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In art making, materials and media are the intermediaries between private ideas, thoughts and feelings, and their external manifestation in a tangible, sensual form. Thus, materials provide the core components of the exchange that occurs between art therapists and clients. This book focuses on the sensory-based, tangible vocabulary of materials and media and its relevance to art therapy. It provides a historical account of the theory and use of materials and media in art therapy, as well as an examination of the interface between art therapy, contemporary art materials and practices, and social/critical theory. Contributing authors provide examples of how art therapists have transgressed conventional material boundaries and expanded both thinking and practice in the field. The chapters discuss traditional as well as innovative media, such as body adornments, mail and video art, and comic books. An accompanying DVD contains media clips, as well as 69 color images.

PurposeWhile there is increasing evidence for the effectiveness of psychosocial support programs for cancer patients, little attention has been paid to creativity or art as a way of addressing their psychological problems and improving quality of life. This review provides an overview of interventional studies that investigate the effects of art therapy interventions on anxiety, depression, and quality of life in adults with cancer.MethodsWe conducted a literature review with a systematic search. The databases PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and EMBASE were searched for articles on art therapy among adult (18 years and above) cancer patients, published between September 2009 up to September 2019. Search terms were established for each database specifically. A total of 731 publications was assessed for relevance by title and abstract. The remaining 496 articles were examined using three inclusion criteria: interventions were guided by an artist or art therapist, participants were actively involved in the creative process, and anxiety, depression, and/or quality of life were included as outcome measures. Methodological quality of the included studies was appraised using specific checklists.ResultsSeven papers met the inclusion criteria. Data was extracted from three non-randomized intervention studies and four randomized controlled trials. All studies used a quantitative design with validated outcome measures. Four articles described positive effects of art therapy on anxiety, depression, or quality of life in adults with cancer.ConclusionArt therapy could possibly help decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression, and improve quality of life in adult cancer patients. However, because of the heterogeneity of the interventions and limited methodological quality of the studies, further research using stringent methods is needed.

For decades, art in its many forms has been used to improve patients’ quality of life and mental health. A growing amount of literature has shown the effectiveness of active visual art therapy (AVAT) on different patient outcomes and highlighted the need for international collaboration and harmonization of research methods. Evidence regarding AVAT inside the general hospital is still limited. This context poses unique challenges in terms of feasibility, heterogeneity, settings, and type of participants, together with significant ethical implications in terms of humanization of care. This narrative review aimed to report the available data on the effectiveness of visual art therapy in the general hospital and discuss them through the lens of the key bioethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice introduced by Childress and Beauchamp. Current evidence supports the effectiveness of AVAT on children and adult inpatients’ outcomes, particularly in the areas of pain control, anxiety, and depression, therefore supporting the individual’s autonomy and beneficence. With regard to justice and equity, AVAT proved to be a safe and cost-effective adjunct intervention to medical management inside the hospital. A more in-depth understanding of the ethical aspects implied in using AVAT in the general hospital may add a further contribution to the implementation of art interventions in patient-centered care.

The present study is an extension of previous research, which resulted in the development of a valid, reliable and user-friendly tool for monitoring art therapy. The purpose of this study was to examine the extended reliability and sensitivity to change of the adapted version of the above scale, now called the Self-expression and Emotion Regulation in Arts and Psychomotor Therapies Scale (SERAPTS) for art, dance, drama, music and psychomotor therapy. A pre-post design study was conducted on adult patients diagnosed with emotion regulation problems or personality disorder(s) cluster B/C. The study's sample size was determined by the researchers to be 96 participants for the purpose of testing internal consistency, and 67 participants for the purpose of testing sensitivity for change. An excellent internal consistency was found for all domains of therapy combined (Cronbach's α = 0.95). Additionally, high to excellent internal consistencies were identified for dance (α = 0.88), drama (α = 0.89), music (α = 0.95), and psychomotor therapy (α = 0.95), when considered separately. Furthermore, a significant sensitivity for change was identified within a 3-month timeframe (t = -4.39, p < .001), accompanied by a medium effect size (Cohen's d = 0.54). The validity of the tool has been established in previous research. The present study sought to establish the applicability and reliability/sensitivity to change of the SERAPTS, with a view to extending it to the broad spectrum of all creative arts and psychomotor therapies. The SERAPTS was shown to be a valid and sensitive instrument for monitoring the effects of creative arts and psychomotor therapies, indicating healthy self-expression and emotion regulation skills that serve positive self-regulation.

