Table 1. Characteristics of the included studies of art therapy.
Study author & year | Funding source | Aim | Study type | Number/ (treated/control) | Study population |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Henderson et al. (2007)[70] | Not provided | To examine the healing aspects of creating mandalas on mental health (anxiety and PTSD symptoms). | RCT | 36 (19/17) | Sex: male and female Age:18–23 Population: undergraduate students (US) with PTSD symptoms Exclusion: simultaneous psychotherapy or phychotropic medication |
Sandmire et al. (2012)[71] | Not provided | To assess if art making leads to (significant) anxiety reduction, compared to a control group. | RCT | 57 (29/28) | Sex: male and female Age: 18.8 (mean) Population: undergraduate first year students of a liberal arts college (US), a week prior to final exams Exclusion: anxiety disorder, use of medication known to influence the central nervous system (e.g. for depression or ADHD) |
Yu et al. (2016) [72] | Not provided | To examine the feasibility of using HTP drawing therapy as an intervention to reduce prisoners' prelease anxiety. | RCT | 69 (33/36) | Sex: male Age: 18–60 Population: prisoners (China), to be released within the next 2 to 3 Months Diagnosis: none |