This study investigated the use of the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS) with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. Eighty-eight persons with either relapsing-remitting or progressive type MS drew a Person Picking an Apple from a Tree, and completed a Beck Depression Inventory-Fast Screen (BDI-FS). FEATS scores were compared to BDI-FS scores…

Clay sculpting was used with undergraduates (N = 60) to prime self-reported readiness to change in a therapy role play. After listing behaviors interfering with schoolwork, Group Change (n = 30) created clay sculptures of anchors and then reshaped them into boats (intended to symbolize transformation); Group Non-Change (n = 30) created clay…

This study correlated measures of adolescents' rejection sensitivity with their self-drawings in a sample of 323 nonclinical Israeli adolescents. Drawings were coded using the DAP-SPED scoring system (Naglieri, 1988). The findings indicated no correlation between adolescents' level of rejection sensitivity and the DAP-SPED composite score. A…

This research sought to replicate and extend work suggesting that coloring can reduce anxiety, asking whether coloring can improve cognitive performance. In 2 experiments, undergraduates (N = 47, N = 52) colored and participated in a control condition. Subjective and performance measures of mood and mindfulness were included: an implicit mood test…

This randomized controlled trial was designed to determine if art therapy in conjunction with Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) was more effective for reducing symptoms of combat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than CPT alone. Veterans (N = 11) were randomized to receive either individual CPT, or individual CPT in conjunction with individual…

The arts therapies are becoming more commonplace as psychotherapeutic interventions for young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) and associated mental health conditions in educational settings and are now used in many educational provisions. The justification for their use would seem to be largely based on the…

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…

Art therapy is a promising form of therapy to address mental health concerns for refugee youth. This article describes the development and implementation of a pilot evaluation of an art therapy program for refugee adolescents from Burma currently living in the United States. Evaluation activities were based on the Centers for Disease Control and…

A severely impaired capacity for social interaction is one of the characteristics of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Deficits in facial emotional recognition processing may be associated with this limitation. The Build-a-Face (BAF) art therapy intervention was developed to assist with emotional recognition through the viewing and…

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 Family Drawing Depression Scale (FDDS) was created by Wright and McIntyre to provide a clear and reliable scoring method for the Kinetic Family Drawing as a procedure for detecting depression. A study was conducted to confirm the value of the FDDS as a systematic tool for interpreting family drawings with populations of depressed individuals.…