Table 3.
Categories of adaptability.
| Category | Illustration by quote and frequently used words | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Self-management | T5: “Specifically that balance between emotion and ratio determines the ability to choose and self-determination. If someone only acts impulsive, that person is less able to decide.” Making choices, attention, self-determination, autonomy, identity, intention, position taking, and confidence. | Self-management refers to the ability to choose. This requires the ability to distance and reflect, awareness of and paying attention to a present situation. Art therapists related self-management to self-determination, identity and autonomy. |
| Flexibility | T7: “Someone that is mentally healthy is flexible: a person that is able and free to take in information through many means; body, mind and emotions, without blocks, obstacles and disconnections. Someone who is not mentally healthy is stuck in one way or not able to access or flexibly change between ways of processing.” Tuning, interact, being able to switch in response style adequate to a give situation, being able to adjust, resilient, integration of cognition and emotion, navigate, responsiveness to the situation, versatile Absence of adaptability: rigid, stuck, blocked, fixed |
Flexibility refers to the client’s range of possibilities to react to given challenges, tasks, persons or situations. This requires the ability to switch between cognitive control and allowing and expressing emotions. Therapists related flexibility to resiliency. |
| Openness | T5: “Some sort of curiosity, openness, the ability to interact with the art material, to play with it, explore. Being open tells me something about the ability discover and learn.” Taking diverse perspectives, trying something new, experimenting, openness, not seeing a mistake as a disaster, exploring, differ from the known and familiar, taking risk |
Openness refers to an attitude that allows taking diverse and new perspectives. It involves curiosity, risk taking, not seeing mistakes as a disaster and daring to experiment in unfamiliar situations. |
| Creativity |
T1: “When someone wants to change, that means he has to transform and move from A to B. That requires leaving what’s familiar, expanding your horizon, facing and exploring the unknown.” Discovering, unconventional, combining things into something novel. |
Creativity refers to the possibility to differ from the known and leave beaten paths in order to create something novel. Art therapists related creativity to problem-solving. |
T, therapist; AP, art product.