Effects of mandala art therapy (coloring) on nausea, vomiting, pain and anxiety in children and youth receiving outpatient chemotherapy.

This article considers the supervision in arts therapies in an epistemic and ethical perspective as well as for its clinical implications. Historically supervision is defined as an attribute of psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, psychologists or psychotherapists. Ability to transfer/countertransfer analysis and/or pathology aknowledgements might appear as fullfilling criteria for a qualified supervision in arts therapies. But, if we believe that arts therapies involve deep understanding of the creative process in the context of a specific therapeutic relationship, then the supervisor has to be trained in the phenomenological and intuitive approaches of the art/creative praxis and of the empathic creativity. Exclusively verbal communication in supervision limits the creative resonance and empathy as it is focused on logical/analytical thinking. Using response art offers the opportunity of a deeper atunement in the client/arts therapist/supervisor’s triangle. Viewing client’s production, sharing art therapist’s response art and involving the supervisor’s own creative resonance fosters a multilayers intuitive knowledge. This is corresponding to the unconcious emotional dynamics at work in arts therapies. In this perspective, considering the use of arts-based supervision is an epistemic necessity as well as an ethical issue. It offers responses both to the epistemic paradoxe and to the ethical dilemma of verbalizing on non-verbal phenomena. The arts-based supervision is focused on the arts therapies’ core - and thus able to offer pertinent help both to the client’s clinical needs and to the supervisee’s professional growing. A few clinical examples illustrate these reflections.

This study explored how Technique-Centered Art Therapy (TCAT), focusing on three-dimensional perspective drawing, could induce therapeutic changes in an adolescent cancer patient who initially showed resisted affect-centered art therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study employed a descriptive case study design. The participant was a 14-year-old female adolescent undergoing long-term treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Between March and August 2021, a total of 17 sessions were conducted through both online (Zoom) and face-to-face formats. The structured stepwise program incorporated tasks of cube drawing, one-point perspective, two-point perspective, and value gradation, gradually extending toward creative production. The findings indicated a decrease in avoidance and fatigue, and an increase in self-regulation and spontaneous expression. Technical mastery was associated with enhanced self-efficacy and self-esteem, while technical immersion fostered cognitive control, predictability, and emotional stability, promoting self-recovery. The results suggest that Technique-Centered Art Therapy can serve as a practical alternative for adolescent cancer patients who find direct emotional expression challenging, by reducing expressive resistance and restoring engagement and flow. Based on these findings, future studies should adopt multiple-case or mixed-method designs to validate the generalizability of effects and further investigate the relationship between technical immersion and changes in the brain’s Default Mode Network (DMN).

This study aimed to develop and apply a non-face-to-face integrated arts therapy program to improve mother–child interaction in children with developmental disabilities. The participants were a 12-year-old boy with a developmental disability and his 45-year-old mother, who attended 17 sessions held twice a week for 90 minutes. Results showed overall improvement in interaction, with notable positive changes in disciplinary behavior and emotional expression. Emotional rigidity and communication difficulties were reduced, leading to greater emotional stability and mutual respect. These findings indicate that integrated arts therapy can be therapeutically effective even in online settings, fostering new forms of psychological closeness. This study provides practical and academic insights for enhancing emotional development and family relationships in children with developmental disabilities.

