Art Therapy in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy

January 18, 2026 updated by: Amy E Brown, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Art Therapy in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy: Studying the Effect on Quality of Care

Our aim is to study the effect of art therapy for people with PSP, with a focus on alleviating the symptoms associated with PSP, enhancing the overall quality of life for patients, and reducing caregiver stress. Overall, through our collaborative efforts on this study, we hope to unlock the benefits of art therapy for this vulnerable patient population, ultimately improving their overall well-being and enhancing their quality of life.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) is typically manifested by a multitude of distressing symptoms, including bradyphrenia and bradykinesia, speech dyspraxia, visual problems, and postural instability with high risk of falls. These symptoms not only inflict physical hardships on patients but also have profound emotional and psychological implications. Thus, a decline in self-esteem, a reduction in the quality of life, and heightened stress for caregivers is remarkable. In recent years, art therapy has garnered attention as a potentially effective intervention for individuals grappling with neurodegenerative disorders. Art therapy encompasses a wide array of activities that promote cognitive and motor skills, including shape recognition, motion perception, sensory-motor integration, abstraction, and eye-hand coordination. As a result, it holds promise as a therapeutic tool for addressing the intricate challenges faced by PSP people. Although art therapy has demonstrated positive outcomes in enhancing visual cognitive skills, refining visual exploration strategies, and bolstering general motor function in Parkinson's disease, its potential in the context of PSP remains largely unexplored. Given the unique symptomatology and emotional toll of PSP, patients suffering from this condition stand to benefit significantly from the healing and therapeutic effects of art therapy. In light of these considerations, our proposal aims to bridge this knowledge gap by implementing and rigorously studying the impact of art therapy on PSP patients. Our aim is to investigate the effect of art therapy for people with PSP, with a focus on alleviating the symptoms associated with PSP, enhancing the overall quality of life for patients, and reducing caregiver stress. Overall, through our collaborative efforts on this study, we hope to unlock the benefits of art therapy for this vulnerable patient population, ultimately improving their overall well-being and enhancing their quality of life.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

10

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

  • United States
    • Tennessee
      • Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37232
        • Vanderbilt University Medical Center

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

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of progressive supranuclear palsy
  • Have the cognitive ability to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Primary neurological diagnosis other than progressive supranuclear palsy
  • Cognition too impaired to provide informed consent

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: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Art Therapy
psp patients enrolled into study.
Other: Art Thrapy
Art therapy at Art Therapy Studio, a well-established recommended art therapy leader since 1967 with extensive experience in virtual therapy for patients with medical needs. Cheryl Pete, MA ATR-BC, a board-certified art therapist and the Clinical Director will complete the art therapy sessions. The art therapy will be a 1-hour sessions, once a week for a total of 8 weeks (or 8 sessions). Cheryl Pete's role will solely involve providing a service. Chery will complete the Art Therapy according to her standard practices. Cheryl's Art Therapy will not be altered in any way as a part of this research study. Cheryl will not collect any research data. As research participants are referred to Cheryl for the Art Therapy, the research participant's name and contact information will be shared.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
PSP-QoL (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Qualify of Life Scale)
Time Frame: 8-10 weeks
Self-reported quality of life rating scale comprising of 28 items in six categories: daily activities (by history), behavior, bulbar, ocular motor, limb motor and gait/midline. Scores range from 0 to 100, each item graded 0-2 (six items) or 0-4 (22 items). The lower the total score the better the quality of life.
8-10 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire-9)
Time Frame: 8-10 weeks
Self-reported depression rating scale comprising of 9 items. The lower the total score means that depression is absent or minimal.
8-10 weeks
NPI (Neuropsychiatric Inventory)
Time Frame: 8-10 weeks
Scale that is completed by the caregiver. The scale is comprised of 12 items and will evaluate behavioral areas commonly affected in patients with dementia. The lower the total score means that behavior is intact
8-10 weeks
Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale
Time Frame: 8-10 weeks
Scale that is completed by the caregiver. The scale is comprised of 22 items and will evaluate the caregiver's level of burden. The lower the total score means that the burden is absent.
8-10 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Collaborators

CurePSP Foundation

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)

January 14, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 31, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 2, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 6, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 6, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

September 19, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 21, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 18, 2026

Last Verified

October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 240791

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

All data for the project will be coded. All coded IPD with be shared between Baylor and Vanderbilt will also be coded. Baylor University Neurology department is conducting their own PSP art therapy study in conjunction with VUMC. Each site will obtain their own local IRB approval.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Within 1 week of enrolling our first participant IPD will be shared. No expiration of this data.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF
  • ANALYTIC_CODE
  • CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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