Abstract: Objective: To explore the effect of group art behavior therapy on depression and anxiety among hospitalized epileptic patients. Methods: Seventy-eight hospitalized patients during April to September 2017 in the epilepsy ward of the neurology department in our hospital were recruited. The patients admitted to the hospital from April to June 2017 were included in the control group, and those patients from July to September 2017 were included in the experimental group. Each group had 39 patients. Patients in the experimental group received group art behavior therapy treatment besides routine treatment, while those in the control group received routine treatment only. The patients' anxiety and depression levels on admission and two weeks after treatment were evaluated by Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD 24). Results: After the group art behavior therapy treatment, the HAMA score, HAMD 24 score of the patients in the experimental group were significantly lower than the scores on admission and also lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: The group art behavior therapy treatment could improve the depression and anxiety level among hospitalized epileptic patients.

Key words: epilepsy; art behavior therapy; group; depression; anxiety