Can art imitate life and healing? The use of art therapy began in the early 20th century, used by myriad educational and mental health practitioners, as a means of therapy for children and, eventually, adults (American Art Therapy Association , 2011). Art therapy is beneficial in treating victims of illnesses ranging from mental problems, including sexual abuse and schizophrenia, to physical illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and fertility in women. Used in conjunction with group talk therapy, art therapy has been shown to be effective with victims of sexual abuse. children and with patients who suffer from more serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia. In a study of South African girls, Natascha Pfeifer found that art therapy helped sexually abused girls improve their self-esteem and experience symptoms of anxiety. Pfeifer evaluated 25 sexually abused girls ages 8 to 11. The program was based on client-centered and abuse-centered Gestalt principles (Pfeifer, 2010). “Solomon's four-group design was used to study the effectiveness of the intervention, the Child Trauma Symptom Checklist and Human Figure Drawing were used as measures to assess symptom change » (Pfeifer, 2010). The girls were asked to explore the feelings associated with the abuse they had experienced. Additionally, they were asked to draw different feelings and discuss them within the group. “They were then asked to draw or paint a ‘happy box’ and an ‘unhappy box’ in which their feelings could be stored. Next, the children drew the person who abused them (as an animal, shape, or color) and their feelings toward the abuser. To further address any unfinished business regarding the perpetrator, the girls were given the opportunity to verbally or physically express their feelings, which could then be placed in the happy or unhappy box. This was followed by a discussion about how it felt to express these feelings” (Pfeifer, 2010). The results showed that girls in the experimental group had lower levels of depression and anxiety than girls in the control groups. Self-esteem appeared stable for all groups, according to Pfeifer. “The results of the current study suggest that the program does not target low self-esteem as successfully as depression and anxiety. Alternatively, the results may reveal that the HFD is not sensitive to changes in self-esteem symptoms” (Pfeifer, 2010). By targeting schizophrenia, art therapy has had more promising results in rehabilitation and socialization. In 2003, Virginia R...