Can art heal the brain?

Kim Bung-nyun has spent more than a decade trying to answer one question: What does art actually do for the brain and body?

The child and adolescent psychiatrist at Seoul National University Hospital began his work in 2014, when his team put 600 adolescents referred from the juvenile justice system through a six-month program combining cognitive behavioral therapy with art therapy: emotional literacy exercises, music therapy, and picture book bibliotherapy.

About 100 of the participants — perpet ...