“Breaking Free” Discharge & Transitional Therapy

Emma Allen, HCPC Registered Art Psychotherapist, Rampton Hospital

Kevin was a long stay patient on a Personality Disorder ward in high secure hospital with a plan to transfer to a medium secure unit. Due to his anxieties about leaving the hospital and with change, he wanted to engage in Art Therapy in order to express his feelings around change and with preparing in therapy for life in medium secure care.Kevin wanted to use sessions to support him through any changes and progress towards moving on. Kevin was able to express feeling marginalised and ostracized from society, feeling alienated; as if living ‘on another planet’. The uncertainty of the move and discharge felt very anxiety provoking for Kevin. Kevin often felt he wanted to know where he stood (represented through the theme of trees in his artwork).

‘breaking free’

Kevin’s images changed from ‘alien’ to more natural, harmonious landscapes. Only until the end of therapy, the sky became visible in his work – he began to notice ‘the outside world’ and was beginning to connect to it. Kevin later described his body of work as evoking a sense of “hope and energy” reflecting upon the progress he had made. Kevin felt he had become more empathic towards others, and that he had been able to re-evaluate his perceptions and responses.

Kevin successfully moved on to a medium secure unit where the Art Therapist later visited, along with taking his portfolio of Art Therapy work to keep. Kevin talked about his new life in medium secure and as to how he had found the transfer. Kevin found that with change, a loss is felt, but was able to confront the prospect of moving on from hospital – the place for many years had been ‘home’. Kevin commented that:

“I didn’t know what to expect…what comes out is emotions…[Art Therapy] enabled me to have a realistic approach to day to day living”.