Art Therapy Research Articles

The Impact of Expressive Arts Therapy on Emotional Regulation and Self Compassion among Adolescents

The Impact of Expressive Arts Therapy on Emotional Regulation and Self Compassion among Adolescents

Art therapy and neuroscience: evidence, limits, and myths.

The evidence base for the effectiveness of art therapy continues to grow, even as a mechanistic understanding of how art therapy works remains limited. One promising avenue for increasing our understanding of how and why art therapy works is through the lens of neuroscience. A neuroscience-based approach to art therapy provides opportunities for improving understanding of the neural processes that underlie the complex interaction between perception, cognition, emotion and behavior that play out in the art therapy process. Understanding how therapeutic change occurs can result in improved treatment and better outcomes for clients. However, it can be tricky to connect art therapy and psychological theory directly to neural responses. The purposes of this perspective are to provide an overview of the current evidence and limits of neurobiological concepts of neuroplasticity, mirror systems, and interoception as applied to art therapy practice, and to provide updated information about outdated concepts that are still actively used in clinical practice. Critical analysis and understanding of the current scientific knowledge base can then be used to guide art therapy practice and support the development of hypothesis-based research to determine the primary mechanisms that drive the observed effects of art therapy interventions.

Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Art Therapy (MBAT) Utilizing Watercolor Painting on Emotion Regulation, Mindfulness, and Obsessive Symptoms

Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Art Therapy (MBAT) Utilizing Watercolor Painting on Emotion Regulation, Mindfulness, and Obsessive Symptoms

Comparative analysis of art therapy in education: China vs. foreign countries using CiteSpace

Comparative research on art therapy in education is limited, both in China and internationally. This study examines the potential of art therapy to transform art education, focusing on improving students' physical and mental health and aesthetic abilities, both in China and other countries. This study provides a comprehensive comparative analysis of art therapy in education within a visual context. Using bibliometric analysis of publications from the CNKI and WOS databases over the past 20 years, and the CiteSpace visualization tool, research hotspots and frontiers in art therapy within education were identified. Clustering research topics were explored, and the influence of art therapy on current art education was discussed. The study also predicts the future development trend of art therapy in both Chinese and international art education. Bibliometric analysis of CNKI and WOS databases, coupled with the CiteSpace visualization tool, facilitated the identification of key nodes in the keyword network, highlighting research hotspots and frontiers. The development of art therapy has shown an upward trend over the past two decades, particularly in the last ten years. Comparative analysis revealed ongoing progress of art therapy in both China and other countries, with untapped potential in China. Future trends indicate a complex upward trajectory, emphasizing the integration of localized art therapy methods and educational approaches. This comparative research paper explores art therapy in education, focusing on its potential to improve physical and mental health, as well as aesthetic abilities, in students from China and other countries. Using bibliometric analysis and the CiteSpace visualization tool, research hotspots and frontiers in art therapy within education were identified. The findings reveal a growing trend in art therapy over the past two decades, particularly in China. The study highlights untapped potential and predicts a complex upward trajectory, emphasizing the integration of localized art therapy methods and educational approaches. These insights contribute to the advancement of art education practices in China and internationally, underscoring the need for further exploration and integration of art therapy methods.

Combining music and dance movement therapy for people with dementia living in the community: a mixed methods feasibility study

Dementia is affecting an increasing number of people world-wide and presents a need to find more evidence-based therapies that can improve quality of life and care. Music therapy and dance movement therapy are two forms of arts therapies that share an active, embodied and improvisatory approach, however, maximising the benefits of combining music and dance movement therapy has not been researched with this population. In this feasibility study a convergent mixed methods design was used to evaluate the feasibility of using an intervention that combined music and dance movement therapy drawing on a systematic literature review. A dance movement therapist and a music therapist ran two session blocks involving eight participants in total. The Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia was used at three assessment points (baseline, 5 weeks and 10 weeks) indicating an overall reduction in scores. Qualitative methods included multiple forms of data (video, reflective tool, journal) and focused on significant moments of connection between thoughts, feelings and physical sensations. It generated three main themes in the therapeutic process: making connections, acknowledging grief and loss, and growth and empowerment. This study contributes original knowledge to arts therapies research in the development of a research-based treatment approach involving a collaborative model of practice, an exploration of new arts-based data collection tools and testing this intervention in a community setting.

