A scoping review of art therapy in patients diagnosed with mild or major neurocognitive disorders

Art therapy is an intervention with a history of over eight decades, but, still, its efficacy in the management of mild and major neurocognitive disorders (MMND) has not been proven enough to be constantly recommended for this population. The need to find add-on therapies in patients with MMND and related disorders is pressing since pharmacotherapy has obvious limitations, and the prevalence of this pathology is steadily increasing worldwide. A scoping review was conducted to assess the efficacy of art therapy for the management of cognitive and noncognitive symptoms in MMND and to examine these patients’ well-being and quality of life under treatment. A total of 22 reports were analyzed, and mainly favorable results were found. Art therapy may be added to ongoing pharmacological treatment, either alone or in combination with other psychotherapeutic approaches. Its main advantages include facilitating the expression of emotions, enhancing communication and decreasing behavioral symptoms. However, there are still some contradictory results that would require extensive research in the future to clarify the most appropriate circumstances for initiating this intervention in mild and major neurocognitive disorders, monitoring its outcomes, and improving its chances of success.