Craft As Therapy
Participation in art activities provides many benefits for mental health, now more than ever!
Case Study - Ruth Terry
Today I read on Crafts Council's website about writer Ruth Terry's experience of how craft has helped her mental health. Ruth speaks candidly about experiencing a debilitating combination of ADHD, bipolar depression, and generalised anxiety disorder. The article recognises that although craft activities shouldn't be used as a substitute for medical interventions or therapy, many people find that craft does calm and soothe them during difficult times.
I loved reading about Ruth's story as she’s so candid about her conditions and the benefits which using her hands has had on her life. She says of making textiles in her spare time, "Finally, I decided to lean into distraction in the form of crocheting a sweater, which required no psychological gymnastics or physical strain. I was surprised how much it helped — and how sweet and immediate the relief. I’ve always been intensely creative and loved working with my hands but, before now, I never realised the potential that crafts had to literally keep me sane."
For me, this brilliantly articulates the healing powers of making and how for some people it's a lifeline of sorts. During the article, Ruth also interviews other people about craft and how it has helped their mental health and overall wellbeing. Their words are all inspirational stories of participating in and enjoying art.
A Personal Perspective
I've been lucky enough in recent years to work alongside art therapists in teaching art and craft activities to people suffering with mental health problems in hospital and community settings. Personally speaking, it was probably one of the most illuminating life experiences I've had. We saw first-hand how people came to life and responded positively to the activities, often at dark moments in their lives or when they felt at their most vulnerable. The activities provided people with agency over their lives, allowed them to feel that they were making decisions, provided social interactions which many had lacked for weeks or months and also provided a structure and focus to their day. People created unique and beautiful works of art to give to family members as gifts or collaborated in groups to contribute to works which were then displayed in communal areas of buildings as a permanent reminder of what they'd achieved. I'm convinced that these types of activities and projects are vital as an element of recovery for people, even if they don't have any prior experience with art or crafts. The doing of the activity provides people with positive benefits and is likely to motivate them to keep going with it in their own time.
Further Reading
In addition, the following inspiring articles are also from Crafts Council's website and provide real insight to the topic:
This is just an initial insight into the therapeutic effects of art. More on this in future posts as this really is a theme which I find so intriguing and inspiring. Feel free to leave a comment below to continue the conversation around art therapy or if you think it might help someone else, use the Share button below.
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