Older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are at increased risk of progression to dementia. Whether it is feasible to engage this population in expressive arts therapy and yield effects on cognition and depression for older adults with MCI remained unclear. The aim of this study examined the effects of expressive arts therapy on the…

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…

In this article the authors draw on their own experience and research in applied theatre in Kenya in order to reflect on challenges currently facing practitioners working in the country. In order to outline the range of challenges faced by practitioners, issues related to the wider landscapes of government and politics in Kenya are explored,…

This article describes a 10-session group art therapy program for people with physical and neurological disabilities. This program, the DIS-ART Creative Journey, was adapted from the Creative Journey used with cancer patients, and was tested in Italy by 4 art therapists. The 5-step structure of each session and the 10 facilitating techniques used…

The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of the diversity of characteristics in the drawings of children in Mexico City. The authors conducted a thematic analysis of 174 drawings from children ages 6 to 11 that revealed two main discrete themes: nature and stress. A personalized, supportive relationship with nature emerged as a…

In this article, we use a disability studies lens to examine ways in which the artworks of disabled people are bonded in a common sociopolitical experience. We analyze the history surrounding institutional art and the emergence of community art centers at the time of deinstitutionalization in the late 20th century. As a result of this…

In this commentary, the author discusses the Open Studio Project, which he cofounded in 1995. The community studio, as perceived by the founders, is a place where anything can be expressed as a moment on life's continuum. Believing that meaning in art is renewed in the process of art itself, the project is not conceived at art therapy: there are…

The number of immigrant and refugee children coming from war-torn countries is increasing in North America. Over the past decades, creative expression activities have been increasingly recognized as a useful way to work with migrant and refugee children. These activities have been used to help them to construct meaning, to structure identity, and…

This study is an exploration of the art produced by American veterans of the Vietnam War. In the areas of artistic history, military service, and the creative process, Vietnam veteran artists are a diverse group, and there are many different ways of explaining the connection between Vietnam experience and their art. Some individuals made limited…

This paper reports on the introduction of an exploratory program on emotional development, "Drawing Emotions," through which instructors try to: (1) help the child learn how to deal with feelings; (2) ascertain relational difficulties; (3) apprehend their own questions which were not answered; and (4) interfere in the presence of risks…

This article introduces an adaptive art technique that has been successfully used with special needs students in integrated settings in Switzerland. The technique, "Paint Talk," encourages spontaneous painting motivated by the student's need to communicate. Guidelines for setting up the "Paint Talk" studio, interpreting…

Characterizes a number of cherished beliefs regarding early childhood art education as myths and argues that their continued use impedes educational reform. These include a belief in art as therapy, the inherent validity of childhood expression, the superiority of process over product, and limited intervention by teachers. (MJP)