Crushed Paper Ball and Interactive Chalkboard Murals: Their Therapeutic Use for Adult Psychiatric Inpatients

Abstract

In this multiple case study, we describe the development of and theoretical orientation to two innovative procedures in the Recovery Model Art Project at the University of Virginia Medical Center, the Crushed Paper Ball (CPB) and Interactive Chalkboard Murals (ICM). The theoretical frameworks that underpin the interventions are narrative counseling, bilateral art making, and Ecological Systems Theory; in using these frameworks, the therapeutic relationship is an important point of focus. We relate these to the experiences of four adult psychiatric inpatients who used these procedures as a part of treatment and highlight how they may enrich the field of art therapy practice with these patients.