The First Step Series: Art therapy for early substance abuse treatment

Examining the effect of mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT) on stress and lifestyle of Iranian pregnant women

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT) in decreasing stress and improving on pregnant women's life style in Neyshabur, Iran 2018. The participants of the present quasi-experimental study were 84 pregnant women. The findings showed that the MBAT group demonstrated a significant decrease in symptoms of distress and significant improvements in key aspects of the health-related style of life as measured by Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II questionnaire. Moreover, it was found that the MBAT intervention had a significant effect on improving lifestyle behaviours (p < .05). The highest mean score of lifestyle was for the sub-domain of nutrition (31.35 ± 5.34), while the lowest score was achieved by the sub-domains of physical activity (13.55 ± 1.89).The mean (SD) score of stress management was (19.12 ± 1.54). This investigation of MBAT provides initial encouraging data that support a possible future role for the intervention as a psychosocial option for decreasing symptoms of distress in pregnant women and improving their lifestyle.Impact statementWhat is already known on this subject? Mindfulness-based art therapy is a blend of basic meditation principles and art therapy. The results of this study showed that mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT) could decrease the stress and improve lifestyle behaviours in pregnant women.What do the results of this study add? The results of the present study showed that mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT) during pregnancy decreased the stress and improved life style. It is believed that changing lifestyle to include mind-body medicine such as MBAT in pregnant women will greatly reduce stress responses, and help protect pregnant women from disease during pregnancy.What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? The study showed the important role of mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT) during pregnancy in reducing stress and improving life style.

Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Art Therapy on Healthy Quality of Life in Women with Breast Cancer

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT) in promoting quality of life in Neyshabur women with breast cancer.

Methods:

This study was an interventional design that was conducted on 124 women with breast cancer (any stage) in Iran 2018. One hundred and fourteen women with breast cancer were paired by age and randomized to either 12-week MBAT intervention group or a wait-list-control group. One hundred and fourteen women with breast cancer completed both the pre-and post-study measurements. As compared to the control group, the MBAT group demonstrated a significant decrease in symptoms of distress and significant improvements in key aspects of the health-related quality of life (as measured by the World Health Organization Quality-of-Life - BREF questionnaire).

Results:

The MBAT interventions had a significant effect on improving quality of life behaviors (P < 0.05). Among the dimensions of quality of life, the highest mean score was for subpsychological (18.14 ± 2.35), and the lowest score was achieved by the subdomains of social relationships (13.54 ± 1.12). The mean (standard deviation) scores of physical health and environment were 17.19 ± 3.55 and 16.10 ± 1.87, respectively.

Conclusions:

This investigation of MBAT provides initial encouraging data that support a possible future role for the intervention as a psychosocial option for decrease in symptoms of women with breast cancer and quality of life.

The use of art and music therapy in substance abuse treatment programs

Although the implementation of evidence-based practices in the treatment of substance use disorders has attracted substantial research attention, little consideration has been given to parallel implementation of complementary and alternative medical (CAM) practices. Using data from a nationally representative sample (N = 299) of U.S. substance abuse treatment programs, this study modeled organizational factors falling in the domains of patient characteristics, treatment ideologies, and structural characteristics, associated with the use of art therapy and music therapy. We found that 36.8% of treatment programs offered art therapy and 14.7% of programs offered music therapy. Programs with a greater proportion of women were more likely to use both therapies, and programs with larger proportions of adolescents were more likely to offer music therapy. In terms of other treatment ideologies, programs' use of Motivational Enhancement Therapy was positively related to offering art therapy, whereas use of contingency management was positively associated with offering music therapy. Finally, our findings showed a significant relationship between requiring 12-step meetings and the use of both art therapy and music therapy. With increasing use of CAM in a diverse range of medical settings and recent federal legislation likely to reduce barriers in accessing CAM, the inclusion of CAM in addiction treatment is growing in importance. Our findings suggest treatment programs may be utilizing art and music therapies to address unique patient needs of women and adolescents.