Search

Little research exists on using clay as an anxiety-reducing intervention with patients in psychiatric hospitals. This article reports on a study that used a one-group, pretest/posttest design with 49 adults in a psychiatric facility who created a clay pinch pot. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used as a pre- and posttest measure. Results revealed a significant decrease in anxiety and a significant gender interaction. Pretest mean scores for men were higher than those for women, rendering the amount of anxiety reduction significantly greater for men. These results provide evidence that clay work may effectively reduce state anxiety for adult psychiatric inpatients.

Clay work has long been used in art therapy to achieve therapeutic goals. However, little empirical evidence exists to document the efficacy of such work. The present study randomly assigned 102 adult participants to one of four conditions following induction of a negative mood: (a) handling clay with instructions to create a pinch pot, (b) handling clay with instructions to manipulate it freely, (c) handling a soft stress ball with instructions to toss the ball in a structured manner, or (d) handling a soft stress ball with instructions to manipulate it freely. Self-reports revealed greater mood enhancement following clay handling compared to ball handling. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) documents that clay work has specific efficacy for reducing negative mood states. (Contains 2 tables.)