An initial exploration into the perceptions and experiences of arts therapists (music therapists, art psychotherapists and drama therapists) and arts therapies students who are studying, living and/or practising in Wales, about eco-anxiety and how this impacts or intersects with their practice

This small-scale research study sought to explore the perceptions and experiences of arts therapists and arts therapies students who are studying, living and/or practising in Wales, about eco-anxiety and how this impacts or intersects with their practice. Following a dearth of research within the profession relating to the climate crisis (Seabrook, 2020), the study used Hickman’s (2020, p. 414) definition as a point of departure and shared understanding: “Eco-anxiety is not just an emotional response to the facts and experience of environmental crisis and threat; it includes a relationship between these emotional responses and the cognitive knowledge that we have both caused the threat and are failing to sufficiently act to reduce it.” This poster will present the results of a mixed methods online survey, the design of which was informed by a literature review synthesising a range of studies across therapeutic and psychological disciplines (Hasbach, 2016; Seabrook, 2020; Hickman, 2020; Silva and Coburn, 2021; Pihkala, 2022). The research was designed and conducted as a collaborative pedagogical project between the third year student cohort and course team at the University of South Wales, and the sample was the Wales Arts Therapies Advisory Forum (WATAF). The findings will be structured according to arts therapists’ perceptions, clinical context and professional considerations. Recommendations will be presented on the relevance of this concept to the profession and its potential implications in relation to professional practice.