Suicide is a leading cause of death for military service members and societal taboos exacerbate the symptoms of those closest to the deceased. Research on treatment options for this population is limited. This mixed methods evaluation of the Artful Grief Studio for military suicide survivors at the Tragedy Assistant Program for Survivors demonstrated significant results and meaningful findings. Quantitative

Depression is a serious mental health problem. Therefore, Emotion-regulating Improvisational Music Therapy (EIMT) to prevent depression was developed. The main purpose of this study was to assess effects of EIMT on reducing depressive symptoms in young adult students. A multiple-case study design was used with multiple methods. Eleven cases (female students) were completed and analysed. Nine out of

Previous researches on Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show the difficulty in supporting and taking care of these individuals, especially during adolescence. In our study a psychotherapist and a director involve two couples of ASD participants both adolescents in a therapeutic filmmaking and cinematherapy project, building their personal short film of which are both directors and main characters of

Many affective experiences and learning processes including attachment patterns from early developmental phases manifest during psychotherapy. The first 15 minutes in art therapy can potentially reveal clients’ preferred ways of processing information or Expressive Therapies Continuum components, attachment patterns in the material handling process, and emotion regulation strategies during art making

This study aimed to analyze the effect of psychodrama sessions on symptomatology in chronic schizophrenia inpatients and to evaluate the sociometric variances across groups. A psychiatrist and a psychiatric nurse assessed the symptomatology of 31 patients at pre- and post-treatment. Two sociometric assessments were carried out during sessions. A total of 19 psychodrama sessions were held weekly. Data

Violence against children is a prevalent worldwide phenomenon. Based on evidence that drawings may reveal unconscious conflicts and difficulties, the current study examined violence as reflected in children's drawings and narratives. Specifically, the study attempted to determine the extent to which the drawings and narratives express the child's personal experience of violence. A convenient sample

This quantitative study utilized an inclusive therapeutic theatre production for young people with disabilities, mental illness, and medical conditions to establish if involvement in the production could affect self-advocacy skills, specifically, assertiveness. In the literature, assertiveness has been documented as a subcomponent of self-advocacy. The therapeutic theatre intervention thematically

Objective This study assessed the effectiveness of group art therapy in improving social and emotional issues for adolescent boys of color living in poverty. Methods The sample consisted of 162 male ninth graders in the South Bronx; 70 % identified as Latinx and 24 % as African American. For 6 months, one pre-existing class from each of three academic tracks (Honors, Average, and At-Risk) was randomly

The Stress Vulnerability Model describes how stressors can function as a precursor for mental health episodes that may result in hospitalization. As such, it is crucial for people with mental health conditions to be able to anticipate and tolerate distress. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the effects of a group therapeutic songwriting intervention on distress tolerance with adults

Music therapists frequently use lyric analysis interventions in adult mental health settings. As clinical decision making (CDM) represents an important process in providing effective and quality care, it is crucial to gain an understanding of music therapists’ experiences and expertise to establish best practices. Therefore, the purpose of this exploratory interpretivist study was to investigate the

Differences in neuroception, namely different experienced activation patterns of the central nervous system, are predicted to appear as recognizable signs in pictorial artefacts conducted by clients. As an external validation, 65 pictures produced within a randomized trial with parallel treatment arms were analysed according to assessment tool criteria. Research participants were gynaecological cancer

Primary caregivers (PCs) of people with dementia deal with stressful daily living, especially spouses whose care recipient is at home. Several programs have been developed to aid caregiving by providing musical strategies, yet successful sustainable implementation of music in the daily lives of the couples awaits further research and development. To promote this, in this pilot study we proposed a music

This qualitative study aimed to explore the lived teaching experiences of native East Asian dance/movement therapy (DMT) educators who completed their DMT education in the US, and then returned to their home countries to teach. The researcher intended to learn how participants adapted what they had learned to teach DMT to students in East Asia, including their challenges and successes. Six participants

Raising children with an Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) can have an impact on the wellbeing of parents. However, emotional support for raising children with ASD is not always readily available and/or carefully considered. Interventions that offer psychological support using body-based creative approaches to psychotherapy such as Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) are scarce; research in this field

This study explored a manual-based group intervention protocol for culturally sensitive short-term dance/movement therapy, as possibly contributing to bodily and psychological perceptions in a unique sample of Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women. The insulated, restrictive Ultra-Orthodox society prescribes distinct gender roles, modesty, and strong regulation of women’s physical, sexual, and reproductive lives

Gender microaggressions are everyday assaults, insults, or invalidations that occur towards persons with marginalized gender identities (including trans/cis women, trans men, and nonbinary persons). As music therapy spaces are microcosms for larger sociopolitical contexts, music therapists are prone to enacting microaggressions verbally, non-verbally, and musically. In this narrative inquiry, semi-structured

The current study examined central themes in the developing professional identity of art therapy students that emerged in simulated art therapy sessions during academic coursework. Sixteen female art therapy students in their second year of their M.A. took part in six to eight simulated art therapy sessions. They were divided into pairs where one was the viewer ("therapist") and the other was the creator

This study examined the effect of art psychotherapy using marbling art on depression, anxiety, and hopelessness in female survivors of domestic violence with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study was carried out with eight female survivors of domestic violence using an art psychotherapy method with 14 structured marbling art sessions. Quantitative data were collected using the Beck Hopelessness

This article describes an 8-week intervention program for 16 female sexual assault victims in Iran aged 20–49. Sexual assault causes negative psychological consequences such as depression, anxiety and shame in victims. Although evidence-based treatments are effective in trauma treatment, they sometimes cannot cover the therapeutic needs of all patients and they have high dropout rates. The purpose

