ABSTRACT
Art therapists were traditionally employed in large psychiatric hospitals where they often worked with groups of in-patients on acute admissions as well as long-stay wards of which there are very few these days. Yalom, in In-patient Group Psychotherapy points out those workers are generally only familiar with the long-term model of groups. Major modifications of the long-term technique are essential, and the technique must be fitted to the type of patient population. Currently, there is no coherent, commonly accepted method for running in-patient groups so there is often confusion and ineffective conducting, whereas it would be possible, by adapting the model, to run short-term interactive groups. The aim of a group for patients who are confused, anxious and have short attention spans might be to provide support and facilitate communication. An in-patient, interactive art therapy group, held twice weekly, on an acute admissions ward, was attended by 12 patients.
