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 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…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of art therapy for 9 children with autism spectrum disorder in India using a pre-post experimental design with a control group. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale was used to measure symptoms before and after 8 individual art therapy sessions, and changes in the children's art development was…

This article examines the context and content of 15 drawings created in the early 1990s by Guatemalan children who survived government-led systemic violence against their Maya Tz'utujil community. Titled "Children in Crisis," all 15 drawings collected by Albert Hurwitz depict similar stories of loss and violence. Considering the…

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…

During the 1930s and 1940s art increasingly came to be used as a therapeutic tool with children who were perceived as damaged by their experiences of war or displacement. This article explores two related exhibitions--"Children's Art from All Countries" (1941) and "The War as Seen by Children" (1943)--which provided a platform…

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 examined the relationship between mothers and children with Down syndrome as reflected in the mothers' drawings of themselves and their disabled children. A sample of 20 mothers, 10 Bedouin-Arabs and 10 Jews, participated in the study. Of these, 10 mothers of children with Down syndrome served as the study group, and a matched group of…

Providing a complete overview of art therapy, from theory and research to practical applications, this is the definitive handbook in the field. Leading practitioners demonstrate the nuts and bolts of arts-based intervention with children, adults, families, couples, and groups dealing with a wide range of clinical issues. Rich with illustrative…

Many children have a limited conception about old age. Asking children to draw a picture of an old person and then to explain or tell a story about the picture is a unique way to unlock the hidden attitudes children may hold. This study concluded that children are abandoning stereotypes related to the attitudes and abilities of older persons. (KW)

Discusses a program designed for a multiethnic classroom setting that uses drawing and storytelling to help immigrant and refugee children build bridges between the past and the future by attaching meaning to experience. Results show that the three themes found in the children's work -- family, friends, and myths -- are factors that can protect…

There is little research on the psychological impact of bone marrow transplantation (BMT) on family members. This study uses the Human Figure Drawing (HFD) to measure siblings' emotional distress toward BMT. Among the siblings, feelings of isolation, anger, depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem emerged as major themes. Findings indicate the…

Examines fantasies about the opposite sex expressed by 116 children, adolescents, and adults responding to the Drawing from Imagination task of the Silver Drawing Test of Cognition and Emotion. Results indicate that both males and females expressed more negative than positive feelings toward subjects of the opposite sex. Males were more negative.…

Discusses the use of human figure drawings (HFDs) to uncover children's perceptions of the remarriage family. Such techniques may help counselors gain information, generate hypotheses, and plan interventions to improve children's lives. HFDs may provide counselors with the details needed to help children reframe problems and resolve conflicts.…

Children's art not only provides a window to children's problems, it also gives them another language with which to share feelings and ideas. This book provides an overview of the multidimensional aspects of children's drawings, and is intended to assist therapists in working with children and their drawings. Chapter 1 discusses projective tests…