From IACAET President: A Few Thoughts on Research

In all fields of human endeavours, research brings forth new ideas and solutions, and generally helps improve the world.  For example, I am profoundly grateful to scientists developing materials as alternatives to plastic.  Researchers in the field of human care also aim to improve the lives of people living with mental and physical health conditions.  This is the case for arts therapies and arts in health, and over the past decade, both fields have seen a growth in research outputs.

In the UK, art therapists engaged in research are often part of multi-disciplinary teams and share skills with and learn from other professionals.  This is a good way to avoid getting stuck in “eco-chambers” and helps to challenge assumptions:  for instance, “We are going to prove that art therapy works”  is not a good starting point for research; instead, a careful and caring look at what works for whom, how and why, may lead to creative discoveries and transformations in practice. Nevertheless, our research activity has generally grown, as reflected by the increase in studies published in peer-reviewed journals.

Inevitably, these studies have been reviewed and critiqued by other researchers, and when done fairly, this is a helpful process that contributes to improving future research endeavours.  However, there has been a concerning trend in critiques that seem unreasonably critical and appear uninformed about what arts therapists and arts in health practitioners do.  There is plenty of room for improvement in our research methodologies, and at times, published results “overclaim” on the benefits of our approaches. However, a purely ‘deconstructive’ approach is not going to benefit anyone, especially our clients, who should benefit from good research.

As stated in Kapitan’s seminal book ‘Introduction to Art Therapy Research’ (2025), my clinical and research work now focuses on developing online art therapy groups for people with chronic pain within a rheumatology department.  “I am full of admiration for the clients who manage unbearable pain 24/7 and retain their humour, generosity and compassion. After completion of their therapy, a few have volunteered to join an ‘expert-by-experience’ advisory group on the approach.  I continue to value the role of practitioner/researcher and to work with other professions to ensure I don’t get stuck in an echo chamber.  Like many others, I also sometimes get the feeling that I am working on the edge of chaos, which is when I use art responses to give it shape and meaning!” (p. 84)

IACAET aims to support a collegial and collaborative stance on developing evaluation and research. Both are essential to establishing our professional credentials, and most importantly, in ensuring that we provide best practice to our clients. We invite researchers interested in arts therapies and arts in health, concerned with building and maintaining trustworthy research criteria, to link up with us with an open mind, for the benefit of all.

Dr Val Huet (PhD)
President, IACAET