Arteterapia y salud mental.

del Río Diéguez, María; Sanz-Aránguez Ávila, Belén

Research on the efficacy of Art Therapy in the mental health setting has been inconclusive. Patients and therapists often coincide in highlighting its usefulness for developing expression, communication, socialization and self-awareness; but in terms of strict research, there is no evidence showing that this is achieved. Taking the diagnosis of schizophrenia as reference, there are studies suggesting an improvement in overall mental health, social performance and the quality of interpersonal relationships; however, other studies have found no significant improvement either in primary variables, such as overall functionality and overall symptomatology, or in other associated variables, such as attendance to the group, social performance, satisfaction with treatment or Impact on negative symptomatology. The subsequent reviews consulted suggest that this contradictory results could be due to methodological limitations, and recommend clarifying aspects regarding how, why and for whom is Art Therapy useful, as well as to identify those mechanisms supporting or conveying the intervention. From now on, this article, the tenth and last in the Art Therapy Series, presents a way of working that has been developing over 20 years in a Psychiatry Day Hospital, as coadjuvant treatment fo r persons diagnosed with severe mental disease, mostly schizophrenia.

MENTAL illness treatment; SCHIZOPHRENIA treatment; ART therapy; COMBINED modality therapy; MENTAL health; PSYCHIATRIC hospitals; SEVERITY of illness index

Metas de Enfermería, 2019, Vol 22, Issue 10, p50

1138-7262

Academic Journal