BackgroundTherapeutic art is a common activity for patients with dementia (PWD) and their caregivers, but accessibility to dementia‐friendly programs is a barrier. In response to the COVID pandemic, we adapted an in‐person “Art Is…” therapeutic art class into an 8‐week dyadic, fully remote program and measured the impact on patient behavior, caregiver burden, and patient‐caregiver relationship.MethodIn a double crossover design, participant dyads (one PWD and their caregiver) were assigned to two groups, intervention and control. For the intervention period, dyads were mailed weekly kits over an 8‐week period. All patients completed an 8‐week control period of standard care, either before or after the intervention period. Assessments measuring patient symptom severity, patient‐caregiver relationship quality, and caregiver burden were administered at enrollment, at 8 weeks and at 16 weeks. Mixed effect regression models with patient random effects and interaction effects by subgroup (dementia subtype and caregiver) were used to analyze differences between each outcome in the intervention period as compared to the control period.ResultA total of 66 dyads were enrolled into the study, 44 of which completed the study. Attrition was largely attributable to caregiver responsiveness and availability for assessments. However, remote delivery of the therapeutic art program was feasible in our study population. Although there were no overall significant differences between the pre‐intervention and post‐intervention assessments, interaction analyses indicated there was a significant decrease in verbal aggressive behaviors for patients with mild cognitive impairment or atypical dementia (p = 0.01, p = 0.02). Additionally, when the patient's child was the primary caregiver, there was a significant improvement in a caregiver's feelings of accomplishment (p = 0.05) and a decrease in verbal aggressive behaviors (p = 0.04). A limitation of our study is the small sample size.ConclusionThis program demonstrates that at‐home therapeutic arts programs are a feasible alternative to in‐person programs. Future, higher powered analyses are required to assess efficacy of therapeutic art interventions for mood and behavior in PWD, caregiver burden and patient‐caregiver relationships.

The article presents the experience of implementing trauma-informed care through art in the training of future music and pedagogic workers in war conditions. The possibilities of effectively ensuring the training of higher education applicants for professional activity as a teacher who must consciously support the mental health of students through means of musical art at a non-clinical level are revealed. The practical experience of future musician specialists acquiring the ability to trauma-informed care through art-communication interaction on the basis of mastering its components (art therapy, digital art, event technologies) is highlighted, while participating in a long-term international project and using ethno-cultural traditions as a cultural and spiritual resource of Ukrainians. The content of updated educational and professional programs, curricula, elective disciplines and certificate programs that ensure the development of art-communication competence of future musician specialists as the ability to trauma-informed care through art is outlined.

In 2020, an online support group for family caregivers of persons with dementia was established in the Pacific island of Guam. Initially, the support group was created to help family caregivers overcome the isolation they faced during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Caregivers met weekly online to share their experiences, participate in virtual consultations with dementia care specialists, and receive dementia care training. After four years, an in‐person conference was organized to bring together support group participants with the goal of strengthening the sense of community that had been established online. The conference incorporated a holistic approach to dementia care with a diverse range of speakers, including healthcare professionals, community agencies serving older adult populations, and family caregivers. It was a full‐day event held in a hotel ballroom to honor family caregivers and the important work they do. Attendance was free of charge with breakfast and lunch included. The conference had seven components: (1) a keynote address titled, “The Journey of Caregiving;” (2) a neurologist's presentation on Alzheimer's disease and other dementias; (3) a neuropsychologist's presentation on aging and dementia; (4) an art therapy session using clay, paint, and mandalas; (5) a meditation and chair yoga session; (6) personal stories shared by family caregivers highlighting challenges, successes, and insights from their caregiving journey; and (7) presentations by community based organizations on resources for older adult populations. Throughout the conference, family caregivers were given the opportunity to connect with one another, meet dementia care specialists, and become part of a community dedicated to the care of older adults. The conference was well attended with over 200 participants including family caregivers, persons with dementia, healthcare professionals, and university students. Participants gave overwhelmingly positive feedback and requested that the conference become an annual event. In conclusion, specialized conferences for family caregivers of persons with dementia can serve as an effective way to provide valuable information on dementia and dementia care support services, to offer therapeutic interventions designed for caregivers and older adults, to create a space for sharing caregiving stories, and to strengthen ties within the dementia care community.

