Creative practice in a group setting
| Published date | 10 August 2015 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-04-2015-0014 |
| Pages | 141-147 |
| Date | 10 August 2015 |
| Author | Elaine Argyle,Gary Winship |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Social inclusion |
Creative practice in a group setting
Elaine Argyle and Gary Winship
Dr Elaine Argyle is a Senior
research fellow and Dr Gary
Winship is Associate Professor,
both at School of Education,
University of Nottingham,
Nottingham, UK.
Abstract
Purpose –Involvement in creative practice is commonly regarded as “therapeutic”but what is actually meant
by this and how does this work promote social inclusion and mental well-being, particularly when performed
in a group setting? Drawing on the findings of a research project called Clay Transformations (AHRC), the
purpose of this paper is to consider these questions. The project involved running a series of clay workshops
aimed at people with experience of mental health service use and those who work with them.
Design/methodology/approach –In order to explorethe significance of art involvement to people who use
mental health services, qualitative research findings are presented. These are then linked to relevant literature
in order to consider the way in which workshop participation helped to promote social inclusion and mental
well-being.
Findings –Many benefits were gained from workshop attendance deriving from involvement in the process
and the outcome of art creation. These benefits were enhanced by the group context in which the work took
place and the mutual support and interaction arising from this group membership.
Originality/value –The recognition of the therapeutic value of creative practice has been accompanied by
the emergence of the notion of “mutual recovery”which extends the concept of recovery beyond an
individualised focus. The positive findings of this project uphold these developments and suggest that mental
health practice should address the wider social contexts that can facilitate the promotion of mental
well-being.
Keywords Clay workshops, Creative practice, Mutual recovery, User perspectives
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
As part of the commitment to social approaches in the promotion of mental health and
well-being, the beneficial role of arts involvement has been increasingly recognised. Common
themes emerging from literature on this issue are that nearly everyone has the capacity to use the
arts, that the use of arts extends therapeutic choice and that the arts can empower participants
helping to improve their confidence, quality of life, self-esteem and social inclusion (Argyle and
Bolton, 2004).This role of the arts in promoting social inclusion has been reflected in the growing
field of health humanities within mental health practice. In contrast to medical humanities, this
approach is not limited to medical frameworks of understanding and encourages diverse ways of
promoting mental health and well-being (Crawford et al., 2015). A corresponding concept is that
of “mutual recovery”which extends the concept of recovery beyond one focusing only on mental
health service users to include context, reciprocity and community (Crawford et al., 2013).
For, as previous research has recognised, the incidence of mutuality tends to accelerate the
process of mental health recovery (Pernice-Duca, 2010) both for service users and for those who
work with them (Crawford et al., 2013) and this process is enhanced if wider communities are
involved (Wilkinson, 2005).
It has been the purpose of an innovative project called “Clay Transformations”, which is part of
the “Creative Practice as Mutual Recovery Programme”(AHRC), to explore the way in which
shared practice in clay workshops can promote this mutual recovery amongst diverse groups of
The research presented here is
part of the Creative Practice as
Mutual Recovery Programme
which is funded by the Arts and
Humanities Research Council.
DOI 10.1108/MHSI-04-2015-0014 VOL. 19 NO. 3 2015, pp. 141-147, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2042-8308
j
MENTALHEALTH AND SOCIAL INCLUSION
j
PAG E 14 1
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