Family‐centered creative arts therapies for children with autism: A configurative systematic review

AbstractObjectiveThis configurative systematic review analyzed family‐centered creative arts therapies for children with autism to understand why and how they are done.BackgroundCreative arts therapies and family‐centered practice are both beneficial for children with autism. Research combining both approaches—that is, family‐centered creative arts therapies—is emerging, and reported findings are promising. A deeper understanding of the theoretical influences and mechanisms of these therapies may generate new ways of thinking and working with families with children with autism.MethodsFollowing registration with PROSPERO and in accordance with PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses) guidelines, a literature search was performed, resulting in 17 studies. Thematic analysis considered the studies in terms of theoretical influences, creative arts therapy components, and family‐centered components.ResultsThe development‐in‐context perspective was a key theoretical influence. In addition to music and singing, body movement/physical activity was a prominent component of creative arts therapies. Verbal support as well as modeling behaviors and strategies to parents were salient family‐centered components.ConclusionThis systematic review reveals common principles, practices, and gaps in the existing literature and their relevance for families with children with autism.ImplicationsThese findings bear implications for families, therapists, Certified Family Life Educators, and other professionals working with families with children with autism.

Art Therapy May Help Those with Neurologic Disorders

Art Therapy May Help Those with Neurologic Disorders

A Case Study of Gestalt Art Therapy for Children with Peer Relationship Conflict and Difficulty in Self-Expression

A Case Study of Gestalt Art Therapy for Children with Peer Relationship Conflict and Difficulty in Self-Expression

A Case Study on the Art Therapy of Subject Relationships for Children with Permissive Space and a Lack of Good Objects

A Case Study on the Art Therapy of Subject Relationships for Children with Permissive Space and a Lack of Good Objects

An Exploration of the Application Path of Painting Art Therapy in Mental Health Education in Colleges and Universities

Painting art therapy integrates painting art theory and psychological analysis, it constantly improves and develops, the application prospects is considerable. Based on the connotation and characteristics of painting art therapy, this paper pays attention to the current situation of mental health education in colleges and universities, and combines the advantages of painting art therapy to explore the integration of painting art therapy into mental health education in colleges and universities: painting is used to project the inner world in psychological survey, painting is used to release signals for help in individual counseling, painting is used to create an expression atmosphere in classroom teaching, and painting is used to awaken emotional resonance in group counseling and theme activities.

Homebody: Art Therapy and the Art of Possessions

This concept paper is proposing the inclusion of the home studio as an art making location for art therapy trainees who assemble personal belongings, within the context of their domestic lives. A collection of belongings can become an installation which brings together associations to identities in juxtaposition. The material culture of art therapy trainees, the objects which they live by, is a new contribution to art therapy pedagogy, as it designates the art of personal collections as a life archive (or accumulation) that is close at hand and already available. This collection of household artefacts teaches students how to honour the object collections of their clients, who are experts with lived experience of how to arrange legacies of gathering, consumption, inheritance, and gifted items. What follows is a proposal describing how home arrangements can signify personal associations to meaning and to an ethos of respecting what becomes us in terms of what we already own. The home studio is a key concept in this exploration of material culture as it relates to art therapy. This is a recognition of how a curation of possessions (where we place our belongings) is noteworthy as an act of agency and reflective practice within art therapy training and within the lives of those who participate in art therapy services. Recognising the significance of one’s lived-with objects, as navigation points of identity, values the culture of their curator who identifies the meaning of what they own as material assets.

Properties of fractal speckle-like structures

Regarding the use in art therapy and ophthalmology, the properties of fractal speckle-like images are considered. For their construction, both the traditional approach based on the use of two-dimensional fractal functions and a new technique based on the representations of dynamic chaos were used. The important role of the scaling characteristics of the Fourier transforms of fractal light structures is revealed.

