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Arts therapy is provided in most educational settings in Israel, but post-COVID, many arts therapists working in schools resigned or took leave, and other therapists have displayed little interest in taking their place. This study explored the experiences of therapists who left the system, with the purpose of making their voices heard and promoting policy development pertaining to the employment of arts therapists in the education system. We conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 15 arts therapists who left their jobs in the school system, asking them about their initial expectations upon entering the educational system, their experiences and reactions to their work environment, and the issues prompting them to seek job opportunities elsewhere. The findings suggest that along with the need for arts therapists to be proactive and search for solutions, the Ministry of Education and Regional Support Centers need to promote flexibility in the systemic hierarchy, improve communication, and provide more supervisory evaluation and support of the system, especially during times of change and crisis. From a policy perspective, we advocate for a unique definition of arts therapists' working conditions and the provision of opportunities for career growth.

This study explores teachers' perspectives on mandala coloring as a therapeutic tool for middle grades students with disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs). Employing an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, the research first conducted qualitative interviews with ten experienced teachers, followed by teachers' quantitative assessments of 60 students with DBDs. Key findings from teachers' observations revealed that all students favored resistive media; 77% maintained boundaries, 60% colored from the inside out, and 73% used dark colors. Teachers reported that these coloring activities provided insights into students' behavioral patterns and coloring techniques. The study suggests that mandala coloring can serve as both an observational tool and a structured activity for students with DBDs in classroom settings. By bridging art therapy with educational practices, this research offers teachers a novel approach to observing and potentially supporting students with DBDs. The findings highlight the potential of incorporating mandala coloring into classroom practices for managing disruptive behaviors and enhancing emotional regulation. However, further research is needed to explore the effectiveness of integrating such therapeutic art activities into regular classroom routines and its long-term impact on students with DBDs.

Chinese students accounted for 40.4% of international students in South Korea in 2022. Universities in China require doctoral degrees to teach art. Creative arts therapy (CAT) has increasingly gained attention. In this study, we investigated the experiences of six Chinese students in a study abroad program for creative arts therapy in South Korea. We gathered data from visual artworks and interviews. The analysis yielded six themes: No doctoral degree, no job position for art educators in university, China; Expectations for the development of CAT in China; Despite majoring in art, CAT is a new discipline; Study abroad while unprepared in terms of language ability; Wanting to escape due to academic pressure; Motivation to continue studying abroad. Findings revealed that psychological and emotional support programs would help international students across different nationalities and cultures. Students' study abroad experience and how it contributes to their lives beyond obtaining a degree requires further consideration.

The mental health needs of K-12 students have grown significantly in recent years, necessitating innovative approaches to support their emotional, psychological, and social well-being. This article explores integrating Ecodaemonia, a nature-based framework, into school counseling programs. We provide a guide for developing, implementing, and evaluating nature-based interventions, covering program creation, professional training, collaboration, tailoring interventions, and effectiveness evaluation. The potential benefits of incorporating nature-based interventions include improved attention and cognitive functioning, stress reduction, fostering a deep connection with nature, and promoting students' mental health and overall educational experience.

Pediatric hospitalization is known to be associated with adverse developmental and psychosocial outcomes for young patients. Art therapy is a direct means of addressing the emotional world of the hospitalized child. However, the hospital setting sometimes requires adaptations of this practice to a short-term mode. To explore the characteristics of the adjusted short-term art therapy mode, 10 experienced art therapists who work with hospitalized children were interviewed. Results highlighted the unique aspects of working with children who enter short-term hospitalization, addressing the unknown but most likely brief duration of art therapy and the issues involved, such as the need to use problem-focused strategies, the diffused therapeutic space, interaction with a multidisciplinary staff, and parent's presence during the therapy session. Integrating the principles of art therapy with the principles of short-term therapy, this paper explores a model for carrying out short-term art therapy with children undergoing short hospitalization.

