People with intellectual disability (ID) generally tend to have difficulties expressing their thoughts and feelings verbally. Art-based therapies rely less on cognitive ability and verbal skills and aim to promote mental health. Drama therapy provides a playful framework to communicate problematic issues and to foster social skills.…

This viewpoint highlights the author's personal lived experiences of having her family home damaged during the catastrophic events of the 2022 Queensland floods in Australia. Art therapy Open studio practices facilitated within disaster management emphasize supporting recovery, building resilience, and offering emotional safety and containment.…

Self-cognition and self-acceptance are essential for mental health development and emotion in college students. The study investigated the efficacy of group drawing therapy in improving Chinese college students' positive self-cognition and self-acceptance. It is worth noting that Chinese college students in a collectivist culture have systematic…

Climate change is contributing to the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events globally. Numerous Australian communities have been affected by severe bushfires, floods, and droughts over the past decades. In response to natural disasters, art therapists should focus on trauma healing, community resilience, while maintaining…

Art therapy reduces trauma-related psychopathology in refugee youth. Given the added stress of COVID-19 on traumatized refugee populations, we adapted art therapy for refugee youth and their families in the virtual space. We describe program development, implementation and experientials, and clinical recommendations illustrated through two cases.…

The COVID-19 pandemic emphasises the importance of care for our societies, yet underscores the inferiority of relational caring practices. During this time, we studied the participatory work of artists working with older adults using participant observations, in-depth interviews and visual ethnography. In this article, we present a case study of…

With an interdisciplinary focus on creativity, inclusion and wellbeing, this paper provides a conceptual argument for additional and reimagined arts education programs in schools that incorporate creative arts therapies. Based on a review of literature in this field, it documents the practices and value of creative art therapies, for students…

"Sharing the Douglas/Sharing the Museum," a collaboration program of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), the Douglas Mental Health Institute and the Department of Creative Arts Therapies at Concordia University, serves patients from the Eating Disorder Unit of the Douglas. Participants eat lunch at the museum and look at, talk…

From an opportunity to explore Cuba in a people-to-people exchange that included study of its history and society; discussions with members of the Cuban community, artists, guides, and a professor; and personal experiences while traveling, this viewpoint offers insights into the sociopolitical culture and creative engagement within which the Cuban…

This study provides a better understanding of using visual arts in counselling adults with depressive disorders. Three in-depth case studies were conducted in the counselling unit of a mental health hospital in Malaysia. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were applied to explore three adult participants' counselling experiences.…

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…

Numerous studies have tirelessly and comprehensively accounted for the effects of art as a recreational therapy on mental well-being. However, there has been no previous study on the use of TFA (Traditional Filipino Arts) in the form of "Puni" as an intervention in facilitating the enhancement of self-esteem of Filipino elderly in a…

This paper reviews a body of research on the author's Silver Drawing Test (SDT) and Draw A Story (DAS) art-based assessments, which span 40 years of development. The original impetus for the assessment is described and studies are reviewed that examined relationships between depression, abuse, and aggression; cognitive skills; interrater and…

The value of art therapy for older people with mental health problems is well documented although there is a paucity of research for people who are home bound. This study, based in England, involved five clients, all older people with mental health problems, receiving art therapy sessions at home. The clients and caregivers were then interviewed…

This paper presents therapeutic art practices carried out with 60 orphan children in the small town of Ugarchin in northern Bulgaria. In 1999, a group of artists and teachers developed a varied program of art activities for these children. These activities included two 1-week visits and the opening of five art workshops--Art History, Ceramics,…