Personīgā terapija mākslas terapeita profesionālās identitātes attīstības procesā

Aim of the study: to investigate the role of personal therapy in the process of professional identity development of art therapists. 1.How have the requirements for personal therapy changed over time during the study process?, 2.What is the role of personal therapy in the development of the professional identity of the art therapist during the study process?, 3.What is the role of personal therapy in the development of an art therapist's professional identity in the profession? To answer the research questions, a mixed design research strategy was chosen, which involved three stages of research: the first stage involved designing a questionnaire and interview questions; the second stage involved collecting data from art therapists (N = 50) using the designed questionnaire, analysing the collected data using inductive contingency analysis and descriptive statistics; the third stage involved two sub-stages of research: in the first sub-stage, document analysis (RSU archive documents, course descriptions, normative acts) was carried out, these data were analysed by thematic analysis; in the second sub-stage, semi-structured interviews with art therapy experts (N = 6) were conducted, the data collected were analysed by thematic analysis. In the results of the study, the art therapists and experts indicate that personal therapy in the development of the art therapist's professional identity during the study process is important for self-discovery and understanding of the therapeutic process. In the profession, personal therapy plays a role in self-knowledge, in understanding the therapeutic process and in improving the therapeutic process. The results show that what is important during the study also helps in the study process. It can be concluded that as the requirements for personal therapy change over time during the study process, there is also a relationship between students' behaviour in attending or not attending personal therapy, the results highlight the importance of therapy during times of change. The conducted research could be useful for the development of the content of the art therapy curriculum and the professional standard.