The Efficacy of Art Psychotherapy on Reducing Maladaptive Behavior In Children

This study seeks to evaluate the efficacy of Art Psychotherapy as a treatment for children who have been exposed to trauma to decrease symptoms and the negative impacts on their social and psychological development. Thus, this mixed-method research closely documents the effects of an art psychotherapy program in Brazil in the treatment of 3 children, aged 9 years old, who have experienced trauma. Treatment effects were evaluated through a single-subject research design in a multiple baseline across participants design to quantitatively document change. Qualitatively, artwork progress is analyzed as well as parental and therapist’s evaluations. Results show that contingent on art psychotherapy implementation, targeted maladaptive behaviors decreased in frequency as compared to baseline, which was also reflected in their artwork. This study is aligned with previous work in the efficacy of art psychotherapy field and adds quantitative data to supports its use in the treatment of children with PTSD.

Review: systematic review of effectiveness of art psychotherapy in children with mental health disorders

Art therapy and art psychotherapy are often offered in Child and Adolescent Mental Health services (CAMHS). We aimed to review the evidence regarding art therapy and art psychotherapy in children attending mental health services. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and EBSCO (CINHAL®Complete) following PRISMA guidelines, using the search terms (“creative therapy” OR “art therapy”) AND (child* OR adolescent OR teen*). We excluded review articles, articles which included adults, articles which were not written in English and articles without outcome measures. We identified 17 articles which are included in our review synthesis. We described these in two groups—ten articles regarding the treatment of children with a psychiatric diagnosis and seven regarding the treatment of children with psychiatric symptoms, but no formal diagnosis. The studies varied in terms of the type of art therapy/psychotherapy delivered, underlying conditions and outcome measures. Many were case studies/case series or small quasi-experimental studies; there were few randomised controlled trials and no replication studies. However, there was some evidence that art therapy or art psychotherapy may benefit children who have experienced trauma or who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. There is extensive literature regarding art therapy/psychotherapy in children but limited empirical papers regarding its use in children attending mental health services. There is some evidence that art therapy or art psychotherapy may benefit children who have experienced trauma. Further research is required, and it may be beneficial if studies could be replicated in different locations.