The academic journey to become a professional counselor can be challenging for counselors-in-training (CIT), adversely affecting their physical health, mental health, and wellness. Counselor educators (CE) have recognized a need for wellness training and interventions to assist CIT during graduate school and to prepare them for their careers. Photography is considered a tool in art therapy within the realm of expressive therapies that can be used for wellness purposes. We review wellness, CIT struggles with wellness, expressive therapies, and photography techniques to promote CIT professional development and wellness practices. We identify the history of photography tools, describe each tool more precisely, and provide examples of how they can aid CIT in addressing their health and wellness and increasing their knowledge and use of photography as a wellness tool with future clients. We discuss practice and research implications for CE and CIT.

This study adopted a qualitative case study approach to investigate the perceptions of immigrant children who participated in a puppet-making workshop about the story of an immigrant puppet, called Amal. The study involved 11 participants, 5 girls and 6 boys aged between 9 and 12 years, who joined the "Children Like Us" puppet-making workshop organized by the Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (ASAM) Izmir Al Farah Child and Family Support Center in Turkey. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews from the children. The interviews were conducted face-to-face by the second researcher. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. The results revealed that the migrant children expressed enthusiasm and joy in participating in the puppet-making workshop and used the Little Amal character to convey their perspectives on migration. The study offers useful methodological implications; it shows how artistic experiences can facilitate the expression of thoughts and feelings for children.

A unique partnership between art therapists and legislative advocates afforded an opportunity to combine their skills for micro-level (psychosocial) and macro-level (social policy) change in pursuit of gun control reform. In a two-day retreat for gun violence survivors rooted in an arts-based narrative engagement, the art therapists aided the advocacy efforts by providing trauma-informed ways to facilitate storytelling and debriefing. Participants identified the aspects of their lived experience to build solidarity and cohesion as well as share with policy makers.

A single session art therapy intervention for Korean-Ukrainians who sought refuge in South Korea integrated Psychological First Aid (PFA) protocols in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The program incorporated the World Health Organization recommended tasks of "look, listen, and link" in a thoughtfully executed two-hour timeframe for adults and children. The program enabled participants to imagine safety, develop self and collective efficacy, and affirm connectedness and hope. From this program, art therapists can work within a PFA framework by emphasizing emotional expression as well as building connections and social networks.

This article presents qualitative research that further defines community art therapy and provides practice approaches of art therapy practitioners who work in community contexts. The researcher collected data through interviews with 32 art therapy practitioners working in community programs in 36 countries. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed to develop grounded theory and a model of community art therapy practice. Results were consistent with community art therapy endeavors in art therapy literature. The study identified clear practice approaches such as ethical considerations, inclusivity, justice-orientation, theoretically expansive, egalitarian, and nervous system regulation. Art therapists can use the definition and practice approaches presented here to guide their practice in communities.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) and art therapy each provide distinctive processes for working within the psychological realm of individuals. Many of their respective goals and techniques are consistent with the underpinnings research finds essential to inform effective trauma care. This article provides an overview of IFS theory and then, through case vignettes, demonstrates an integrative IFS and art therapy approach. Through a review of the literature and analysis of the cases, six salient areas of alignment are identified: externalization, creativity, visualization, somatic awareness, relationship, and witnessing. These areas underscore the benefit of integrating IFS and art therapy in trauma work as, when combined, these complementary therapeutic approaches offer a unique process, opening pathways for profound and effective healing.

Postmenopausal women are at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease as well as a reduction in psychosocial well-being. The objective of this study was to create and implement an innovative intervention that would address the health needs of overweight postmenopausal women. In this virtual pilot project, named Integrative Intervention with Creative Arts Therapy and Nutrition, three postmenopausal women received 16 weeks of alternating creative arts therapies and nutrition education sessions. Survey scores and verbal responses showed that the participants improved in the areas of quality of life, affect, self-efficacy, stress, anxiety, and body image while also reporting physical gains. The findings suggest that a multimodal intervention with physical and creative aspects is beneficial for weight management in this population.

In 2015, programmatic accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) was initiated for art therapy education. The study examined art therapy faculty's perception of the CAAHEP accreditation process through a nation-wide online survey research. The mixed-method analysis supports the complexity of the current art therapy programmatic accreditation as perceived by faculty. Three main themes were identified: (1) accreditation as accountability, (2) additional burden and time-consuming, and (3) limited support and skill mismatch. The findings suggest that programmatic accreditation brings both benefits and challenges while also supporting the development of quality accreditation procedures for art therapy education.

