Benefits of the arts

Introduction for Professionals

“From Hippocrates to the industrial revolution, the value of a rounded creative and imaginative life to bodily and mental well-being has been taken as a fact. Now we in the UK are rediscovering that wisdom by linking art with health in social policy and strategies that are influencing the international debate.”

(Arts Council England, Department of Health & Culture Northwest, Cultural Medicine, 2005)

 

 

 

 

 


Creative Alternatives is Sefton’s cutting-edge response to the growing recognition that “health is more than technology and measurements and targets” (Rt Hon Estelle Morris, MP). Healthy human beings are creative beings. At Creative Alternatives we believe in a holistic approach to health care – and we believe that rekindled meaning, creativity and imagination play a central role in every patient’s journey towards health.

Arts and Health practice may unfold in many settings and under various guises. The National Network for the Arts in Health proposes that there are at least four distinct areas of practice:

  • Arts in Healthcare Settings
  • Community Arts in Health
  • Medical Humanities
  • Arts Therapy

Creative Alternatives focuses on offering community-based arts activities designed to deal with mental health issues, specifically mild to moderate depression, stress and anxiety.

Social Prescribing in Sefton

What is Social Prescribing?
Social Prescribing is a range of non-medical interventions that promote wellbeing and self-care. Many health conditions are not purely bio-medical in origin but have broader social determinants: social prescribing signposts individuals to social solutions for regaining and maintaining their own wellness. Social prescribing can be a preferred choice of treatment or act as a complement to medical treatments.

Social Prescribing is an umbrella phrase that refers to a framework of programmes that encourage individuals to learn skills in coping and self-care. The range or menu of social prescribing programmes includes: arts on prescription, books on prescription, physical activity on prescription, learning on prescription and volunteering.

Sefton’s local social prescribing programmes include:

Active Sefton, Active Lifestyles, Relax & Revive, Creative Alternatives, Active Reading and Citizen’s Advice Bureau Health Outreach Service

Who can be helped by social prescribing?
Social Prescribing can benefit those experiencing either/both physical and mental health problems.

Why?
Benefits of Social Prescribing Interventions:
- Self-management and skills development
- Building self-esteem and confidence.
- Improved physical health.
- Increased social participation, networks and inclusion.
- Self-knowledge and personal development.
- Money & debt management.

What’s the evidence for impact?

Within the arts community it has been widely accepted that arts practice induces change on political, social, and even more so on individual levels. We know that artistic activity has positive, transformative effects – and in more recent years there have been more systematic and controlled studies of these effects. For a review of the medical literature on arts and health, Dr Rosalia Lelchuk Staricoff’s (2004) Arts in health: a review of the medical literature offers a good starting point. Arts Council England also maintains a live document, drawing together evidence on the impact of the arts in education, health, criminal justice and regeneration. For further research evidence on arts and health projects please see our links section.