Climate change is a well-documented challenge for human societies where human actions have spurred global warming leading to climate breakdown. Ecological disasters are already affecting the mental health of many people, and this is escalating. By painting elephants, I address "ambiguous" loss and demonstrate the power of art therapy to…

The Dual-Process Model of grieving suggests that oscillation between negative and positive emotions occurs throughout the grieving process. If either negative or positive emotions are overly emphasized the grieving process could be stymied. To determine how art therapy can support this model, this study evaluated changes in positive and negative…

This case study describes an art therapy intervention with a client diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease who was coping with grief. The course of fifteen sessions included three phases: body awareness, grief emotions, and grief acceptance. The positive changes parallel ways that art therapy can benefit older adults by promoting communication,…

This study explored tattoos in relation to art therapy by examining motivations for obtaining them and their connection to healing. Participants consisted of 239 college students (122 with tattoos, 117 without) who completed a mixed-methods survey. Results indicated differences for age, gender, and level of education between those who have tattoos…

This pilot study explored how creative engagement could serve as a way to navigate the personal loss experiences of professional art therapists. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 3 participants. The results identified 6 themes and 16 subthemes: balancing personal experiences and professional practice, awareness of time, the loss…

This study explores the subjective experience of art therapists who work with bereaved clients. Eight art therapists were given an art-based task and completed a semistructured interview. Qualitative analysis revealed 3 themes conceived in axes: (a) facilitating emotional expressiveness and control, (b) fluctuating between presence and absence of…

This naturalistic multiple-case study design (N = 6) examined the clinical use of a modified Draw A Story assessment as a therapeutic tool for a hospice art therapy program. The aim was to recontextualize a standardized art-based assessment for use as a creative art-based tool. Client participants were video recorded while creating a Draw A Story…

This multiple case study investigated the impact of art therapy treatment on depressive symptoms in women diagnosed with infertility. A mixed-methods study design was implemented in which 13 participants each engaged in 6 individual art therapy sessions. The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) was administered before and after the 6 sessions,…

We evaluated changes in positive and negative affect of grieving children in response to art making compared to another noncreative, non-expressive, but engaging visuospatial task and assessed whether art making was equally or differentially effective in individual versus collaborative settings. We randomly assigned grieving children to one of…

This study examined the relationship among projective drawings and mental health symptomatology to determine if projective drawings provide clinical utility in pet bereavement. Projective drawings, standardized questionnaires, and clinical interview results were collected from 33 adults grieving the loss of a pet. Drawings were coded into a…

In the context of AIDS, the Botswana Government has adopted a group therapy program to help large numbers of orphaned children cope with bereavement. This study explores the effectiveness of the therapy and examines how it interacts with cultural attitudes and practices concerning death. Ten orphaned children were involved in five rounds of data…

Surveyed art therapists (n=78) to obtain information on types of doctorates received by art therapists. Results revealed rapid increase in number of art therapists with doctoral degrees in recent years. Dissertation topics were diverse; predominant topics being studies of art therapy assessment tools, identification of abuse, and use of art…