This mixed methods study assessed the emotional impact of therapeutic art techniques in reducing subjective anxiety by comparing three options for drawing a self-portrait: literal self-portrait, mandala, and free drawing. Undergraduate college students (n = 60) were provided with a mood induction procedure and then randomly assigned to a drawing…

This article discusses the clinical benefit of comparing and integrating responses to 2 drawing tasks based on a small study that explored self-agency representations in children with disruptive behavior problems. Qualitative analysis of the children's free drawing and a Person Picking an Apple from a Tree (PPAT) task, as well as comparison of…

This study compared the effects of 2 art activities (structured and nonstructured) and a focused breathing exercise on outcome measures of mindfulness, anxiety, and affect. Seventy-seven participants, recruited from university students and the general public, were randomly assigned to either 15 min of coloring a mandala (structured), free drawing…

This study compared the effects of 4 different coloring activities on state anxiety scores to determine whether adult coloring books are as effective as other coloring activities in reducing anxiety. Participants were 160 undergraduates attending a private, Christian, liberal arts university. After engaging in an anxiety induction activity,…

This study examined the impact of art-based life review on depression symptoms among older adults (N = 54). This is the first study to examine the impact of drawing among Iranian older adults. Participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental art group of 6 weekly sessions or a control group of the same duration; both groups…

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…

In this study we tested whether drawing and coloring influence cardiovascular recovery and perceived stress following exposure to a stressor. In a mixed experimental design, participants (N = 62) completed an acute stress task before being randomly assigned to one of three brief activities: free-form drawing (full creative control), coloring…

In this article I describe an art-based procedure with a gradual sequence of drawing tasks that guides an art therapy client through graphic stages from point, to line, to plane. The client begins by making random dots, connecting them one to another with an unbroken line that reaches all the dots, perceiving abstract or figurative imagery in the…

The goal of this systematic comparison of collage and drawing was to contribute to the sparse body of literature on the way individuals might respond to two materials commonly used in art therapy. Eight graduate and undergraduate university students who identified as non-artists completed two tasks, one using drawing materials and one using…

Little empirical evidence exists as to how materials used in art therapy affect the brain and its neurobiological functioning. This pre/post within-groups study utilized the quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) to measure residual effects in the brain after 20 minutes of drawing. EEG recordings were conducted before and after participants (N =…

The purpose of this study was to explore the anxiety and stress-reducing effects of drawing, using different drawing materials by promoting the development of student confidence. The drawing activities were designed to foster the exploration of identity, emotion, and sense of self, while encouraging the exploration of materials and mark making.…

A student's lack of belief in his or her own ability to do well in school can be a driving component of disengagement. In response, the author created art activities aimed to build students' confidence in their ability to learn, carry out a given art task, and identify a competence; such asset-based thinking approaches encourage students to reach…

Adult coloring books have flooded the market with titles alluding to therapeutic value, yet it is unclear whether they fulfil that promise. Here, we tested whether adult coloring was related to improvements in psychological outcomes. Female university students (n = 104) were randomly assigned to a coloring intervention or a logic-puzzle control…

To evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based structured versus unstructured coloring on test anxiety, 52 participants (53.8% female; M[subscript age] = 10.92 years, SD = 0.82) were randomly assigned to either a structured mandala (n = 26) or free coloring condition (n = 26), and completed a standardized anxiety measure to assess anxiety…

A qualitative research study documents the progress of an adult male art student enrolled in a grade nine art class of adult males in a federal, maximum security penitentiary. Analog drawings were used as part of the curriculum. An analog drawing is a symbolic drawing expressing one's emotions, ideas, and feelings, often used to identify and help…