This project was completed by Sofia Melendez, Leah Rubin, and Adam Romanelli.
The arts are an integral part of many people’s lives, but what can they do for people suffering from medical and mental health issues? Incorporating art therapy (AT) into a patient’s recovery plan, which involves many forms of creativity (painting, drawing, jewelry-making, etc.), has the ability to decrease pain and anxiety, increase contentment, and encourage positive thinking. It is an accessible form of communication as well as an affordable coping mechanism.
christopherneske
December 6, 2021 — 2:47 pm
This was an interesting study. As someone who works daily within the Special Needs community, I found that your results correlate with my anecdotal experiences. Much more so than with regular physical or occupational therapies, art therapies definitely appear to brighten the moods of the participants and they interact with the activities in a more carefree manner than with other therapies.
It would be very interesting to see additional studies done in this area to determine how long the positive effects of art therapy last, and if the effect accumulates over longer periods of time to make these benefits a permanent part of the participants lives. If the participants were reporting similar pain scores at the start of each therapy session as well as similar results afterwards, this might lead us to conclude that there is not much carryover from one session to the next as they always come back with a similar pain/mood/anxiety level as they had at the start of their prior session.
Hopefully, studies such as these will help ensure that art therapies continue to be funded for both adult and children alike.
Debbie Cheong
December 11, 2021 — 2:59 pm
I appreciate the aesthetic and the overall calmness of your poster! From the choice of fonts and color scheme, everything adds up and matches your study – art therapy as a form of communication and a coping mechanism. I hope to see more studies and funds for AT not just for the patients in the hospital but for students and working adults. Thank you for such an interesting study.