Toward a New Science of the Clinical Uses of the Arts

Abstract The arts are used clinically in a wide variety of applications, spanning from physical therapy to psychotherapy. We present a theoretical analysis of these clinical applications that is grounded in a unified model of the arts. Such an approach is based on an understanding of the relationships among the various art forms and how the arts are able to impact non-art functions via transfer effects. A unified model helps to clarify the distinction between near and far transfer in the clinical uses of the arts. The empirical evidence suggests that art applications for physical therapy tend to be based on near-transfer effects and show high specificity for the employed art forms. By contrast, art applications for psychotherapy tend to be based on far transfer and show less specificity for the employed art forms. We argue that a theory of the clinical uses of the arts has to be predicated on a unified model of the arts themselves. Such a model provides a rational basis for understanding how art forms are able to bring about their clinical effects.