No-man land art voices: A quasi-experimental pilot study on the effects of art therapy on psychotic patients of a Psychiatric Day Hospital in Greece

Abstract

Psychosis is often a debilitating condition that has a dramatic impact on patients' lives. Medication is an integral part of treatment, but the need for complementary therapies has been recognised. One of these is art therapy, the benefits of which have been recognised by many researchers. However, as a relatively new treatment, especially in Greece, it needs to be further investigated if and how it can claim a place among the available therapies in psychosis. The mixed quasi-experimental pilot study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of art therapy in patients with psychosis. Nine patients with DSM-5 diagnoses of schizophrenia or other mental disorders (bipolar disorder, major depression, anorexia nervosa, mental retardation, obsessive-compulsive disorder) with psychotic symptoms participated in a 9-month art therapy intervention through 15–24 sessions at the day hospital of Eginition Hospital as part of their treatment plan. Assessments were made at baseline and week 23 of the intervention to evaluate the effect of the intervention on reducing psychiatric symptom intensity, improving interpersonal responsiveness/empathy, and functional performance on weighted scale projects. Quantitative research results showed that the art therapy group improved interpersonal responsiveness/empathy and task performance in psychiatric patients, but had no statistically significant effect on reducing the severity of patients' psychiatric symptoms. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.