ABSTRACT AIM: This exploratory mixed methods study aimed to inform future research by investigating if teachers and children from one primary school perceived any changes in children’s social, emotional and mental health difficulties following art therapy and if so, what the children perceived as helpful about the sessions. METHODS: The study included 45 children and 10 class teachers within one UK primary school. The researchers analysed routine questionnaires from teachers and a children's evaluation interviews, triangulating these with data from a teacher focus group. RESULTS: The findings show significant and medium effect sizes for positive teacher-rated changes in children’s overall stress, conduct, hyperactivity, and procsocial behaviour and a large effect on perceived impact of children’s difficulties on their lives. Teacher-rated emotional distress and peer problems showed small changes that did not reach statistical significance. The positive changes were corroborated by the teachers' and children's qualitative reports. Aspects of art therapy which children found particularly helpful were; making and thinking about art; expressing, thinking and learning about thoughts and feelings; and sessions being fun. CONCLUSION: The study highlighted perceived positive changes and no negative changes in children’s SEMH difficulties. However, future research is necessary to examine clinical effectiveness. Plain-language summary In this article we describe a research study which aimed to explore if teachers and children perceived any changes to children’s social, emotional or mental health difficulties after the children attended art therapy within their primary school. We were also interested in learning from the children if they thought anything in particular had been helpful about their art therapy sessions in order to inform future research and the development of this particular approach to art therapy. The art therapists asked the class teachers to fill out a Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires at the beginning and end of art therapy. The class teachers also attended a focus group so we could learn more about their general observations of the children before and after attending art therapy. The art therapists also interviewed the children to learn if they perceived any changes since coming to art therapy and if so, what in particular they thought had helped bring about these changes. We found that statistical analysis of the questionnaire scores mostly agreed with what the teachers and children said and that there was generally some positive change to the social, emotional and mental health difficulties the children had been experiencing. The teachers also let us know that some of the children still had residual problems. The children emphasised that making and thinking about art along with expressing, thinking and learning about thoughts and feelings had been particularly helpful. It was also important to the children that the sessions were fun. In conclusion, the teachers and children in this primary school perceived art therapy as helpful to the children and that it merits further research in order to develop the approach used by the art therapists and to see if it is effective in larger research studies including more children, schools and art therapists.

中文翻译：

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以小学为基础的艺术治疗：儿童社交、情绪和心理健康变化的探索性研究

摘要目的：这项探索性混合方法研究旨在通过调查来自一所小学的教师和儿童是否认为艺术治疗后儿童的社交、情绪和心理健康困难有任何变化，如果有，儿童认为对艺术治疗有什么帮助，为未来的研究提供信息。会议。方法：该研究包括英国一所小学的 45 名儿童和 10 名班主任。研究人员分析了教师的常规问卷和儿童的评估访谈，并用教师焦点小组的数据对这些进行了三角测量。结果：研究结果显示，教师评定的儿童整体压力、行为、多动和亲社会行为的积极变化具有显着和中等效应大小，并且对儿童困难对其生活的感知影响有很大影响。教师评定的情绪困扰和同伴问题显示出没有达到统计学意义的微小变化。教师和孩子们的定性报告证实了积极的变化。儿童认为特别有帮助的艺术治疗方面是：创作和思考艺术；表达、思考和学习想法和感受；和会议很有趣。结论：该研究强调了儿童 SEMH 困难的感知积极变化和没有消极变化。然而，未来的研究对于检验临床有效性是必要的。简明语言总结 在本文中，我们描述了一项研究，旨在探讨教师和儿童是否感知到儿童社交、儿童在小学接受艺术治疗后出现情绪或心理健康问题。我们也有兴趣向孩子们学习，如果他们认为有什么特别对他们的艺术治疗课程有帮助的话，以便为未来的研究和这种特殊的艺术治疗方法的发展提供信息。艺术治疗师要求班主任在艺术治疗开始和结束时填写优势和困难问卷。班主任还参加了一个焦点小组，以便我们可以更多地了解他们在接受艺术治疗前后对孩子的一般观察。艺术治疗师还采访了孩子们，了解他们是否感觉到接受艺术治疗后有任何变化，如果有，他们认为是什么特别有助于带来这些变化。我们发现问卷分数的统计分析与老师和孩子们所说的基本一致，并且孩子们经历的社交、情绪和心理健康困难总体上出现了一些积极的变化。老师们也让我们知道，有些孩子还有残留的问题。孩子们强调，在表达、思考和学习思想和感受的同时，创作和思考艺术特别有帮助。对孩子们来说，课程很有趣也很重要。综上所述，