The prevalence of depression is increasing due to the tremendous pressure of life and study. Depression may lead to excessive depression, thinking disorder, cognitive dysfunction, other problems, and extreme behaviors such as suicide. To improve the treatment effect of depression, to study the auxiliary treatment of art appreciation teaching on the psychological influence of patients with depression.

Twenty depressed college students who received art appreciation teaching were selected as the experimental group, and 20 other depressed college students were selected as the control group. The 17-item version of the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D) was used to collect data from the two groups of college students. Five art appreciation courses were taken as a cycle, and five courses were taken as a course of treatment. In each process, the two groups of college students were tested for depression scores until the end of three courses.

The average scores of the experimental and control groups were 20 and 25 after one session and 15 and 23 after three sessions, respectively. The experimental group significantly improved psychological adjustment and emotion management, while the control group had no significant change.

Learning and appreciating artworks can change negative emotions, improve self-awareness and cognition, and cultivate positive emotional experiences. Therefore, colleges and universities should pay attention to and strengthen the teaching of art appreciation and provide effective psychological intervention and aesthetic education help for college students with depression.