Chapter 22 - The Creative Arts: What Role Do They Play?

Abstract

The expressive and creative arts have emerged as a potent healing force that offers a direct response to psychological disorders. Each art form—singly and together—has proven a powerful antidote to all manner of psychological and psychosomatic illness. Most vitally, art promotes the health of body, mind, and spirit; it is not concerned with disease or with pathology. This chapter focuses on the role of creative arts on the treatment of mental health. Visualization—the deliberate creation of images—aided by dance and drum and chant, remain integral to shamanic healing practice, restoring health and harmony to both the individual and the community. Such healing remains the staple of two-thirds of the world's population, in cultures that are arguably as healthy—psychologically, socially, environmentally, and spiritually—as Western cultures. The application of the disciplines of performance art to settings ranging from psychiatric inpatient units to psychosocial rehabilitation, self-help, and support groups, they have been shown to broaden and deepen the psychotherapeutic process. The use of dramatic performance, spontaneous dance and movement, and the deliberate application of psychodynamic process have been shown in several studies to facilitate trapped emotional expression, to enhance self-esteem, self-understanding, and self-acceptance, to give insights into and resolution of past traumatic events, to broaden perspective and empathy, and to heighten a sense of shared humanity. Furthermore, this chapter discusses different treatment approaches including storytelling, visual arts, and language arts for specific illness and disabilities.