This arts-based study explored the role and impact of visual art in supporting collaborative working between service users and staff in a recovery-oriented mental health service in Ireland. A total of two service users and five staff members took part in three visual art focus groups led by a qualified art therapist. Afterwards, service user and staff experiences of focus group participation was investigated through individual semi-structured interviews that were analyzed using Thematic Content Analysis. Three original artworks were created in three focus groups, each of which represented how stakeholders wished their recovery-oriented service to develop in future. Analysis of interviews describing experiences of working with fellow mental health stakeholders in the focus groups revealed five common themes including: ‘Group art-marking engenders collaboration’, ‘The physicality of being in the art-making space evokes sensory experience’, ‘Group art-making can offer a sense of liberation’, ‘Group art-making raises questions about self-revelation’ and ‘Group art-making enables an atmosphere of equitity’. Findings suggest that when facilitated by an art therapist, group visual art making can offer stakeholders a creative, liberating and equitable environment that can foster the concept of co-production that is foundational to effective recovery-oriented working in mental health.

这项基于艺术的研究探讨了视觉艺术在支持爱尔兰以恢复为导向的精神卫生服务中服务使用者和员工之间的协作工作中的作用和影响。共有两名服务用户和五名工作人员参加了由合格的艺术治疗师领导的三个视觉艺术焦点小组。然后，通过使用主题内容分析对各个半结构化访谈进行了调查，调查了焦点小组参与的服务用户和员工的经历。在三个焦点小组中创作了三幅原始艺术品，每个小组代表利益相关者如何希望他们的面向恢复的服务在未来发展。分析描述与焦点小组中的精神卫生相关利益相关者合作的经历的访谈，发现五个共同主题，包括：“群体艺术标记促进合作”，“在艺术创作空间中的身体状态唤起感官体验”，“群体艺术创作可以提供一种解放感”，“群体艺术创作引起关于自我启示的问题”和“团体艺术创作营造了一种公平的氛围”。研究结果表明，在艺术治疗师的协助下，集体视觉艺术创作可以为利益相关者提供一个创新，自由和公平的环境，可以促进共同生产的概念，这是在精神卫生领域有效开展以恢复为导向的工作的基础。