FEATS Score Differences and Comorbid Depression Within in Persons Diagnosed With Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

This study investigated the use of the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS) with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. Eighty-eight persons with either relapsing-remitting or progressive type MS drew a Person Picking an Apple from a Tree, and completed a Beck Depression Inventory-Fast Screen (BDI-FS). FEATS scores were compared to BDI-FS scores and across disease type. Statistically significant results were found when comparing FEATS scores in regard to disease type, with overall FEATS scores (p = .014), indicating graphic elements linked to depression present in the drawings of patients with progressive type MS. The relationship between FEATS scores and the BDI-FS was not significant. Further research is needed, as this was the first study of the FEATS with the MS population.

Keywords:

• Beck Depression Inventory
• FEATS
• Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale
• MS
• multiple sclerosis

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tamara Shella

Tamara Shella, PhD, ATR-BC, is the art therapy manager for the Cleveland Clinic Arts and Medicine Institute in Cleveland, OH. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to the author at [email protected]