Using Art Therapy for Treating Schizophrenia

Abstract

Abstract

Schizophrenia is traditionally treated primarily with medication. However, medication does not work the best on its own; one or more complementary treatment options are often suggested by medical practitioners. In this paper, art therapy is examined as a complement to schizophrenia treatment. Art therapy is a relatively new form of psychotherapy, and it is gaining attention from more people as a treatment plan. This paper reviews pertinent literatures to provide an understanding of schizophrenia, psychosis, art therapy and its process, as well as the outcomes of using art therapy for treating schizophrenia. Literatures is accessed and retrieved through McMaster online library. The author found that art therapy not only can alleviate symptoms of schizophrenia but can also improve patients’ social abilities. The findings are encouraging and promising, yet study deficits and insufficient evidence-based research are problems that impede the popularization of using art therapy to treat schizophrenia. More and more researchers and art therapists are directing their focus on producing empirical studies around art therapy treatment.

Keywords: schizophrenia. art therapy. treatment. symptom relief.