Art-making in mental health - a Fijian pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: A pilot art-making and mental health recovery project addressed consumer and carer mental health and well-being in Suva, Fiji. METHOD: Using feedback surveys, the project evaluated initial training, and a 12-month art programme for consumers, carers and staff across several mental health services. RESULTS: First person and stakeholder group reports from the project reflected broad-scale approval for the novel modality and its potential for continued application in keeping with local cultural values. A broad stakeholder base was involved in planning and participation, aligned with the values of inclusive recovery-oriented mental health service approaches. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the programme can add value to mental health care being provided for people with a mental illness in Fiji.

Art and mental health in Samoa.

OBJECTIVES: To pilot an art and mental health project with Samoan and Australian stakeholders. The aim of this project was to provide a voice through the medium of art for people experiencing mental illness, and to improve the public understanding in Samoa of mental illness and trauma. METHODS: Over 12 months, a series of innovative workshops were held with Samoan and Australian stakeholders, followed by an art exhibition. These workshops developed strategies to support the promotion and understanding of mental health in Samoa. Key stakeholders from both art making and mental health services were engaged in activities to explore the possibility of collaboration in the Apia community. RESULTS: The project was able to identify the existing resources and community support for the arts and mental health projects, to design a series of activities aimed to promote and maintain health in the community, and to pilot these programs with five key organizations. CONCLUSIONS: This project demonstrates the potential for art and mental health projects to contribute to both improving mental health and to lowering the personal and social costs of mental ill health for communities in Samoa.

Art-based interventions during pregnancy to support women's wellbeing: An integrative review.

BACKGROUND: The transition to motherhood is a dynamic experience. Antenatal care and education are designed to support women during pregnancy, however childbearing women often report a further need for emotional and social support beyond preparation for birth. Broadening routine antenatal care to included art-based interventions may offer women an opportunity to explore important aspects of the transition to motherhood. AIM: The aim of this integrative review is to synthesise research regarding the use of art-based interventions with women during pregnancy. METHOD: A systematic integrative review of the current evidence-base was conducted. A multi-database keyword search was implemented, and a total of six articles met inclusion criteria. Results were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis framework. FINDINGS: Six studies met the inclusion criteria. Three major themes were generated: art-based engagements supported women to express complex emotion, fostered a sense of connection and strengthened personal resourcefulness. DISCUSSION: Creative expression provided an opportunity to explore important aspects of the motherhood experience including, complex emotion, identity and bonding with the unborn child. Being in a group enhanced the health effects of art-making and the social connection felt supportive when role and identity was evolving. CONCLUSIONS: Whilst research on the current topic is emergent, preliminary results suggest that facilitated art-based programs are valuable for pregnant women. Art-based experiences offer women a unique opportunity to explore the full dimensionality of the transition to motherhood which can contribute to improved health and wellbeing. These findings suggest that art-based programs may serve to complement existing antenatal care models.

Provision of arts therapies for people with severe mental illness.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Arts therapies are still inadequately regulated throughout the world despite a 100-year-long tradition, a vast number of academically trained therapists and importance in treating psychiatric patients. It is essential that more evidence-based studies are undertaken. RECENT FINDINGS: Current international guidelines focus on the efficacy and effectiveness of arts therapies. New international evidence-based studies reporting clear-cut therapeutic effects of art therapy, music therapy and dance movement therapy are described here, with a focus on developments in Australia, Egypt and the United States. SUMMARY: Further effort must be put into the development of evidence-based treatment programmes for all arts therapies, and effort needs to go into the establishment of arts therapists as a profession, with appropriate training standards.

Identifying the evidence-base for art-based practices and their potential benefit for mental health recovery: a critical review.

PURPOSE: Art-based practices show promise as a beneficial solution for mental health services because they are in line with the whole person recovery framework currently being adopted, and have high acceptability with consumers. Nevertheless, incorporation of art-based approaches into mental health services has been impeded by claims of an insufficient evidence-base and ongoing debates about the most suitable research practices. This article addresses this gap in the literature by critically reviewing current research on the benefits of art-based practices in mental health rehabilitation settings. METHOD: A critical review of previous research was conducted identifying all quantitative, qualitative and mixed method studies that addressed art making and adult mental illness. Then a deductive/theoretical thematic analysis was conducted using Lal's framework for conceptualising mental health recovery. RESULTS: The identified areas where art-based practices were of key benefit included psychological and social recovery, particularly in the areas of self-discovery, self-expression, relationships and social identity. These findings in conjunction with the identified benefits to clinical, occupational and contextual recovery indicate that art-based practices play a substantial role in mental health recovery. To add weight to these claims, future research endeavours need to integrate the suggested recommendations detailed in this review. CONCLUSION: Recommendations are made to improve the quality of future research, including the need for well-designed mixed-method studies that integrate qualitative and quantitative research, whilst keeping in mind the values of mental heath recovery, would further validate this current evidence-base.

Place, matter and meaning: extending the relationship in psychological therapies.

Discourse in psychotherapeutic practice has typically focussed on technique and the therapeutic relationship. The setting in which psychological therapies occur has attracted little research attention to date. What we have understood as relationship may need to be expanded to include aspects of the material environment as constitutive in the dynamic process of psychotherapy. An in-depth, art-based method was used to understand the lived experience of the room of therapists and clients of art therapy. First person lived-experience accounts were sought from adult clients and therapists of their respective rooms of therapy. The study found that deep attachments to place and to objects and zones in the room provided support and stabilising influences on the therapy process for both groups. The results may have broader relevance for other forms of psychological practice.

The lived experience of art making as a companion to the mental health recovery process.

PURPOSE: Art making is a common activity provided for consumers in mental health psychosocial rehabilitation services, yet there is little evidence available which examines its role in the recovery process. The current study inquires into mental health consumers' lived experiences of art making within psychosocial rehabilitation services and their views on how art making supports mental health recovery. METHOD: This research used qualitative in-depth interviews to explore the role of art making in the mental health recovery journey. The sample comprised 18 consumer participants who attended art-based programs in two psychosocial services in Victoria, Australia. The 60-90 min interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. RESULTS: A total of 11 major themes were identified and organised into three areas: qualities conducive to the art making context, how the art making process benefits mental health recovery, and how the image or art product benefits mental health recovery. The 11 themes are described and illustrated from participant interviews. Consumers described art making as a transformative activity which enabled them to take greater control of their lives, resulting in feeling stronger, more confident, and more capable of driving their journey of recovery. The art product also served valuable roles in supporting their recovery. CONCLUSIONS: Art making is a highly valued activity by consumers, who suggest that innovative and strengths-based methods, such as art making, can facilitate recovery and self-expression. A key challenge for the field is to determine how such methods can be better integrated into mental health service delivery.