Research Ethics: Institutional Review Board Oversight of Art Therapy Research

By having their research proposals reviewed and approved by Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), art therapists meet important ethical principles regarding responsibility to research participants. This article provides an overview of the history of human subjects protections in the United States; underlying ethical principles and their application in research practice; and a discussion of concerns nonmedical, post-positivist art therapy researchers need to consider in the IRB approval process. Aspects of ethical human subjects research of particular importance to art therapy researchers, such as working with vulnerable populations of research subjects and the use of art in research reports, are discussed. Recommendations to help further art therapy research through IRB oversight are offered.