Art therapy for schizophrenia?

Medwave. 2017 Jan 19;17(Suppl1):e6845. doi: 10.5867/medwave.2017.6845.
[Article in Spanish, English]

Abstract

Art therapy is used as a complementary treatment to antipsychotics in schizophrenia. However, its effectiveness is not clear. To answer this question, we searched in Epistemonikos database, which is maintained by screening multiple databases. We identified five systematic reviews including 20 studies overall, of which four were randomized trials. We extracted data and prepared summary of findings tables using the GRADE method. We concluded it is not clear whether art therapy leads to clinical improvement in schizophrenia because the certainty of the evidence is very low.

La arteterapia se utiliza como tratamiento complementario a los antipsicóticos en la esquizofrenia, sin embargo, no está clara su efectividad. Para responder esta pregunta, se utilizó la base de datos Epistemonikos, la cual es mantenida mediante búsquedas en múltiples bases de datos. Identificamos cinco revisiones sistemáticas que en conjunto incluyen 20 estudios, de los cuales cuatro corresponden a estudios aleatorizados. Extrajimos los datos y preparamos tablas de resumen de los resultados utilizando el método GRADE. Concluimos que no está claro si la arteterapia produce mejoría en la esquizofrenia porque la certeza de la evidencia existente es muy baja.

Publication types

  • Meta-Analysis
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Antipsychotic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Art Therapy / methods*
  • Combined Modality Therapy
  • Humans
  • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
  • Schizophrenia / physiopathology
  • Schizophrenia / therapy*
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Antipsychotic Agents