title: 'Painting a path to wellness': correlations between participating in a creative activity group and improved measured mental health outcome.
abstract: Responding to a call for quantitative outcome evidence about the therapeutic relationship between creative activity and mental health, this study examined the mental health outcomes of inpatients participating in art- and craft-based creative therapies at a private psychiatric hospital over a 5-year period. The creative activity group sample (n= 403) improved from admission to discharge across four different psychometric measures with moderate to strong mean effect sizes. Reductions from pre- to post-treatment in both self-reported and clinician-rated symptoms are clearly demonstrated for the creative activity group participant sample. Research findings establish that participation in creative activity has potential benefits for people experiencing mental health problems.
authors.affiliation: School of Occupational Therapy and Social Work, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University Professor, School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia. lizcaddy@aapt.net.au
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Caddy
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Page
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001155:Art Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003405:Creativity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010151:Paintings; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000451:nursing / Q000534:rehabilitation; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012917:Social Adjustment; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation