Art
Therapy
Research
Art Therapy and Autistic children
Researchers at the University of Minnesota, USA have demonstrated that art therapy is a valuable tool to encourage non disabled children to initiate interactions with autistic children. Monitoring two groups of autistic children (one younger, one older) in monthly art activities with same-age non disabled peers at a children's museum, the researchers sought to investigate the feasibility of offering a cooperatively structured art education class for students with autism and non disabled students, and to evaluate the effect of joint participation on the students' interactions with one another.
The results indicated that both groups of children with autism were targeted for interactions from non disabled peers significantly more often during the art class than normal, even though positive social interaction bids by non disabled peers were rarely reciprocated and hardly ever initiated by peers with autism.
Schleien SJ; Mustonen T; Rynders JE. Participation of children with autism and non disabled peers in a cooperatively structured community art program. J Autism Dev Disord (UNITED STATES) Aug 1995, 25 (4) p397-413
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Art Therapy and bereavement in children
Researchers have recently used art therapy to help bereaved children. The value of support groups in assisting children mourn the death of a close relative or friend is well documented, but little is known about the psychological processes and how these help children to cope with bereavement. By understanding what helps children mourn, therapists are better able to facilitate a healthy bereavement process. It was for this reason that researchers conducted a mini-ethnographic study, which used art therapy to help reveal what 16 children found helpful during their bereavement.
The children's expressions of feelings were identified through counselling and art work. The patterns of the children's emotions were
labeled as affective distress, somatic complaints, and for the boys, disruptive
behaviour. With the help of the art therapy, the researchers were able to establish that the children’s mourning processes were helped by out-of-door activities, yelling, and talking to others (e.g. God, parent, grandparent, etc).
Lehna CR. Children's descriptions of their feelings and what they found helpful during bereavement. Am J Hosp Palliat Care (UNITED STATES) Sep-Oct 1995, 12 (5) p24-30
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Art therapy and the relationships of adult children of alcoholics with their
parents
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati undertook a study involving 68 adult children of alcoholics'
focusing on their perceptions of their relationships with parents. Art therapy was used to elicit problems and feelings and this also enabled the researchers to make comparisons with a control group of 37 adults of nonalcoholic parents.
Visual metaphors for relationships using circle drawings and a status-affect rating scale were employed. Compared with the control group, adult children of alcoholics drew smaller circles to represent themselves only when assessing their relationships with their fathers. Analyses of status-affect ratings showed that the drawings of smaller circles reflected feeling less competent (i.e., indicating a poorer self image or a low interpersonal status, having less personal knowledge and expertise, but not necessarily of being submissive in the relationship.
“drawings of smaller circles reflected feeling less competent i.e., indicating a poorer self image or a low interpersonal status, having less personal knowledge and expertise”
The distance drawn between the circles of adult children of alcoholics and their parents (representing psychological distance) was much larger than that of the control group. Ratings showed that perceptions of a negative emotional climate and submissiveness together accounted for 25% of the unique variance in predicting psychological distance. Perceptions of being submissive, however, were not associated with perceptions of psychological distance among adult children of nonalcoholic parents.
Grasha AF; Homan M Psychological size and distance in the relationships of adult children of alcoholics with their parents. Psychol Rep (UNITED STATES) Apr 1995, 76 (2) p595-606
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Art therapy for children with abusive backgrounds
A short-term therapy group for children with abusive backgrounds, called
Superkids, was conducted by nurse therapists using art therapy in conjunction with active role playing, masks, picture drawing, and discussion.
The group was structured and covered five topics over a 2 1/2 week period: shame, anger, fear, trust and love. Clinical observations revealed that the Superkids group structure helped children talk about their feelings and the abuse they have suffered.
Morris PA Superkids: short-term group therapy for children with abusive backgrounds. J Child Adolesc Psychiatr Nurs (UNITED STATES) Jan-Mar 1994, 7 (1) p25-31
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Art therapy and incest survivors
A study conducted at George Washington University USA investigated the psychological consequences of incest through the use of the art therapy in which a Draw-A-Person Questionnaire
(DAPQ; Karp, 1990) was used as a gentle, projective technique with an
objective component.
A group of 30 adult incest survivors together with a control sample of a further 30 adults participated in the study. Ratings of characters drawn by subjects were compared between the two groups on 10 measures hypothesised to differentiate the groups. The results revealed that incest survivors project more negative characteristics on their drawn characters than do control women. In addition, survivors treat their male and female characters differently to a
greater extent than do controls. The findings of the study indicate, say the authors, that the art therapy is a valuable method to detect long-lasting repercussions that may stem from an incestuous experience.
Waldman TL; Silber DE; Holmstrom RW; Karp SA Personality characteristics of incest survivors on the Draw-A-Person Questionnaire. J Pers Assess (UNITED STATES) Aug 1994, 63 (1) p97-104.
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