"Art Therapy" in Acute Psychiatry

October 8, 2019 updated by: Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, E.P.E.

"Art Therapy" in Acute Psychiatry: a Psychosocial Intervention

Background: Given the complexity of this problem, psychiatric in-patients in the acute stage of their disease need different types of therapeutic programs to recover they mental health state. Usually they're submitted to systematic biological programs (namely psychopharmaceuticals), often considered a priority when compared to psychosocial programs. Among the different therapies that have been introduced in this context "art therapy", also named creative therapy, can constitute a treatment that complements the allopathic treatments, providing improvements in self-esteem and self-efficiency, distraction and relief from concerns and negative thoughts. Scientific evidence on the effects of psychosocial programs in the context of hospitalization of acute cases is scarce.

Aims: a) evaluate the effectiveness of a 3 session program of "art therapy" in changing emotional indicators, namely depression, anxiety, stress, and psychological well-being, in individuals with mental illness; b) analyze the meanings a person attributes to his creative self-expression.

Method: This is a pre-experimental, prospective study, with a pre test-post test design without control group, with a mixed approach (quantitative and qualitative). The study was performed in the psychiatry unit (Psiquiatria B), in the Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra - Portugal. The target population was composed by men (older than 18), hospitalized in this ward. The exclusion criteria were: individuals with active psychotic symptomology, in manic phase and/or refusing to participate. The instruments used to collect information were: Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale [DASS-21]; Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-Being (SPWB - 18 item version) and a semi-structured interview.

Data collection and the development of this study occurred in the following manner:

  • Initial evaluation to verify the sample selection criteria in the first 48 hours after patient hospitalization;
  • Obtain informed consent for the application of instruments and participation in the "art therapy" intervention program;
  • Application of instruments (DASS-21 and SPWB-18 item version) before intervention;
  • Development of the program applied as a group, during three weeks, one session a week, each lasting approximately 90 minutes and assisted by a specialist in plastic expression. Each session was held in an occupational therapy room, including all the material deemed necessary for the execution of some of the techniques introduced by the technician. After each session, a semi-structured interview was conducted with each participant in order to analyze the meanings attributed.
  • In the end of the program, the same instruments were reapplied.

Study Overview

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

60

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Portugal
      • Coimbra, Portugal, 3001-301
        • Psiquiatria B - Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Male

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • men (older than 18), hospitalized in a psychiatric unit;
  • capable of communicating and understanding communication;
  • acceptance and commitment to participate in the study;
  • signature of study informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • individuals with active psychotic symptomology, in manic phase and/or refusing to participate.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Screening
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: 3 session program of "art therapy"
Development of the program applied as a group, during three weeks, one session a week, each lasting approximately 90 minutes and assisted by a specialist in plastic expression. Each session was held in an occupational therapy room, including all the material deemed necessary for the execution of some of the techniques introduced by the technician. After each session, a semi-structured interview was conducted with each participant in order to analyze the meanings attributed.
Behavioral: 3 session program of "art therapy"
With this program, we expect to offer socio-emotional well-being in the psychiatric context, and creative self-expression through painting. In addition, we hope to provide contributions towards the creation of quality standards of the professional practice of nurses, within the context of implementing psychosocial programs in mental health.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change from Baseline in the participant's emotional states of depression, anxiety and stress
Time Frame: Post-intervention assessment (week 3)
Outcome measure - Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale [DASS-21] - (Lovibond et al.,1995 adapted by Apóstolo, Mendes & Azeredo, 2006)
Post-intervention assessment (week 3)
Change from Baseline in the participant's psychological well-being
Time Frame: Post-intervention assessment (week 3)
Outcome measure - Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-Being (SPWB - 18 item version) - (Ryff, 1989 adapted by Novo, Neto, Marcelino & Santo, 2006)
Post-intervention assessment (week 3)
Semi-structured interview
Time Frame: Post-intervention assessment (week 3)
Aim: explore in a psychiatric context [in the acute stage of the disease] the sick person's experiences related to expression by painting after each of three scheduled interviews, during hospitalization.
Post-intervention assessment (week 3)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, E.P.E.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Clara A. Campos, RN, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, E.P.E.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 1, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2018

Study Completion (Anticipated)

December 1, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 24, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 29, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

July 2, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 10, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 8, 2019

Last Verified

March 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CHUC-007-17

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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