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 article I discuss the benefits of using road drawings in art therapy for the specialized treatment needs of women in a gender-specific residential substance use treatment center. Gender differences in substance use treatment are explained and the benefits of using art therapy in the treatment of substance use disorders are reviewed. The…

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…

A new method of art therapy is described, based on Developmental Transformations, in which the therapist participates in joint art making with a client. The therapist's task is to present a graduated set of interpersonal demands on the client through the artwork, helping the client find adaptive responses to accommodations required by others, as…

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…

In this study we examined the effects of drawing on positive and negative affect, when negative mood induction is not used as has been done in prior research. There were 64 participants ranging in age from 18 to 24 who completed 1 of the following activities: drawing, writing, or sitting quietly for 10 min. Positive and negative affects were…

We examined whether using drawing to distract, by either coloring a design or drawing a design, improves mood more than drawing to express feelings. We manipulated levels of cognitive demand in the first 2 conditions by asking participants to color a design (low cognitive demand) or draw a design (high cognitive demand). After a sad mood…

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 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 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…

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…

The Bird's Nest Drawing (BND; Kaiser, 1996) is an art-based technique developed to assess attachment security. In an attempt to expand the BND's validity, the authors explored the possible associations between parental representations and the BND's dimensions and attachment classifications in a sample of 80 young Israeli mothers. Positive…

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 =…