Art therapy and medical students (N = 45) participated in Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) to: (1) enhance observation skills, (2) examine interdisciplinary approaches to assessment, (3) determine VTS' impact on awareness of implicit bias. Quantitative and qualitative questionnaires and a post-procedure reflective focus group evaluated participants' baseline experiences and the perceived usefulness of VTS to influence observation and bias awareness. Qualitative data indicated VTS improved observation skills and enhanced awareness of implicit biases. Although the one statistically significant result questioned students' continued interest in VTS, 3 non-significant items on quantitative measures reflected gains regarding VTS to improve communication with patients, and to aid in determining implicit biases within health fields. The significance of VTS for art therapy and medical education is its potential to increase awareness of cultural biases that could impact assessment skills.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine how college students perceive and manage stress and anxiety in the university setting and explain their perceptions of the effects of MBAT, NCT, and MO on stress, anxiety, and general student functioning. Participants: 58 undergraduate college students participated in post-test interviews following their engagement in either mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT), a neutral clay task (NCT) or mindfulness only (MO) interventions using a 5-week online format. Methods: Magnitude coding was used to describe participant's perspectives. Results: Many themes emerged including habitual creative practice, prioritizing time for the self, enjoyable/relaxing activity, learning new techniques, understanding of processing and developing self-insight. Themes in the NCT group were more surface level observations, whereas MBAT, and to a lesser extent, MO groups contained an element of deeper understanding and processing. Conclusions: These findings offer support for implementing online and accessible mental health strategies as a gateway to traditional therapies in college settings.

Creative art-based therapies (cABT) provide a creative non-pharmacological approach in therapy to people with dementia and can potentially improve their personhood. This review identified cABT that focused on the personhood of persons with dementia living in residential facilities and determined how quality of life (QOL) or well-being were assessed. Searches were conducted on PubMed, Medline (Ovid), EMBASE, CINAHL (EBSCO), PsycINFO (OVID), and SCOPUS databases, to gather articles from 2010 to 2020. In this review, cABT encompassed art, music, and theater/drama. An overall of five studies were included and, in these studies, art programs were seen in the form of water painting, an intergenerational art program, live music performances, and medical clowns. QOL and well-being were assessed using the Greater Cincinnati Well-being Observation Tool, a QOL checklist, and transcribed from conversations to develop themes on participation and mental well-being. Personhood was promoted through self-expression and self-creativity. Increased number of participants are required for future cABT to further understand the impact the arts may have on personhood, on the QOL and well-being, and enhancing creativity for people with dementia.

Witnessing the devastating impacts of climate change and species loss has left many of us grappling with inexpressible grief for our more-than-human world. The importance of creating therapeutic environments to facilitate ecological grieving is greater than ever. This article examines the potential benefits of art therapy in this context. These include: reducing the risk of disenfranchized grief through connection; containing and externalizing complexity; providing regulation; and empowering participants to continue engagement. Grief counseling frameworks offer solid foundations for future directions. However, First Nations perspectives provide richer understandings of our multispecies interdependencies, and will be central to forging collective and localized responses to ecological grief that build communities of healing--not just between cultures, but between species, too.

Climate change is a well-documented challenge for human societies where human actions have spurred global warming leading to climate breakdown. Ecological disasters are already affecting the mental health of many people, and this is escalating. By painting elephants, I address "ambiguous" loss and demonstrate the power of art therapy to inform grief work and ecological grief as humanity's shared trauma. Seen through the lens of elephants, one realizes the many connections between elephant and human societies, including ancestral memories, experience of attachment and trauma, and capacities to heal. Maintaining a consistent art practice helps one make sense of the senseless and deal with grief as an act of resilience, self-and-planetary care, and ethics, thereby having implications for art therapists.

