Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT05761600

Learning Disability Group Art Therapy: Looking and Asking

A qualitative study of group art therapy in England for adults with a learning disability accessing community services. Different stakeholder views and experiences will be gathered using ethnographically-informed group observation, semi-structured individual interviews and a focus group. People with a learning disability will support the data analysis and dissemination of findings in accessible means.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Learning Disability, Adult Behavior Communication Disorders Learning Disabilities Mental Disorders Mental Health Nervous System Diseases Neurobehavioral Manifestations Neurodevelopmental Disorders Neurologic Manifestations Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Personal Satisfaction Psychological Well-Being Signs and Symptoms

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, London, Kent, United Kingdom

Loading trial locations.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Participants who are art therapists must:

  • Be a HCPC registered arts therapist practicing in the UK
  • Have experience of delivering group arts therapy in a community setting to this population
  • Be able to give informed consent and communicate in English

Participants who are adults with a learning disability must:

  • Be 18 years old or over
  • Have a diagnosed learning disability or be accessing an NHS specialist learning disability service or using their personal budget to access a third sector art therapy group for this population
  • Have experienced mental distress, have a diagnosed mental health condition or be accessing support for their mental health
  • Be currently accessing group arts therapy
  • Be able to give informed consent with adapted communication aids and approaches to meet their communication preferences
  • Have a level of verbal ability to ensure they can communicate their views and meaningfully engage in the study

Participants who are paid support staff or family carers must:

  • Be 18 years old or over
  • Be identified by the person with a learning disability as someone who knows them well and could represent the carer perspective in this study
  • Be able to give informed consent
  • Have adequate command of the English to be able to meaningfully engage in the study

Participants will be excluded if they:

  • Are unable to engage in the informed consent process; this is likely to exclude people who have a more severe form of learning disability
  • Delivering the arts therapy group on an inpatient or acute ward
  • Trainee arts therapists, or those who have yet to complete registration with the HCPC

Treatment and study plan

Ethnographically-informed group observation

Other

The chief investigator will visit each art therapy group 3-6 times; there will be up to 5 groups recruited. They will record observational data and insights; making use of visual reflective journaling where appropriate. These will later be written up as full field notes.

semi-structured interviews

Other

Individual interviews will take place with all three key stakeholders in group art therapy at different stages of the study. Each interview will have a topic guide to structure the discussion and will combine arts-based methods with conversation to maximise accessibility. Interview location, timing and format (online or in-person) are flexible, and the chief investigator will adapt to the needs of the participants.

Focus Group

Other

After data collection and initial analysis (likely 3-5 months after final observation and/or interview) a focus group will be held with the art therapist participants. This session will use arts-based engagement to support member checking of the initial results and triangulation of the findings, which is likely to include potential active ingredients in group art therapy and principles of practice with this client group.

Primary outcomes

  1. To understand the features of current group art therapy practice for people with a learning disability

    Time frame: 12 months

    Through using ethnographically informed observation of art therapy groups, arts-based semi-structured interviews and focus group to gather key stakeholder perspectives from service users, carers, and art therapists

Secondary outcomes

  1. Identify the potential active ingredients of art therapy with this client group through describing the procedures used by art therapists

    Time frame: 12 months

  2. Understand how people with a learning disability experience art therapy to identify helpful therapist behaviours and highlight possible future domains of outcome measurement

    Time frame: 12 months

  3. Identify the components of the intervention, which includes dynamic administration and how best to include the person's network

    Time frame: 12 months

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Queen Mary University of London

Other

Collaborators

  • Barts & The London NHS Trust
  • East London NHS Foundation Trust

Registry information

Official study title

Group Art Therapy Practice for People With a Learning Disability (GATher-LD): A Qualitative Study

Acronym: GATher-LD

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2023
First posted
Mar 9, 2023
Registry last updated
Mar 17, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.