Observation of Art Therapy Relationships (OART): An observational tool for the research of therapist-client and client-artwork relationships in art therapy

Theories of art therapy cite the complex triangular relationship of this discipline that includes the therapist-client, client-artwork and therapist-artwork relationships. Yet, despite its importance, this triangular relationship has been insufficiently investigated. In this paper, we describe the development of a tool for the Observation of Art Therapy Relationships (OART) that assesses client-artwork and client-therapist interactions in art therapy based on conceptualizations of Attachment Theory. The development of the OART included three stages: a) An inductive stage in which researchers and experienced art therapists collaborated in defining observable phenomena that may shed light on the nature of the therapist-client and client-artwork relationships; b) A deductive stage, in which the phenomena defined in the inductive stage were incorporated into the structuring of an observational tool. 3. A qualitative examination of the OART in therapeutic settings. Challenges that have arisen and that may indicate the need for further work on the OART are discussed.