Science AI Journal
Psychology · Research topic

Open research questions in Art Therapy and Mental Health

292 gap statements mined from Art Therapy and Mental Health papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 2,607 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

Choosing where to publish on Art Therapy and Mental Health? See the ranked Psychology journals.

What the literature leaves open

  • It should be highlighted that the research offered insight related to craft, rather than art, activities, as craft activities are a very under-researched area.

    The Role of Craft in Special Education: Insights from the CRAEFT Program · 2025 · DOI

  • The application of the Zentangle® Method in relation to relaxation and well-being has not been tested in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD).

    A nursing intervention based on the Zentangle® method: Experiences of patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder · 2024 · DOI

  • However, the role of nurses in gender-responsive social prescribing remains underexplored in China.

    Community Nurses as Gender-Responsive Social Prescribing Facilitators for Women’s Psychosocial Health and Well-Being in China: A Qualitative Thematic Study · 2026 · DOI

  • While VR has been widely used for immersive learning, and AI for personalized interventions, their combined use in art therapy for children remains underexplored.

    DESIGN OF A VIRTUAL REALITY ART THERAPY TEACHING SYSTEM: INTEGRATING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND CHILD PSYCHOLOGICAL REGULATION · 2026 · DOI

  • These findings are limited to provider-level associations based on cross-sectional self-report data and should not be interpreted as evidence of direct patient-level effects on thepsychosocial health of older adults.

    Knowledge, attitude and practice as predictors of healthcare providers’ social prescribing readiness for psychosocial health and wellbeing in older adults: A SEM-ANN modeling · 2026 · DOI

  • Early patterns also suggest possible improvements in mood and interpersonal functioning, warranting further exploration.

    The Impact of Expressive Arts Therapy on Alexithymia Levels in Adolescent Inpatients with Severe Anorexia Nervosa · 2025 · DOI

  • The findings suggest it should be integrated into standard nursing care, and future research should consider extending the program’s duration to better change the MAAS score.

    The Effectiveness of a Mindfulness-Based Art Therapy Program on Sleep Quality among Urban Older Adults in Thailand: A Quasi-Experimental Study · 2025 · DOI

  • The impact of mandala art therapy (MAT) during the perioperative period for gynecological cancer patients remains uncertain.

    Does Mandala Art Therapy Improve Psychological Well-Being of Gynecological Cancer Patients During the Perioperative Period? A Quasi-Experimental Study · 2024 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in the understanding of the potential of social prescribing to address health inequalities, particularly in the context of heritage-led wellbeing activities. The paper highlights the need for further research on the effectiveness of social prescribing in addressing health inequalities.

    Heritage and Social Prescribing - Historic England's learnings from pilots and collaborative work across sectors 2023-2024 · 2026 · DOI

  • Though there is significant literature with some of the proposed interventions (e.g., improv theater, medical games), further research is needed to assess efficacy and long-term effects of activities such as thunks and plot twists.

    Playfulness: Confronting Resident Disengagement in Psychiatry Training · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should focus on optimizing intervention effects by enhancing technological decoding capabilities and support acquisition efficiency. Future research should incorporate operational autonomy and community interaction into the core dimensions of technological optimization.

    Evaluation of interactive digital art healing effects based on multi modal physiological signals and generative adversarial networks (GANs): an empirical study of the neural mechanisms of emotion regulation · 2026 · DOI

  • The research highlights the need to investigate the relationship between family functioning and psychological separation.

    FAMILY FUNCTIONING AS A FACTOR IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SEPARATION FROM PARENTS AMONG ART AND DESIGN STUDENTS · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research can explore the long-term effects of hosts' therapeutic strategies on guests and audiences. Further studies can investigate the role of hosts in different types of reality interview shows.

    Healing Role of Host in Reality Interview Show · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need to understand the therapeutic role of hosts in reality interview shows. The paper identifies a gap in the literature on the healing role of hosts in reality interview shows.

    Healing Role of Host in Reality Interview Show · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in the traditional focus of psychology on correction rather than positive feelings. The paper identifies a gap in the understanding of the historical roots of positive psychology, psychodrama, and positive psychotherapy.

    Beautiful Thinking in Action · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need for novel approaches to substance abuse treatment planning. The use of art with social atoms is a gap in current research and practice.

    The Use of Art With Social Atoms in Substance Abuse Treatment Planning · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of understanding of the mechanisms of change in dramatherapy. The need to consider the environment in therapy.

    TOWARDS AN ENACTIVE DRAMA THERAPY: IMPLICATIONS IN THE COUNSELLING OF DISABLED CLIENTS · 2026 · DOI

  • Existing research lacks a systematic framework to analyze the therapeutic mechanisms of 'spatiality' in emotional wellness apps. The study aims to address this research gap.

