Question: In adults with psychosis, how effective is art therapy in improving patient outcomes?

Answer:

Plain language summary

There is limited evidence available on art therapy for adults with psychosis. More high quality research into this area is required to adequately assess the effectiveness of art therapy.

Clinical and research implications

The limited available evidence suggests that art therapy offers no clear benefits for patients with psychosis, over and above high quality standard care provided by secondary-care mental health services (including care co-ordination, pharmacotherapy and the option of referral to other services as needed).

The only high quality study had poor participation rates, which (as noted by the study authors) may have impacted measures of effectiveness. Further studies may be informative, in particular studies comparing different types of group activity intervention and patients preferences for different activity options and comparing these types of interventions to lower levels of standard care.

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