Running Head: SCIENTIFIC DATA IS KEY TO ART THERAPY ACCEPTANCE

Scientific Data is Key to Art Therapy Acceptance

Jeffrey E. Zimmerman
Union Institute & University

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Abstract
Art therapy is a unique therapeutic device which can be utilized by practitioners of nearly all the
clinical psychotherapies. However, the efficacy of art therapy has always been in question.
Advocates rely largely upon anecdotal evidence due to the highly subjective nature of the work,
a dearth of research supporting the advocate's claims. As we move into an age of greater
scientific understanding through traditional research methods, art therapy is more challenged
than ever to provide empirical evidence supporting the benefits of art therapy.

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The field of art therapy is in need of more research. Or perhaps art therapy needs more
research minded therapists. Proponents of art therapy tout its benefits, though such benefits are
highly subjective and difficult to measure. The verifiability of art therapy has largely relied upon
case studies and anecdotal evidence to support its claims. Students of art therapy also tend to not
be drawn toward mathematics and science, and so don't voluntarily engage in research related to
art therapy. For art therapy to benefit a greater population it must be taught and practiced more.
Short of a sea change in public perception, art therapy must be embraced by a wider scientific
community by proving its efficacy against more rigorous scientific standards if it is to be more
widely recognized as a valid and desirable form of therapy.
"Art therapy has historically resisted an association with science and has favored a more
art-based stance in its philosophy and practice," according to Malchiodi. What's more, "because
it is a relatively new field, there is still debate on how to define art therapy. Some therapists see it
as a modality that helps individuals to verbalize their thoughts and feelings, beliefs, problems,
and worldviewsan adjunct to psychotherapy, facilitating the process through both image
making and verbal exchange with the therapist. Others see art itself as the therapy; that is, the
creative process involved in art makingis what is life-enhancing and ultimately therapeutic."
So, art therapists are divided into different camps. It seems that the absence of empirical data not
only divides art therapy from a greater audience, but also divides itself because more data might
settle the disagreements between art therapists.
Referring to the largely anecdotal evidence supporting art therapeutics, Gantt, et al,
stated, "in the beginning stages, an art therapy research focus was unnecessary. This was because
we constructed our house on the foundation laid by Freud," referring to Freud's Interpretation of

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Dreams. Freud's work has often been referred to as being 'wrong because it can't be right', in
regard to his many unverifiable claims about the human mind, impulses, and behavior. Around
the same time that Freud was publishing his work, statistics were being born, and for many
years, the path of psychoanalysis and the path of statistics rarely if ever met. The Freudian
tradition is couched in the language of myth, and relies upon case studies and anecdotal evidence
for support.
"I am referring here to an encompassing and very old tradition which, at its root, is based in
storytelling. Storytelling is so central to the way that human beings deal with the world that for
many people it seems a sufficient method for explaining the way things are. So when art
therapists use case studies as their major means of telling what they do (in conference
presentations and journal articles), many of our colleagues are quite satisfied that they have
heard the 'Truth'. But herein lies the problem, for a good story is not enough. If we get anything
from classical Freudian theory, we should know that individual experience, while important, is
nonetheless colored by processes which are often unconscious. And that is the basis of perhaps
the most severe problem facing contemporary art therapy researchers. We have competing stories
(read theories) which clamor for our attention. These stories are so seductive we cannot let them
go. And because they are our link to our heritage we simply cannot do without them."

It's not that research about art therapy hasn't been done. Some of the research just hasn't
looked promising. For example, in 1967 Ulman and Levy "investigated whether judges could
determine if paintings were done by patients or non-patients. They found that while all judges
could 'distinguish to a significant degree between paintings by psychotic patients and paintings
by normal subjects', the judges who were experienced in mental health did not have greater
discriminate accuracy than judges who were not experienced mental health workers."

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In a recent study from 2010, Kersten and van der Vennet tested whether a link exists
between emotional state and color choice using a common art therapy technique. The
"researchers hypothesized that when coloring a pre-drawn mandala, participants would choose
warm colors when they were anxious and cool colors when they were calm. For each group, a
different mood (anxious, calm, or neutral) was induced through a brief writing exercise. The
researchers calculated the percentage of the total area of each mandala that was colored with
warm colors and compared the results for each group. The researchers found no statistical
differences in the color choices of participants who were feeling anxious, calm, or neutral when
coloring a pre-drawn mandala." In this case, inducing different mood states seemed successful
and verifiable, and the Kersten mandala diagram useful in measuring the proportions of warm
and cool colors used, yet the expected outcome was quite surprising. Though this experiment
was 'unsuccessful' in terms of confirming the therapists assumptions about color choices,
research is still a success in that it may lead to a clearer understanding of the subject. It's great
that this research was done, but it also serves to highlight that some art therapist's understandings
about their work are still rooted in speculation.
Furthermore, as more art therapy research is conducted, the subjective nature of the
therapy makes even successes difficult to parse from failures. A recent study called MATISSE
by Holtum and Huet tested the addition of art therapy in the care of schizophrenics in the UK.
the offer of art therapy had no impact on the global function of people diagnosed with
schizophrenia who took part in the study (but) those who engaged with art therapy reported
deriving substantial benefits from it."

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Gantt suggests that the population attracted to the work of art therapy, as well as the way
that programs are designed, contribute to a widespread bias against scientific verifiability within
the field. "When we look at the prerequisites for entry into master's level art therapy programs
we find studio art courses and psychology courses, but few courses in mathematics and the
sciences. I do not mean that such skills are necessary for all art therapists. However, most art
therapists do not come to the field with that background. Consequently, there seems to be a builtin bias against the application of any math-based models to art therapy practice."
"The onus is on us to provide evidence of the worth and precise effectiveness of art
therapy", says Gantt. "Case studies and anecdotal material are no longer sufficient to support
claims. Fortunately, we do seem to be amassing the necessary tools, trained researchers, specific
instruments, and genuine interest in placing art therapy on a par with other scientific fields."
My personal experiences with expressive arts have me convinced that art therapy is a
unique and valuable tool for expression, self-discovery, and well-being. Because I value art
therapy, I wish to see it become more widely practiced and accepted. For this to happen, I believe
that the art therapy community must challenge any biases against a scientific understanding of
their work and embrace an empirical way of understanding.

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References
Gantt, L., Goodman, R., Williams, K., & Agell, G. (1997). Prescriptions for the future. American
Journal of Art Therapy, 36(2), 31. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/199488479?accountid=14436

Kersten, A., & van der Vennet, R. (2010). The Impact of Anxious and Calm Emotional States on
Color Usage in Pre-Drawn Mandalas. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy
Association, 27(4), 184. Retrieved from http://proxy.myunion.edu/login?
url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE
%7CA248667840&v=2.1&u=vol_m761j&it=r&p=PROF&sw=w&asid=5437a7741061414bd6fd
e404fd6b06e0

Malchiodi, C. (Ed.). (2011). Handbook of Art Therapy (2nd Edition). New York, NY, USA:
Guilford Press. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com

Patterson, S., Waller, D., Killaspy, H., & Crawford, M. J. (2015). Riding the wake: Detailing the
art therapy delivered in the MATISSE study. International Journal Of Art Therapy:
Inscape, 20(1), 28-38. doi:10.1080/17454832.2014.993666