This mixed methods study assessed the emotional impact of therapeutic art techniques in reducing subjective anxiety by comparing three options for drawing a self-portrait: literal self-portrait, mandala, and free drawing. Undergraduate college students (n = 60) were provided with a mood induction procedure and then randomly assigned to a drawing…

Medical students report high levels of psychological distress compared to the general population, yet they also underutilize mental health services. Our Mindfulness-Based Art Workshops (MBAW) combine two established, formal interventions: (a) Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, an 8-week group series teaching mindfulness practices, shown to reduce…

This randomized controlled study examined the effects of creating open circle mandalas with divergent instruction type (distraction and reflection) and medium type (resistive and fluid) on state anxiety, mood, and mindfulness. The design followed a 2 (instruction type) x 2 (medium type) x 3 (time) mixed experimental design. Reflective writing…

This study compared the effects of 4 different coloring activities on state anxiety scores to determine whether adult coloring books are as effective as other coloring activities in reducing anxiety. Participants were 160 undergraduates attending a private, Christian, liberal arts university. After engaging in an anxiety induction activity,…

This experimental study examined the validity of 3 underlying mechanisms that have been proposed in the research literature to explain the anxiety-reducing effect of coloring mandalas: distraction, structure, and centering. Four conditions were tested: (a) freely coloring a mandala, (b) coloring a mandala with preset colors, (c) freely drawing a…

This research sought to replicate and extend work suggesting that coloring can reduce anxiety, asking whether coloring can improve cognitive performance. In 2 experiments, undergraduates (N = 47, N = 52) colored and participated in a control condition. Subjective and performance measures of mood and mindfulness were included: an implicit mood test…

This study investigated whether art production or viewing and sorting art reproductions would be more effective in reducing negative mood and anxiety for 28 adults with substance use disorders. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups and completed pre- and posttest measures of negative mood and anxiety The hypothesis that art…

Little research exists on using clay as an anxiety-reducing intervention with patients in psychiatric hospitals. This article reports on a study that used a one-group, pretest/posttest design with 49 adults in a psychiatric facility who created a clay pinch pot. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used as a pre- and posttest measure.…

This study examined the psychological effects of art making in a sample of 57 undergraduate students. One week prior to final examinations, participants were randomly assigned to either an art-making group or a control group. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was administered before and after participation. Art making activities included painting…

Clay work has long been used in art therapy to achieve therapeutic goals. However, little empirical evidence exists to document the efficacy of such work. The present study randomly assigned 102 adult participants to one of four conditions following induction of a negative mood: (a) handling clay with instructions to create a pinch pot, (b)…

This experimental study replicated Curry and Kasser's (2005) research that tested whether coloring a mandala would reduce anxiety. After inducing an anxious mood via a writing activity, participants were randomly assigned to three groups that colored either on a mandala design, on a plaid design, or on a blank paper. Anxiety level was measured…

The purpose of this single-subject experiment was to test whether a link exists between emotional state and color usage in a common art therapy technique. The researchers hypothesized that when coloring a pre-drawn mandala, participants would choose warm colors when they were anxious and cool colors when they were calm. The non-random sample…

In this outcomes study (N=40), changes in stress levels were compared across two participant conditions for a period of artistic activity with a cognitive focus on either a personally stressful or positive situation. Results indicated that participants in the positive-focus condition demonstrated a significant decrease in stress, whereas…