NICE guidelines for schizophrenia: can art therapy be justified?

NICE guidelines for schizophrenia recommend that art therapies are offered to all people with schizophrenia, particularly for the alleviation of negative symptoms. In their narrative review of art therapy for people with psychosis in The Lancet Psychiatry, Angelica Attard and Michael Larkin found little quantitative evidence for its effectiveness, and only a few qualitative studies qualitative studies suggesting that it could be beneficial. Indeed, on the basis of their negative findings, the investigators of a large pragmatic trial of group art therapy (MATISSE) rightly challenged the NICE guidelines, that clinicians consider referring all patients with schizophrenia for art therapies...