SELECTION OF ARTS THERAPY JOURNAL ARTICLES

Background: Stroke is a life-threating cerebrovascular disease. Without proper and immediate treatment, it can cause long-term disabilities and even death. While current rehabilitation focuses on functional needs, it does not fully address the psychosocial issues. Creative arts-based therapies, however, may have the potential to be of assistance. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to synthesize the qualitative findings of the stroke survivors' positive and negative experiences in participating in creative arts-based therapies. A systematic literature search was conducted across diverse databases. A thematic synthesis was adopted to analyze the results from different qualitative studies and mix-method studies. Results: Among the 367 studies extracted from various databases, 11 studies met the inclusion criteria and were of acceptable quality. The following five analytical themes were identified: functional restoration, psychological support, social engagement, spiritual experience, and short-comings and barriers. Conclusion: Creative arts-based therapies have demonstrated their strengths in addressing psychosocial needs for stroke survivors. Different art modalities are perceived to be useful in achieving different therapeutic goals. Therapies based on a single art modality or combined modalities have different specialties and characteristics. Further research is needed to demonstrate the differential benefits or special advantages of using single or multiple art modalities as well as having qualified therapists in creative arts-based therapies.

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In the year 2000, an important art therapy literature review addressed an essential question—does art therapy work? It discussed 17 articles dealing with the issue of the effectiveness of art therapy. Two decades later, this research field has extended its scope and is flourishing. Several current reviews of research work have described the broad range of methods implemented today, which includes qualitative and quantitative studies; other reviews have focused on art therapy with specific populations, or by age group. The aim of this systematic literature review is to contribute to the ongoing discussion in the field by exploring the latest studies dealing with the effectiveness of art therapy with a broad scope of adult clients. We conducted a comprehensive search in four databases and review of every quantitative article that has addressed outcome measures in the art therapy field from 2000 to 2017. This paper presents the latest 27 studies in the field that examine the effectiveness of art therapy with adult clients and divides them into seven clinical categories: cancer patients, clients coping with a variety of medical conditions, mental health clients, clients coping with trauma, prison inmates, the elderly, and clients who have not been diagnosed with specific issues but face ongoing daily challenges. It underscores the potential effects of art therapy on these seven clinical populations, and recommends the necessary expansions for future research in the field, to enable art therapy research to take further strides forward.

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The study aimed to explore and describe the significance of Manual-based Phenomenological Art Therapy for patients with moderate to severe depression (PATd). Meaning-oriented interviews were conducted 1-2 months after completion of PATd, as participants needed time to reach awareness of the significance of their experience.

10 participants were involved in the study, and findings suggest that this form of therapy to individuals with moderate to severe depression means meeting oneself in an inner dialogue between evident and the unaware. Art making and the ensuing narrating makes inner life visible, and can open up and alter the understanding of one and oneself’s situation.

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Art therapy has often been applied in the treatment of traumatized adults, and good results in clinical practice have been reported. However, although art therapy experts underline these benefits, the effectiveness of art therapy in trauma treatment has not been established by systematic review. The aim of this systematic review is to identify and evaluate empirical evidence of the effectiveness of art therapy for trauma treatment. As a result of the systematic review, six controlled, comparative studies on art therapy for trauma in adult patients were found. In half of the included studies, a significant decrease in psychological trauma symptoms was found in the treatment groups, and one study reported a significant decrease in depression. Although there are limitations in the number of included studies, the number of participants, the heterogeneity of included studies, and their methodological quality, the results contribute to insight into the effectiveness of art therapy in trauma treatment and form an evidence base for the urgent need for further research on art therapy and trauma treatment.

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Without art imagining life as full and meaningful is impossible. Art-therapy is one of the new technologies in humanistic psychiatry. It mainly deals with a kind of treatment based on the use of artistic production. Art is creation, play, beauty, communication, and intuition. Artists express their emotional world through art, and the spectators or readers let this world pass through the realm of their sensuality. The true essence of art is in its perceptible and imaginary nature. Art can be pictured as the mirror of direct experience and feelings and sentiments of people. Images and symbols are considered the carriers of emotions and feelings. Through feelings, art deepens the inner world of a human being, inspires us and makes us humane, creates a 'personality' within a person. Creating a personality, art can solve pedagogical and psychological problems of human being. Moreover, art is a psycho-therapeutic remedy for a soul, a means of psychological and psychic relief. The object behind art- therapy is the human mind, that is, the emotional world of a human being, a human soul. Art can purify the sensual world (catharsis), and correct its orientation. Through art-therapy, psychical and psychological disorders can be diagnosed and cured.