This viewpoint highlights the author's personal lived experiences of having her family home damaged during the catastrophic events of the 2022 Queensland floods in Australia. Art therapy Open studio practices facilitated within disaster management emphasize supporting recovery, building resilience, and offering emotional safety and containment. Based on the author's art making processes, she advocates for future considerations of utilizing the psychotherapeutic benefits of clay within an Open Studio Art therapy framework, to further complement existing emergency disaster Psychological First Aid models, which attend to Trauma and Stressor related mental health disorders. Such an integration would be beneficial in assisting individuals with Post traumatic growth, self-expression, and emotional recovery in the aftermath of natural disasters.

There is a growing interest in understanding the connection between Indigenous art, nature, and art therapy, however information on the health implications of Indian Indigenous art practices is scarce. This case study highlights the application of nature-based Indian Indigenous art form "Gond" and explores its therapeutic potential in art therapy. A workshop was organized, combining nature-based guided imagery visualization with "Gond" folktale narration, followed by "Gond"-inspired artmaking using natural pigments and repetitive patterns. Workshop participants' responses indicated that this approach fostered engagement, intense concentration, present moment awareness, a relaxed meditative state, and personal expression. Sensitively adapting Indigenous knowledge, like "Gond" practices, can promote awareness about interconnectedness with nature, artmaking, and storytelling, offering therapeutic benefits for self-care in art therapy.

Contemporary US and European approaches to ecosystems and mental health have left many feeling disempowered in the face of the climate crisis. This article advocates for holistic approaches to supporting natural complex systems with contemplation and care. It explores how environmental metaphors and nature-based art therapy can foster human-nature connections, call for deep listening, reshape practitioner perceptions, and enhance understandings of internal and external worlds. Further, how existing frameworks such as the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC), can highlight the therapeutic qualities of nature-based art therapy and the potential for adaptation through the expressed paradigm shift. This article proposes that responsive mental health care can be adapted to better address the necessary changes required to support the global community and environment as we listen and adapt to climate change.

Climate change is contributing to the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events globally. Numerous Australian communities have been affected by severe bushfires, floods, and droughts over the past decades. In response to natural disasters, art therapists should focus on trauma healing, community resilience, while maintaining adaptability and sensitivity throughout the disaster planning and recovery phases. This viewpoint proposes a phased framework (contain, recover, empower) grounded in trauma recovery models and art therapy disaster-based research. Associated implementation considerations are presented to supplement the framework and support art therapists. The proposed theoretical framework aims to promote wellbeing among survivors, foster community-level resilience, and drive climate actions; while providing a foundation for future program design, pilot implementation, program evaluation, and refinement.

The fertility policy liberalization in China has meant that many firstborn children are stressed by a newborn sibling's arrival. This case study explores creative arts intervention as an innovative stress management approach to alleviate a Chinese girl's maladaptive reactions during her transition to siblinghood. A weekly 17-session tailored creative arts program used diverse art forms for self-exploration, emotion regulation, and family dynamics reconstruction in stages. The study employed an AB single-case design and utilized a mixed-methods approach for data collection. The results demonstrated that the child's maladjustment appeared closely tied to the cultural context of Chinese families. Creative arts intervention effectively improved the child's emotion regulation, family involvement, and social confidence as well as sibling warmth and managing jealousy. This case offers culturally situated insights to guide future child-centred, arts-based transition support research in Chinese families undergoing rapid structural shifts.

Cancer is an overwhelming and life-altering diagnosis. Receiving this type of diagnosis typically requires traditional medical therapeutics, but relaxation and healing techniques that reduce stress and calm fears are also beneficial. Artmaking and visual journaling are healing techniques used to improve emotional and psychological health among cancer patients (Barrett, 2011; Collie et al., 2006; Heiney et al., 2015; Predeger, 1996). A community setting can offer individuals creative and transformative visual arts experiences that promote healing and lifelong learning (Lawton & La Porte, 2013).

As our world endures multiple crises, educators have turned their eye to what does and does not work effectively to assist students in the school environment, regardless of changing landscapes, such as lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-critical race theory legislation, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, personal crises students face, as well as other social and political movements that alter public discourse and impact education. This article, which J. Scott Baker coauthors with four of his preservice teachers (PTs), examines the use of retrospective and prospective reflection through artmaking as a coping mechanism to engage, disrupt, embrace, explore, or confront mitigating factors of multiple crises. With these two types of reflection in mind, this article questions: (1) as preservice teachers ponder their past, present, and possible selves, how do they perceive crises as influencing their teacher identity? and (2) how can teacher educators use art to assist preservice teachers in processing stressors associated with crises and model artmaking as a coping mechanism?

