The Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS)

Gantt, Linda

doi:10.1002/9781118306543.ch54

Cited by 31 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 16 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The art therapists’ underlying assumption seems to be that formal elements reflect clients’ mental health problems (e.g., Cohen et al, 1986; Gantt and Tabone, 1998; Hacking, 1999; Conrad et al, 2011; Schoch et al, 2017). Observing formal elements could thus be used by art therapists to formulate their perspective on clients’ functioning, strengths and challenges and support their contribution to the descriptive diagnosis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Art Therapists Observe Mental Health Using Formal Elements in Art Products: Structure and Variation as Indicators for Balance and Adaptability

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In clinical practice, formal elements of art products are regularly used in art therapy observation to obtain insight into clients’ mental health and provide directions for further treatment. Due to the diversity of formal elements used in existing studies and the inconsistency in the interpretation, it is unclear which formal elements contribute to insight into clients’ mental health. In this qualitative study using Constructivist Grounded Theory, eight art therapists were interviewed in-depth to identify which formal elements they observe, how they describe mental health and how they associate formal elements with mental health. Findings of this study show that art therapists in this study observe the combination of movement, dynamic, contour and repetition (i.e., primary formal elements) with mixture of color, figuration and color saturation (i.e., secondary formal elements). Primary and secondary elements interacting together construct the structure and variation of the art product. Art therapists rarely interpret these formal elements in terms of symptoms or diagnosis. Instead, they use concepts such as balance and adaptability (i.e., self-management, openness, flexibility, and creativity). They associate balance, specifically being out of balance, with the severity of the clients’ problem and adaptability with clients’ strengths and resources. In the conclusion of the article we discuss the findings’ implications for practice and further research.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Art Therapists Observe Mental Health Using Formal Elements in Art Products: Structure and Variation as Indicators for Balance and Adaptability

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Silver developed the Silver Drawing Test (Silver, 1996) and the Draw A Story assessment (Silver, 2005) to aid in the assessment of clinically significant cognitive and emotional content, and claimed that the Draw A Story was a reliable measure. Gantt and Tabone (1998) developed the widely used Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS), which evaluates the formal elements within a drawing-size, color, placement, and so on-as opposed to making sign-based conjectures about a drawing's symbolic content. In her examination of FEATS scoring, as applied to the standardized directive to "draw a person picking an apple from a tree," Bucciarelli (2011) found that artistically experienced respondents differed significantly on only one scale as compared to the rest of the sample.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Draw-a-Person-in-the-Rain: Does Geographic Location Matter?

2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This pilot study examines an aspect of construct validity of the Draw-a-Person-in-the-Rain (DAPR) assessment utilizing a sample (N = 58) of third-grade public school children from three geographic regions of the United States (Great Plains, Rocky Mountain, and Pacific Northwest) that differ in climate and frequency of precipitation. A scoring system was used to indicate the presence or absence of environmental elements depicted in the drawings. Results indicate a significant difference between the scores on drawings from the Great Plains and those from the Pacific Northwest sites, suggesting that the typical precipitation pattern of a given region may influence how a person responds to the DAPR task. Although findings are preliminary, they suggest that further examination of the validity of the DAPR is needed.

show abstract

“…To develop assessment indexes and criteria for the FKW drawing, 25 pilot items were selected on the basis of Manning's (1987) assessment criteria for FKD drawing and with reference to those for the Formal Elements of Art Therapy Scale (Gantt & Tabone, 1998) and for the Draw-A-Person-in-the-Rain test (DAPR; Lack, 1996;Weber, 2007).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%