The Effectiveness of Art Therapy: Does it Work?

This current review of the literature attempts to identify all published empirical evidence regarding art therapy effectiveness. The authors attempt to identify any outcome trends associated with study design (single group with no control group, controlled clinical trial, and randomized controlled clinical trial) and to review the overall literature base concerning art therapy effectiveness. The literature search identifies 17 published studies which met the authors' inclusion criteria. Results show that these three types of study designs produce very similar results regarding the positive effects of art therapy, but their conclusions may appear very different. The clarification of study design differences may lend some insight into the perceived effectiveness of art therapy.