This work engages with Karen Barad's philosophy and theory of agential realism through research practices of critical autoethnography and arts-based methods. The work explores how knowledge, memory, language, and experience remain alive within practitioners and inform who we become and how we inherit the stories involved in being educators and therapists. This paper presents two entangled research processes involving engagement with material artefacts related to the author's professional identity development and practice as an arts therapist in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Through Barad's theory of diffraction, engagement with and reassembling research artefacts supports a consideration of what can happen when we map and remember stories from different times and spaces in our lives. Elucidating and exploring the contours of memories and experiences can be helpful practices to engage in as narrative is the most potent mechanism for memory and teaching, and as therapists and educators, we are living through and practicing from the tangle of these narratives.

Self-cognition and self-acceptance are essential for mental health development and emotion in college students. The study investigated the efficacy of group drawing therapy in improving Chinese college students' positive self-cognition and self-acceptance. It is worth noting that Chinese college students in a collectivist culture have systematic and fluid conceptualizations of the self, such as "self in relation to others" and "self in background." In this study, the intervention group participated in group drawing therapy, and the control group did not participate in any mental health care. Our results demonstrated promising effects in improving the level of self-cognition and self-acceptance among college students. Group drawing therapy was beneficial to the growth-oriented development of college students. Additionally, it may provide an innovative direction for student development professionals and help mental health educators promote self-growth in psychologically disturbed college students.

People with intellectual disability (ID) generally tend to have difficulties expressing their thoughts and feelings verbally. Art-based therapies rely less on cognitive ability and verbal skills and aim to promote mental health. Drama therapy provides a playful framework to communicate problematic issues and to foster social skills. Improvisational theatre (improv) methods applied in therapy settings were reported to show positive effects on social competences and self-esteem. This pilot study investigates the feasibility (N = 24) and appropriateness (n = 12) of an intervention using improv methods in people with mild to moderate ID. Feasibility was measured on the basis of the average participation period, while appropriateness was assessed through a standardised patient satisfaction questionnaire (CSQ-8) and a self-developed questionnaire. The frequency of the applied methods was compared in two subgroups with participants requiring different support. The average participation rate of 19 months indicated a good feasibility. High CSQ-8 scores (M = 27.6/max. 32) and positive feedback on the self-developed questionnaire indicated the overall appropriateness. The frequency analysis of the applied methods reflected the adaptive nature of the intervention. Further research on the efficacy of improv methods contributing to mental health in people with ID is recommended.

The proportion of students studying in higher education institutions who are experiencing mental health needs is increasing and becoming a serious concern. Using participatory arts projects may be key to enabling students to maintain well-being despite the pressures inherent in their student role. Therefore, this study aimed to ascertain whether such a course could be feasibly developed within a university setting, and to examine how esthetic experience influences university students' well-being. To understand the differences in students' esthetic experience and well-being before and after engaging in participatory art, this study implemented an intervention and collected quantitative and qualitative data. A total of 39 students volunteered to participate in the study. The results revealed that esthetic experience predicted student well-being, as the more students had an esthetic experience by concentrating on a particular artwork, the more effective it was in terms of enhancing their well-being. In addition, there was a significant difference between the pre- and postintervention, where students' esthetic experience and well-being improved after completing the art activities. These findings have implications for our understanding of university students' well-being, as well as the importance of considering participatory art, on its own, as a target for intervention.

The Person-in-the-Rain (PITR) drawing scoring system primarily assesses stress, excluding consideration of color usage. In contrast, the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS) effectively evaluates psychopathological disorders and provides a comprehensive assessment of color usage. This study aimed to: (1) develop an alternative scoring system for PITR by modifying FEATS, (2) explore the clinical significance of color in PITR by examining its relationship with Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21), and (3) determine if color mediates the relationship between DASS-21 and FEATS-based PITR ratings. We recruited 61 college students who completed PITR and DASS-21. PITR drawings were coded using modified FEATS. Findings suggest that the modified FEATS scoring system provides clinically meaningful information for assessing stress, coping mechanisms, anxiety, and depression.

