Group art therapy with FE/HE students: a mixed-methods pilot study

Background Group art therapy is used to support student mental health, yet peer-reviewed empirical evaluations of student-facing group art therapy in UK further and higher education (FE/HE) appear to be very limited.Aims To examine how relational, material, and facilitation processes shaped therapeutic engagement in a short-term, mixed FE/HE art therapy group, and how these processes related to changes in distress and perceived academic impact.Methods Seven students enrolled in a 13-session art therapy group at a Scottish tertiary institution offering FE and HE programmes. Data comprised session notes, artwork descriptions, facilitator reflections, participant evaluations, and post-group reflexive material, alongside CORE-10 and CIAO scores used descriptively to contextualise qualitative findings. Qualitative analysis followed an iterative, reflexive approach within three process domains (relational, material, and facilitation).Results Qualitative material highlighted relational safety and ‘not being alone’, material exploration from tentative to embodied expression, and pluralistic facilitation combining non-directive art therapy, structured exercises, and selective self-disclosure. Six participants completed pre – and post-group outcome measures. Mean CORE-10 scores decreased from 17.33 to 13.00, with five participants improving and one increasing slightly. CIAO scores indicated small reductions in perceived academic disruption, alongside generally positive ratings for staying on course and improved overall student experience.Conclusions Within this small, single-site pilot, the group was feasible and valued by participants, with encouraging but non-generalisable reductions in distress and positive academic helpfulness ratings.Implications Findings suggest that group art therapy can offer a distinctive, studio-based relational space within FE/HE wellbeing provision, warranting comparative and longitudinal research.Plain-language summary Many students in colleges and universities struggle with their mental health, but not all feel comfortable with one-to-one counselling. Group art therapy offers another option: students make images together in a safe space, talk if they want, and use art materials to explore feelings and experiences.This project describes a 13-session group art therapy programme at a college that also offers degree-level courses. Seven students aged 19–57 took part, studying on a mix of further education (college) and higher education (degree) courses. The group was run jointly by an art therapist and a counsellor.Students could choose how much they spoke and how they used the art materials. The researcher collected information from several sources: notes written after each session; photographs and descriptions of artworks; end-of-group student feedback; post-group reflections by the facilitators; and short questionnaires about distress (completed before, during, and after the group) and about how difficulties were affecting studies (completed before and after the group).Six students completed the questionnaires. For most, distress scores went down. Scores about how much difficulties were affecting their studies also improved a little. Most students said the group helped them stay on their course and improved their student experience.Taken together, these sources showed that students valued the group as a non-judgemental space where they did not feel alone, could work at their own pace, and could use art to move from tentative images to more emotionally powerful ones. They also appreciated the facilitators’ mix of gentle structure and openness, including sharing a little of their own experiences.This was a small, early-stage project, so the findings cannot be generalised. However, they suggest that group art therapy can be a meaningful addition to student wellbeing support in college and university settings.