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Biobehavioral utility of mindfulness-based art therapy: Neurobiological underpinnings and mental health impacts

Megan E Beerse, Theresa van Lith, Scott M. Pickett, G. Stanwood

Experimental Biology and Medicine 2020 DOI: 10.1177/1535370219883634 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Mini-review Peer reviewed
Interventions Mindfulness-based art therapy mindfulness-based stress reduction
Topics Meditation
Key findings Proposes that MBAT-based approaches are poised to mature into large-scale, cost-effective therapies for mental health disorders and symptoms comorbid with other serious health issues, but the field currently suffers from inconsistent deployment protocols and needs additional validation data.

Abstract

Mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT) combines mindfulness practices with art therapy to promote health, wellness, and adaptive responses to stress. Mindfulness-based stress reduction programs have been demonstrated to reduce anxiety symptoms in people with generalized anxiety disorder and serious medical conditions such as cancer. However, the benefits of MBAT specifically—not just in clinical anxiety disorders, but also for routine day-to-day anxiousness—have received little attention until recently. In this mini-review, we summarize how several established mindfulness-based interventions affect mental health with a specific focus on MBAT. We also describe and evaluate data indicating involvement of specific neural circuits and neuroendocrine markers of stress and/or anxiety. Lastly, we suggest areas of focus for future rigorous research on MBAT interventions and propose multiple biobehavioral and physiological mechanisms through which therapeutic benefits may be achieved. Impact statement Recent studies demonstrate the therapeutic potential of intensive MBAT and other mindfulness-based interventions for severe health conditions including cancer, heart disease, and anxiety, with effectiveness that rivals and sometimes even exceeds cognitive behavior therapy. MBAT-based approaches appear to be poised to mature into large-scale, cost-effective therapies for mental health disorders and symptoms comorbid with other serious health issues. However, the field currently suffers from inconsistent deployment protocols and needs additional validation data—at the behavioral, neuroendocrine, and neural levels—in order to establish best practices.

Comparable studies

Other narrative reviews on meditation, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical populations 2003 Review
Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects 2007 Review
Mindfulness Interventions 2016 Review
Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation 2017 Review
Mindfulness and acceptance: expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition 2005 Review

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