The effect of single-session expressive art therapy on alleviating psychological distress and promoting wellbeing in subclinical young adults: A randomised controlled trial

Objectives: This study investigated the efficacy of single-session expressive art therapy in reducing symptoms of psychological distress in the form of depression, anxiety and stress, and improving psychological wellbeing in subclinical populations, as well as the role of autonomy in moderating such treatment effect.
Methods: Subjects were 60 university students or graduates aged 18-30, with high stress and possessing moderate proficiency in Cantonese listening and English reading. Half underwent a session of expressive art therapy as the treatment while the other half were assigned to waitlist-control and required to sit for a comparable amount of time. All filled out the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales short version (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995) and the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (World Health Organization, 1998) at baseline, post-intervention and two-week follow-up timepoints, and the Autonomy–Connectedness Scale (Bekker & van Assen, 2006) only at baseline.
Results: Results indicated that the treatment arm significantly improved in both psychological distress and wellbeing, compared to waitlist-control. No moderation effect of autonomy was detected.
Conclusion: Single-session expressive art therapy showed some prospect as a secondary prevention strategy in addressing mental health issues in subclinical populations.