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Trends and future directions in art therapy doctoral dissertation research
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Trends and future directions in art therapy doctoral dissertation research

Nancy Gerber, Lisa D. Hinz, Rachel Blankenship, Michele Forinash and Danielle Chen
The Arts in psychotherapy, v 99, p102465
Jul 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2026.102465
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Abstract

Doctoral dissertations Doctoral education Art or Music Therapy
Since the formation of the American Art Therapy Association’s Doctoral Education Committee in 2016, its mission has been to explore curricula, pedagogies, and research from art therapy doctoral programs to determine the relevance of doctoral education to the profession. Within that mission a primary goal became to explore the retrospective and aspirational trends in art therapy dissertation research. Pursuant to this goal, in 2022, the committee undertook a critical retrospective review of the topics and populations that were being researched by doctoral students in art therapy and the methods used to conduct the investigations. The question was: “What are art therapy doctoral students studying and how can we use that information to inform future directions?” The results identified topical, populational, and methodological trends in doctoral research, which subsequently raised additional questions about research decision-making factors and processes. Therefore, the committee conducted a survey of doctoral students and alumni to better understand variables that influence research decisions within the contextual, programmatic, and academic culture of doctoral education; while exploring aspirational research directions. In this article we present the findings of our project to determine retrospective trends and aspirational directions in doctoral research in art therapy. The aim is to inform advisors and students about the context for critical decision-making in doctoral research contributing to the advancement and sustainability of the profession. • Trends of topics, populations, and research methods in art therapy dissertations. • Art therapy interventions, cultural diversity, and art therapists ranked the top 3. • A survey of the motivational factors influencing doctoral student research decisions. • Mechanisms of change, efficacy, and clinical outcomes identified as future directions. • Intergenerational research community for generation of robust art therapy research.

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