Creativity, Wellbeing and Mental Health Practice

Creativity, Wellbeing and Mental Health Practice

Author: Tony Gillam

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-02-28

Total Pages: 167

ISBN-13: 331974884X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book argues that some aspects of mental health practice have become mechanical, joyless and uninspiring, leading to a loss of creativity and wellbeing. A high level of wellbeing is essential to mental health and contemporary mental health care – and creativity is at the heart of this. A greater awareness of everyday creativity, the arts and creative approaches to mental health practice, learning and leadership can help us reinvent and reinvigorate mental health care. This, combined with a clearer understanding of the complex concept of wellbeing, can enable practitioners to adopt fresh perspectives and roles that can enrich their work. Creativity and wellbeing are fundamental to reducing occupational stress and promoting professional satisfaction. Introducing a new model of creative mental health care combined with recommendations for wellbeing, Creativity, Wellbeing and Mental Health Practice is a practical, evidence-based book for students, practitioners and researchers in mental health nursing and related disciplines.


Arts, Health and Wellbeing

Arts, Health and Wellbeing

Author: Stephen Clift

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2017-06-20

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 1443896055

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book brings together leading UK researchers in the field of arts and health, including creative arts therapies. The chapters are based on presentations originally given at a UK seminar series on scholarship and research on connections between the creative arts, health and wellbeing, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. It will be of interest to anyone practising or researching arts and health, in both hospitals and community settings. Because of the nature of the work, the volume is cross-disciplinary in theory and multi-disciplinary in practice. As such, it will appeal to a cross-section of practitioners and thinkers. Research in the field of arts, health and wellbeing has developed considerably in recent years, and in the dialogue of this book some of the big questions for the agenda are addressed.


Narratives of Art Practice and Mental Wellbeing

Narratives of Art Practice and Mental Wellbeing

Author: Olivia Sagan

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-10-17

Total Pages: 199

ISBN-13: 1136740082

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Narratives of Art Practice and Mental Wellbeing draws on extensive research carried out with mental health service users who are also practicing artists. Using narrative data gained through hours of reflective conversation, it explores not whether art can contribute to positive wellbeing and improved mental health - as this is now established ground - but rather how art works, and the role art making can play in people’s lives as they encounter crises, relapse, recovery or ‘beyonding’. The book maps the delicate ways in which finding a means to tell our story sometimes is the creative project we seek, and offers a reminder of how intrinsically linked our life trajectories are with creative opportunities. It describes the wide range of artistic activity occurring in health and community settings and the meanings of these practices to people with histories of mental turbulence. Drawing on psychoanalytic theory, the book explore the stories and various forms of visual arts practices spoken of, and considers the art making processes, the creative moments and the objects which in some cases have changed people’s lives. The seven chapters of the book offer a blend of personal testimony, theory, debate, critique and celebration, and examine key topics of deliberation within the fields of art therapy, arts in health, community arts practice, participatory arts, and widening participation within arts education. It will be valuable reading for researchers, students, artists and practitioners in these fields.


What Is the Evidence on the Role of the Arts in Improving Health and Well-Being

What Is the Evidence on the Role of the Arts in Improving Health and Well-Being

Author: Daisy Fancourt

Publisher:

Published: 2019-06

Total Pages: 142

ISBN-13: 9789289054553

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Over the past two decades, there has been a major increase in research into the effects of the arts on health and well-being, alongside developments in practice and policy activities in different countries across the WHO European Region and further afield. This report synthesizes the global evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being, with a specific focus on the WHO European Region. Results from over 3000 studies identified a major role for the arts in the prevention of ill health, promotion of health, and management and treatment of illness across the lifespan. The reviewed evidence included study designs such as uncontrolled pilot studies, case studies, small-scale cross-sectional surveys, nationally representative longitudinal cohort studies, community-wide ethnographies and randomized controlled trials from diverse disciplines. The beneficial impact of the arts could be furthered through acknowledging and acting on the growing evidence base; promoting arts engagement at the individual, local and national levels; and supporting cross-sectoral collaboration.


Oxford Textbook of Creative Arts, Health, and Wellbeing

Oxford Textbook of Creative Arts, Health, and Wellbeing

Author: Stephen Clift

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 0199688079

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

There is growing interest internationally in the contributions which the creative arts can make to wellbeing and health in both healthcare and community settings. A timely addition to the field, this book discusses the role the creative arts have in addressing some of the most pressing public health challenges faced today. Providing an evidence-base and recommendations for a wide audience, this is an essential resource for anyone involved with this increasingly important component of public health practice.


