Art therapy in the Israeli educational system--teachers’ perspectives

This study examined how art therapy is conducted in schools in Israel from the perspective of homeroom teachers whose students are attending art therapy. Fifteen homeroom teachers, one or more of whose students were undergoing art therapy, were interviewed using the Consensual Qualitative Research method (Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997). The findings indicate that from the teachers' perspective, art therapy in the school system is needed and valuable, particularly because treatment can be coordinated with other members of the staff. Nevertheless, this collaboration can fail to achieve its goals when teamwork is not defined and structured by school management. A number of recommendations are made to improve art therapy in schools and increase treatment efficiency.