59-05-032 Proceeding

327 Proceedings of the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Congress Recently the New Zealand Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), which funds counsellors and psychotherapists to treat survivors of sexual trauma, have approved ANZATA as a recognised professional organisation to provide services to ACC. Opportunities Opportunities for arts therapy research have, nevertheless, increased in the last decade. Each of the ANZATA-approved training programmes offer masters level research degrees, though very few offer doctoral qualifications. At present, the majority of arts therapists wanting to undertake further research conduct doctoral level studies within other disciplines. Since 2006, ANZATA has published an annual peer-reviewed journal – The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Arts Therapy (ANZJAT). The journal publishes high quality research from a range of methodologies that are evidence-based, practice-based, and arts-based. An article submitted for our latest edition conducted an analysis of the articles published from the first edition of ANZJAT in 2006 up to 2011 (Balatti & Fenner, 2014). They found a strong preference for qualitative studies in line with arts therapy literature in general, and argue that in order to gain increased cross-disciplinary credibility, the “way forward”may be to increase the range of researchmethods employed, including quantitative approaches; and to encourage more universities to make doctoral degree level study available in arts therapy departments. The need to encourage more research and literature that addresses culturally sensitive practices specific to the Australasian context is highlighted as well as the need to find more systematic ways to conduct and document research in order to become more aligned with other allied health disciplines. IndividualisticWestern approaches to counselling and psychotherapymay seemalienating to clients who come from highly communal cultures (Kim, 2012; Seiuli, 2013; Webber, 2013). Kalmanowitz, Potash, and Chan (2012) observe that many Australasian art therapists have acknowledged the influence of Western cultural norms on art therapy practice. They claim that although Western approaches are varied, there are many commonalities, which are based on Western value systems. “Art therapy as a Western practice is still guided by individualistic ideas such a self-expression, individual rights, and the art object as a personal statement” (Kalmanowitz, Potash & Chan, 2012, p. 41). Durie, a highly respectedMaori psychiatrist, explains that Maori have a view of well-being that “does not easily translate into symptom clusters, syndromes or isolated behaviour patterns... [for example, depression and anxiety, can be viewed]...as indicators that the balance between emotions, social relationships, spirituality and the body have become distorted” (2003, p. 48). InMaori belief systems: health andwell-being need to be viewed froma holistic stance; culture and identity are intrinsically linked to well-being; and there is an integrated life concept that recognises the interconnectedness of all aspects of being (Turner, 2006). There are several models of Maori well-being that have now become integrated into general counselling and psychotherapy training and to arts therapy training in New Zealand.