Little empirical evidence exists as to how materials used in art therapy affect the brain and its neurobiological functioning. This pre/post within-groups study utilized the quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) to measure residual effects in the brain after 20 minutes of drawing. EEG recordings were conducted before and after participants (N =…

A preliminary experimental study examined brain wave frequency patterns of female participants (N = 14) engaged in two different art making conditions: clay sculpting and drawing. After controlling for nonspecific effects of movement, quantitative electroencephalographic (qEEG) recordings were made of the bilateral medial frontal cortex and…

This pilot study examines an aspect of construct validity of the Draw-a-Person-in-the-Rain (DAPR) assessment utilizing a sample ("N" = 58) of third-grade public school children from three geographic regions of the United States (Great Plains, Rocky Mountain, and Pacific Northwest) that differ in climate and frequency of precipitation. A…

This article describes an art-based inquiry that explored two contemplative strategies--the conceptual strategy and the awareness strategy--through observation of art images and processes of creation, conceptual understanding, assessment, and the inner movements of self-awareness. Art media and directives were used to subjectively test key…

This study examined social perceptions among 191 Arab and Jewish children who live in mixed neighborhoods in Israel. Human Figure Drawing assessment was used to examine the children's social perceptions. The drawings that the Jewish Israeli children created portrayed Arabs as the enemy, whereas the Arab Israeli children expressed a more positive…

This grounded theory study utilized art therapy techniques to explore the experiences of 8 Latino families that had immigrated to the United States. Focus group facilitators invited the parents and adolescent children in the families to share their acculturation experiences verbally and in family drawings. Emergent themes from each of three focus…

Assessment is the foundation for conceptualizing effective interventions. Due to their nonverbal nature, art therapy assessments have an advantage over traditional verbal assessments in some populations and potentially across cultures. This pilot study provides preliminary reliability data to support the cross-cultural use of the Formal Elements…

This article provides a historical overview of computer-assisted art assessment, introduces the basic concepts of computerized assessment of art-based instruments (CAABI), and offers a tutorial to assist art therapists in the study of its application. Understanding this emergent technology may assist art therapists in overcoming hesitancy in…

This case study illustrates how parents can help their children cope with the fear and pain of surgery by engaging them in expressive drawing. As part of a parenting class that utilized art therapy techniques, a father shared his 6-year-old son's spontaneous drawings that had been created directly before and after surgery. Through guidance by the…

An estimated 30,000 drawings remain of the concentration camp artworks generated over the course of the Holocaust. Fabricated in a reality conceived to eradicate not just life but the very will to live, concentration camp art raises the question of the persistence of creativity in traumatic situations. This article explores the witness function of…

The art therapist's ability to foster the creative process in service of relationship can be a foundation for infusing a social change paradigm into existing practice. For clients affected by discrimination and stigma, art therapy can promote empathy and understanding of the societal forces involved. In this qualitative study, 46 people…

A case study illustrates how art therapy was used to elicit the narrative of an adolescent male student in transition from incarceration to a transfer school setting. Childhood trauma was addressed in individual sessions and within a literacy group co-led by a reading specialist. The art therapist responded to the client's needs by broadening the…

This study examined the effects of expressive media (drawing versus writing) and emotion regulation strategy (coping by venting versus coping by distraction) on short-term mood repair. After inducing a sad mood in 40 participants, the researchers randomly assigned them to one of two conditions: drawing or writing. Mood valence was assessed before…

The Person Picking an Apple from a Tree (PPAT) is an art therapy assessment task that is scored using the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS) to identify a client's mental health symptoms and progress in art therapy. Normative data are needed to empirically validate assumptions about the PPAT. This report summarizes a normative study of the…

This study examined the relationship between children's attachment security, as manifested in their family drawings, and their personality and adjustment. Family drawings were collected from 222 Israeli children, as well as data regarding their personality and adjustment. Each drawing was coded and classified into 1 of 4 attachment categories…