¹Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences, Department of Arts Therapies and Therapy Sciences, Alfter, Germany
²University Medicine Essen, Department of Pediatrics I, Germany
³University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
⁴School of Health, Education and Social Sciences, SRH University Heidelberg, Germany
⁵Research Institute of Creative Arts Therapies (RIArT), Alanus University for Arts and Social Sciences, Alfter, Germany
⁶Faculty of Fine Arts, Creative Arts Therapies Research Unit (CATRU), University of Melbourne, Australia

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Environmental disasters, exacerbated by climate change, pose increasing risks. Preliminary research indicates a high prevalence of psychological distress and PTSD among those directly affected by natural disasters, including among secondarily traumatized aid workers. This study investigated the effects of Creative Arts Therapies (CATs) on trauma symptoms, psychological distress, wellbeing, resilience, self-esteem, and self-efficacy in adults affected by the 2021 German floods, and whether these effects differed from no treatment. Creative Arts Therapies offer an embodied nonverbal approach, shown to have a positive effect in trauma treatment. However, current literature on CATs post-disaster focuses almost exclusively on child survivors and qualitative methods. This study addresses these gaps with a quasi-experimental controlled trial, examining CATs’ effects of 2021 flood survivors compared to a waitlist control group. Participants were 36 adults and two adolescents, who were assessed for trauma symptoms (PTSD Short Screening, PCL-5 checklist), depression, anxiety and stress (DASS-21), well-being (HSI-24), resilience (RS-13), self-efficacy (ASKU), self-esteem (RSE), and stress, quality of life, and life satisfaction (VAS scales). Repeated measures ANOVA showed significant reduction in PTSD symptoms and stress levels, as well as an increase in wellbeing, resilience, and self-esteem, and physical quality of life among the participants in the intervention from baseline to follow-up. Analysis of the data revealed a significant reduction in depression and stress from pre-test to follow-up. The Independent samples t-test indicated CAT participants had significantly higher wellbeing and resilience scores post-intervention, compared to the control group. The findings show preliminary support for CATs for improving trauma symptoms, wellbeing, and protective factors for flood survivors. The main study with N = 150+ participants will show whether these effects are confirmed and can be generalized to other age groups.