Standardized Paintings As a Proposed Adjunct Instrument for Longitudinal Monitoring of Mood States

The use of standardized water color paintings as a proposed adjunct instrument for longitudinal monitoring of changes in mood states is described. Depressed psychiatric inpatients participated in a pilot project which compared pictures pamted in-episode, with those painted in remission. Three cases are presented as examples which help demonstrate the significance of this proposed tool. It is suggested that the study using a larger population sample would explore the implications of the use of this rating system, and assess potential clinical and research applications.