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Advances in both military and medical technology have led to decreased mortality rates among military service personnel in the United States, yet have led to an increase in occurrences of traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder in military service personnel, often resulting in prolonged unresolved symptoms. The purpose of this article is to illustrate the implementation and effects of an art therapy program on military service personnel attending an outpatient military treatment facility. To this end we present case reports of three military service personnel diagnosed with comorbid traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress and describe their participation in the art therapy program at Intrepid Spirit One, the National Intrepid Centre of Excellence satellite site at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital. Through discussion of the therapist's subjective observations, as well as the patients' visual art productions and their personal verbal and written reflections on their experiences in art therapy and, eventually, on community art programs, this article highlights how art therapy was used to treat military trauma as part of a comprehensive integrative treatment program. The cases highlights how participation in a long-term, stage-based, structured art therapy program (through both group and individual sessions), enabled military service personnel to identify and articulate the complexity of their lingering trauma symptoms, fostering improvement in their communication with other treatment providers and loved ones, which, in turn, led to improvements in their overall quality of life.

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The study was designed to determine if art therapy has any effect on the stress and anxiety of employees. The results demonstrated that before and after art therapy in the study group, the level of the stress indicator (cortisol) over twenty-four hours and also the state of anxiety decreased significantly (P < 0.05). The mean final stress level and situational anxiety for the study group were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than those for the control group. No significant changes were found for trait anxiety in any of the groups. These findings suggest that art therapy for employees is a preventive measure for a person to understand stress situations and to be capable to manage their anxiety, react adequately and to cope with stress, thus improving the quality of life by creative means.

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Art therapy is a treatment form for people with psychiatric disorders and psychosocial problems in which methodical use is made of an experience-oriented working method.

This study by Suzanna Haeyen was designed to explore and review recent theoretical contributions and studies about art therapy that attempt to capture aspects of healthy ego functioning. It presents an inventory of art therapy interventions to strengthen the Healthy Adult as a familiar concept from Schema Therapy. 

Findings suggest that art therapy is promising in contributing to the development of Healthy Adult functioning, helping patients diagnosed with personality disorders. Art therapy can be used to strengthen healthy ego functions using specific art therapy interventions. 

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This paper presents an overview of national trends in visual art-making and art sharing using digital media, and, the authors’ reflections on the implications of these findings for art therapy practice. These findings were based on a secondary analysis of the 2012 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts administered by the National Endowment for the Arts. Survey findings indicated that increasing proportions of people in the United States are using digital media for creating, archiving, and sharing their art. Reflections by the authors on these findings include support for increase in use of digital media by art therapists for their own art and the need for research about, and, education on best practices for use of digital media.

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This is the first controlled study of an expressive arts group intervention with unaccompanied minor asylum-seeking children. The aim of the study was to examine whether such an intervention may alleviate symptoms of trauma and enhance life satisfaction and hope. One hundred forty-five unaccompanied minor refugee boys with their stated age between 15 and 18 were allocated into a 10 session 5 weeks manualized expressive arts intervention (EXIT) or a life as usual (LAU) control group. The participants were assessed at onset and 4 times over a period of 25 months with a battery of instruments measuring post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), general psychological distress (HSCL-25A), current life satisfaction (CLS) and expected life satisfaction (ELS). The instruments were presented in the participants’ native languages, using touch-screen laptops and the computer program Multilingual Computer Assisted Interview (MultiCASI). There were significant time by group interactions in favor of the EXIT group for PTSS and CLS. At the end of the follow up the EXIT group had higher life satisfaction and hope for the future than the LAU group. A manualized EXIT group intervention can have a beneficial effect on helping minor refugee boys to cope with symptoms of trauma, strengthen their life satisfaction and develop hope for the future. Our findings support previous studies showing that the arts may help people in reconstructing meaning and connection with others by focusing on resources and creativity.

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The Art Room is a targeted group intervention delivered in schools for students with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Since the start of the project, over 10,000 students have been through The Art Room intervention, which aims to address psychological difficulties that impede students' school experience. This paper reports on a quantitative evaluation of the impact of The Art Room on students' emotional and behavioural problems. Questionnaires on psychological functioning were administered before and after attending The Art Room. Teachers completed the SDQa and children completed the sMFQ. Students showed a significant reduction in emotional and behavioural problems (teacher-reported SDQ scores) and clinical baseness. There was also a significant. improvement in their mood and feelings (child-reported sMFQ), with an 87.5% improvement in those students who were depressed at baseline. The intervention is improving students' emotional and behavioural problems and promoting prosocial behaviour at school.

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This quasi-experimental study investigated the impact of visual art making on the cortisol levels of 39 healthy adults. Participants provided saliva samples to assess cortisol levels before and after 45 minutes of art making. Participants also provided written responses about the experience at the end of the session. Results indicate that art making resulted in statistically significant lowering of cortisol levels. Participants’ written responses indicated that they found the art-making session to be relaxing, enjoyable, helpful for learning about new aspects of self, freeing from constraints, an evolving process of initial struggle to later resolution, and about flow/losing themselves in the work. They also reflected that the session evoked a desire to make art in the future. There were weak associations between changes in cortisol level and age, time of day, and participant responses related to learning about one’s self and references to an evolving process in art making. There were no significant differences in outcomes based on prior experiences with art making, media choice, or gender

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