Art therapy has been shown to make a real difference for children and their families. It allows a young person to be in charge of what they are doing at a time when they might feel – as someone with a long-term medical condition – that they have very little say, or control, over what is going on. The Teapot Trust art therapists always give a warm welcome to children, parents and carers.

- Dr. Catherine Calderwood

“Art therapy has been hugely beneficial for my patient and has allowed her to effectively communicate with people at all levels throughout the hospital. Without working closely with art therapy, I believe that Olivia would not have been able to engage with clinical psychology or the medical team (and this is clear from how she has not managed to engage in the same way in community settings). Through using art, Olivia has flourished and found her voice, has been able to connect to her values, and has been able to work through medical trauma in a way that was not possible via talk therapy. There is no doubt in my mind that art therapy with Patricia has been the cornerstone of her recovery.”

“Thank you so much for the Teapot Trusts recent attendance at our monthly clinic. The open group session was attended by the majority of children coming to clinic on that day and they all appeared to enjoy taking part in the art activities round the table. The opportunity to bring this group together appeared to be successful in many ways. I heard a lot of interaction between the patients and the spontaneous Christmas Carol singing was joyous!”

"The art tables have been superb and very well received by the families I speak with. They have had a big impact on many of our patients."

"We have been delighted with the input of the Teapot Trust’s art therapist in our clinics. Rheumatology is one of the least well-known of the hospital’s specialisms and is often sidelined in service provision by better-known diseases. Our patients are often on very strong drugs with lifelong and sometimes life-limiting conditions."

"We have been delighted with the input of the Teapot Trust’s art therapist in our clinics. The art therapy has been a great support for the children and their families, giving an alternative focus to their visit to hospital so it’s not just about seeing me, having blood tests and their treatment regime."

"The Teapot Trust has made a huge difference to our clinic environment – for children/families and for the staff working in clinics. The children love to take away their work in the wee boxes. Clinics can be stressful and having dedicated art therapists makes the atmosphere different. We don’t have any access to play therapy in the pm clinics as the play assistant leaves at lunchtime (part-time working). I can’t praise the TT high enough!!"

"I really appreciate the work the Teapot Trust does with our patients. It really helps in the outpatient clinics where the patients are often much calmer and more relaxed." 

“The support from the staff at the Art table during diabetes clinic is much appreciated. The children often comment on the fun they have waiting to come into the clinic and enjoy showing us their craftwork. Some of the children choose to remain at the art table whilst their parents/carers come into the consultation room. This gives the parents/carers a good opportunity to address worries/concerns that they may not wish to discuss in front of their child, with the diabetes team staff. The diabetes team members really value the fact that the Teapot Trust staff always check which room we take the parents into, so they can bring the child to the parents/carers as required. It is a very professional, friendly and accommodating service. We (staff, patients and families) all miss it if there is occasionally an absence from the Teapot Trust staff!” 

"We strive to offer the best service we can in Raigmore. As a district general, we have limited resources compared with the tertiary services. However, because of our remote location and large catchment area, we are expected to punch above our weight. The 1 to 1 art therapy service helps us to offer the best possible care to our children and young people." 

“Having Alice as part of the Psychological Services Team has enabled us to take an alternative approach to supporting children, young people and their families. This diversification of skills contributes to a more holistic and responsive service and, therefore, enhances patient experience.” 

“Young teen boy who is largely non-verbal, disengaged from play specialist, procedural anxiety and also wider emotional/behavioural issues.  Consultant anaesthetist and team were feeling unsure of what help / what can offer, referred to us. Mum says he won’t speak directly to anyone but loves art. Mum is really happy that there is an option of art therapy and that he is eligible, and agrees this could be a ‘way in’ to help him express feelings.  I fed back to the team (anaesthetist and stoma nurse) that he is being picked up for art therapy as 1-1 talking therapy is likely unsuitable/ not tolerated at moment; the anaesthetist reported that she is ‘very grateful and happy’ that he is been picked up for this. Also, I am very grateful as he will not speak to healthcare professionals or new people and finds this overwhelming, therefore psychological intervention/talking therapy would be too demanding/not tolerated, whereas art seems to be something he really enjoys and could hopefully engage in with a view to helping him express himself” 

“I can reflect on having at least a couple of patients where art therapy would have been useful to explore, and one example where I would definitely have referred to Alice. Due to funding, and these being chronic pain speciality patients, this hasn’t been possible” – Comment from Mel: We are looking into offering some Art Therapy sessions to the Chronic Pain service, however, the potential for Art Therapy here is enormous and we would not be able to accept all children referred on the current resource.“ 

 “Having the ability to offer Art Therapy to those families who have been referred to our ‘general’ service (i.e. no specific funding for dedicated psychology time) has been a valuable addition. It has been helpful to be able to involve Alice to work with a number of cases (both independently and jointly with other members of the team) particularly those who find talking therapies difficult to engage with.“ 

“I wanted just to say that I think Alice is a really valuable addition to the team. I have done a piece of joint work with her over the past few months, where Alice worked with the child and I worked with the parents. It was really interesting and useful to hear Alice’s perspective on the child’s difficulties, and it seems like art therapy was a really useful way of working for him to be able to express and explore some of his feelings. I have really valued having time with Alice to reflect on our clinical perspectives on this family, and have found it really interesting to learn about the way she works.  Alice is very warm and personable and has been lovely to work alongside, and it would be a real loss to the team if Alice was no longer present – I hope her post continues to be funded!”