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Cited by 21Art Therapy and Mental HealthPsychotherapy Techniques and ApplicationsMusic Therapy and Health

The effect of the art therapy interventions to alleviate depression symptoms among children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Zhang, Bo, Yang, Lifang, Sun, Wen, Xu, Peng, Ma, Hui, Abdullah, Azizah binti·2025·Clinics
DOI 10.1016/j.clinsp.2025.100683PMC PMC12141542
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Existing systematic reviews provide evidence that art therapy is an effective intervention for reducing symptoms of depression in children and adolescents. This study aims to systematically review and quantify the impact of art-based interventions on depressive symptoms in this demographic through meta-analysis. METHOD: A systematic search of databases and journals identified eligible studies for inclusion in a meta-analysis examining the efficacy of art therapy interventions on depressive symptom reduction. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted using the Standardized Mean Difference (SMD). RESULTS: The meta-analysis of twelve (randomized) controlled trials revealed a significant effect (SMD = -0.72; 95 % CI [-1.28, -0.16], p = 0.01), indicating that children and adolescents (n = 333) who received art therapy experienced a more significant reduction in depressive symptoms compared to those (n = 344) in the control groups. LIMITATIONS: The existing evidence is limited to studies with low statistical power and methodological quality. Furthermore, the included studies were highly heterogeneous in terms of the intervention type, measurement tools, participant samples, and study designs. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that art-based interventions can be effective in reducing depressive symptoms in children and adolescents. However, future research requires more methodologically rigorous and well-controlled studies to strengthen the evidence base.

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  • Many non-pharmacological techniques for adolescent depression (e.g., transcranial magnetic stimulation, art or music therapy) require specialized equipment or settings.

    “While techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation and art or music therapy has shown promise, many require specialized equipment or settings (8–11).”

    From Recent developments in bibliotherapy for adolescent depression (2025) · cites this paper as [11]

    The Introduction (page not provided) describes art therapy as non-pharmacological and reports evidence that art and music therapy may reduce depressive symptoms in young people. It does not say that these therapies require specialized equipment or settings, and it does not address transcranial magnetic stimulation. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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1 of the 36 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. [5]Locher C. Koechlin H. Zion S.R. Werner C. Pine D.S. Kirsch I. Efficacy and safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, and placebo for common psychiatric disorders among children and adolescents JAMA Psychiatry 74 10 2017 1011 1020 28854296 PMC5667359
  2. [15]Dye M. Evaluating the benefits of art therapy interventions with grievingchildren (Ph. D. Thesis) 2018 James Madison University, JMU Scholarly Commons Avaliable online at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/edspec201019/129
  3. [35]Hinz L.D. Expressive therapies continuum:A framework for using art in therapy (II ed.) 2020 Taylor and Francis

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Authors
Zhang, B., Yang, L., Sun, W., Xu, P., Ma, H., & Abdullah, A. B.
Affiliations
  • Guizhou Equipment Manufacturing Polytechnic (CN)
  • Guiyang Medical University (CN)
  • Universiti Utara Malaysia (MY)
Corresponding author
Zhang, Bo
ORCID
Venue
Clinics
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2025-01
Volume
80
Pages
100683
ISSN
1807-5932 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.clinsp.2025.100683
PMC
PMC12141542
OpenAlex
W4410332813
Cited by
14
References
36
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 4
FWCI
3.54
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Clinics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
Guizhou Province Department of Education (JYT-XLZX-2024-GZ013)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Conservation › Art Therapy and Mental Health
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Music Therapy and Health
Keywords
art therapy, depression, depressive symptoms, children, adolescents, arts-based interventions, psychotherapy efficacy
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Art Therapy, Child, Depression, Female, Humans, Male, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Treatment Outcome

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