Creative arts therapy shows promise in alcohol and other drug (AOD) rehabilitation, yet systematic evidence synthesis has been limited to randomised controlled trials. This qualitative systematic review examined participant experiences and outcomes of creative arts therapy in AOD treatment. Following JBI methodology, eight databases were searched for qualitative studies examining creative arts therapy for adults in AOD rehabilitation. Twenty-eight studies were found that met the initial criteria and were summarised for their key characteristics, which involved diverse modalities (visual arts, music, drama, dance/movement, narrative therapy) across rehabilitation settings. Further, studies that met JBI quality criteria for congruence (Q2, Q4) and participant voice (Q8) were synthesised using meta-aggregation. Of the 28 studies summarised, ten met the quality criteria for meta-aggregation. Meta-aggregation yielded five synthesised findings: externalisation and reframing of AOD use; enhanced self-understanding and identity reconstruction; development of emotional and cognitive competencies; therapeutic power of group connection; and the role of play, metaphor, and positive experience. In conclusion, this review found that creative arts therapy offers complementary benefits in AOD rehabilitation through mechanisms distinct from conventional treatments, including embodied trauma processing, identity reconstruction, and social capital building. However, methodological quality varied significantly, highlighting the need for rigorous, culturally-responsive research with stronger reflexivity and ethical oversight.
Embroidery comprises unique material and rhythmic characteristics with profound therapeutic potential, promoting trauma processing, embodied processing, and the expression of silenced voices. This research expands this understanding by exploring how artists’ creative experiences offer unique insights into the medium's therapeutic dimensions. By identifying specific material mechanisms that facilitate psychological processing, this study bridges independent artistic practice and clinical art therapy. Using a multimodal phenomenological approach, nine artists participated in face-to-face, semi-structured interviews, alongside documentation of their artwork. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results indicate that the physical practice of embroidery is central to psychological processing in three ways: (1) as a process of transforming family relics into autonomous art to navigate connection and separation; (2) as a medium for coping with trauma; and (3) as an act of distinction constructing an unconventional artistic identity. The findings demonstrate that embroidery functions not only as a soothing craft, but also as a dynamic psychological space. By engaging with memory-laden materials and the medium’s physical dualities, artists actively perform psychological processing. Integrating these artists' perspectives into clinical practice expands the theoretical foundations of art therapy, positioning embroidery as a profound instrument for processing trauma, consolidating a resilient self, and promoting social inclusiveness.
Despite the growing use of songwriting in music therapy, brief quantitative tools that capture participants’ in-session songwriting experience remain limited. This study developed and provided initial psychometric evidence for the Songwriting Experience Scale (SES), a 12-item self-report measure grounded in three theoretically derived dimensions: affective, cognitive, and social involvement. Participants were 324 master’s students who took part in songwriting workshops. Scale development drew on a targeted literature review, expert review for content validity, and pilot testing. Sampling adequacy was good and exploratory factor analysis supported the hypothesised three-factor structure. Internal consistency was acceptable to good for all subscales and the total score. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated adequate model fit, providing further support for the proposed structure. Overall, the SES offers a novel, theory-driven tool with preliminary psychometric support for quantifying process-level songwriting experience across affective engagement, reflective/meaning-making processes, and interpersonal connection. By shifting assessment from distal outcomes to in-session mechanisms, the SES may facilitate process-focused research, intervention refinement, and comparability across songwriting-based educational, community, and arts psychotherapy programmes.
The COVID-19 and the post-pandemic context exacerbated inequities and despair, especially for vulnerable and minoritized children. While the uncertainty occasioned by the pandemic may have caused psychological distress in many children, it may also have propelled creativity in others. Children may use creative expression and creative forms of resistance to regain a sense of control. As such, school-based creative expression interventions aiming to support children’s creative capacities and agency are beneficial to prevent further deterioration of their mental health and development. They can open spaces for children to express resistance in their behaviours and artmaking. This article presents the case studies of two six-year-old minoritized children attending a school in a disadvantaged neighbourhood and who participated in the Art & Storytelling program. Based on the drawings the children created during the intervention research, on the creative arts therapists’ observational field notes and a semi-structured interview with the children’s teacher, the article examines how the two children might have expressed resistance as creative acts of agency in their behaviours and drawings during the intervention research. The findings highlight the positive role potentially played by peers in the evolution of resistance and creativity, particularly regarding the development of a sense of safety and support. They also stress the importance of providing a safe space to help children express their resistance in creative ways in a school context.
