Space for emotions: an investigation into an arts therapy service working with at-risk children within the school system in Limerick City

This research, was undertaken to explore reasons why seventeen primary and secondary schools in Limerick city were accessing in-school therapeutic interventions from a non-statutory, arts therapy organisation. The Blue Box arts therapy organisation had grown with the needs of the schools to address the perceived emotional toll of community and environmental trauma that impinged on the development of a significant number of their students. A hermeneutic phenomenological methodology guided the research, which was framed within literature on the interrelated contexts from the macro to micro levels that contributed to the need for such an intervention to be accessed by the schools. Perceptions of principals, teachers, parents and therapists who engaged with this intervention were collected using semi-structured interviews and focus groups. These were analysed using a combination of thematic analysis and Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis to give a nuanced picture of the issues involved. The voices of participating children and young people were elicited through their self-drawings and words. The results showed that the research participants regarded the arts therapy interventions provided by the Blue Box as an appropriate and effective way of addressing the emotional difficulties of at risk children in their schools. These results also indicate that the emotional impact on children living in marginalised sections of the community has not been fully recognised or addressed by current statutory interventions aiming at equalising education opportunities. This research contributes to the discussion about addressing inequalities in education by focussing on the traumatic and emotional aspects that affect inclusion. Recommendations are that more flexible schooling scenarios would allow the recognition of arts therapists and other professionals as partners in educational settings where emotional difficulties interfere with participation and learning.