Monte Carlo Simulation of Radioactive Elements Production in Tissues by Spallation in Cancer Therapy

Purpose: High-energy heavy ions generated by accelerators utilized in industrial and medical uses. Ar, C, and He heavy ions have been used in the treatment of cancer. In this research, it was tried to calculate the radioactive elements production in healthy tissues around tumors by heavy ions spallation process in the direct usage of high-energy ions for the treatment of cancerous tumors. Materials and Methods: The radioactive elements production in body tissues irradiated with heavy ions was calculated by Monte Carlo N Particle X-version (MCNPX) code based on the Monte Carlo method. The F8 tally card with FT8 command was utilized to derive the activation and spallation data in the range of Z1 to Z2 atomic numbers. Results: A wide range of radioactive elements was created in healthful tissues in Ne, C, Ar, and He heavy ions therapy. Results show that 10Be,14C, 26Al, 36Cl, 39Ar, 40K, 39Ar, 32Si, 22Na, and 36Cl radioactive materials were produced for high-energy heavy ions spallation in healthy soft tissue. Conclusion: The results of this research show that due to using directly high-energy ions to treat internal tumors, healthy soft tissue is activated. Also, by irradiated Ne, C, Ar, and He ions, the radioactive elements are produced with high gains and long half-lives. Therefore, in the therapy of cancerous tumors with high-energy ions, due to the production of radioactive agents, healthy tissues are at high risk.

Meeting the multidimensional self: fostering selfhood at the interface of Creative Arts Therapies and neuroscience.

Intriguing explorations at the intersection of the fields of neuroscience and psychology are driven by the quest to understand the neural underpinnings of "the self" and their psychotherapeutic implications. These translational efforts pertain to the unique Creative Arts Therapies (CATs) and the attributes and value of the self-related processes they offer. The self is considered as a multi-layered complex construct, comprising bodily and mental constituents, subjective-objective perspectives, spatial and temporal dimensions. Neuroscience research, mostly functional brain imaging, has proposed cogent models of the constitution, development and experience of the self, elucidating how the multiple dimensions of the self are supported by integrated hierarchical brain processes. The psychotherapeutic use of the art-forms, generating aesthetic experiences and creative processes, touch upon and connect the various layers of self-experience, nurturing the sense of self. The present conceptual analysis will describe and interweave the neural mechanisms and neural network configuration suggested to lie at the core of the ongoing self-experience, its deviations in psychopathology, and implications regarding the psychotherapeutic use of the arts. The well-established, parsimonious and neurobiologically plausible predictive processing account of brain-function will be discussed with regard to selfhood and consciousness. The epistemic affordance of the experiential CATs will further be portrayed, enabling and facilitating the creation of updated self-models of the body in the world. The neuropsychological impact of the relational therapeutic encounter will be delineated, acknowledging the intersubjective brain synchronization through communicative verbal and non-verbal means and aesthetic experiences. The recognition and assimilation of neuroscientific, phenomenological and clinical perspectives concerning the nested dimensionality of the self, ground the relational therapeutic process and the neuroplastic modulations that CATs have to offer on the premise of fostering, shaping and integrating selfhood.

The Effect of Art Therapy by Painting Technique on Social Function Level in Schizophrenia Patients at Menur Mental Hospital, Surabaya City, East Java, Indonesia

The Effect of Art Therapy by Painting Technique on Social Function Level in Schizophrenia Patients at Menur Mental Hospital, Surabaya City, East Java, Indonesia

Art and Cooking Therapies on Mental Health and Well-Being: A Narrative Review

Mental health is relevant to every individual. Poor mental health and well-being contribute significantly to personal suffering and a substantial burden on society. Art and cooking therapies in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are flexible approaches that emphasize engagement and growth to promote mental health and well-being, are easy to perform, accessible when needed, and can be self-administered. This review aims to explore art and cooking therapies focusing on intervention protocols, target populations, underlying mechanisms, limitations, and areas for future research. The literature search was conducted in PubMed, Google Scholar, and Semantic Scholar databases using predefined search terms. A total of 26 randomized controlled trials, 19 in art therapy, and seven in cooking therapy were included. Art and cooking therapies are promising interventions to improve mental health and well-being. They promote mindfulness and provide opportunities for self-expression and social support which can be explored in future studies and therapeutic settings.