    The Construction of Therapeutic Space in Emotional Wellness Apps: An Interaction Design Study Based on the Theory of the Production of Space · 2026 · DOI

  • Increased workloads, lack of support, and mounting stress for teachers. Limited resources and access to mental health services for schools. The need for a novel framework that addresses the unique needs of teachers and students.

    Human dignity education and artmaking: addressing student and teacher wellness together · 2026 · DOI

  • These accounts suggest that such outcomes may not be limited to the short term but were remembered by teachers as a lasting “memory code” for students.

    Participatory Arts as Emergency Responses for Strengthening Community Resilience and Psychosocial Support: A Retrospective Phenomenological Inquiry · 2025 · DOI

  • The mental health of youth in the United States has emerged as a significant focal point for community and national health initiatives. In 2021, the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr.

    A review of youth mental health in the U.S.: the current landscape, youth perspectives, and strategies for equitable solutions · 2026 · DOI

  • Traditsioonilised uurimismeetodid võivad osutuda piiravaks, kuna need ei pruugi olla piisavalt paindlikud toomaks esile vaimse tervise raskustega inimeste kogemuste mitmekesisust.

    Loovus kui hääl vaimse tervise raskustega inimeste kogemuste uurimisel ja mõtestamisel · 2026 · DOI

  • Higher PFC was associated with distraction drawing Limited observation period; lack of consensus on brain activation interpretations Increase in rPFC oxygenated blood during positive image…

    How the arts heal: a review of the neural mechanisms behind the therapeutic effects of creative arts on mental and physical health · 2024 · DOI

  • In light of the limited precedents worldwide, the interdisciplinary team aims to implement this type of practice for the first time in Latin America, working with those who participated in the only international war involving the Argentine Republic in the 20th century: the 1982 South Atlantic conflict, in which Argentine forces faced the British Empire—a conflict that remains an open wound in the Argentine social…

    Arqueología, veteranos de la guerra de Malvinas y salud mental: una experiencia inédita en América Latina · 2025 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in the understanding of participation as a fundamental psychological mechanism underlying participatory thinking and facilitating deeper forms of symbolic engagement and meaning construction.

    PSYCHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PHENOMENON OF PARTICIPATION IN ADULT PERSONALITY THROUGH ART THERAPY · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Art Therapy and Mental Health

Most recent work

Find a gap in your own Art Therapy and Mental Health sub-topic

This page shows what the Art Therapy and Mental Health literature already flags as unresolved. To narrow it to your specific question, search the Research Gap Finder: the search is free with a free account and lists the papers closest to your topic first. Unlocking that topic (50 credits, charged once) fills the comparison table from our 7.9M-paper local library and writes the gaps from its rows.

Open the Research Gap Finder →

Related topics in Psychology

Reading and Literacy Development
2,865 open questions
Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
2,045 open questions
LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy
1,986 open questions
Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
1,933 open questions
Eating Disorders and Behaviors
1,878 open questions
Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
1,814 open questions
Sleep and related disorders
1,770 open questions
Counseling Practices and Supervision
1,686 open questions
Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) The role of nurses in gender-responsive social prescribing remains underexplored in China (“Community Nurses as Gender-Responsive Social Prescribing Facilitators for…”, 2026); (2) While VR has been widely used for immersive learning, and AI for personalized interventions, their combined use in art therapy for children remains underexplored (“DESIGN OF A VIRTUAL REALITY ART THERAPY TEACHING SYSTEM: INTEGRATING ARTIFICIAL…”, 2026); (3) Though there is significant literature with some of the proposed interventions (e.g., improv theater, medical games), further research is needed to assess efficacy and long-term effects of activities such as thunks and plot twists (“Playfulness: Confronting Resident Disengagement in Psychiatry Training”, 2026); (4) Future research should focus on optimizing intervention effects by enhancing technological decoding capabilities and support acquisition efficiency (“Evaluation of interactive digital art healing effects based on multi modal…”, 2026); (5) Future research can explore the long-term effects of hosts' therapeutic strategies on guests and audiences (“Healing Role of Host in Reality Interview Show”, 2026). 292 gap statements have been mined from Art Therapy and Mental Health papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 2,607 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

Tools for your next paper

Gaps & Literature SearchFind open questions in any field — 1,100,000+ open gaps mined from our own library.Pre-CheckIs your paper ready? Acceptance odds for top, mid and open/emerging journals, in seconds.Journal FinderA ranked shortlist of target journals from a 17,500-venue index.Duplicate Publication CheckerCheck for prior publication across 7 sources and our local library.Citation GeneratorFreeA DOI or title → APA, MLA, Vancouver, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS. No signup.Graphical Abstract MakerFreeTurn your findings into a colorblind-safe graphical abstract.

How Pre-Check worksHow AI Review works

Compare the category — Honest roundups of the AI research tools, ours listed alongside the alternatives.

Command palette

Jump anywhere, run any action.