Bar-Sela, G., Atid, L., Danos, S., Gabay, N., & Epelbaum, R. (2007). Art therapy improved depression and influenced fatigue levels in cancer patients on chemotherapy. Psycho-Oncology, 16, 980–984.

An anthroposophy art therapy intervention (watercolor painting) in weekly group sessions was administered by an art therapist in northern Israel. Participants chose the amount of time to spend in the session, ranging from a few minutes to more than an hour. Data were collected at baseline and before every session.

• The study reported on a sample of 60 oncology inpatients and outpatients who were receiving chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or follow-up care.
• Patients in the intervention group (n = 19) completed four or more art sessions.
• Patients in the participation group (n = 41) completed one to three art sessions.

A single-arm, pilot study design was used.

• Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)
• Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI)

A Mann-Whitney U test compared HADS and BFI in the intervention group and the participation group. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test assessed changes in HADS and BFI scores in the two groups. There were no significant difference between the two groups for reducing anxiety (p = 0.2).

• Anxiety levels at baseline were in the normal range for both groups.
• The small sample size of unspecified types of cancer and varying treatments, lack of statistically significant findings, and lack of randomization or control group limited this study.
• A specialized art therapist was needed to administer the intervention.