Do you provide therapy for the whole family? Expand Family art therapy enables families under great strain (who might, for instance, be struggling to accept a child’s diagnosis, be exhausted from constant care-giving and sibling-tensions) for whom the pandemic has exacerbated the pressures they already felt to: articulate feelings in a safe space where they can hear and understand others’ perspectives navigate their health journey together build resilience so that the chronic condition does not define family life
Do you provide therapy online? Expand There was never a possibility of leaving high-risk children, young people and families unsupported during COVID-19. Taking great care not to compromise the professional integrity of our therapy – and highlighting the security protocols we established to minimise risk – we moved our therapy services online, delivered via secure video conferencing. This swift reimagining of service delivery was possible as we were already on the front foot in exploring it for those in rural locations. A new addition, in response to the heightened anxiety and burden felt by families during the pandemic, was family therapy.
Do you provide group therapy? Expand Small peer groups are provided for those with conditions in common. This allows them to feel understood, to see beyond themselves, make supportive friendships, and discover coping tools together.
How many sessions do you run weekly? Expand In 2021, we supported 421 children and young people with art therapy delivered over 2,996 hours in total. Our therapy is usually delivered in blocks of 8-12 weeks (one hour per week) but this has been increasing with levels of anxiety higher due to the pandemic. Averaged over the year, 2,996 hours of therapy is over 62 hours each week. This includes one-to-to-one art therapy, small group art therapy with children and young people who have the same chronic health condition on common (e.g. Juvenile Arthritis, Cystic Fibrosis, Kidney Disease, Diabetes etc.) and family art therapy for families struggling to cope with the impact of the illness.
Are Teapot Trust’s art therapists qualified? Expand We have 16 professionally qualified and registered art therapists who work on a sessional basis. (That means they’re contractors, not staff.) They all have a Masters degree in art therapy and are registered with both the Health and Care Professions Council and the British Association of Art Therapy. Their hours vary with some working with us just a few hours each week and others doing significantly more. So, although we have 16 art therapists, in practice this equates to just 5 full-time equivalent workers.
How can I get support? Expand Referrals usually come from pediatric clinicians, other children’s health charities, young patient advocacy groups, community health workers, and others. We also take self-referrals from families. In order to assess whether and how we can best meet your child’s needs, we ask that you complete this form in order to go through the Assessment Process.
What are the benefits of art therapy? Expand Children and young people who’ve benefitted most from our art therapy have typically wanted to address challenges such as: Worry, anxiety and distress caused by their diagnosis and its treatment Low self-esteem and self-confidence Treatment or needle phobia Requiring support in understanding their condition and its impacts Increasingly, we are supporting the wider family – parents, carers and siblings This list is just an indication and is not a full list of the issues that we can support. In order to assess whether and how we can best meet your child’s needs, we ask that you complete this form in order to go through the Assessment Process.
Are there activities/exercises I can try with my child at home? Expand A suite of original branded wellbeing resource materials is freely available on our website for children and families to use at home – including video tutorials, relaxation exercises, journalling techniques and outdoor activities. No matter the medium, these techniques can help promote positive wellbeing through art.
What is a chronic condition? Expand Chronic conditions are those which in most cases cannot be cured, only controlled, and are often life-long and limiting in terms of quality of life. NHS Wales They include: Juvenile arthritis Diabetes Lupus Cystic Fibrosis Kidney Disease
Where do you provide therapy? Expand We work throughout the UK in hospitals, community settings, and online. From Inverness to Southampton. Wherever the need is greatest.
What is art therapy? Expand Art therapy is a form of expressive therapy that uses image-making to help improve an individual’s physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. It provides a way to express and process thoughts and feelings that might be difficult for a young child – and those who’ve experienced trauma – to articulate verbally. This helps a child to feel more in control of what’s happening to them and to cope better with the effects of their condition.
I would like to fundraise for your charity. Do you have any fundraising ideas? Expand There are so many fun ways to raise money for Teapot Trust. We’ve put together a booklet of fun, easy fundraising ideas. It includes our events and lots of other ideas to inspire you.
How will art therapy help me live well with a chronic condition? Expand Outcomes for children and young people, delivered through one-to-one art psychotherapy and condition-specific art therapy small groups, focus on enabling participants to: articulate feelings they might previously have struggled to understand and express come to accept a diagnosis successfully adhere to medicines that have unpleasant side effects through exploring coping methods learn how to deal with the wider impact of their condition on daily life and relationships overcome fear and anxiety and build resilience not to feel defined by their condition take back some control of their lives at a time when they feel they have very little reduces anxiety and prevents self-harm and suicide ideation
How long does the therapy take to impact the children? Expand It varies. Sometimes the impact can be very quick but if there are deep issues to be resolved it obviously takes longer. In the pandemic, when many children and young people (who have weakened immunity due to their health condition) have felt a heightened sense of anxiety, we’ve needed to extend the usual blocks of 8-12 week art therapy to as much as 18 weeks. This quote from a parent highlights why parents are so grateful to us – especially when there are so many other services that just aren’t suitable or have long waiting lists. “By the end of the sessions, there was a huge improvement in his mental health and it helped him completely turn around the way he was feeling to enable him to cope so much better. He now seems to have a very positive outlook on life. I would go as far as saying that it has transformed his life and his future and helped equip him well with coping strategies for the future too. We cannot thank you enough for being there when our son needed you. So many services have long waiting lists or just aren’t suitable for a child who struggles to articulate their feelings but Jane was so incredibly understanding and I feel the pace enabled my son to make real progress in a suitable and sustainable way. It was incredible.”
How does art therapy work? Expand Sessions usually take place weekly and last from 45 minutes to an hour. Typically, there are 8 sessions in a block. However, there could be more or less depending on the child’s needs. This will be agreed through discussions with the parent/carer, the child and our art therapist. Sessions have child-led goals (e.g. “I want to worry less”) and child-friendly progress tracking (e.g. using visual prompts) to help children cope with their diagnosis, treatment, pain and the emotional impact of their condition. Progress toward therapy and treatment plans is reviewed regularly with the parent/carer and the child.