Surveying Hospitalized Children to Create Stimulus Drawings for an Art Therapy Assessment

Abstract

Art therapy assessments can be a way to identify the needs of children in the medical setting. A four- question mixed methods survey approach was administered to children in a hospital as a preliminary step in developing an art therapy assessment. There were 25 participants between the ages of 6 and 12. The survey results found that children in the medical setting prefer dogs, large cats, house cats, and small rodents as their favorite animals. They chose houses, farms, and water as the top environments for the animals chosen. They chose food and water as the top needs of the animals. The most selected material for this task would be a mechanical pencil. The results of this survey will be the framework for creating stimulus drawings for the art therapy assessment.