Writing Well: Creative Writing and Mental Health

Writing Well: Creative Writing and Mental Health

Author: Debra Penman

Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Published: 1999-02-01

Total Pages: 151

ISBN-13: 0857001035

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Writing Well is a practical handbook of creative writing exercises which forms the basis of an indirect, nonconfrontational approach specifically intended for therapeutic use within the mental health field. Although people with emotional or psychological problems can find creative writing particularly difficult and unsettling, when writing courses are sensitively designed they are known to be of therapeutic benefit to people with mental health problems. The exercises are taken from the authors' successful practice with groups of people from a range of backgrounds in a variety of settings. The book is structured to be accessible and easy to use. The warm-ups and main exercises are organised by themes, such as positive memories, imagined worlds, changes and painful feelings. Guidelines are given for developing and adapting the exercises and practical suggestions for materials are included in the appendix. This volume will be an invaluable practical resource and imaginative inspiration for creative writing tutors and mental health professionals.


Mental Wellbeing and Psychology

Mental Wellbeing and Psychology

Author: Sue Barker

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-12-18

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 0429784619

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Mental Wellbeing and Psychology unpacks the philosophical and psychological need to understand ourselves through an exploration of historical archives and artistic creativity. This focuses on some practical, evidence-based approaches to developing mental wellbeing. The book uses phenomenological psychology to explore the materials developed by the Stiwdio Arts group and offers an understanding of one’s experiences of their world, recognising that these are embodied and perceived within a temporal and relational place. It offers examples for developing mental health and wellbeing interventions for charities, private care and the NHS. It provides an evidence base for the use of creativity and historical resources in mental health care. This book will be of great interest for academics, researchers and post-graduate students in the field of mental wellbeing, nursing and mentalhealth nursing, occupational therapy and social work.


Promoting Health Through Creativity

Promoting Health Through Creativity

Author: Therese Schmid

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2006-06-14

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 0470033800

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book is about redefining the value to health of creativity. Creativity derives from biological changes during human evolution as a tool that is needed for survival. The successful use of creativity generates feelings of pleasure and self-esteem that are beneficial to health. In particular, it can help depression. Current values do not give adequate importance to creativity, and the author challenges these values in this book. The book contains contributed chapters on a theory of creativity as an innate capacity, the therapeutic benefits of creativity, factors that encourage or inhibit creativity and current research on these, and accounts of creativity both as individual projects and as groupwork.


Creative Arts in Counseling and Mental Health

Creative Arts in Counseling and Mental Health

Author: Philip Neilsen

Publisher: SAGE Publications

Published: 2015-06-26

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 1483313468

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Drawing on new paradigms and evidence-based discoveries in neuroscience, narrative psychology, and creativity theory, Creative Arts in Counseling and Mental Health by Philip Neilsen, Robert King, and Felicity Baker explores the beneficial role of expressive arts within a recovery perspective. A framework of practice principles for the visual arts, creative writing, music, drama, dance, and digital storytelling is addressed across a number of settings and populations, providing readers with an accessible overview of techniques taught in counseling programs in the U.S. and abroad.


Art of Life and Curiosity

Art of Life and Curiosity

Author: Mairead Ashcroft

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation

Published: 2023-03-27

Total Pages: 394

ISBN-13: 1669889890

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Art of Life and Curiosity invites you to open any page of the book to discover new perspectives and provide space to break free from old patterns of thought and behaviour. This interactive mental health wellbeing book can enable opportunities to explore universal life topics to improve holistic wellness in unique ways. By combining theoretical modalities and ancient teachings from the Native American Medicine Wheel, Mindfulness practice, and other wisdoms, readers engage in a semi guided practice of contemplation, self-discovery, and compassionate self-care. Art of Life and Curiosity may be a lifelong mentor whose guidance transforms with your changing developments and needs. Mairead’s survival of religious childhood sexual abuse and Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has influenced her training as a trauma informed Counsellor, Art Therapist and Wellness Coach, leading to the development of Art of Life and Curiosity. Readers are encouraged to create their own Wellness Wheel using the easy to follow written and visual directions. Mairead’s creative, symbolic art works and reflective questions, add personal allegories to enhance the reader’s involvement in the book by presenting gentle opportunities for contemplation and transformation.