The Person-in-the-Rain (PITR) drawing scoring system primarily assesses stress, excluding consideration of color usage. In contrast, the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS) effectively evaluates psychopathological disorders and provides a comprehensive assessment of color usage. This study aimed to: (1) develop an alternative scoring system…

This study tested 2 hypotheses: (a) tactile experience is critical to the effect of creation of clay work in enhancing psychological well-being, and (b) sense of temperature is one of the mediating factors that underlies the effectiveness of tactile experience. Using an experimental research design, 36 Chinese adult participants created clay work…

This experimental study examined the validity of 3 underlying mechanisms that have been proposed in the research literature to explain the anxiety-reducing effect of coloring mandalas: distraction, structure, and centering. Four conditions were tested: (a) freely coloring a mandala, (b) coloring a mandala with preset colors, (c) freely drawing a…

Assessment is the foundation for conceptualizing effective interventions. Due to their nonverbal nature, art therapy assessments have an advantage over traditional verbal assessments in some populations and potentially across cultures. This pilot study provides preliminary reliability data to support the cross-cultural use of the Formal Elements…

In this study we explored the effects of group art therapy on the emotional well-being and parental empathy of mothers of children with special educational needs. Eleven mothers of children who were diagnosed with at least 1 kind of special educational need participated in a 16-week program. We hypothesized that the art therapy group would help…

The art therapist's ability to foster the creative process in service of relationship can be a foundation for infusing a social change paradigm into existing practice. For clients affected by discrimination and stigma, art therapy can promote empathy and understanding of the societal forces involved. In this qualitative study, 46 people…