The Painting Together Group was a slow open group which used art making, play and talking to strengthen parent-child relationships. This 10-month pilot was co facilitated by Shona Lavey-Khan, a CAMHS clinical psychologist and Dean Reddick, an art therapist working in a local authority nursery school and children’s centre. This report evaluates the pilot group using both quantitative data and an analysis

The objective of this study was to determine if either creative movement or art were effective at decreasing stress among college students and improving their mood. Sixty participants were randomly assigned to either a movement (n = 30) or an art (n = 30) intervention. Before the intervention, participants in both conditions wrote about a current stressor, rated their perceived intensity of the stressor

This study explored how art therapists experience the retention of clients' artworks after therapy termination. Thirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with art therapists working in private practice and were subsequently analyzed according to Charmaz's grounded theory approach. Three main categories emerged: 1. "The motivation to retain artworks": how this relates to the needs of both clients

The influence of music therapy (MT) as a support intervention to reduce stress and improve wellbeing in Clinical Staff (CS) working with COVID-19 patients was evaluated. Participants were enrolled as a result of spontaneous agreement (n = 34) and were given remote receptive MT intervention over a 5-week period. Their levels of tiredness, sadness, fear and worry were measured with MTC-Q1 before and

Retrospectively registered randomized controlled trial (RCT) study sought to investigate the effects of a six-week art psychotherapy in the treatment of 49 adult patients already receiving pharmacotherapy for major depressive disorder (MDD). To achieve this objective, the combined therapy’s primary effects on depressive symptoms, anxiety, interpersonal relationships, and self-esteem were examined,

Millions of people in the United States seek treatment for substance use disorders (SUD) each year, highlighting the importance of effective treatments for this social dilemma. SUD are characterized by long-term neurological changes and continued consumption of substances despite negative consequences. We conducted a narrative review of research highlighting the intersections between addictive substances

This study used a mixed-methods design to examine the acceptability of a dance program for pregnant women, the feasibility of conducting home-based assessments of newborn infants using a non-invasive attention task, and the suitability of the outcome measure. Prenatal vestibular-stimulation-as-dance (VES-D) was informed by Laban movement theories, modern dance technique, and pregnant hunter-gatherer’s

This mixed-methods art-based study probed pictorial expressions in mother and infant relationship drawings. The participants were 45 women in the third trimester of their first pregnancies, who produced a mother-infant relationship drawing and filled out self-report questionnaires relating to maternal representation. The drawings were subjected to Phenomenological Analysis, which resulted in a list

This study aims to explore accessible methods and techniques that enable adolescents with intellectual disability (ID) to voice their own opinions and wishes about socio-emotional aspects of their life. Participatory action research (PAR) calls for the inclusion of marginalized groups, such as people with ID, in research about them, allowing them to explore aspects of their lives and social environment

This study explores the conditions and circumstances that influence the way experienced music therapists identify the therapeutic focus of their practice. Participants included 45 music therapists practicing in 8 different countries who were aged between 33–67 years old and with at least 5 years of professional experience. Participants described their approach to goals/aims within their practice, and

This study explored the clinical characteristics of home-based music therapy for people with dementia by utilizing a program with a Japanese woman in her late 80 s, who had been diagnosed with probable Alzheimer’s disease. The narrative data, including transcripts of conversations during the sessions, and session notes were analyzed per the concepts of “intersubjectivity” and “singularity.” Results

Dance interventions for people with dementia could benefit balance, gait, fall risk, physical activities, cognition, quality of life, social interactions and behavioral and psychological symptoms. This study investigates the impact of dance on balance, confidence, quality of life and well-being of people with dementia. In order to compensate for the lack of control group, our study followed a crossover

Literature about the integral role of the arts in learning is widely available, but much less has been written about how the arts and aesthetics support education in the creative arts therapies, particularly in the online learning environment. This article introduces the concept of aesthetic presence within the Community of Inquiry pedagogical model in line with values espoused within a Universal Design

