Development and effect-evaluation of a new family-based art therapy on depression and pain anxiety of the hospitalized children with cancer

The consequences of cancer do not just impact on the body only, but expands into the other levels of human existence, including psychological levels. Sometimes these consequences are even more painful and more destructive than physical harms, especially in children. Therefore, the use of psychotherapy for children, particularly art-based psychotherapies, is necessary. So, the main objective of the present research was to develop a new family-based art therapy for hospitalized children with cancer and to evaluation its effectiveness on the symptoms of depression (DEP) and pain anxiety (PA). Five hospitalized children with cancer, participated in this single-subject study (A-B type) accompanied with their mothers. The intervention was applied in eight sessions (30-60 minutes per session). Children’s depression and pain anxiety were measured repeatedly in two phases and data were analyzed by graphs and tables. The effect size (ES) and reliable change index (RCI) are also reported in addition to the customary values. The results showed that family-based art therapy was significantly effective in reducing the symptoms of depression and pain anxiety in all of the children. The findings indicate the effectiveness of family-based art therapy in helping to modify the psychological consequences of cancer, and clarify the need for this approach to be applied in similar conditions.