Art Therapy in a Learning Disability Setting

‘Robin Tipple gives a moving portrait of life in the long stay hospitals of the past. Drawing on psychoanalysis, sociology and twentieth century philosophy, this is a historical record, a witness account, and a powerful theoretical analysis of the institutions of the late twentieth century. It is also a personal memoire that takes the reader on a journey, introducing two people whose lives were circumscribed by such an institution and who touched the author profoundly. The narrative account demonstrates vividly, and with deep compassion, how to listen to those whose words may, at first, seem to lack coherence. Based on notes made at the time, the story shows how meaning may evolve, and a relationship develop, through the medium of art psychotherapy. Thus, the book is relevant to therapists of today and will be of interest to arts therapists, counsellors and psychotherapists and all working with those who are marginalised. It will also inform researchers interested in the ‘total institutions’ of the past and their residents'.

Professor Joy Schaverien, PhD, Jungian psychoanalyst, art psychotherapist, author of The Revealing Image and Boarding school Syndrome: The Psychological Trauma of the ‘Privileged’ Child

‘This honest and engaging book includes two stories about the therapeutic relationships and imaginative lives of people with mild to moderate learning disabilities in a long-term institution. The book's details are pertinent to a broad range of therapeutic work but particularly consider the cultural expressions found in art therapy. The life stories described include the clients and the therapist (the author) because the autobiographic nature of much that is named 'case study' is not evaded. The book interlaces events in the outside world with the internal psychological experiences of client and therapist. In this way, the book repeatedly returns to the theme of working-class identity and how it has shaped discourse certainly about the lives of people with learning disabilities but also the lives of many others. The book is important because it contributes to a discussion about how people caught up in institutional systems gain an internal sense of recognition from the other’.

Chris Wood, PhD,NHS Art Therapist and research fellow, University of Sheffield

‘In times that seem increasingly concerned with swift and simple therapeutic solutions, Tipple’s book offers something different and much needed: a detailed and reflective account of individual long-term Art Therapy with people with learning disabilities. Illuminating several single case narratives with thoughts from psychoanalysis, philosophy and art therapy, Tipple reminds us why it is important to muse on stories from therapy. Beyond giving evidence that Art Therapy is exceptionally suited for people marginalised for their cognitive impairment, he offers reflections on the human condition as such. Tipple’s notion of therapy as a unique intersubjective process shows what Art Therapy can be: thoughtful, compassionate, respectful, dedicated and above all, deeply human’.

Uwe Herrmann, PhD,professor on the MA programme in Art Therapy at Weissensee Academy of Art, Berlin

‘A necessary treasure in the shifting landscape of Art Therapy, research, and practice, with gently powerful rendering of a lifetime of reflective thinking, being and making in the field. The reader will benefit from Tipple’s expressions of critical thinking around the stories notated, each ‘subject’s’ narrative offers thoughts on power dynamics, the materiality within relationship, and how the work lives in a reflexive clinical frame. Tipple highlights the continued necessity to think-through the subjective and intersubjective in relating, and to embed this in continued learning through research. His writings enlighten and provoke as he translates the human experience in the setting and context, time, and space, offering consideration of the philosophical and cultural in the pursuit of ‘linking’, reciprocity, and personhood. He supports the reader to seek the in-between and engage with the wonderful possibilities within the alliance. This book is an essential read for every art therapist’.

Kristen Catchpole,art psychotherapist who has worked with families, children, and vulnerable adults, lecturer at Goldsmiths University, London

‘Robin Tipple provides an original take on the Art Psychotherapy case study in contextualising therapy with two institutionalised patients in relation to his own life experience. His many years of practice, teaching and research in the learning disability field are apparent in the scope and depth of his reflections. He draws on the work of Sartre in making the case that, with time and consistency, a degree of mutual ‘recognition’ within the therapeutic relationship is achievable. The value of paying close attention to gestures and mark making, as a physical manifestation of inner emotion, is also demonstrated in the two case studies. The prejudiced and elitist agendas that underpin the history of intelligence testing and learning disability diagnosis and treatment are succinctly analysed, and his account of the impact of institutional care on the lives of ‘Amy’ and ‘Edward’ serves as a timely reminder of the devastating emotional cost of an overly medicalised and behavioural approach to diagnosis, treatment, and care’.

Kim Dee, Art Therapist, lecturer in art psychotherapy at Goldsmiths University, London, long previous experience as member of Community Learning Disability Service in Tower Hamlets