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Arts in Healthcare
Arts in Healthcare
‘Arts in Healthcare’ is a second year project in which we explored the different ways arts can improve someone’s overall quality of life. As healthcare settings can be very stressful environments for patients as well as staff, evidence has shown that the practice of arts in healthcare can contribute positively to their overall quality of life. Trained artists (musicians, painters, actors, dancers, etc.) work directly with these people to push their imagination, creativity and connections to their otherwise intense environment.
Collage, Tool of Transition
Collage, Tool of Transition
We've designed an artistic activity aimed at people who have undergone hospital discharge and are now trying to incorporate back to 'normal life'. Hospital discharge is a really stressful event that increases anxiety, fear, and frustration. Our project aims to use collages as a means of self-rediscovery, stress relief, and social contact with others in similar circumstances. We believe that especially during corona times, this last social connection is lost and it is even more difficult to cope with hospital discharge and going back 'home' which is supposed to be our safe environment but now also involves fear, isolation and limitations both physically and mentally.
Connection through Release
Connection through Release
In the first stage of our project we decided on the target group and delved into the topic of addiction care. We were curious to find out more about the topic as we think that especially for us as students, being confronted with substances and drugs, it was a relevant and connected topic to address. The name of our project is connection through release. This refers to the connection to the city, community and each other and the release of paint literally and the substance abuse, frustration and in the end the pain and shame that comes along with addiction. Our project is designed to give recovering addicts a sense of belonging, identity and stimulate visualization, but is in no way meant to serve as a treatment method. Art therapy serves as a vehicle for the psychological component of recovery by providing an emotional outlet and a means of self-expression. Feelings or experiences that are too painful or shameful to articulate can be expressed through ink, paint, clay, or other media. When combined with other recovery services, such as detox, individual therapy, support groups, and family counseling, art therapy can be a powerful way to promote the healing process.
Forest of People
Forest of People
We have designed a programme in which we give participants the opportunity to take a break, ease their stress and remove themselves from their everyday environment. We have asked them to join us in the outdoors to paint a version of a tree that reflects themselves and their lives. With society growing so fast paced and so much of our lives revolving around the internet, especially this past year, we hoped to offer people a moment to catch their breath and an opportunity to self reflect in a comfortable and easy going environment.
Thomashuis project:
The use of arts to combat loneliness
Thomashuis project:
The use of arts to combat loneliness
Initially we intend to implement a recreational method of using art to effectively reduce the feelings of isolation within a nursing home. However the project did not work out with this nursing home (since they cancelled everything two weeks before the project presentation day) so we had to find another alternative. We eventually managed to organize our project with ‘Thomashuis’ a center for people with intellectual disabilities. The activity our project revolved around involved a distribution of (cardboard) tiles among the community from Thomashuis. The residents were then invited to paint on these tiles with the inspiration from a given prompt. We initially thought about making a collage with them, but then we just decided to keep the tiles separated from each other. Depending on the will of the community, possibly a collage with the tiles will be made (this remains to be decided when they will get back to us on their decision).We will show the idea behind our project, the academic research behind it, the whole process, pictures and much more on a blog page we created. We believe that this project help to bring the residents of the home closer together, helping to reduce the feelings of loneliness that may be caused by the forceful distance pressed onto vulnerable members of today's society.
State of the Art
State of the Art
We have created a project in which participants aged 15-25 years use painting as a way to explore their emotions. Rather than using painting as a mere coping mechanism or simple therapeutic tool, we have decided to create a more open-ended approach to arts in healthcare. Our eleven participants created paintings each week along with accompanying mood statements. We wanted to help participants explore how they were feeling and give them a small amount of time each week to reflect on this. Often, we forget to check-in to our emotions, decide to suppress, or ignore them. Through our project, we hoped to give people the tools and support they need to express themselves.
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