Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Apr;16(2):220-8.
doi: 10.1177/1524838014555032. Epub 2014 Nov 16.

The effectiveness of art therapy in the treatment of traumatized adults: a systematic review on art therapy and trauma

Affiliations

The effectiveness of art therapy in the treatment of traumatized adults: a systematic review on art therapy and trauma

Karin Alice Schouten et al. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2015 Apr.

Abstract

Art therapy has often been applied in the treatment of traumatized adults, and good results in clinical practice have been reported. However, although art therapy experts underline these benefits, the effectiveness of art therapy in trauma treatment has not been established by systematic review. The aim of this systematic review is to identify and evaluate empirical evidence of the effectiveness of art therapy for trauma treatment. As a result of the systematic review, six controlled, comparative studies on art therapy for trauma in adult patients were found. In half of the included studies, a significant decrease in psychological trauma symptoms was found in the treatment groups, and one study reported a significant decrease in depression. Although there are limitations in the number of included studies, the number of participants, the heterogeneity of included studies, and their methodological quality, the results contribute to insight into the effectiveness of art therapy in trauma treatment and form an evidence base for the urgent need for further research on art therapy and trauma treatment.

Keywords: (treatment) goal; (treatment) outcome; PTSD; art therapy; efficacy; interventions; method; psychotrauma; result; trauma; traumatized.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources