This paper describes methodology, data analysis, and initial results of a research study with the long-term goal of establishing contemporary normative data on drawings from children living in the United States. The pool of participants was composed of 316 fourth graders (mean age 9.69 years) and 151 second graders (mean age 7.56 years) who each…

The ability to attend to the human face is a striking and possibly characteristic deficit for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study collected and reviewed data on how people with ASD approach the drawing task and represent faces in particular. Drawings that were created by 25 children and adolescents with autism spectrum…

This study presents a modified, single subject design that measured the patterns of electrical activity of a participant's brain following an hour spent painting and drawing. Paired t tests were used to compare pre and post art-making electroencephalograph (EEG) data. The results indicated that neurobiological activity after drawing and painting…

Chronic pain among children is poorly understood, and few studies portray the experiences of sufferers and their families. This qualitative case study aimed at gaining a rich description and a contextual understanding of the experiences of a young chronic pain sufferer, aged 6, and her family members through an art-making process. Several examples…

This study provides a basic overview of in-service preschool teachers using drawing as intervention with children. Art therapy is used more often for the smaller children who have more difficulty to describe their emotions and feelings in recognizing words, such as anger, resentment, and different kind of abuses. As a matter of fact, the drawing…

Art therapists increasingly are turning to educational and presentation technology to expand awareness of their field and to inform others in mental health care. This trend supports inquiry into how art therapists interact with and emotionally respond to the demands of technology. This paper presents a qualitative study that used 3 art-based focus…

This study sought to investigate the use of art therapy to assist a young person with mental illness making a transition from long-term inpatient care to a psychosocial residential rehabilitation setting. An art-based phenomenological case study method was used to investigate a lived experience of this transition. The participant attended 11 art…

Image making is a common component of art therapy supervision but its use has not yet been formally evaluated. This article describes formative evaluation research used to investigate student responses to art-based supervision in which response art was used as a primary method to contain, explore, or express clinical work. Art-based supervision,…

This paper applies social interactionism to gender identity issues as addressed in the art therapy literature and within interview data collected from art therapists working in the field. The findings revealed that perceptions from practicing art therapists differed from ideas put forth in the art therapy literature about gender traits that…

Refugee children are often admitted into schools having experienced traumatic events. The impact of trauma on children has been well documented and these children frequently have complex needs. The Devon Behaviour Support Team (BST) has offered Art Workshops to schools to support children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and…

The focus of this outcome study was on art therapy as a support for medical treatment and palliative care. A total of 41 patients were placed in 2 matched groups: 22 patients with Parkinson's disease and 19 patients without Parkinson's disease. Each participant completed the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) (Derogatis, 1993) pre- and post-session,…

This case report discusses the potential for art therapy to aid in the recovery of early-chronic stroke patients. The patient was diagnosed with having a subarachnoid hemorrhage from a cerebral aneurysm rupture 1 year prior to hospitalization. Therapies used as part of the patient's treatment included 10 weeks of art therapy conducted twice a…

The questions in this survey were designed to solicit concrete data as well as more speculative information from men who work in an art therapy capacity. The results presented in this brief report provide a picture of how these men perceive the field of art therapy as a minority group within it. A variety of factors addressed included, but were…

Externalization of problems as a component of narrative therapy has been well defined by such authors as Epston and White, and Freedman and Combs. This study reflects the voices and experiences of 17 participants who engaged in an innovative externalization exercise combining sculpture and journaling over a period of 4 weeks. In an attempt to…

Explores the credibility of the discipline of art therapy as perceived by psychology educators across the country. Also provides information on how current faculty members in higher education perceive the usefulness and utilization of art therapy. The negative results of this study may pose a challenge to members of the profession to educate…