Researchers conducted a meta-analysis detailing previous patient outcomes in response to visual art therapy interventions.
After conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials, researchers found therapeutic benefits for patients who have undergone various modes of active visual art therapy (AVAT), specifically improving their mental health. Despite authors of the review claiming that studies included in their analysis were mostly of “low quality,” AVAT has significant potential to become a standard type of medical care in the future.
“The use of art therapy is widespread across many countries and disciplines, especially in the areas of mental health, rehabilitation, pain management, holistic cancer treatment, and care of older individuals. Various versions of art therapy are used in a wide variety of settings, including hospitals, schools, prisons, or nursing homes. Despite its popularity, to our knowledge, the use of art therapy was never systematically documented, which impedes the estimation of the number of global recipients,” wrote authors of a study published in JAMA Network Open.1
Despite various instances of AVAT’s utilization within health care, there is a current lack of documentation detailing its efficacy. To understand the full extent of its use worldwide, researchers conducted a meta-analysis exploring randomized trials where AVAT was used to yield various clinical outcomes.
Two researchers analyzed a total of 3104 records, with 217 outcomes from 50 studies detailing the clinical benefits of art therapy for a total of 2766 patients 4 to 96 years old.
“Treatment indications included mental, neurological, and other somatic disorders, and prevention. Most outcome measures focused on depression, anxiety, self-esteem, social adjustment, and quality of life,” they wrote.1
Visual art therapy was associated with improved outcomes for 18% of the total 217 outcomes recorded. Despite 81% of outcomes showing no improvement and the overall quality of the studies being considered low, the meta-analysis still gave researchers enough promise for the clinical use of AVAT in the future. However, researchers do not suggest the use of AVAT prior to further research and trials to confirm its efficacy.
“Overall, AVAT was associated with an improvement of health outcomes, especially in the area of mental health or when treating somatic conditions that may be associated with impaired mental health. This aligns with our practical observations made in clinical settings, where AVAT seems to be frequently associated with the management of mental health issues,” continued authors of the study.1
While mass implementation of AVAT interventions is seemingly reliant on further research around the topic, researchers were sure to mention its increasing popularity, especially for the treatment of various mental health disorders and the overall improvement of quality of life.
Despite a lack of thorough AVAT research and trials proving its efficacy, several entities within the health care industry have explored the use of visual art as a therapy for mental health. One of the driving entities working to implement art therapy on a larger scale is the American Art Therapy Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to the growth of art therapy as a profession.
“Art therapy is a mental health profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active artmaking, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship,” stated the American Art Therapy Association.2 In other words, art therapy is a simple way of using artistic activities to improve various lifestyle aspects among patients.
Another example of art therapy in practice is the Art Pharmacy, an Atlanta-based company with the goal of integrating arts and culture into a therapeutic benefits space.3 Not unlike the American Art Therapy Association, Art Pharmacy’s goal is to create a cohesive relationship between health care and the arts.
While regimented, well-designed AVAT programs still require future research before they are implemented on a national—or even global—scale, the push to establishing art therapy as a viable remedy for mental health complications is looking more and more likely.
“In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we found an overall benefit associated with AVAT interventions with the potential to improve various patient outcomes, particularly in the area of mental health. Those positive tendencies might even increase in magnitude with improving study quality. To reach that goal, international collaboration and harmonization of research methods are important,” concluded the authors.1
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