Abstract

Art therapy has emerged as a promising intervention for addressing psychological and behavioral challenges, yet its efficacy remains inconsistently documented across diverse populations and settings. This systematic literature review and meta-analysis synthesizes empirical evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of art therapy on mental health symptoms, health-related quality of life, and behavioral, cognitive, and emotional outcomes. We conducted a comprehensive search and rigorous screening process to identify relevant studies, then extracted and analyzed effect sizes using random-effects models. The results indicate a small but significant reduction in mental health symptoms (d=0.19, p=0.01), while health-related quality of life showed a marginal improvement (d=0.18, p=0.06). Notably, art therapy demonstrated greater efficacy in addressing behavioral, cognitive, and emotional outcomes (d=0.42, p<0.01) compared to other domains. Subgroup analyses revealed that intervention characteristics, such as duration and setting, significantly moderated treatment effects. These findings underscore the potential of art therapy as a complementary therapeutic modality but also highlight the need for standardized protocols and larger-scale trials to validate its clinical utility. This study contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting arts-based interventions in healthcare and provides actionable insights for practitioners and policymakers.

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