All Outputs (12)

Dance Movement Psychotherapy Intervention Protocol for the Caregivers of Children on the Autism Spectrum: Development and Fidelity Evaluation (2023)
Journal Article
Aithal, S., Karkou, V., Parsons, A., Moula, Z., & Powell, J. (2023). Dance Movement Psychotherapy Intervention Protocol for the Caregivers of Children on the Autism Spectrum: Development and Fidelity Evaluation. Arts in Psychotherapy, 86, Article 102082. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2023.102082

Caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face significant challenges as the demands of their role often surpass the resources available to them. Aiming to support the emotional and social wellbeing of caregivers, such as parents and... Read More about Dance Movement Psychotherapy Intervention Protocol for the Caregivers of Children on the Autism Spectrum: Development and Fidelity Evaluation.

The importance of psychological flow in a creative, embodied and enactive psychological therapy approach (Arts for the Blues) (2022)
Journal Article
Parsons, A., Dubrow-Marshall, L., Turner, R., Thurston, S., Starkey, J., Omylinska-Thurston, J., & Karkou, V. (2022). The importance of psychological flow in a creative, embodied and enactive psychological therapy approach (Arts for the Blues). Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/17432979.2022.2130431

Psychological flow can be experienced in various occupational, recreational and creative domains and may confer increased well-being. Yet, very few studies have examined flow as a potential feature of creative arts therapies – particularly therapies... Read More about The importance of psychological flow in a creative, embodied and enactive psychological therapy approach (Arts for the Blues).

Bringing creative psychotherapies to primary NHS Mental Health Services in the UK : a feasibility study on patient and staff experiences of arts for the blues workshops delivered at Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services (2022)
Journal Article
Karkou, V., Omylinska-Thurston, J., Parsons, A., Thurston, S., Dubrow-Marshall, L., Nair, K., …Haslam, S. (2022). Bringing creative psychotherapies to primary NHS Mental Health Services in the UK : a feasibility study on patient and staff experiences of arts for the blues workshops delivered at Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12544

There have been several arguments for the need to generate evidence-based creative forms of psychological interventions in Improving Access to Psychological Services (IAPT), the main primary mental health provider in hospitals in England, UK. In th... Read More about Bringing creative psychotherapies to primary NHS Mental Health Services in the UK : a feasibility study on patient and staff experiences of arts for the blues workshops delivered at Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services.

Digitising creative psychological therapy : Arts for the Blues (A4B) (2021)
Book Chapter
Farish-Edwards, F., Parsons, A., Starkey, J., Dubrow-Marshall, L., Thurston, S., Omylinska-Thurston, J., & Karkou, V. (2022). Digitising creative psychological therapy : Arts for the Blues (A4B). In J. Prescott (Ed.), Digital Innovations for Mental Health Support (1-17). Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA: IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-7991-6.ch001

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a need to adapt and develop psychological interventions that address the mental health of those in need. As a result, Arts for the Blues (A4B), an evidence-based creative group psychotherapy model,... Read More about Digitising creative psychological therapy : Arts for the Blues (A4B).

Dancing with health : quality of life and physical improvements from an EU collaborative dance programme with women following breast cancer treatment (2021)
Journal Article
Karcou, V., Dudley-Swarbrick, I., Starkey, J., Parsons, A., Aithal, S., Omylinska-Thurston, J., …Parisi, A. (2021). Dancing with health : quality of life and physical improvements from an EU collaborative dance programme with women following breast cancer treatment. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 635578. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.635578

Background Women’s health has received renewed attention in the last few years including the rehabilitation of women whose health has been affected by breast cancer. Dancing has often been regarded as attractive for women but research with women rec... Read More about Dancing with health : quality of life and physical improvements from an EU collaborative dance programme with women following breast cancer treatment.

Reflections on offering a therapeutic creative arts intervention with cult survivors : a collective biography (2020)
Journal Article
Parsons, A., Kefalogianni, M., Dubrow-Marshall, L., Turner, R., Ingleton, H., Omylinska-Thurston, J., …Karkou, V. (2020). Reflections on offering a therapeutic creative arts intervention with cult survivors : a collective biography

A new, evidence-based, multimodal, and creative psychological therapy, Arts for the Blues, was piloted with survivors of cultic abuse in a workshop within a conference setting. The five facilitators, who occupied diverse roles and perspectives w... Read More about Reflections on offering a therapeutic creative arts intervention with cult survivors : a collective biography.

