About our evidence pages
Our evidence pages provide information about art therapy with different groups of people. They give a sense of the research evidence for art therapy and why art therapy might be helpful.
What is research evidence?
High-quality research studies put in place ways to ensure that the outcomes of art therapy are due to the art therapy rather than something else (such as chance or other things that happened at the same time).
We include studies that have been done in a way that is systematic and pre-planned. These studies aim to gather valid and reliable data and use a recognised research method.
Research articles go through a rigorous review process. They are reviewed by other researchers who are independent of the study before being published. Usually the reviewers do not know who the authors are.
Types of research studies
The research studies we use to write our evidence pages include:
Randomised controlled trials
England’s national guidelines (NICE) usually prioritise these when assessing the effectiveness of therapies. This is where participants are randomly assigned to art therapy, or another activity, or no additional activity. The groups are compared to see which had the best outcome.
Systematic case studies
This is another high-quality research method. In this approach measurements are taken at different points for an individual person in their therapy. The measurements should be reliable and valid.
Systematic qualitative methods
These usually involve interviews or focus groups with pre-planned questions or discussion topics. The data are audio-recorded and analysed using specified methods. There is attention to the researcher’s bias.
Resources not included in our evidence pages
We usually do not include articles or books that describe art therapy practice without gathering data in a systematic way, because it is not research evidence.
However, these sources can be valuable for understanding how art therapy might be working and sharing innovations in practice.
As well as research studies, you can find opinion articles and papers describing art therapy practice in academic journals. Our members get free access to the:
- International Journal of Art Therapy
- Art Therapy – Journal of the American Art Therapy Association
- Canadian Journal of Art Therapy
InSight
We publish an online magazine every quarter. We share information about art therapy, interviews with leading art therapists and updates on art therapy research or developments.