The DOI matches its Crossref record; 15 of the 15 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Online art therapy practice and client safety: a UK-wide survey in times of COVID-19
Open accessAbstract
Background The COVID-19 pandemic enforced a sudden change in practice and a move into online delivery for many art therapists in the UK, often with minimal guidance and little previous experience of remote delivery.Aims To explore ways in which practitioners adapted practice to ensure continuity of service and client safety at distance.Methods An online survey designed to explore practitioners’ perspectives and experiences of using digital technology in art therapy sessions with clients.Results Vast majority of 96 respondents reported having worked with clients online as a result of the pandemic. The respondents expressed concerns about safety of practice and their own confidence in delivering therapy remotely. Increased clinical supervision, specialist training, and support from colleagues were valued in the rapid transitioning to online practice.Conclusions A snap shot of art therapists’ responses to a need to adapt their practice due to the pandemic is presented, including approaches to working with technology and strategies that therapists employed to ensure their clients’ and own safety.Implications for practice/policy/future research Being able to offer a safe environment for clients is a priority for practitioners. Further research, guidance and training might offer the support needed for developing a suitably safe online practice.Plain-language summary Art therapists practice in the UK has until recently been primarily face to face, being in the same space with their clients while offering art therapy sessions and being able to observe how they use art materials to create artwork. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic many UK-based art therapists needed to adopt creative approaches to make a rapid shift to delivering therapy online, often with minimal guidance and little previous experience of remote delivery.We have conducted an online survey to explore how art therapists have made changes in their practice and what has supported them in the process. 96 art therapists took part in the survey and shared their experiences and strategies that they have adopted to rapidly move to connecting with clients remotely. They have shared that safety of their clients was of key importance and showed how this concern has guided their transition into online practice.The respondents mentioned that clinical supervision and support from colleagues were helpful in ensuring safety of their clients and themselves. Since online art therapy is expected to continue beyond the pandemic, more research in the area is needed as well as guidance and training for art therapists that would increase their confidence in working with clients online.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“These offers led to a sudden increase in therapists using online interventions [8,25-27], thereby seemingly decreasing perceived barriers by psychotherapists to use online or remote treatment options [8,26].”
In the citing paper
“Nevertheless, the sudden switch also resulted in insecurities and the need for further guidance for therapists [27].”
Citations
Cites
Hedman, E., Ljótsson, B., & Lindefors, N. (2012) · Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research · doi:10.1586/erp.12.67 · Cited by 672
Vigerland, S., Lenhard, F., Bonnert, M., Lalouni, M., Hedman, E., Ahlen, J., Olén, O., Serlachius, E., & Ljótsson, B. (2016) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2016.09.005 · Cited by 292
The Wiley Handbook of Art Therapy
(2015) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118306543 · Cited by 211
Spooner, H., Lee, J. B., Langston, D. G., Sonke, J. K., Myers, K., & Levy, C. E. (2019) · The Arts in Psychotherapy · doi:10.1016/j.aip.2018.11.012 · Cited by 137
Levy, C. E., Spooner, H., Lee, J. B., Sonke, J. K., Myers, K., & Snow, E. (2017) · The Arts in Psychotherapy · doi:10.1016/j.aip.2017.08.010 · Cited by 106
Technology use in art therapy practice: 2004 and 2011 comparison
Orr, P. P. (2012) · The Arts in Psychotherapy · doi:10.1016/j.aip.2012.03.010 · Cited by 50
Digital culture and art therapy
Carlton, N. R. (2013) · The Arts in Psychotherapy · doi:10.1016/j.aip.2013.11.006 · Cited by 48
Technology in Art Therapy: Ethical Challenges
Alders, A., Beck, L., Allen, P. B., & Mosinski, B. (2011) · Art Therapy · doi:10.1080/07421656.2011.622683 · Cited by 32
The Media Adoption Stage Model of Technology for Art Therapy
Peterson, B. C. (2010) · Art Therapy · doi:10.1080/07421656.2010.10129565 · Cited by 28
Will Art Therapy Cross the Digital Culture Divide?
Kapitan, L. (2007) · Art Therapy · doi:10.1080/07421656.2007.10129591 · Cited by 25
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- British Association of Art Therapists, 2014, Code of ethics and principles of professional practice for art therapists
- Malchiodi C., 2018, The handbook of art therapy and digital technology
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Art Therapy in the Digital World: An Integrative Review of Current Practice and Future Directions
Zubala, A., Kennell, N., & Hackett, S. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.600070 · Cited by 136
“It is important that these accounts of sudden changes in practice are recorded and examined for any lessons to be learned for a longer-term approach to how art therapy might contribute to mitigating the psychological impacts of the pandemic, which are likely yet to emerge (Miller and McDonald, 2020; Titov et al., 2020…”
BackgroundSelf-citationScuderi, A., Via, G. L., Timpanaro, G., & Sturiale, L. (2022) · Agriculture · doi:10.3390/agriculture12030400 · Cited by 68
“Moreover, it generates rapid product and process innovations that affect different segments of society (from the economy, communication, e-government, services, art, and archaeology to medicine and science) [1–8].”
BackgroundFischer-Grote, L., Fössing, V., Aigner, M., Fehrmann, E., & Boeckle, M. (2024) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/46637 · Cited by 42
“Nevertheless, the sudden switch also resulted in insecurities and the need for further guidance for therapists [27].”
BackgroundOnline art therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic
Miller, G. M., & McDonald, A. (2020) · International Journal of Art Therapy · doi:10.1080/17454832.2020.1846383 · Cited by 36
“Creating digital safe spaces Ania Zubala and Simon Hackett, authors of ‘Online Art Therapy Practice and Client Safety: A UK-wide Survey in Times of COVID-19’, examine findings obtained from practitioners that adapted their clinical work with clients to online delivery (Zubala & Hackett, 2020).”
BackgroundThe use of VR tilt brush in art and psychomotor therapy: An innovative perspective
Haeyen, S., Jans, N., & Heijman, J. (2021) · The Arts in Psychotherapy · doi:10.1016/j.aip.2021.101855 · Cited by 34
Metadata
- Authors
- Zubala, A., & Hackett, S.
- Affiliations
- University of the Highlands and Islands (GB)
- Cumbria Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Zubala, Ania
- Venue
- International Journal of Art Therapy
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2020-10-01
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 161-171
- ISSN
- 1745-4832 (ISSN-L)
- 1745-4840
- OpenAlex
- W3112095373
- Cited by
- 57
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 71.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- International Journal of Art Therapy (publishedVersion)
- Newcastle University ePrints (Newcastle Univesity)
- Funders
- Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Art Therapy and Mental Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Music Therapy and Health
- Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic, client safety, remote therapy delivery, clinical supervision, practitioner confidence, service continuity, peer support
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
How to cite
Cite CoChat for the checks on this page, and the paper for its own findings.
- This page
- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Online art therapy practice and client safety: a UK-wide survey in times of COVID-19. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1080/17454832.2020.1845221
- The paper
- Zubala, A., & Hackett, S. (2020). Online art therapy practice and client safety: a UK-wide survey in times of COVID-19. International Journal of Art Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1080/17454832.2020.1845221
