OBJECTIVES: The arts therapies include music therapy, dance movement therapy, art therapy and dramatherapy. Preferences for art forms may play an important role in engagement with treatment. This survey was an initial exploration of who is interested in group arts therapies, what they would choose and why. DESIGN: An online cross-sectional survey of demographics, interest in and preferences for the arts therapies was designed in collaboration with patients. The survey took 10 min to complete, including informed consent and 14 main questions. Summary statistics, multinomial logistic regression and thematic analysis were used to analyse the data. SETTING: Thirteen National Health Service mental health trusts in the UK asked mental health patients and members of the general population to participate. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1541 participants completed the survey; 685 mental health patients and 856 members of the general population. All participants were over 18 years old, had capacity to give informed consent and sufficient understanding of English. Mental health patients had to be using secondary mental health services. RESULTS: Approximately 60% of participants would be interested in taking part in group arts therapies. Music therapy was the most frequent choice among mental health patients (41%) and art therapy was the most frequent choice in the general population (43%). Past experience of arts therapies was the most important predictor of preference for that same modality. Expectations of enjoyment, helpfulness, feeling capable, impact on mood and social interaction were most often reported as reasons for preferring one form of arts therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Large proportions of the participants expressed an interest in group arts therapies. This may justify the wide provision of arts therapies and the offer of more than one modality to interested patients. It also highlights key considerations for assessment of preferences in the arts therapies as part of shared decision-making.