BackgroundAs the global aging population is estimated to double from 2015 to 2050, it has become increasingly critical to address cognitive and behavioral decline in elderly populations—particularly those living in nursing home facilities. In this review, we aim to holistically assess the effectiveness of routine art‐based activities and mentally stimulating tasks as interventions for addressing depression and cognitive deterioration prevalent in nursing homes.MethodThe literature reviewed employed a randomized controlled trial in which nursing home residents were divided into an art‐based therapy group (painting, and drawing), mentally stimulating task groups (basic arithmetic, reading comprehension, and memory games), as well as a control group. Sessions were conducted three to five times per week consisting of 60‐120 minutes of engaged activity. Cognitive function was measured using the Mini‐mental State Examination (MMSE), the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Surveys were utilized to gauge perceived benefits.ResultsMultiple cognitive and emotional assessments from this cross‐literature review revealed the prominence of loneliness and limited mental stimulation in nursing home residents, often exacerbated by neglect and resource limitations. Structured interventions such as art therapy showed improved mood, boosted self‐esteem, and reduced loneliness and depression. Intellectually stimulating tasks like arithmetic and reading revealed heightened cognitive functioning, particularly in memory, attention, and executive functioning.ConclusionThis literature review highlights the value of structured and interactive non‐pharmacological interventions in improving social engagement, cognitive functioning, and emotional well‐being in nursing home residents.

EDUCATIONAL INNOVATION: SYNERGY OF ART THERAPY AND PLAY-BASED LEARNING IN PRESCHOOL AND PRIMARY SCHOOL AGE

ABSTRACT This study aims to test the effect of combining art and music therapies administered through interactive television, to curtail post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) of school children who have experienced kidnapping. A quasi-experiment was carried out in two selected secondary schools. The study sample comprised 450 students divided into a control group of 225 and an experiment group of 225. The treatment group was further divided into art (N = 75), music (N = 75) and art combined with music therapy groups (N = 75), respectively. Results suggest that interactive TV-based music therapy alone, art therapy alone, and art plus music therapy are effective intervention strategies for reducing the PTSD of school children who have experienced kidnapping in Nigeria (effect size = .471). Compared to interactive TV-based music therapy or art therapy alone, interactive TV-based art plus music treatment is more successful in reducing PTSD (effect size = .544). We recommend the introduction of interactive TV-based music and art therapy to reduce the PTSD of children who survived kidnapping. More focus should be placed on combining art with music therapy, which is more effective in curtailing children’s PTSD.

Rising divorce rates in Mexico highlight the need to address the emotional and relational effects of family transitions on children. This conceptual-clinical paper presents an integrative art therapy framework that weaves narrative, systemic, and attachment perspectives through the creation of a family book, a creative ritual that functions as both a narrative container and a transitional object. Grounded in clinical practice, this process supports emotional expression, meaning making, and the strengthening of family bonds within reconfigured family systems. Using a case illustration, the paper shows how collaborative art-making fosters communication, resilience, and secure attachment during parental separation. The discussion emphasizes the relevance of creative therapeutic rituals for supporting adaptation, reducing emotional distress, and promoting continuity across homes. This approach positions family-centered art therapy as a valuable component of clinical practice and emerging policy initiatives aimed at safeguarding children's emotional well-being during divorce.

The aim of this article is to attempt to reflect on the impact of art on the processes of creative transformations of life, mainly from a hermeneutic-phenomenological perspective. The issue seems important, if only because of the discrepancy between theory and practice in the perception of art and creativity. While art is theoretically attributed with important functions, such as the ability to transform human life or shape the vision of the world, in practice artistic activities are often trivialized and their connections with broadly understood creative thought processes and life transformations are not noticed. As if there were no connections between art and broadly understood creativity or there were no connections between them and other matters important to man. This problem seems to be close to those who connect art and artistic creativity with educational activity. Here we can mention art educators, aesthetic educators, art educators or art therapists. Their work, according to Rudolf Arnheim (2013), is often marginalized, and artistic activities are treated as entertainment and pleasure, not requiring intellectual engagement. Meanwhile, acquiring creative experiences is a complex and to some extent unpleasant process, requiring the abandonment of self-satisfaction and opening up to new things, which involves the need to expand knowledge and disappointment. In this approach, it seems particularly important to analyze the meaning of 'experience' and the issue of turning towards basic questions and a sense of dissatisfaction. The above aspects can constitute the basis for creative 'transformations of the spirit' that resonate with the world of art.