Gender-based violence is deeply rooted in hegemonic masculinity and patriarchy, the source of both hostile and benevolent sexism. This study is an assessment of a gender-sensitive intervention realized through photo-based therapy and psychodrama, conducted in 9 sessions with 9 male prisoners detained in north-eastern Italy who are convicted of assaulting or murdering women. The research adopted a qualitative

This study was designed as a rater-blinded, randomized, controlled study conducted in a community mental health center. The study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a goal-oriented dance and movement therapy (DMT) on symptomatology and functional remission in people diagnosed with schizophrenia. Thirty-two adults diagnosed with schizophrenia (ages 18–65) were randomly assigned to intervention

Art therapy researchers and practitioners are increasingly interested in the brain mechanisms underlying art therapy, an investigation area associated with almost no neuroimaging research. Lusebrink (2010) hypothesized that expression at different levels of the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) would be supported by different patterns of functional brain activation. In the current study, we tested

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,

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 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 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

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

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

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 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

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

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

This paper presents the results of a six-month psychodrama intervention for the prison-based treatment of people with substance dependence, held in an attenuated custody institution in Northern Italy (Istituto a Custodia Attenuata per il Trattamento delle Tossicodipendenze – ICATT). Seven patients participated in the psychodrama intervention (21 weekly sessions) and were monitored through an idiographic

The influence of music therapy (MT) on preoperative anxiety in children affected by leukemia undergoing invasive diagnostic procedures (IP) was evaluated. The participants were assigned to two different types of preoperative preparation for IP: MT intervention or standard care. Preoperative anxiety scores were measured with the Modified Yale Pre-operative Anxiety Scale. Interviews with medical staff

The lives of hundreds of Yezidi women and girls were shattered by the horrors of sexual violence and sexual slavery following the attack by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on the Sinjar region of Iraq in 2014. The effectiveness of participation in a two-month art-based intervention on suicide ideation in 14 Kurdish Yezidi females (10–27 years) who survived the ISIS attack was evaluated in

Tele is one of the most elusive and enigmatic concepts in psychodramatic theory. Although It represents one of the five main therapeutic factors that operate in psychodramatic practice, the lack of clarity and multiple meanings of the concept make it difficult to use clinically or even as a general therapeutic guideline. The present paper proposes that the concept of Tele may be elucidated by using

Although case studies and personal accounts since the founding of the art therapy field discussed creating art alongside clients as a valuable practice, few systematic studies have explored this method. This collaborative art-based dissertation explored art therapists’ perceptions of what happens when art therapists create art alongside their clients in their group art therapy practices. Four group

Although climate change is recognized as a threat to individual and global health and well-being, the climate crisis has not previously been explored within music therapy. This article presents music therapy’s engagement with the climate crisis as a disciplinary imperative and lays the initial foundation for such engagement. The responsibilities and roles of music therapists in this context are discussed

In psychotherapy of any kind, theory is an important basis for clinical practice but also evolves from it. Art therapists and other psychotherapists who use art materials need a theoretical framework to help them understand and conceptualize what happens in therapy. The Relational approach has never been presented as a theoretical framework for art therapy. Here, interviews were conducted with four

I am prone to bumbling, to miss-stepping. In my efforts to stay present in the living, fluctuating, tremulous moment-to-moment-ness of the therapeutic/educational encounter, I am sometimes not very fleet of foot. I have learned, once I have stumbled, to engage in a staggering recovery dance of rather vulnerable-making honesty. My slog to become humanly available and embrace ‘vulnerability with purpose’

Traumatic loss, complicated grief, and addiction can be difficult and complicated clinical issues. Many clients share their losses, self-blame or feelings of being stuck in their grief. However, verbal processing is not always adequate to stimulate change. Experiential sociometry provides refined tools for promoting strength-based connections between group members around their experiences of loss.

On a daily basis individuals are confronted with overt and covert messaging about their bodies, appearance, and functioning. This paper explores these social narratives and presents a narrative protocol for an eight hour workshop in which participants constructed life-sized body sculptures made from packing tape. Participants were invited to process their experiences with the guidance of drama therapy

The case load of a music therapist may contain much work with young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) and autistic spectrum conditions (ASC) as they transition to adulthood. There is however, no extant body of work exploring the anthropological theories of liminality and rites of passage in this context. It is considered that these theories offer a potential model of working

There are multiple barriers to art therapy engagement in the palliative care setting, including treatment fatigue, the intrusive nature of the inpatient hospital environment, and the wide variation in patient health status. This paper describes a response to these challenges with Art on Behalf, an art therapy approach in which the art therapist creates an artwork on behalf of the patient. The patient

The current study examined the experiences and perceptions of art therapy of seven male art therapists and five male adolescent clients treated by male therapists. An interpretative phenomenological analysis of semi-structured interviews was conducted to gain insights into the meaning of art therapy for both the therapists and the clients. Two themes emerged from the analysis. The first was termed

Aphasia, most often caused by brain damage due to stroke, is a language disorder hindering one's ability to verbally express and/or comprehend language, ranging in severity from mild to severe. An Applied Thematic Analysis (ATA) was undertaken of a post-production focus group to evaluate a 12-week pilot program that used the CoActive Therapeutic Theater (CoATT) Model for persons in Aphasia recovery

This study compared an attachment-based coding system for family drawings with narrative and observational attachment measures in adopted children and those living with their natural parents (“community-based”) in Italy. Attachment patterns of 41 children (ages 5–8) were assessed by: a graphic measure, the Family Drawing (FD); a narrative measure, the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task (MCAST);