Objectives This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the effectiveness of creative arts therapy (CAT) interventions on the health outcomes of adult patients with cancer. Methods A comprehensive search was conducted in six databases from their inception to June 10, 2023, with no restrictions on sex, age, cancer type, cancer stage, or treatment type. The Cochrane Risk of Bias (RoB2) tool for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and the equivalent tool for non-RCTs (ROBINS-I) were used to assess the risk of bias. Meta-analyses were conducted to pool estimates of the effects of CAT on patients’ health-related outcomes. A narrative synthesis of outcomes was performed where meta-analysis was not appropriate. Results A total of 25 studies (8 RCTs and 17 quasi-RCTs) involving 1489 cancer patients and survivors were included in the final data analysis. Most studies focused on patients with mixed cancer diagnoses who were undergoing active chemotherapy treatment. Most studies utilized painting, drawing, and/or sculpting as CAT interventions. The overall risk of bias in the included studies was moderate to high. Meta-analysis demonstrated a significant improvement in quality of life (SMD with 95% CI = 17.50, 10.05–24.95, P =.0000) and the social aspect of quality of life in cancer patients (SMD with 95% CI = 03.1 (0.06-0.55), P = .01), but no significant effects were found for depressive symptoms and coping strategies among patients who participated in CAT compared to control groups. Narrative analysis and non-RCTs suggested the potential of CAT in reducing levels of depression and anxiety, as well as improving self-image, hope, emotional expression/state, and processing in patients with cancer. However, inconsistent findings were reported regarding the effectiveness of CAT interventions on fatigue, spirituality, and psychosomatic distress/symptom intensity. Conclusion The findings indicated significant and potential benefits of CAT for individuals with cancer, primarily related to quality of life. However, caution is needed in interpreting these findings due to limitations in the methodologies utilized in the included studies. Further large-scale RCTs are needed to examine the effectiveness of CAT on health outcomes, particularly in relation to self-image, hope, and emotional expression/state and processing among patients with cancer or those in palliative care.

This research presents an innovative smart community interactive art therapy platform that integrates multimodal computer graphics with resilient artificial intelligence adaptation mechanisms to address the growing challenges of home-based elderly care. The platform employs a four-layered hierarchical architecture encompassing perception, network, platform, and application layers to deliver personalized therapeutic interventions. The system utilizes multimodal data fusion algorithms to process visual, auditory, and haptic inputs while implementing adaptive learning mechanisms that continuously optimize user experiences based on individual preferences and capabilities. Experimental validation demonstrates superior performance with response times averaging 387 ms under 100 concurrent users, therapeutic recommendation accuracy of 87.3%, and user satisfaction scores of 4.2/5.0 across multiple evaluation dimensions. The resilient adaptation mechanisms achieved 99.7% service availability and 34% improvement in CPU utilization compared to conventional systems. Long-term usage tracking revealed sustained engagement patterns with minimal dropout rates over 6-month evaluation periods. The platform successfully addresses key limitations of traditional elderly care models by providing comprehensive support that encompasses cognitive stimulation, emotional well-being, and social connection while maintaining cost-effectiveness and scalability for large-scale deployment in smart community environments.

Root canal treatment is one of the most anxiety-provoking procedures in dental practice. Sensory art therapies can help control patient anxiety during the procedure. This systematic review aimed to synthesize the state of knowledge in this field and to examine whether sensory art therapies can reduce state anxiety during endodontics and in patients with high levels of dental anxiety. Six electronic databases, including the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus and EBSCOhost, were searched for articles published before January 2025. According to the PICOS strategy, the inclusion criteria were as follows: (P) adult patients with root canal treatment-related symptoms, high dental anxiety or dental phobia; (I) exposure to sensory art (including art therapy targeting the five senses); (C) control group receiving conventional treatment or placebo; (O) improved clinical or psychological health outcomes; and (S) randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The risk of bias was analyzed according to the Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized controlled trials (RoB 2). The strength of evidence of the included studies was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) tool. Meta-analysis of the extracted data was conducted using RevMan 5.3 software, and a fixed effects inverse variance model was used for sensitivity analysis. Thirteen RCTs were included in the current review. Six studies had low risk of bias, six were rated as \"some concerns,\" and one had a high risk of bias. Descriptive analysis showed that sensory art therapies had an effect on relieving patients' anxiety index, heart rate and blood pressure. The outcome indicators STAI-S, VAS, HR, SBP and SC were significantly improved in both the random and fixed effect models (P < 0.05), and the results of MDAS and DBP were significant in the fixed effect model (P = 0.002 for both), which demonstrates the effectiveness of SAT in reducing state anxiety and physiological stress responses. GRADE analysis presented a very low to high certainty of evidence. Given the quality of evidence ranging from very low to high, sensory art therapies (SAT)-which includes modalities such as audiovisual resources, music, yoga, aromatherapy, and virtual reality-may offer a cost-effective and non-invasive method to alleviate physiological stress responses and reduce state anxiety during dental treatment. Further well-designed randomized controlled trials are needed to determine its clinical efficacy. This systematic review and meta-analysis included 13 studies, providing low-quality evidence. Dental care professionals may consider using sensory art therapies to help reduce patients' anxiety during dental procedures.

