Call for papers - Mind-body interventions: creative art practices

Guest Editors:
Mark Ettenberger: SONO – Centro de Musicoterapia, Colombia
Rainbow T. H. Ho: University of Hong Kong, China
Theresa Van Lith: La Trobe University, Australia

Submission Status: Open | Submission Deadline: 11 February 2024

BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies is calling for submissions to our Collection on mind-body interventions: creative art practices. As an established form of psychotherapy, there is a growing interest in utilizing art interventions as a therapeutic modality, commonly referred to as mindfulness-based art therapy. Although the inclusion of art interventions in health and therapy has been informally practiced for centuries, creative art therapies were established as a vital aspect of complementary medicine in the early twenty-first century.

Submit to Collection

Meet the Guest Editors

Back to top

Mark Ettenberger: SONO – Centro de Musicoterapia, Colombia

Dr. Ettenberger is an Ethno-Music therapist trained in Austria, United Kingdom, USA and Spain. He currently lives and works in Bogotá, Colombia, where he is the director of SONO – Centro de Musicoterapia, and a lecturer at music therapy programs nationally and internationally. He coordinates music therapy services at several hospitals in Colombia and has a specific interest in researching music-based interventions and therapies in medical settings.

Rainbow T. H. Ho: University of Hong Kong, China

Prof. Ho holds degrees in Biology, Anatomy, Social Work and Social Administration, professional diplomas in performing arts (dance) and movement analysis, and credentials in expressive arts therapy, dance movement therapy and somatic movement therapy. She has been the principal investigator of many research projects related to mind-body practices, expressive arts therapy, dance movement therapy, and psychophysiology for healthy and clinical populations. Prof. Ho has received many awards, including the Research Award from the American Dance Therapy Association, the Research and Development Award from Australia, New Zealand, and Asia Arts Therapy Association, and the Outstanding Research Student Supervisor Award from University of Hong Kong.

Theresa Van Lith: La Trobe University, Australia

Dr. Van Lith is an Associate Professor and Course Coordinator at La Trobe University, Melbourne. Australia. Her research interests began in art therapy practices for mental health recovery and then quickly expanded into art therapy evaluation methods and research approaches. Dr. Van Lith has been the Principal Investigator on several research projects including group art therapy for children with ASD, early intervention art therapy with Latinx farmworker children, as well as mindfulness-based art therapy and technology-assisted approaches for dealing with anxiety and stress with university students.

About the collection

BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies is calling for submissions to our Collection on mind-body interventions: creative art practices.

As an established form of psychotherapy, there is a growing interest in utilizing art interventions as a therapeutic modality, commonly referred to as mindfulness-based art therapy. Although the inclusion of art interventions in health and therapy has been informally practiced for centuries, creative art therapies were established as a vital aspect of complementary medicine in the early twenty-first century.
Research has shown by combining the benefits of mindfulness training with the framework of art therapy, individuals experience improved quality of life, emotional awareness and improved self-esteem. More and more research is now done to close the gap between art and health, primarily focusing on art therapies for brain injury, pain, and musculoskeletal injuries.

This collection welcomes studies focusing on broad aspects of art interventions as therapy, including but not limited to, music therapy, dance, visual art, drama, writing. We welcome studies from diverse fields of research including psychology, psychotherapy, clinical studies, basic research and studies on patterns of use.

This collection is a part of the “Mind-body interventions'' collection series by BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies. Other collections in the series include: Mind-body interventions: mindful movement practices and Mind-body interventions: mindfulness and meditation.

Image credit: South_agency / Getty Images / iStock

There are currently no articles in this collection.

Submission Guidelines

Back to top

This Collection welcomes submission of Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Mind-body interventions: creative art practices" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Guest Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Guest Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.