Exploring the benefits of intersectional feminist social justice approaches in art psychotherapy

This paper charts a research and knowledge exchange project between a university and group of art psychotherapists who came together in a project aimed at better understanding the benefits of critical feminist social justice approaches to art psychotherapy. It outlines the impact of the partnership for art psychotherapy practice, practitioners’ continued professional development and patients’/ service users’ benefit. Drawing on knowledges of critical feminisms held within the university and art psychotherapy expertise from local health services, the project evaluated the benefit of a practice enhancement activity and resource hub as consciousness raising training in intersectional feminism for developing critical feminist social justice approaches to art psychotherapy practice. The project was designed as a qualitative participatory study. The four main salient themes emerging from the data were that the enhancement activity and resource hub provided; patient/ service user benefits, improved practitioner reflexive critical thinking; recognition from practitioners of the importance of being attentive to patient’s/ service users’ situatedness; and acknowledgement by practitioners of the helpfulness of likeminded collectives for sustaining critical feminist social justice praxis. Project findings suggest that critical feminist social justice approaches are beneficial to art psychotherapy praxis and that continued engagement with current and re-emerging feminisms could continue to progressively reimagine and reshape that praxis.