The separate arts therapies – drama, art, music and dance – are becoming available to increasing numbers of clients as mental health professionals discover their potential to reach and help people. But what are the arts therapies, and what do they offer clients? This fully updated new edition of The Arts Therapies provides, in one volume, a guide to the different disciplines and their current practice and thinking in different parts of the world. Each chapter draws on a variety of perspectives and accounts to develop understandings of the relations between theory, research and practice, offering perspectives on areas such as the client–therapist–art form relationship or on outcomes and efficacy to help articulate and understand what the arts therapies can offer specific client groups. This new edition features 'Focus on Research' highlights from music therapy, art therapy, dramatherapy and dance movement therapy, which offer interviews with researchers in China, Africa, South America, Australia, Europe and North America, exploring significant pieces of enquiry undertaken within recent years. This comprehensive overview will be an essential text for students and practitioners of the arts therapies. It is international in scope, fully up-to-date with innovations in the field and will be relevant to new practitioners and those looking to deepen their understanding.

Background Infertility produces infertility-related stress in both members of infertile couples, especially for infertile women. Some studies verified the negative relationship between infertility-related stress and outcomes of infertility treatments. Effective mental health care during fertility treatment is urgently needed, but there has been a lack of efficient support services. To reduce the infertility-related stress of infertile women, expressive art therapeutic schemes will be organized and implemented by certified international expressive art therapists. Methods This study is a randomized controlled trial. Participants in the intervention group will receive expressive art therapies after the baseline investigation. Expressive art therapies will be led by the certified international expressive art therapist. The interventions include progressive muscle relaxation training, music meditation and drawing therapy. Participants in the control group will receive routine care. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Fertility Problem Inventory (FPI) will be used to investigate the anxiety, depression, and infertility-related stress of all participants at admission and at discharge. Discussion This study will verify the effectiveness and efficiency of expressive art therapies for infertile women. The results will provide new knowledge on mental health care strategies for infertile women. Trial registration ChiCTR, ChiCTR2300070618. Registered 14 April 2023.

To support patients with cancer in a palliative treatment phase with the integration of experiences of contingency into their life narrative, we developed a multi-modal approach: In Search of Stories (ISOS). ISOS consists of the following elements: filling out the self-report RE-LIFE questionnaire, drawing of Rich Pictures, and reading an exemplary story with a spiritual counselor, followed by a co-creation process with a professional artist. In the current article we illustrate how patients moved through the process of integration of experiences of contingency during the meetings of ISOS by presenting two case descriptions. All meetings of the first two patients who completed the ISOS project were audio recorded, imported into Atlas-Ti and analyzed by applying a phenomenological approach to deepen our understanding of the patient’s experiences throughout the meetings. The two cases showed distinct differences on how the experience of contingency was dealt with and how the integration of experiences of contingency into the life narrative unfolded. Patients focused on life goals and values concerning connection with loved ones, and on leaving a legacy behind, which was expressed through creating a work of art. The current study provides preliminary insight into how patients can go through a process of integration of experiences of contingency into their life narrative, which could inform the development of future support for patients with advanced cancer dealing with experiences of contingency. Specifically, offering patients possibilities to express themselves through materials within an artistic setting could support these patients to find new words and additional non-linguistic ways of expressing their experiences, and thereby facilitate the integration of experiences of contingency into their life narrative.