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

Queen Mary University of London

Status: Completed

Conditions: Mental Health; Learning Disability, Adult

Treatments: Other: Focus Group; Other: Semi-structured Interviews; Other: Ethnographically-informed group observation

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05761600

147946

Details and patient eligibility

About

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.

Enrollment: 22 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

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

Trial design

22 participants in 3 patient groups

Art Therapist

Description:

Professionally qualified and HCPC registered Arts Therapists delivering group arts therapy in the community settings in the UK

Treatment:

Other: Ethnographically-informed group observation

Other: Semi-structured Interviews

Other: Focus Group

People with a Learning Disability

Description:

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.

Treatment:

Other: Ethnographically-informed group observation

Other: Semi-structured Interviews

Identified Support Person

Description:

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

Treatment:

Other: Semi-structured Interviews