This PhD course prepares students to conduct empirical studies on the effects and applicability of therapeutic interventions rooted in Creative Arts Therapies (CATs), specifically studies that aim to identify and evaluate well-being and mechanisms of change within the broader field of Arts and Health.

Arts and Health is a growing research field, and there is mounting evidence for the role that different art forms have in improving health and well-being*, whether as part of everyday life (not for health purposes but with a secondary health benefit), within arts programs designed to promote health, or as specific therapeutic interventions within educational, community, and healthcare settings.

Creative arts therapies (CATs) are characterized by the clinical and evidence-informed use of the arts within a therapeutic relationship that relies on experiential and action-based interventions **. This course prepares students to conduct empirical studies on the effects and applicability of therapeutic interventions involving CATs. Special focus will be placed on combining qualitative and quantitative measures (mixed methods), and cross disciplinary collaboration between arts, psychology, and health science in both clinical and nonclinical settings.

Lectures will be given on the following topics:

• Theoretical foundations of CATs
• Change process research
• Conducting mixed method evaluations: tools, frameworks, research design
• Ethical considerations in CATs
• Evaluating Well-being and change mechanisms
• Participatory Research Design

Learning Objectives:

The purpose is for the PhD students to develop research competencies in relation to conducting robust and ethical research studies across the field of Arts and Health, and specifically with creative arts therapies in both clinical and non-clinical settings. Students will become familiar with the challenges in conducting change process research in health and well-being, and identify tools and methods to address these challenges in their research practice and assessing CATs and other arts-based interventions. Students will develop knowledge about different methodological approaches within the research environment covering humanities and health research and learn how to implement these approaches in their own research.

Teaching methods:

The course lasts 3 days and is a combination of lectures, case studies, and student presentations.

• Day 1 introduces students to the foundations and challenges in conducting mechanisms of change and quality of life research in CATs within the field of Arts and Health.

• Day 2 includes presentations from invited speakers who work with mixed methods in clinical and non-clinical studies with a focus on change mechanisms and evaluating well-being (broadly construed) and quality of life.
• On Day 3, students will present their own research experiences and research designs, for discussion, feedback, critical reflection, and sparring.

Organizers/Lecturers:

Elizabeth Jochum (IKP), Stine Lindahl Jacobsen (IKP), Susan Imus (Guest, Columbia College Chicago), Shiri Lavy (Guest, University of Haifa), Ditte Egholm (IKP), Stevan Skov (IKP)

ECTS:

3

Litterature:

Key literature

* (Clift and Camic, 2016; Fancourt and Finn, 2019; Nitzan and Orkibi, 2020; Sonke et al., 2021; de Witte et al. 2021)

** (De Witte et al., 2020c)