Art psychotherapy is internationally recognised as an effective support for children with mental health difficulties and is utilised across clinical, educational, and private settings. The Vasarhelyi Method of Child Art Psychotherapy (CAP) is a specific method of art psychotherapy for children and adolescents up to the age of 18, originally developed in the UK by Vera Vasarhelyi within the context of a multidisciplinary Child and Adolescent Mental Health team setting. CAP is a psychodynamic approach to art psychotherapy, where young people are supported in exploring and processing past experiences and current difficulties at both conscious and unconscious levels. This exploration is done through the medium of art materials in a safe and contained therapeutic space. Vera Vasarhelyi said: ‘The symbolic content of images can facilitate a unique insight into the dynamics of the unconscious, and allow the privilege of seeing hidden processes, which would otherwise remain largely inaccessible to exploration.’
The MSc in Child Art Psychotherapy Studies is a two year, part-time taught programme offered by the School of Medicine, University College Dublin. This two-year MSc programme alone will not satisfy the minimum 4-year training requirement of the Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACAP). Those interested in a four-year programme that satisfy requirements to apply to ACAP can consider the Professional Masters in Child Art Psychotherapy, the first two years of which are the MSc in Child Art Psychotherapy. The MSc in Child Art Psychotherapy Studies may appeal to those already in possession of another psychotherapy / clinical practice qualification who wish to expand their skills in working with children or young people.
With its roots in psychodynamic thinking, namely the acknowledgment of the unconscious mind and its influence on thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, the Vasarhelyi Method of Child Art Psychotherapy is founded on the principle that images and their creation have a distinct relationship with the unconscious. The CAP modality is an integrative approach to psychotherapy for children and adolescents, drawing from a number of traditions including Psychoanalytic/Object Relations, Humanistic & Integrative psychotherapy, and Jungian analytical psychology, amongst others. The creation of images in the presence of a trained Child Art Psychotherapist assists young people who may struggle to express their difficulties verbally to experience insight, develop understanding, create meaning, and promote positive change in their lives. The client’s feelings and experiences are explored through the simultaneous production of art work and verbal discussion with the Child Art Psychotherapist in a safe, contained therapeutic space. The images and art work created by young people in the psychotherapeutic context are seen as the primary mode of communication between the child and therapist. Working in this way has been shown to be very effective in providing a pathway for the child or adolescent to articulate their difficulty and distress.
Students of the course develop an understanding of the fundamental theories and principles of psychotherapy, and are taught the Vasarhelyi Method of Child Art Psychotherapy. Individual and small group supervision are integral aspects of the course, as are personal psychotherapy, group process, and an 18-month clinical placement in a CAMHS setting. More information on these elements can be found below under 'What Will I Learn'.
For further information about this method and about the theoretical background of the Vasarhelyi method, please watch this short video clip and see the following papers:
The course is designed to provide an understanding of the theory and practice of the Vasarhelyi Method of Child Art Psychotherapy. It provides therapeutic skills to enhance clinical practice when verbal methods alone are not sufficient to bring about a child’s engagement in a psychotherapeutic process.
Teaching comprises lectures, seminars, training in Child Art Psychotherapy and group supervision sessions which are delivered each Friday (all day) of two fifteen week trimesters. Clinical practice and supervision continues through the Summer Trimester of year 1.
Engaging in one’s own personal psychotherapy is a fundamental component of training in the major modalities of psychotherapy. The MSc CAP programme requires that trainees engage in their own weekly psychotherapy with an accredited psychotherapist for the duration of the course, at least.
Group process work is a component of the Vasarhelyi Method Training and Experiential Modules. Students participate in a process group with an accredited group facilitator every Friday for the duration of the course during term time. Students reflect on their own therapeutic processes, experiences, and group dynamics.
Clinical placement is an integral aspect of the MSc in Child Art Psychotherapy. Students are placed for one full day per week on a multidisciplinary Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) team. The 18-month clinical placement commences at the end of Trimester 1 Year 1 and continues through to the end of the course. The clinical placement is usually arranged by the course coordinator and clinical placement supervisors who work in a variety of child and adolescent mental health multidisciplinary settings throughout Ireland. Fortnightly case management supervision in the clinical setting is provided by a senior member of the CAMHS team, and is provided within the CAMHS setting.
One-to-one, method-specific supervision of Child Art Psychotherapy practice is a focal point of the course and is provided by course supervisors. This supervision is provided fortnightly on the Fridays of the programme delivery. Over the course of the MSc each student engages in approximately 30 method-specific supervision sessions.
Trainees are required to allow a considerable amount of extra hours throughout the course for autonomous learning and specified learning activities e.g. reading of relevant literature, preparation of supervision material, preparation for case presentations, essay on clinical case studies, thesis dissertation, the research protocol assignment and written and oral examinations.
The course is currently delivered at the UCD School of Medicine, Catherine McAuley Education and Research Centre, Nelson Street, Dublin 7.
The MSc in Child Art Psychotherapy Studies is a two year, part-time taught programme offered by the School of Medicine, University College Dublin. This two-year MSc programme on its own will not satisfy the minimum 4-year training requirement of the Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACAP). Those interested in a four-year programme that satisfy requirements to apply for pre-accredited membership of ACAP can consider the Professional Masters in Child Art Psychotherapy, the first two years of which are the MSc in Child Art Psychotherapy. The MSc in Child Art Psychotherapy Studies may appeal to those already in possession of another psychotherapy / clinical practice qualification and accreditation and who, therefore, do not expect to be seeking membership of a psychotherapy professional body but who wish to expand their skills in working with children or young people.
This course is crucially relevant to anybody whose work with children and young people has a therapeutic objective. It will be relevant therefore for:
Those who are working with children and young people in difficulty will find this course invigorating. It will make an invaluable contribution to their career and to their commitment to work with vulnerable children and young people. It is also inspiring for those who are working with children with long-term physical illnesses.
For more information on course fees please visit the Fees & Grants Office website.
Programme Administrator |
Academic Leader |
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Aine Bergin UCD School of Medicine The School of Psychotherapy St Vincent’s University Hospital Dublin 4 E: aine.bergin@ucd.ie |
Prof Aisling Mulligan UCD School of Medicine Catherine McAuley Education & Research Centre Mater Misericordiae University Hospital Nelson Street Dublin 7 E: aisling.mulligan@ucd.ie
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