Arts for the Blues : the development of a new evidence-based creative group psychotherapy for depression (2020)
Journal Article
Omylinska-Thurston, J., Karkou, V., Parsons, A., Nair, K., Starkey, J., Dubrow-Marshall, L., …Sharma, S. (2021). Arts for the Blues : the development of a new evidence-based creative group psychotherapy for depression. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 21(3), 597-607. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12373

Introduction: Depression affects many adults in the UK, often resulting in referral to primary care mental health services (e.g. Improving Access to Psychological Therapies, IAPT). CBT is the main modality for depression within IAPT, with other ap... Read More about Arts for the Blues : the development of a new evidence-based creative group psychotherapy for depression.

Flowing towards freedom with multimodal creative therapy : the healing power of therapeutic arts for ex cult-members (2020)
Journal Article
Parsons, A., Turner, R., Ingleton, H., Kefalogianni, M., Omylinska-Thurston, J., Karkou, V., …Dubrow-Marshall, L. (2021). Flowing towards freedom with multimodal creative therapy : the healing power of therapeutic arts for ex cult-members. Arts in Psychotherapy, 72, 101743. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2020.101743

Creative arts can play an important role for cult survivors in surviving, transcending and healing from their past realities. Flow – an empowering state of mind-body integration and skilful, intuitive action while engaged in a challenging yet enjoyab... Read More about Flowing towards freedom with multimodal creative therapy : the healing power of therapeutic arts for ex cult-members.

Arts for the blues – a new creative psychological therapy for depression (2019)
Journal Article
Parsons, A., Omylinska-Thurston, J., Karkou, V., Harlow, J., Haslam, S., Hobson, J., …Griffin, J. (2020). Arts for the blues – a new creative psychological therapy for depression. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 48(1), 5-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2019.1633459

Routinely prescribed psychological therapies for depression are not always effective. Arts therapies, particularly Dance Movement Psychotherapy, may offer additional therapeutic mechanisms for depression. Therefore, client-reported helpful factors fr... Read More about Arts for the blues – a new creative psychological therapy for depression.

“I’m able to put my thoughts into picturing them physically” - phenomenological experiences of dance movement psychotherapy in a secondary school : unexpected empowerment over external contingency (2019)
Journal Article
Parsons, A., & Dubrow-Marshall, L. (2019). “I’m able to put my thoughts into picturing them physically” - phenomenological experiences of dance movement psychotherapy in a secondary school : unexpected empowerment over external contingency. Arts in Psychotherapy, 64, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2019.05.005

This study explored eight secondary school participants’ subjective experiences of Dance Movement Psychotherapy [DMP], and how these perceptions relate to prior expectations and/or perceived outcomes from the therapy. How pupils and staff experience... Read More about “I’m able to put my thoughts into picturing them physically” - phenomenological experiences of dance movement psychotherapy in a secondary school : unexpected empowerment over external contingency.

Arts for the Blues – a new creative psychological therapy for depression: a pilot workshop report (2019)
Journal Article
Haslam, S., Parsons, A., Omylinska-Thurston, J., Nair, K., Harlow, J., Lewis, J., …Karkou, V. (2019). Arts for the Blues – a new creative psychological therapy for depression: a pilot workshop report. Perspectives in Public Health, 139(3), 137-146. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913919826599

Introduction: Research over the last decade has identified both strengths and limitations in the use of routinely prescribed psychological therapies for depression. More recently, a focus on creative art therapies, and 'art on prescription' are deve... Read More about Arts for the Blues – a new creative psychological therapy for depression: a pilot workshop report.

‘Putting themselves out there’ into the unknown : dance movement psychotherapy as perceived by five educators and three pupils (2018)
Journal Article
Parsons, A., & Dubrow-Marshall, L. (2018). ‘Putting themselves out there’ into the unknown : dance movement psychotherapy as perceived by five educators and three pupils. Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 13(4), 251-267. https://doi.org/10.1080/17432979.2018.1508073

The introduction of dance movement psychotherapy (DMP) to a mainstream secondary school in the United Kingdom was explored from the perspectives of some educators (n = 5) and pupil-clients (n = 3) to discover perceptions of, and influences on the pro... Read More about ‘Putting themselves out there’ into the unknown : dance movement psychotherapy as perceived by five educators and three pupils.