Case report on clay sculpting of Platonic solids for anxiety: Exploration of effects and mechanisms of change

Touch is an essential component of the human experience, especially evident in art therapy where activities like clay work serve as powerful tools for sensory expression. While art therapy is often associated with free expression and creativity, structured interventions prove most effective in addressing negative moods. A structured art intervention, used in anthroposophic art therapy, is clay modeling of Platonic solids. The idea is that sculpting these abstract geometric forms helps individuals to regain or strengthen a sense of stability. In this specific case study, the therapeutic effects of Platonic solids were explored concerning anxiety reduction. The patient suffered from anxiety, panic attacks, severe distress and somatization. After three months art therapy, her anxiety and somatization were significantly reduced. It was found that patient’s ability to accept her emotions and responses to distress improved. This case report sheds light on the mechanisms underlying art therapy, particularly the role of tactile engagement in facilitating emotional integration across different levels of consciousness, increasing patient’s self-awareness. This case report contributes to the ongoing exploration of art therapy's transformative potential, emphasizing the significance of tactile experiences and combining a body-oriented approach with a cognitive challenge (Platonic solids) in the therapeutic process.

Effectiveness of Trauma-Focused Art Therapy (TFAT) for psychological trauma: A mixed method single case study

Art therapy (AT) shows promise in treating clients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), especially those who don't respond well to traditional treatments (more than 30 %). This case study aimed to explore the effects of Trauma-Focused Art Therapy (TFAT) on PTSD symptoms and establish its viability as a non-verbal therapy for trauma-related issues. A 10-week intervention and a 3-week follow-up phase were explored using a mixed method single case experimental design (SCED) aimed at integrated results. Bringing the two types of data together adds value and enables to understand the findings better. Quantitative data was collected with weekly questionnaires focused on severity of depression, resilience, self-esteem, mental health and self-expression and emotion regulation in art therapy. The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) was completed in week 1 and 10. Qualitative data was collected through interviews, the patient dossier, and artwork. The combined findings indicate a decrease in PTSD symptoms, reduced depression symptoms, enhanced emotional articulation, increased mental resilience, self-esteem, and positive mental health. The qualitative data support these results, and also add improved emotional connection, increased emotional acknowledgment, and enhanced self-compassion. Based on the combined results of this mixed method design we understand that the TFAT protocol led to a clinically significant reduction in PTSD symptoms and improved mental health, demonstrating effectiveness of AT for trauma in this case. This is the first study that tested the TFAT protocol in posttraumatic distress.

Drama therapists’ attitudes and perspectives regarding dis/ability: A community survey

The Dis/ability and Drama Therapy Lab at Lesley University conducted a community-wide survey aimed at better understanding drama therapists’ attitudes toward dis/ability. This survey was modeled after previous surveys conducted in creative arts therapies; a combination of a validated measure and researcher-designed questions were used to elicit information on attitudes, experiences, frameworks used, and confidence levels. Open ended questions were paired with quantitative measures to allow for respondent elaboration, and qualitative data are utilized to illustrate and support quantitative results. Data were analyzed from 146 participants who met inclusion criteria. Results indicate that while drama therapists hold overall positive attitudes toward dis/ability, there are significant gaps in knowledge that need to be addressed.

Effects of antiretroviral therapy on glycemic and inflammatory indices in people living with HIV (PLWH).

This study explores the relationship between different ART therapy based on NRTIs, and inflammatory markers, along with fasting blood glucose levels in treatment-naïve people living with HIV (PLWH). We retrospectively analyzed the variations in fasting blood glucose and inflammatory markers and their relationship with different ART regimens in 497 treatment-naïve PLWH at the ART clinic of Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from June 2018 to March 2022. From baseline to 24 months, fasting blood glucose, systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), pan-immune-inflammation value (PIV) and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) in PLWH receiving ART increased, while neutrophillymphocyte ratio (NLR) decreased (p < .05). In the NNRTIs group, fasting blood glucose, SII, PIV and LMR were higher than before (p < .05). In the INSTIs group, fasting blood glucose and LMR increased (p < .05), while NLR was lower (p < .05). Compared to the INSTIs, fasting blood glucose in the NNRTIs group was higher at 12 and 24 months (p < .05). At 24 months, both NLR and SII were higher in the NNRTIs group than in the INSTIs group (p < .05). Despite the virus suppression, fasting blood glucose and certain inflammatory markers in PLWH can gradually increase. Compared to NNRTIs, the INSTIs regimen was associated with favorable alterations in the levels of glucose and inflammatory markers.