Abstract
We describe work-in-progress to conduct a systematic review of research on the effects of arts-based programmes for mental health in young people. We have searched for relevant studies through major databases and screened extant systematic reviews for additional research which meets our inclusion criteria. We have reservations, however, regarding both the quality of existing primary studies and of recently published systematic reviews in this area of arts and health. In a previous paper (Grebosz-Haring et al., 2022), we focused on a randomised controlled trial (RCT) on art therapy for adolescent girls with ‘internalising’ and ‘externalising’ problems, and its inclusion in three systematic reviews, and expressed concerns. In this paper, we extend the scope of our critical scrutiny to a research paper on music therapy with children described as having anxiety disorders (Goldbeck & Ellerkamp, 2012), and its treatment in four recent systematic reviews / meta-analyses (Ponomarenko et al., 2017; Cohen-Yatziv & Regev, 2019; Bosgraf et al., 2020). We demonstrate limitations in the Goldbeck and Ellerkamp study which undermine the conclusion they reach on the effectiveness of music therapy in the remission of anxiety disorders. We also show that the reviews are not sufficiently critical and make errors in the treatment of Goldbeck and Ellerkamp’s research, which cast doubts on their dependability. Finally, we reflect on the lessons learned from our critique and draw some positive recommendations for future research and the conduct of reviews.
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