Art therapy assessments and rating instruments: HEALIENCE

[healience]

AIP-787; No. of Pages 13
The Arts in Psychotherapy xxx (2006) xxx–xxx
Art therapy assessments and rating instruments:
Do they measure up?

Donna J. Betts, PhD, ATR-BC∗
The Florida State University, USA
Abstract
There are many benefits to justify the use of art therapy assessment techniques and rating instruments. However, methodological,
theoretical and philosophical problems abound. These problems are explored, in relation to art therapy assessments and their
corresponding rating tools. Information about the various types of rating scales is provided, including a comparison of the Diagnostic
Drawing Series (DDS) rating system and that of the Person Picking an Apple From a Tree (PPAT) assessment, i.e., the Formal
Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS). The most effective approach to assessment in the field of art therapy appears to incorporate
objective measures such as standardized eval‎uation procedures (formal assessments; behavioral checklists; portfolio eval‎uation),
and subjective approaches such as the client’s interpretation of his or her artwork.
© 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Art therapy; Assessment; Rating scales; Diagnostic Drawing Series (DDS); Person Picking an Apple From a Tree (PPAT); Formal
Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS)
Introduction
Art therapy assessment
A wide variety of tests are available for the purpose of eval‎uating individuals with cognitive, developmental,
psychological, and/or behavioral disorders. Broadly defined, an assessment test is:
“. . . a set of tasks designed to elicit or a scale to describe examinee behavior in a specified domain, or a system for
collecting samples of an individual’swork in a particular area. Coupled with the device is a scoring procedure that
enables the examiner to quantify, eval‎uate, and interpret . . . behavior or work samples.” (American Educational
Research Association [AERA], 1999, p. 25)
Art-based assessment instruments are used by many art therapists to determine a client’s level of functioning;
formulate treatment objectives; assess a client’s strengths; gain a deeper understanding of a client’s presenting problems;
and eval‎uate client progress.
Art therapists are often expected to use assessment tools for client eval‎uation. Art therapists most often
use instruments that are known in the field as art-based assessments or art therapy assessments. These two

This article is based upon the author’s doctoral dissertation. The dissertation, which includes results of a meta-analysis of selected art therapy
assessments, is available for download on this website: http://www.art-therapy.us/assessment.htm.
∗ Present address: 728 Beard Street, Tallahassee, FL 32303, USA. Tel.: +1 850 294 4608.
E-mail address: DonnaBettsATRBC@aol.com.
0197-4556/$ – see front matter © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.aip.2006.08.001
Please cite this article as: Donna J. Betts, Art therapy assessments and rating instruments: Do they measure up?, The Arts in
Psychotherapy (2006), doi:10.1016/j.aip.2006.08.001