Art therapy in mental health: A systematic review of approaches and practices

•EBP offers opportunities to amalgamate supporting research with pragmatic experience.•This review aims to commence a bridge between what art therapists know and what they do.•The four areas where articles on art therapy approaches focused on were: depression, borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress disorder.•Future studies could incorporate more details on the approaches researched to enhance transferability of findings to practice.

This systematic review aims to develop a bridge between what art therapists know and what they do in supporting those with mental health issues. Research undertaken between 1994 and 2014 was examined to ascertain the art therapy approaches applied when working with people who have mental health issues, as well as to identify how art therapy approaches were used within the clinical mental health system. Thirty articles were identified that demonstrated an art therapy approach to a particular mental health issue. The search strategy resulted in articles being grouped into four diagnostic terms: depression, borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress disorder. A synthesis of the identified articles resulted in the identification of research areas that need advancement. Future studies could incorporate more details on the art therapy approaches used to enhance transferability of practice. Moreover, adding art therapists’ critique about the art therapy approach from their applied perspective, would assist in the development of evidence-based practice that is not just current, but feasible, too. Finally, the client voice needs to be incorporated in future studies to address questions of the relationship between client expectations and the perceived success of art therapy.