The symbol of the house has not been explored in contemporary art therapy. This case study describes how a 49-year-old woman constructed what she described as the picture-perfect home made in 18 art therapy sessions over a six-week period during a residential stay. The client's structure had two notable components--a facade and an interior--one corresponding to her public self and the other to her private self. Her artwork exemplifies how the house may be an ideal symbol for the synchronization of public self into harmonization with innermost psyche and intrafamilial relationships.

This study examined the impact of digital versus traditional mandala coloring on death anxiety levels among 69 adults over the age of 50. Participants were randomly assigned to a digital coloring, traditional coloring, or non-art activity (completing a word search) and levels of death anxiety were compared following a death anxiety induction. We hypothesized digital and traditional coloring conditions would result in lower levels of death anxiety compared to non-art activity, but traditional coloring would result in the lowest levels of death anxiety. Results indicated no main effect for the experimental condition, but among participants low in technology literacy, traditional coloring resulted in lower death anxiety compared to digital coloring, suggesting its therapeutic value.

The study examined the Bird's Nest Drawing (BND) of 14 adults who experienced child sexual abuse perpetrated by females, primarily their mothers. Descriptive analysis revealed the prevalence of insecure attachment and mainly an ambivalent representation. The drawings reflected vulnerability and under-protectiveness. Almost one-third of the drawings did not include caregiving and were suggestive of loneliness, abandonment, and rejection. When maternal caregiving was depicted, it was intrusive and characterized by a lack of separation, abandonment, or unsatisfying caregiving. The survivors' narratives (n = 4) revealed themes of sadness, lack of protection, and vulnerability related to their mothers' lack of competence. These findings suggest that the BND can serve as a valuable art therapy assessment tool to better understand attachment representations.

Prior research suggests that creating art can reduce mental health symptoms, such as anxiety. It has also been proposed that creating art within the geometric shape of a circle may confer additional therapeutic benefits. However, it remains unclear whether creating art within a circle or creating art with no restrictions reduces anxiety in both low and/or high stress conditions. A total of 158 students participated in an experimental 2 (high stress/low stress) x 3 (draw within a circle, draw freeform, and control) between-subjects design. Anxiety levels significantly decreased across all three conditions after a stressor, but only the drawing conditions decreased anxiety below baseline levels. Results suggest that drawing within a circle and drawing freeform both reduce anxiety following a stressor.

This viewpoint conveys insights about the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) from the perspective of two students who trained under ETC co-creators Vija Lusebrink and Sandra (Kagin) Graves-Alcorn. The structure of the ETC is based on relationships among various kinds of information processing, and the function of the ETC is to provide integrative treatment through the modification of task complexity, task structure, and media properties, collectively known as Media Dimension Variables (MDV). Adjusting MDV potentiates activation of the Creative Dimension, where client-specific interventions serve to balance overused, underused, and blocked information processing patterns. ETC-based assessment determines the starting point for ETC-based treatment; a client's artmaking behavior, art products, and verbalizations are then used to ascertain subsequent steps in art therapy.

In order to provide clinical utility for research of how art therapists perceive clients' inner change, the authors created a structured observational framework. This note-taking and assessment consist of five themes and sub-themes: Therapeutic Alliance, Creating, Affect-Awareness, Self-Awareness, and Ego-Strength. The framework was designed to be clinically-friendly, adaptable to various settings, and assist communication with both patients and relevant healthcare professionals.

Older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are at increased risk of progression to dementia. Whether it is feasible to engage this population in expressive arts therapy and yield effects on cognition and depression for older adults with MCI remained unclear. The aim of this study examined the effects of expressive arts therapy on the cognitive function and depression levels of older adults with MCI in day care centers in Taiwan. A quasi-experimental design was conducted in a sample of day care centers older adults with MCI. A total of 88 participants with MCI were assigned to the intervention or comparison group. The intervention groups participated in an expressive arts therapy for 12 weeks in addition to their daily activities. Data were collected at the baseline point and immediately after post-intervention. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the effect of the intervention on the outcomes. At week 12, findings indicated that the intervention group had significant improvement in cognitive function and depression over time than the comparison group. These findings provide evidence for the feasibility and efficacy of expressive arts therapy intervention in older adults with MCI.

