Generative AI in Art Therapy for Clients with Disabilities: Multi-Case Study Research

For art therapists to use generative AI (GenAI) art making with clients, attention is needed for theoretical and practical applications. A multi-case research study determined how twelve clients living with multiple and severe disabilities experienced GenAI in a single art therapy session. The findings identified ten themes grouped into four categories: maintaining humanity, art expectations, art making processes, and therapeutic relationships. While GenAI constantly presented clients with alternatives while interpreting their prompts within predictive responses, the results demonstrate the feasibility of incorporating GenAI art making in art therapy for creating meaningful images. When therapeutic relationships are centered, GenAI can be an important artmaking media for supporting clients with disabilities.