Supervisors info:
Τσάλτα Ελευθερία, Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Βλασσοπούλου Μαρία, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Στεφανάτου Πενταγιώτισσα, ΕΔΙΠ, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
The practice of Art Therapy concerns a profession of health and human services, which aims to contribute to the improvement of various levels of mental health of individuals, such as improving cognitive functions, developing self-awareness, boosting self-esteem, success in emotional utterance but also in the reduction of various psychopathological symptoms. This is due to the fact that, through artistic creation, an opportunity arises for the connection of the verbal and the non-verbal, the conscious and the unconcious with the aim of unity but also development of the psychic world of the individual. The purpose of this study was to investigate, through a literature review, the possible benefits of Art Therapy in relation to depression and psychotic disorders. In order to achieve this, we have identified the research conducted on this issue during the years from 2000-2020 and listed them and their results. According to the above, art therapy can especially helpful as an adjunct treatment for depression, as it succeds in reducing depressive symptoms, anxiety, post-traumatic stress and in improving the sence of well-being and the quality of life. As far as psychotic disorders are concerned, it seems that they can be extremely helpful as clinical indicators, such as reducing the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia, reducing depression, stress, anger and achieving better compliance with the rules. However, there has been discordance among the investigations we have included, thus creating an ambiguity. Therefore, it is of great importance to conduct further research on this issue.
Keywords:
Art therapy, Depression, Psychotic disorders, Literature review