Contributing factors to occurrences of workplace violence (WPV) vary based on the setting and clientele. While no workplace can be guaranteed free from potential violence, research shows that agencies and creative arts therapists (CATs) can use preventative measures to increase workplace safety. To illustrate the impact of WPV, three CATs share their experiences of being assaulted by clients and, based on best practices, eight protective factors are presented. These factors are: staff relationships, culture of safety, clear reporting and communication, environmental safety, training, duty to protect, resilience, and follow up.

This quantitative study investigated whether a "mandala set" consisting of 143 mandalas drawn by art therapy graduate students depicts archetypal patterns and stages as defined by Kellogg's "Archetypal Stages of the Great Round of the Mandala" and if these patterns explain events in their professional development. Eight standard mandalas were included to evaluate the reliability of the raters. The results demonstrate that all patterns were present but that seven archetypal patterns representing six stages occurred most frequently: stages 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, and 11. These stages relate to career directions, professional identity, struggles, untapped potential, transitions and change, fragmentation, and chaos, and directions. The process could be used for assessing graduate students' professional development.

Ar(t)chive, a retroactivist technique for queer worldmaking in art therapy, invites sexual, gender, and relationship diverse (SGRD) clients to engage with queer forms from history and construct a continuum of shared lived experiences across differences to challenge misinformation and discrimination, foster resilience, and build community. Phases include: (1) assessment and informed consent; (2) collection and curation; (3) display and artmaking; (4) intersubjective meaning making and synthesis; and (5) closing and reflexivity. A vignette illustrates its application within a queer adult online art therapy group. Resources are offered for adaptive implementation and advocates for the proliferation of more equitable and affirming art therapy practices.

The study examined art therapists' subjective experiences, attitudes, and perceptions when participating in a longitudinal study in the Israeli public education system. Seventy-six reflections written by 38 art therapists on their participation in art therapy research were analyzed. Sixteen therapists also took part in focus groups, 5-7 years after the original study. Findings indicated that despite the time and energy required to take part in the study, the therapists were proud to have made a contribution to research, learned a great deal from participating, and felt that taking part had a positive effect on the course of treatment. They viewed their participation in the research as an empowering and valuable experience for them and for their clients.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate if a single session mindfulness-based art therapy doodle intervention may support and improve: (a) mindfulness, (b) mindful creativity, and (c) positive and negative emotional states. A general community sample of 71 adult participants engaged in the mindful doodling virtual two-hour workshops. Based on retrospective methods from participant self-reported perceptions before and after the workshop, there were statistically significant increases in ratings of mindfulness, mindful creativity, and positive emotions, as well as decreases in negative emotions (p < 0.05). The results suggested the potential efficacy and clinical benefit of this single session art therapy intervention for promoting mindfulness, creativity, and positivity in the community.

The Florida State University (FSU)/Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) Art Therapy in Prisons Program is contractually required to conduct an annual art exhibition of the participants' work. Originally to be held inside the institutions, it evolved into a single art exhibition at an annual state-wide conference for prison educators. This report demonstrates, through survey data and discussions, that the exhibition and an accompanying experiential in which its attendees and prison inmates contributed provided an opportunity for the participants to feel that they were being seen and heard by those on the outside. In addition, the exhibition provided learning experiences about the program, assuring that there is continuous support, appreciation for the art created, and collaboration to meet the needs of those participating.

Expressive Art Therapy is an unconventional therapeutic technique that can help individuals to heal emotionally. Music, art, and creative writing can help clients to re-align their emotions and bring forth healing within themselves. Music brings people together and may evoke different emotions in each person. Art represents the thoughts, feelings, and emotions of all people by using imagery rather than words. Finally, creative writing lets intrusive thoughts out of the mind and releases them onto paper. When clients reconnect their heads and their hearts, positive emotional changes can begin in their lives.

