Browsing by Person "Zubala, Ania"

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Art therapy with the older person: One life, many losses
(Routledge, 2018) Burns, Jane; Zubala, Ania; Karkou, Vicky
Dance movement psychotherapy practice in the UK: Findings from the Arts Therapies Survey 2011
(2015-01) Zubala, Ania; Karkou, Vicky
Arts therapies practice in the UK, due to its complexity, is rarely adequately described and what constitutes main features of the professions often remains unclear. A nationwide Arts Therapies Survey was conducted in 2011 with the aim to offer a description of clinical practice with particular emphasis on work with depression. The survey received responses from 395 arts therapists, among whom 36 were dance movement therapists. While complete data from the survey is available elsewhere, this paper presents results particularly relevant to dance movement practitioners and highlights key areas of their practice, including usual work settings, client groups and preferred theoretical approaches. Both quantitative and qualitative data are used to illustrate the points discussed. Additionally, dance movement psychotherapists' responses concerning their work with depression are presented against other arts therapies professions' practice with this condition in the UK. Finally, areas for further research are recommended.
Description and evaluation of arts therapies practice with adults suffering from depression in the UK
(Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, 2013) Zubala, Ania
This thesis contributes new knowledge to the field of arts therapies and their relevance in the treatment of depression in adults. The global burden of depression means that available treatments do not address all areas within the complexity of the condition and arts therapies may potentially present a relevant alternative by offering opportunities for non-verbal expression and exploration of creativity. Literature up to date does not offer comprehensive enough description of arts therapies practice and therefore establishing of credible evidence has not been possible. This thesis addresses the gap by exploring the nature of arts therapies practice and its value in the treatment of depression. The research consists of two phases: phase 1 provides a description of arts therapies practice with depression in the UK based on data collected from 395 survey respondents, while phase 2 evaluates group brief art therapy for adults experiencing mild to moderate depression. The project employs mixed methodologies within a creative research design incorporating surveys, interviews, arts-based inquiry and a pilot clinical study to examine multiple perspectives and offer findings meaningful to diverse audience. This project establishes that depression is a common condition among arts therapists' clients while some of the practitioners consider work with depression their main area of professional interest. It further finds that the therapists address depression through the use of humanistic, psychodynamic and integrative approaches and discovers that certain areas of the therapy process have particular relevance in the treatment of depression (e.g. time, group work, motivation, reconnecting). The pilot clinical study concludes with decrease of depression levels and increase of subjectively perceived wellbeing in all participants immediately after nine sessions of art therapy and in the follow-up. Participants' experiences, researcher's observations and arts-based reflections on the therapy process highlight the potential value of arts therapies in areas relating to, among others: connection and sharing, awareness of others and self, sense of achievement, self-expression and regain of meaning. The findings are integrated in the final discussion, which proposes a set of concepts particularly relevant to the treatment of adult depression through arts therapies. This research provides the first comprehensive description of arts therapists' work with depression in the UK and confirms the potential of this practice to be effective, which is relevant to health professionals and may lead to increased involvement of arts therapies in mainstream healthcare. The particular value of this project lies in shaping the basis for further explorations in the form of larger RCTs as well as demonstrating relevance and superiority of creative research designs in evaluating arts therapies.
Description of arts therapies practice with adults suffering from depression in the UK: Qualitative findings from the nationwide survey
(Elsevier, 2014-11) Zubala, Ania; MacIntyre, Donald J.; Gleeson, Nigel; Karkou, Vicky
There is growing evidence that arts therapies present a relevant treatment option for depression, but the experiences, methods, tools and methods of practice of arts therapists with this client group remain unclear. Thus, this research study aimed to describe the specifics of the practice of arts therapies with depression. In 2011, all arts therapists registered in the UK were invited to complete an online questionnaire concerning their practice in general and in relation to depression. The Arts Therapies Survey received 395 responses. Arts therapists who work primarily with depression were identified and compared to those who do not work with depression on a range of factors. These quantitative results were presented elsewhere (Zubala, MacIntyre, Gleeson, & Karkou, 2013). An analysis of the qualitative material was guided by the strategy of grounded theory, and findings were obtained through thematic analysis. The current paper introduces these findings, adding depth to the knowledge previously gained through the quantitative analysis. Arts therapists worked across various settings with highly complex clients; however, therapists struggled with the tension of providing care according to guidelines, which they found inflexible and at times misguided. The therapists tended to vary the theoretical model of their therapeutic approach depending on individual client factors and often collaborated with other professionals using a variety of standardized tools to measure outcomes. The findings further offer a detailed understanding of the therapeutic process and describe the meaning of clinical practice within arts therapies.
Description of arts therapies practice with adults suffering from depression in the UK: Quantitative results from the nationwide survey
(Elsevier, 2013-11) Zubala, Ania; MacIntyre, D. J.; Gleeson, Nigel; Karkou, Vicky
There is growing evidence that arts therapies may be under-used treatments for the 'global burden' of depression. However, the experiences of arts therapists, their methods, tools and ways of working with this client group remain unclear. Arts therapies in the UK are a form of psychotherapy. They use arts media alongside therapeutic relationship as means of therapeutic change and include four disciplines: Art Therapy (AT), Music Therapy (MT), Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) and Drama Therapy (DT). In 2011, all arts therapists registered in the UK were invited to complete an online questionnaire concerning their practice in general and specifically in relation to clients with depression. The Arts Therapies Survey received 395 responses. Arts therapists who work primarily with depression were identified and compared to those who do not work with depression on a range of factors, including preferred theoretical approaches and style of working. Arts therapists who specialise in depression tend to follow Psychodynamic principles more often, are more likely to be older and experienced, work with groups, in health settings and with adults more often than children or adolescents. These quantitative findings enable the description of most common practice of arts therapies with depression in the UK and are intended to serve as a reference for arts therapists themselves and other professionals interested in the treatment of depression. Qualitative data gathered in the survey will be presented in a separate paper, with the aim of deepening the understanding already gained. 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
The Impact Areas Questionnaire (IAQ): A music therapy service evaluation tool
(GAMUT, 2020-07-01) Tsiris, Giorgos; Spiro, Neta; Coggins, Owen; Zubala, Ania; Gilboa, Avi
Service evaluation is a professional requirement for music therapy practitioners and organisations. Yet service evaluation findings are rarely published within the professional literature, and there is limited documentation of the processes and methods of such evaluations, including the rationale, dilemmas, and challenges encountered. This is perhaps due to the perceived status, methodological weaknesses, and context-specificity of service evaluation work. Drawing on our engagement with service evaluation in diverse settings, we have become aware of its potential beyond its typical current uses in the field as well as of the need for open discussion and debate about the service evaluation tools that are available. This is where the aim of this paper lies: to introduce a service evaluation tool, the Impact Areas Questionnaire (IAQ), alongside the studies that led to its construction. Developed originally through a review of 27 individually designed service evaluation projects, this questionnaire contains a number of different impact areas. Adopting an ecological perspective, these areas refer to music therapy’s perceived impact not only on service users, but also on families/carers/friends, staff, and the organisational context in its entirety. Following its original development within Nordoff Robbins England and Wales, this questionnaire was tested in the context of Nordoff Robbins Scotland with the aim of exploring its applicability and transferability to other music therapy settings. In addition to presenting the findings of this testing, we discuss the potential use of the IAQ, which is included as an appendix to this article, in other settings and its relevance for knowledge and policy making in the field.