Assessment and Outcomes in the Arts Therapies

Caroline Miller is a dramatherapist and psychologist in private practice. She completed her training as a dramatherapist in 1991, from the training programme in York, accredited by the University of Leeds, UK. She then relocated to New Zealand where she worked in a number of roles including school counsellor, manager of mental health services for children and adolescents, and dramatherapist in special needs education. In 2001 she was the inaugural co-director of the only training programme for arts therapists in New Zealand.

• Introduction. Caroline Miller, Dramatherapist. 1. Overview. Caroline Miller. Part 1: Working with Adults. 2. Nursing the Wounded Heart. Marion Gordon-Flower, Arts Therapist. 3. Choral Singing Therapy for a Client with Parkinson's Disease. Suzanne Purdy, Head of Speech Science Group, School of Psychology and Centre for Brain Research, University of Auckland, Laura Fogg-Rogers, Communications and Liason Manager, Department of Speech Science and Centre of Brain Research, University of Auckland, Sylvia Leao, Speech Language Therapist, and Alison Talmage, Music Therapist, Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre, Auckland and the Centre for Brain Research, University of Auckland. 4. Phototherapy with an Adult with Grief Issues. Robin Barnaby, Arts Therapist. 5. Who Am I? Depression and Identity. Caroline Miller. 6. The Inner Pilgrimage - Through Heart to Soul. Margaret-Mary Mulqueen, Counsellor. 7. Dancing with the Magic of the Archetypes. Marion Gordon-Flower. Part 2: Working with Children. 8. A Child's Creative Journey Through Trauma. Mariana Torkington, Arts Therapist. 9. Individual Art Therapy on the Spectrum: Opening Lines of Communication through Creative Processes. Abigail Raymond, Arts Therapist, and Caroline Miller. 10. Dramatherapy to Support Social Interactions with Peers. Robin Barnaby. 11. Creating an Emotional Safe House in a Time of Chaos: Supporting a Child Living in a Violent and Unstable Home Environment. Abigail Raymond. 12. Individual Music Therapy for an Adolescent with Cerebral Palsy. Alison Talmage and Claire Molyneux, Music Therapist and Head of Clinical Services at the Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre, Auckland. 13. Group Art Therapy with Children with Asperger's Syndrome. Abigail Raymond and Caroline Miller. Conclusion. Caroline Miller. The Contributors. Index.

As a Dramatherapist it was interesting to read of work by Music and Art and also Speech and Language Therapists with client groups with which I have some experience. This multi-disciplinary approach is very helpful in breaking down barriers and promoting cooperation... There is a wealth of material with tabulated Assessments and Outcomes for therapists in organisations wanting to see numerical and comparative scales. But also Assessment models developed within the therapeutic relationship rather than being pre-determined ones. There are well formulated questionnaires and summaries of outcomes, sometimes with parents' views too, and all the chapters have very clear sub-titles which make for easy reading... I would particularly recommend Caroline Miller's book to students and new graduates of the Arts Therapies who are seeking a comprehensive collection of Assessment models and descriptions of Arts Therapies Outcomes with a wide variety of client groups. As a Supervisor, Dramatherapist and Consultant I feel it is a valuable tool to recommend to supervisees and also people in organisations wanting clarity about different Arts Therapies approaches. For experienced practitioners this book can be of help in re-evaluating one's own practise and in gauging the need to change evaluation methods or ways of recording.