DRAWS: A documentation model for use in art therapy training and practice

Effective treatment requires thorough documentation. Existing documentation practices may be limited when adapted to expressive helping professions. Art therapy, unlike verbal interventions, includes artistic components that traditional psychotherapy documentation formats may not capture. Good documentation must capture these components, including the selection of materials, interpretation of art from multiple perspectives, and the client’s response to directives. DRAWS is a standardized note-taking format designed to aid art therapists and trainees in learning how to record and organize clinical information unique to the creative process. It includes D-Describing, R-Reviewing, A-Assessing art made in session, as well as W-What other elements are important to the art, and S-Summarizing the session. DRAWS incorporates current research and documents elements of art therapy practice that have been identified as crucial, and may also be used to communicate information.