from service users, carers, and art therapists	12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Identify the potential active ingredients of art therapy with this client group through describing the procedures used by art therapists	12 months
Understand how people with a learning disability experience art therapy to identify helpful therapist behaviours and highlight possible future domains of outcome measurement	12 months
Identify the components of the intervention, which includes dynamic administration and how best to include the person's network	12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Queen Mary University of London
• Collaborators: Barts & The London NHS Trust; East London NHS Foundation Trust
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Nicki Power, Queen Mary University of London

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 14, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 25, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): September 25, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 27, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 27, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): March 9, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 18, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 15, 2024
• Last Verified: March 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Nervous System Diseases; Neurologic Manifestations; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Communication Disorders; Learning Disabilities
• Other Study ID Numbers: 147946

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No