- Home
- A-Z Publications
- Journal of Applied Arts & Health
- Previous Issues
- Volume 5, Issue 3, 2014
Journal of Applied Arts & Health - Volume 5, Issue 3, 2014
Volume 5, Issue 3, 2014
-
-
Thinking like a nurse: The pedagogical power of process drama
Authors: Kerry Reid-Searl, Margaret McAllister and Christine SinclairAbstractWe aim to empower nursing students to understand that their actions can positively contribute to health care, and to develop professionals who humanize the health workforce. We have designed simulation learning experiences using process drama, Mask-Ed (KRS Simulation). Participants are engaged in a series of structured improvisations emphasizing collaborative discovery and idea development. With no external audience, educator and students are simultaneously actors, directors, technicians and audience. The process builds skills of engagement, empathy and problem solving. Action periods are followed by reflection periods, and participants link the fictional world of the drama and their everyday reality. Educators carefully design and act as masked characters, using realistic props to simulate a person with a health care need whose life story promotes student engagement with issues exacerbating negative health outcomes. Mask-Ed builds clinical skills while sensitizing students to concepts such as the body in nursing and how to think like a nurse.
-
-
-
Considering ‘first, do no harm’ in arts and health practice
By Anita JensenAbstractThis article is concerned with ethical guidelines for arts and health practice; it considers ethics as moral philosophy, medical ethics and the medical principle of ‘first, do no harm’ in the context of arts and health practice. The article proposes a framework for optimizing practice in arts and health by ensuring that ethical considerations are in place to safeguard best practice for both participants and practitioners/artists. These considerations include code of conduct, assessment of and briefing for participants, supervision for practitioners and documentation of outcomes. The article concludes that it is essential and ethical to develop guidelines to support and professionalize arts and health practice.
-
-
-
Arts participation, mental well-being and social inclusion: Mixed methods evaluation of an Open Arts studio for people with mental health needs
Authors: Ceri Wilson, Jenny Secker and Lyn KentAbstractParticipatory arts projects are thought to increase mental well-being and social inclusion for people with mental health difficulties. This article presents a one-year evaluation of the Open Arts studio at Hadleigh Old Fire Station (HOFS) in Essex, England, established to provide opportunities for mental health service users to carry out art-making independently with professional support. The evaluation was a mixed-methods design, with qualitative and quantitative strands. A total of 23 studio members completed measures of mental well-being and social inclusion at baseline and follow-up, and scores increased significantly over time. Members’ comments indicated increased social support, confidence, motivation and mental well-being, in addition to decreased social isolation. Despite small sample sizes, this evaluation provides promising evidence of gains in mental well-being and social inclusion. The question of longer-term benefits beyond the studio placement remains to be addressed, but results add further support to the use of participatory arts in promoting mental health and well-being.
-
-
-
To disseminate is to act: Readers’ theatre in HIV/AIDS community-based research
AbstractThis community-based study sought to understand the caregiving support networks of people living with HIV/AIDS in Winnipeg and Regina, Canada. Qualitative data from 31 participants were gathered from photographs that each individual took of daily life and from in-depth individual interviews. A novel dissemination approach was the creation and performance of a readers’ theatre based on the interview data. This article explains the process of creating and using readers’ theatre with HIV/AIDS service agencies and community members, and it discusses main lessons learned.
-
-
-
Silenced: The impact of mental health themed artwork in a workplace setting
More LessAbstractThis article discusses the controversy surrounding the display of artwork in a workplace where mental health research and teaching takes place. The exhibition of artwork by a deceased mental health service user provoked strong reactions amongst staff and began a dialogue about the impact of the work on viewers. I review issues of autobiographical artwork, mental health recovery and censorship. Whilst the display of art with potentially distressing themes can be illuminating and an important mode of social inclusion, negotiating the location of exhibitions and providing support for staff who may be affected by the work must be considered.
-
-
-
Dyspraxia, drama and masks: Applying the school curriculum as therapy
Authors: David Roy and Caroline DockAbstractInternationally one in fifteen children have suspected dyspraxia. In the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the United States, speech and occupational therapists and physiotherapists all agree that early intervention can help children with dyspraxia overcome these challenges and be successful participants in education and the wider society. Key to successful learning experiences for children with dyspraxia, drama and mask usage offers the tools to access the curriculum. Because drama is a collaborative, not competitive, methodology, the fear of rejection and failure can be challenged and through development of strengths in academia can support children. This article presents background on dyspraxia, signifiers for identification for children with dyspraxia, challenges facing schools, and practical activities to apply within the curriculum.
-
-
-
The development and cultural translation of a brief theatre-based programme for the promotion of bystander engagement and violence prevention
Authors: Cathy Plourde, Ann Taket, Virginia Murray and Patrick Van Der WerfAbstractThis article focuses on a theatre-based intervention for the promotion and protection of health and well-being, an area of applied arts that is increasingly seeing more interest. You the Man (YTM) is an American theatre-based programme for bystander engagement and violence prevention. It is a brief intervention, consisting of a 30–35 minute play about dating violence and sexual assault plus a post-performance panel discussion. The script of the play remains unchanged from performance to performance, but the format of the post-performance discussion is tailored to the local setting, circumstances, and other violence prevention activities happening locally. Panel members present for this discussion are drawn from local support agencies, and the discussion serves to introduce people to the local resources that are available. This article describes the original process of development and application of YTM in the United States, followed by the process undertaken to produce an Australian version of the programme; the term cultural translation is used to describe this process.
-
-
-
The ‘Critical Mass’ initiative – helping promote an international new understanding in arts in health
Authors: Mike White and Mary RobsonAbstractThe field of arts in health is developing globally. Partly constituting notes from the field, and partly setting out a prospectus for future action and enquiry, this article provides a descriptive account of an initiative called Critical Mass which, through a series of colloquia that began in 2011, is building an international network for collaboration and exchange in the research and practice of community-based arts in health. In describing the process of these meetings we set out the common ground and the practical and theoretical issues that both support and challenge effective arts in health work across different territories, cultures and healthcare systems. We present a case study example of an artist exchange between Northern England and Western Australia. Progress to date suggests that the Critical Mass initiative is focussed on reflective practice in community-based arts in health, and that practical collaborations are characterized by a spirit of co-production with an emphasis on relationship-based working rather than an overarching strategy.
-
-
-
Reviews
Authors: Lisa Herman, Darlene Brooks and Paula OrianiAbstractThe Healing Forest in Post-Crisis Work with Children — A Nature Therapy and Expressive Arts Program for Groups, Ronen Berger and Mooli Lahad (2013) London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 128 pp., ISBN: 9781849054058, RRP £19.99/$29.95, p/bk
Musical Encounters with Dying: Stories and Lessons, Islene Runningdeer (2013) London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 158 pp., ISBN: 9781849059367, £17.99/$29.95, p/bk
Weaving the Americas, First Regional Latin American Symposium on Expressive Arts Held in Guatemala: Integrating our Past, Present and Future through Expressive Arts, 27–28 February and 1 March 2014
-