An art therapy constituent of complex inpatient program treating substance-related and addictive disorders: Mapping the current situation in the Czech Republic

Background: For several decades already, art therapeutic interventions have been part of complex therapeutic programs in institutional treatment of addictive disorders, both domestic and foreign. The concept of the art therapy oscillates between artistic symbolic expression, the art of therapy and clinical practice, where new approaches are being developed on the basis of target groups or therapeutic starting points. Aims: To map the implementation and concept of the art therapeutic component of the program in institutional treatment of addictions. Other sub-objectives are also addressed. Methods: In this qualitative study, preparation and process evaluations focused on therapeutic activity are applied. The sample was selected by self-selection and purposive sampling and contains nine workers from five institutions focused on treatment of addictions. Available documents related to the practice of art therapy and semi-structured interviews with art therapists and their collaborators were used to obtain the data. Text data from documents and transcripts of interviews was processed using the content analysis method with emphasis on ethical aspects especially in the field of data anonymization. Results: The art therapy program usually takes place once a week obligatorily, art therapists are mainly..