Liat Cohen-Yatziv & Dafna Regev (2019): The effectiveness and contribution of art therapy work with children in 2018 -what progress has been made so far? A systematic review, International Journal of Art Therapy, DOI: 10.1080/17454832.2019.1574845

ABSTRACT

This systematic literature review is a companion to our review of the effectiveness of art therapy with adult clients (Regev & Cohen-Yatziv, 2018) and aims to contribute towards the ongoing discussion in the field of art therapy on the effectiveness of art therapy in a wide range of child-aged clients. For this purpose, four major electronic databases were searched for quantitative articles relating to outcome measures in the field of art therapy with children from 2000 to 2017. A total of 13 articles responding to the inclusion criteria were identified and divided into three levels of evidence (Case-Smith, 2013). The results are organised into five clinical categories: trauma, special education and disabilities, non-specific difficulties, medical conditions and juvenile offenders. The potential benefits of art therapy in these five clinical populations is discussed and suggest that art therapy can be effective with children of the described categories. The limitations of this review and the current state of affairs are presented, alongside recommendations for future research to promote art therapy effectiveness research.