Many creative art therapists have called for a greater awareness in our profession of social injustice and have cautioned against the invisibility of social privilege: be it by race, gender, sexual orientation or any other means. They have called for institutions to be more vigilant in including awareness of the unconscious nature of such prejudices in their art therapy training programmes and they

This article details an ongoing inquiry into the nature of the three-way conversation in art therapy education, regarding the relationship between art, educator and student. Drawing upon a reflection on the use of the Open Studio setting as a third space in the educative environment, we explore the impact of our role as educators when students are processing their learning experiences with art. A practice-led

This article describes a 12-week intervention program for Syrian refugee youth who have lived in the U.S. for approximately one year. The purpose of this study was to identify and develop art therapy interventions that would reduce stress and severity of trauma-related psychopathology while providing coping skills for youth aged 17 and under. Psychological questionnaire data were collected to obtain

In this paper we offer a review of the refugee experience with a specific focus on those refugees recently resettled in the United States. We expand on the importance of trauma-informed care that is culturally sensitive, somatically informed, and strength/resource-based. Dance/movement therapy (DMT), with its emphasis on somatic and psychological issues, appears to be a fitting modality for refugees

Given bodily experiences such as chest pain, fatigue, and breathlessness, many patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) live “at war with” and “against the body” (Gantt, 1992, p. 246). Few researchers have employed qualitative research designs to investigate the physical activity experiences of youth with CHD. Drawing on critical disability studies, and the arts-based qualitative methodological

This paper offers a summary of a doctoral research that investigated the production of meaning in autobiographical performance in dramatherapy, and how it can be described as emerging from the relational and embodied encounter between performers and witnessing spectators. The study responded to a need in autobiographical performance research to analyse and understand the processes and mechanisms of

Many studies have shown the positive effects of music therapy on managing anxiety, stress and depression of hospitalized patients. However, data on mood, anxiety, pain, depression, stress and attention level in Australia is limited where music therapy is involved. This randomized controlled pilot study examines this issue. A sample of 26 patients (12 male and 14 female) from the General Medicine Ward

A key concern of Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) is to develop inner warmth, safeness and soothing. The aim of the current study was to develop a compassion focused art therapy programme for clients diagnosed with Personality Disorders (PDs), the goal being to strengthen compassion skills and achieve more adaptive emotion regulation. The Intervention Mapping Method was used for this purpose, based

In this meta-analytical study, we investigated the effectiveness of psychodrama as a treatment for depression and anxiety in Chinese participants. Although documents verifying the effects of psychodrama are rich in western countries, the studies on the effects of psychodrama in Chinese samples are rare, partly because psychodrama has been newly introduced. Considering the differences between Chinese

Children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have difficulties with social communication and relational interactions as well as repetitive and stereotypical movements. Based on the assumption that movement synchrony can be used to enhance social skills, this study examines the synchrony of body rhythms between children with ASD and their music therapists. A computerized diagnostic for calculating

OBJECTIVE Develop a novel theatre-based program and test its feasibility, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy for improving empathy/compassion and well-being among older adults. METHOD Thirteen older adults were randomized to a 6-week Drama Workshop (DW) program or time-equivalent Backstage Pass (BP) control condition. Pre- and post-treatment measures included empathy, compassion, and mood scales

This paper introduces the Bodymind model of Art Therapy and delineates the processes through which it has salutary effects on individuals coping with a variety of health related challenges. The goal of this model is to articulate how activation, reorganization, growth and reintegration of the self can emerge from bodymind processes activated by art therapy. It provides a framework for the conduct of

Therapists have long utilized poetry with various at risk male populations. Yet, in spite of its use, therapists have also been aware of the dilemmas associated with using poetry in a population whose behavior and identity may at times run counter to the core tenants of poetry therapy. However, the literature of poetry therapy does not fully explore what therapists need to know about men and masculinities