A child’s disability is a difficult experience for parents. It requires continuous reorganization of the world in a way adequate to the child’s needs and requirements, which is often a difficult situation for parents. The emerging frustration and crisis mean that many parents cannot cope emotionally by existing circumstances. That is why it is extremely important to support them and make it possible to adapt to the constantly changing situation in the most effective way. The answer to the need for direct impacts may be art therapy, focused on providing emotional support and developing the creative basis. To ensure effective support for parents of children with disabilities, it is necessary to recognize their preferences, needs and expectations. The purpose of the research presented in the article is to learn about the opinions on creativity and determine the differences in the intensification of the creative attitude of parents of children with disabilities, parents of preschool children and students not boring children. Research problems were formulated for such a specific purpose, referring to: defining the concept of ‘creativity’, impact of creativity on everyday functioning, experiences of the respondents in developing your own creative attitude and the level of severity of this attitude. The exploration uses a diagnostic survey method with survey technique. The culmination conducted allowed to determine the differences in the scope of these issues and question the proposal of support through the art therapy of parents of children with disabilities.

The considered issue is conditioned by need in studying psycho-social problems of children from problem families and searching for technologies to resolve them. The article is devoted to study of health-saving technologies of art therapy applied to children from problem families. It is established that psycho-social problems are widespread among children and adolescents. According to WHO data, their prevalence worldwide is estimated at 10-20%. These problems can seriously interfere with daily life and increase risk of poor academic performance at school. The study revealed emotional (anxiety, depressive feelings, withdrawn behavior, psychosomatic complaints), behavioral (hyperactivity, aggressive behavior, behavior problems) and social (social isolation, lack of social contacts and interactions) problems of children. It is determined that art therapy technology is used to increase self-esteem and self-awareness, to develop emotional stability, to improve social skills and activity and to reduce stress. In recent years, art therapy, as socio-psychological technology, played important role in solving whole range of tasks to preserve the psycho-social health of children, especially ones from problem families. This method is associated with disclosure of personal creative potential, manifestation of social activity, release of one's hidden energy reserves and, as a result, finding optimal ways to resolve one's problems. It is concluded that application of health-saving art therapy technology can provide children from problem groups of population with opportunity to resolve psycho-social problems through "self-healing", reducing level of social tension, increasing level of emotional well-being.

Tenth-grade students often face a variety of new tasks and demands that are denser and more rigorous. This triggers academic burnout. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effectiveness of an art therapy approach in group counseling for reducing academic burnout among tenth-grade students. Using a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design with 10 samples of students with high levels of academic burnout. Data were collected using the School Burnout Inventory (SBI) administered before and after 5 sessions of intervention meetings. The results of the analysis showed a significant decrease (p = 0.002) in the level of academic burnout in the experimental group (mean 25.80) compared to the control group (mean 28.20). The intervention appears effective in reducing academic burnout. Based on this, schools are advised to consider the use of group counseling with an art therapy approach as an intervention to address academic burnout, with the expectation that it will improve emotional well-being and academic achievement. Keywords: group counseling, art therapy approach, academic burnout, tenth-grade students