In Manitoba, more than half of marriages end with divorce. Many of these families include children. This article addresses the need for school counsellors to understand the impact that divorce has on children's lives. Children require a method to deal with unresolved feelings related to divorce. A school counsellor can support children through the separation process by examining how divorcing parents' decisions disrupt the family system, understanding how children progress through the post-divorce developmental tasks, and exploring possible therapeutic approaches.

Medical students report high levels of psychological distress compared to the general population, yet they also underutilize mental health services. Our Mindfulness-Based Art Workshops (MBAW) combine two established, formal interventions: (a) Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, an 8-week group series teaching mindfulness practices, shown to reduce self-reported measures of stress, and (b) art therapy, the use of art exercises guided by certified therapists, shown to reduce stress and anxiety in hospitalized patients and students. The goal of our study was to determine if a peer-led, virtual workshop series designed specifically for and by medical students may be a feasible and effective method of adapting these models to improve student well-being. We hypothesized that virtual, medical student led MBAW are effective in reducing measures of stress, anxiety, and depression in medical students and improving well-being scores. In 2020, 24 University of Maryland School of Medicine first- and second-year medical students were randomized to either the MBAW or no-intervention control group. Primary outcomes included (a) short-term change in State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scores and (b) difference in the perceived stress scores between intervention and control group immediately after, and 2, 4, and 6 weeks after a 6-session intervention. At specific time points, participants completed questionnaires, which included STAI and National Institutes of Health (NIH) Toolbox Perceived Stress survey. We compared the percentage of intervention participants who had clinically significant anxiety before and after MBAW for each session using a generalized estimating equations methodology and compared change from baseline scores between intervention and control groups using a mixed-effects model for repeated measures analysis. In the intervention group, post-MBAW STAI scores decreased by 16.2 (p = 0.0001), 5 (p = 0.1544), 13.7 (p = 0.0002), 13.6 (p = 0.0006), 12.1 (p = 0.0009), and 11.9 (p = 0.0011) points after sessions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, respectively. Intervention group perceived stress scores decreased from baseline by 5.9 (p = 0.07) and 4.7 (p = 0.09) points more than the control group immediately after, and 2 weeks after the 6-session intervention. MBAW sessions are effective at significantly reducing short-term anxiety, and a 6-session MBAW workshop intervention shows trends toward decreasing levels of perceived stress lasting 2 weeks following the intervention, although these findings were not statistically significant. Future studies should evaluate a larger population to confirm the positive findings of this pilot study, which we hope will encourage medical schools to consider integrating and supporting such programs as a method of addressing the urgent need to aid student well-being, within logistical, time, and cost constraints of students and administrators.

Teaching 5-7-year old children with fear problems to cope with them is a substantial issue for many parents. The techniques that rapidly and effectively correct problematic child fears are essential for child psychologists. This study aims to reveal how to work effectively with children's fears through short-term psychological support. A total of 90 students enrolled at various schools in Moscow between the ages of 5-7 participated to the study with a high number of fears. The study utilized the "Fear House" technique developed by Panfilova to determine the fears of children. The art therapy technique "Eliminating fears", developed by Venger was also used to help children cope with their fears. The application indicates that there was a significant decrease in children's fears.

This literature review highlights the utility of identifying early childhood adversities through dramatic play and theater arts. Understanding the impact of early childhood education, our focus included beneficial, qualitative observations of the positive therapeutic outcomes when participating in theater arts activities. We chose to search these individually: (1) to understand how to identify adversities in early childhood; and (2) to learn about the therapeutic effects that theater arts and dramatic play have on children. The findings amongst our articles show similar beliefs that theater arts can have a positive effect on a child's social and emotional development. Theater arts can be utilized as a venue for children to express themselves. We strongly believe that future studies should be conducted to further explore how theater arts and dramatic play can provide a means for identifying and treating children who have experienced early childhood adversities. Ending our literature review, we feel compelled to further investigate similar studies and/or design a study focused on identifying early childhood adversities using dramatic play and incorporating expressive arts as a therapeutic intervention. Particularly now, as the world determines how to navigate the multiple adversities of the COVID-19 pandemic, research informing educators, community leaders, and families of ways to protect children against the toxicity of pervasive stressors is vital.