About

I previously worked as a course leader with the Art Therapy Northern Programme and am now a senior lecturer. The programme has transferred to Sheffield Hallam University and trains postgraduates to become art therapists and register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). The course is based on more than forty years of history in Sheffield. I also work alongside NHS service users at Sheffield Health and Social Care Trust (SHSC). 

I have worked in supervisory teams with four arts (art, music and drama) therapists working towards PhDs, one recently completed. Most students I work with are training over two or three years to gain an MA at Hallam that will enable them to practise as art therapists. I am always impressed and humbled by the range of life experiences, imagination and art-making that students, colleagues and service users bring to the work. I also enjoy the sense of play that people bring into our communities.

‘From the Couch to the Council Estate: Art Therapy as Meeting Place’ is the title of a keynote paper that shows my approach to Art Therapy. Despite difficult social economic circumstances, service users, colleagues, and students often find and share ways to live well. I feel particularly proud of the success of two former students, Leanne Warren and Kayleigh Townsend, who, with their team, won the BBC 4 ‘All in the Mind Award’ in 2021. 

My public engagement work includes chairing the board of trustees for Art Refuge, a small charity collaborating with people grappling with migration. My ongoing involvement in the work of Art Refuge enables me to keep abreast of the adapted needs of practice in changing environments.

I am fortunate to work in art therapy because I enjoy it and feel engaged and committed. 

Teaching

School of Health and Social Care

College of Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences

Courses taught:

MA Art Psychotherapy Practice

Modules taught:

Mainly 'Thresholds' but I make contributions to other modules of the MA.

Research

• Health Research Institute

I am currently the principal investigator for the Sheffield NHS site of a National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) research project, which is asking service users who have experienced psychosis what they think is helpful. 

Previously, I was part of a systematic review with the School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield. Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Volume 19 Issue18 March 2015 ISSN 1366-5278 'Systematic review and economic modelling of the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of art therapy among people with non-psychotic mental health disorders' Lesley Uttley, Alison Scope, Matt Stevenson, Andrew Rawdin, Elizabeth Taylor Buck, Anthea Sutton, John Stevens, Eva Kaltenthaler, Kim Dent-Brown, and Chris Wood.

My interests and publications are about the adaptation and use of art therapy to counter mental distress. Art Therapy needs systematic evidence-based research combined with a broader-based arts and humanities approach. The profession also needs and uses generic health research, including research about the psychological impact of poverty and prejudice. It seems wise to take a pluralistic approach to research to respond to mental health challenges.

My main research interests include the experience of psychosis, collaborative practice, service user movements and health inequalities. In addition to the NIHR and HTI project listed above three of my publications in the arts and humanities are:

Books

Chris Wood (2011) ‘Navigating Art Therapy: A Therapist’s Companion ’London and New York: Routledge, Taylor, and Francis.

Journal articles

Chris Wood (2020) Acceptance in the Hearing Voices Movement: how might this be relevant for art therapy service users? International Journal of Art Therapy, 25:3, 150-158, DOI: 10.1080/17454832.2020.1795697
Chris Wood (2020) Hearing Voices Movement and Art Therapy, Art Therapy, 37:2, 88-92, DOI: 10.1080/07421656.2020.1756138 

Collaborators

I work with colleagues at the University of Sheffield for the supervisory panels of PhD students in arts therapies. I also collaborate with colleagues at Canterbury Christ Church University for the current NIHR project.

Publications

Other activities

I have been an external examiner for art therapy masters at Goldsmiths, Hertfordshire, Roehampton, and Queen Margaret Universities and for PhD students at Queen Margaret, Roehampton, Goldsmiths, and Plymouth Universities.

Postgraduate supervision

I work with experienced arts therapists who are studying for PhDs at other Universities.