2022/11/14 by Arnaud, Christina, Koch, Sabine C.
#Medicine and health #creative arts interventions #creative arts therapies (CATs) #stress management #stress prevention #systematic review
paper · doi:10.3205/jat000025
Background: Given the prevalence of stress-related disorders in contemporary societies and the associated burden on the health care systems, it is important to provide effective and feasible (preventive) interventions that can be delivered in various clinical and non-clinical contexts. The evidence base of creative arts therapies (CATs) in mental health research is developing rapidly. The current review provides an up-to-date overview of the effectiveness of creative arts interventions for stress prevention and stress management for individuals of all age groups across settings. Methods: The methodology of a systematic review was used to synthesize the available published evidence on the effectiveness of creative arts intervention for stress prevention and management. In order to provide an overview of the current evidence on the subject of CATs and stress prevention/management and to extract all relevant studies in the period of 2016 to 2020, the following major databases for scientific publications in healthcare were searched: PubMed, Medline, PsycInfo, ERIC, SocIndex and Psyndex. The present work is an update of an existing systematic review which summarizes the existing evidence up to August 2016. Results: Of the 2,036 studies reviewed, 52 studies were identified as meeting the inclusion criteria involving a total of 4,925 participants. 36 of the included studies (nearly 70%) were randomized controlled trials (RCT’s). 40 of the 52 included studies (over 75%) found a significant improvement on one of the stress- or anxiety-related outcomes. In particular, nearly 90% of the interventions led by a licensed creative arts therapist resulted in a significant reduction of stress whereas mere arts interventions (led by a health or arts professional but not a licensed creative arts therapist) reduced stress in 70% of the studies. Conclusion: The field of creative arts interventions can be described as rapidly growing. Moreover, creative arts interventions seem to have a positive effect on stress perception and stress management. They reduce the level of anxiety and enhance the subject's positive mood. Especially, when led by a licensed creative arts therapist.