Developing a Protocol-Based Expressive Therapies Continuum Assessment Profile (ETC-AP): Current Achievements and Future Perspectives

Art therapy assessment benefits from analytical clarity while preserving non-directive, process-sensitive practice. Although the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) is widely used to conceptualize sensory, affective, cognitive, and symbolic processes in art-making, ETC-informed assessment often relies on implicit clinical reasoning, limiting transparency and interdisciplinary communication. This article presents the developmental stage of a protocol-based Expressive Therapies Continuum Assessment Profile (ETC-AP) developed at Rīga Stradiņš University. The ETC-AP differentiates activation and inhibition patterns around integration midpoints and organizes observation in a defined five-step interpretive sequence without positioning the method as a psychometrically validated test. It combines (i) a uniform three-task, non-directive administration with a brief post-task inquiry; (ii) criteria-guided coding of observable features across three artworks and process notes; and (iii) 0–100 descriptive profile indicators to support within-case pattern description and professional dialogue. An illustrative case vignette shows how the ETC-AP can generate trauma-informed, regulation-oriented hypotheses about channel accessibility and cautious regulation-oriented sequencing, while remaining subordinate to clinical judgment and context. Key boundaries include incomplete operational coverage in some inhibition ranges, limits of static documentation for process-dependent markers, and the need for structured training materials and programmatic studies of reliability, feasibility, and sensitivity to change.