Art Therapy and Health Engineering
SPECIAL ISSUE ON: Art Therapy and Health Engineering
SCOPE: Global health priorities are shifting from “disease treatment” to “holistic well-being”, with increasing attention to mental health, quality of life improvement for chronic disease patients, and optimization of post-surgical rehabilitation. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly one billion people worldwide are affected by mental health disorders. However, the current medical paradigm shows limitations in emotional regulation, psychological counseling, and integrative physical-mental rehabilitation: pharmacological treatments may cause side effects, while physiologically focused rehabilitation often neglects patients’ psychological states and social adaptability. Art therapy, like painting, music, drama, dance, and other modalities, has been widely applied in psychological intervention and rehabilitation support due to its advantages in non-verbal and emotional expression. Research demonstrates its positive effects in alleviating anxiety and depression, improving cognitive function, and enhancing treatment compliance. Meanwhile, the advancement of health engineering (e.g., intelligent sensing, virtual reality, big data analytics) provides new tools for health monitoring, rehabilitation device development, and outcome assessment. The integration of these two fields has already emerged, such as sensor-based intelligent music therapy devices for personalized intervention, or VR-assisted painting therapy systems for enhanced interactive rehabilitation experiences. Nevertheless, several challenges remain: the lack of systematic quantitative evaluation frameworks, insufficient adaptation between engineering technologies and art therapy contexts, immature interdisciplinary theoretical models, and barriers in clinical translation such as “technological silos” and “disconnection from user needs”. These limitations hinder the broader application of “art + engineering” health solutions and highlight the necessity of systematic research and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
TOPICS:
1-Innovations in the Integration of Art Therapy and Intelligent Technologies: AI- driven personalized music / painting therapy design; VR / AR-based immersive art therapy scenarios; IoT applications in group art therapy.
2-Quantitative Evaluation and Assessment of Art Therapy Outcomes: real-time monitoring via biosensors (e.g., heart rate, EEG, GSR); big data analytics for therapy outcome tracking; establishment of objective evaluation metrics for therapeutic effects.
3-Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Device Development: intelligent art therapy devices for mental disorders; assistive tools for elderly populations with cognitive impairment; engineering solutions for home-based art rehabilitation in chronic illness management.
4-Theoretical Frameworks for Art Therapy and Health Engineering Synergy: models of “art + engineering” interventions for different conditions (e.g., depression, autism, post-stroke sequelae); interdisciplinary collaboration frameworks for art-health services.
5-Clinical Translation and Practice of Art-Health Products: clinical validation pathways of “art + engineering” products; application strategies in hospitals, communities, and home settings; dissemination models across diverse regions (urban vs. underdeveloped areas).
6-User-Centered Design of Art-Health Products: interaction design for children’s art therapy tools; usability optimization for elderly-oriented devices; accessible design for rehabilitation tools supporting people with disabilities.
7-Ethics and Standards in Art Therapy and Health Engineering: data privacy strategies; ethical review standards for “art + engineering” products; mitigation of algorithmic bias in therapeutic technologies.
8-Exploration of Emerging Technologies in Art-Health Innovation: blockchain for therapy outcome traceability; metaverse-based remote art rehabilitation; 5G / 6G-enabled collaborative art therapy services across regions.
IMPORTANT DATES
- Manuscript submission deadline: Nov-22-2025
- Notification of acceptance: Dec-01-2025
- Submission of final revised paper: Dec-15-2025
- Publication of special issue (tentative): Dec-27-2025
MAIN GUEST EDITOR:
Huang Guanghui, Macau University of Science and Technology, ghhuang1@must.edu.mo
GUEST EDITORS:
Ying Weiqiang, Senior Engineer, Zhejiang University City College, laring@126.com
Yao Yousheng, Associate Professor, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, yaoyousheng41@gmail.com
Xu Ziyu, Macau University of Science and Technology, 3230005436@student.must.edu.mo