The social isolation measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated emotional loneliness, presenting significant challenges in the fields of public health and social psychology. This study examines the potential of landscape design in mitigating emotional loneliness. While prior research indicates that art therapy can reduce environmental loneliness and provides theoretical support for emotion-focused environmental interventions, systematic investigations into the role of landscape installations in alleviating emotional loneliness remain limited. Further exploration of their mechanisms and practical applications is necessary. Through case studies and questionnaire survey-based methods, this research evaluates how design elements—such as cultural references, color application, and function attributes—affect emotional loneliness relief. The findings demonstrate that design elements significantly enhance user interaction (β = 0.339, p < 0.01) and also directly alleviate emotional loneliness (β = 0.258, p < 0.01). User interaction, in turn, exerts a significant direct effect on emotional loneliness relief (β = 0.312, p < 0.01). Mediation analysis confirms that user interaction serves as a partial mediator, with the indirect effect supported by a 95% confidence interval excluding zero (95% CI: 0.065–0.148). Moreover, moderated mediation analysis indicates that interaction style moderates the path from user interaction to emotional loneliness relief. Specifically, the mediation effect is significant at medium and high levels of interaction style (Effect = 0.100–0.161). This study provides theoretical insights into the development of landscape design in relation to emotional health and offers empirical support for the implementation of landscape installations with psychologically supportive functions.

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the effects of an 8-day art therapy program for adolescents with Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). Twenty-four adolescents (aged 9–14 years) participated in a structured residential camp featuring creative visual arts, collaborative projects, and expressive therapeutic activities. Assessments conducted at baseline, post-intervention, and one-month follow-up showed significant improvements in IGD symptoms, particularly Withdrawal (ηp2 = .497) and Reality Perception Disturbance (ηp2 = .540). Parent-reported behavioral measures revealed significant reductions in anxious/depressed symptoms (d = 0.83), aggressive behavior (d = 1.01), and total problems (d = 1.57). While improvements in self-regulatory efficacy were observed post-intervention, changes in self-esteem and school adjustment were nonsignificant. Findings suggest that immersive creative experiences can address IGD symptoms and associated behavioral problems by providing alternative achievement structures, enhancing emotional expression, and fostering social skills development. Art therapy approaches may effectively complement existing treatment strategies for adolescent IGD.

This article discusses the content, goals, and effective methods of psychocorrection work with stuttering preschool children. The possibilities of restoring speech activity in children, building self-confidence, and ensuring social adaptation through the interaction of speech therapy, psychological, and art therapy approaches are analyzed.

Té global realista has changed due to the emergence of COVID-19, making it pertinent to focus on the study of art therapy as a psychological support tool during these times. Ecuador was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and there was a high demand for art therapy workshops. Therefore, the research delved into perceptions and impacts derived from the experience of online art therapy workshops for adults. In this regard, it was identified that foreign academic production predominates, with scarce national research. In this regard, a qualitative empirical study was conducted, with a descriptive scope and a cognitive approach. Semi structured interviews were conducted with 11 participants. The work revealed positive perceptions about the workshops. Furthermore, the impact of the workshops contributed to changes related to the development of creativity, self-knowledge, emotional expression, and other personal skills.

This study examines the effects of various intervention types on stress levels, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being among participants following a six-week program. The final sample included 327 employees (aged 25-55) from a large company in Astana, Kazakhstan. Participants were assigned to one of three groups. Group A (n = 109) utilized Galaxy Watch5 smartwatches and the Samsung Health mobile application, attended hybrid functional training sessions, received individual psychological counseling, and participated in group art therapy sessions. Group B (n = 108) engaged in training sessions, counseling, and art therapy without the use of technology. Group C (n = 110) exclusively used smartwatches. Pre- and post-intervention assessments were conducted using the perceived stress scale (PSS), the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS), and the WHO-5 well-being index. Repeated measures ANCOVA revealed significant time effects across all variables (PSS: η² = 0.21; SWLS: η² = 0.26; WHO-5: η² = 0.25) and significant group-by-time interactions (PSS: η² = 0.07; SWLS: η² = 0.06; WHO-5: η² = 0.09), with Group A showing the greatest improvements. The effects of gender and job position on the results were minimal. The findings underscore the importance of a comprehensive approach to enhancing well-being and stress management.