Talk therapy is not the only form of psychotherapy. Art therapy offers different, creative possibilities for the expression of psychological distress and appropriate interventions, that exceed the posibilities talk therapy by itself offers. Because of the different modes for artistic creative expression and interventions, art therapy approaches substantially differentiate from one another. The effects of art therapies on different populations differentiate aswell. In Slovenia different approaches to art therapy are used in health-care institutions, schools, private practice and elsewhere, even though the field is not researched and clarified. The goal of this thesis is to better clarify the field of art therapy, to define which practices are recognized as art therapy, which are the different art therapy approaches and find out what their effects are. Research shows positive effects of art therapies, but the quality of the made research effects the reliability of the results. A good amount of research shows that art therapy positively affects general well-being and the quality of life of cancer patients. Research of art therapies on individuals with autism spectrum disorder shows improvement in social interactions and in the reduction of negative behavior. The literature shows that although art therapies are used in different settings, their effects still remain relatively unknown. Two possible reasons why this is so are presented in detail. The first reason for this could be that the current scientific research of art therapies is not sufficient in quality and quanitity. The second reason could be, that the method used to study the effects of art therapies is incorrect.
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