The efficacy of art therapy on hope and resilience in youth within a secure care centre

ABSTRACT Background Art therapy is one rehabilitation treatment which enables youth in secure care to express unresolved conflicts, increase self-esteem, and gain insight to personal experiences in a creative and supportive therapeutic space. Aims This study investigated hope and resilience outcomes following art therapy for youth residing in a secure care centre located in Canada. Methods In this pre–post experimental design study, thirteen (N = 13) youth, ages 12–19, received 12 weekly individual art therapy sessions. Hope, resilience, and goals were measured using the Children’s Hope Scale (CHS), the Resilience Scale (RS-25), and the Bridge Drawing with Path (BDP) art-based assessment. Results Results indicated that the 12 weekly individual art therapy sessions enhanced hope and resilience in youth residing in secure care by 29% and 16%, respectively. Conclusions Secure care environments may benefit from incorporating art therapy as a rehabilitation treatment to improve youths’ levels of hope, resilience, self-determination, and future pathways. Implication for Future Research Future studies should utilise a group design with a control group to evaluate the effects of art therapy on youth residing in secure care environments. Plain-language summary Art therapy is one rehabilitation treatment which enables youth in secure care to express unsettled conflicts, increase self-esteem, and gain understanding of personal experiences in a creative and supportive therapeutic space. This study investigated the effectiveness of art therapy on the levels of hope and resilience in youth residing in a secure care centre located in Canada. In this pre–post experimental design, thirteen youth, ages 12–19, received 12 weekly individual art therapy sessions. Hope, resilience, and goals were measured using the Children’s Hope Scale (CHS), the Resilience Scale (RS-25), and the Bridge Drawing with Path (BDP) art-based assessment. Results showed that the 12 weekly art therapy sessions enhanced hope and resilience in youth residing in secure care by 29% and 16%, respectively. Secure care environments may benefit from including art therapy as a rehabilitation treatment to improve youths’ levels of hope, resilience, self-determination, and future pathways. Future studies should use a group design with a control group to measure the effects of art therapy on youth residing in secure care environments.