I first heard about the All Party Parliamentary report, ‘Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing’ whilst listening back to the recordings of the keynote speeches and debates from the Culture, Health and Wellbeing International Conference which was held in Bristol in June this year. The Right Honourable Lord Howarth spoke about the key recommendations cited in the report and told the delegates that the report would be published on 19th July 2017. I was listening to this keynote speech on the 12th July and was relieved it was only a week away. Even through my headphones, via YouTube, I could feel the excitement of potential fizzing in the conference hall.
Needless to say, a week later, my Twitter feed exploded, and I could hardly contain myself on social media that evening- sharing and liking and re-tweeting about the report, despite the fact that the majority of my friends and family would have no clue what I was banging on about, or how important this news was: not only for me and my various career paths, but potentially to society as a whole. Many of us don’t need a report to tell us what we already know: that creativity, arts and culture can improve our mental, physical and emotional wellbeing in so many ways I won’t even try to go into them all here. James Pennebaker proved this with his expressive writing experiments back in the 1970’s, and Art, Dance and Music Therapy are already widely used in hospitals, care homes, schools and other settings to supplement more mainstream interventions. But so far the arts have been just that: supplementary. They are considered a luxury rather than a necessity, accessible only by the privileged few who are wealthy enough, or live close enough to, funded projects. Only this week I was reading an article shared by Ty Newydd Creative Writing Centre where poet Kim Moore defended the centre against a recent report that claimed that creative writing retreats, such as those run buy Ty Newydd, were primarily for ‘retired hobbyists’. This is another example of society viewing creativity as something indulgent that only people with lots of time and money can afford- and deserve- to participate in. What the ‘Creative Health’ report has done is bring together all the evidence that has been building up since Pennebaker’s research, and even from way before then (why do we think were so many war poets? How else could they make sense of the horrors around them? And I’m pretty sure there is evidence that human beings have been using art to improve their lives since the Stone Age), and brought it into mainstream consideration. The report includes several case studies of projects taking place all over the UK today that prove, in both qualitative AND quantitative ways, that being involved in creative, artistic or cultural activities, improves health and wellbeing for ALL people, regardless of their age, socio-economic background, ethnicity, or any other characteristic. And the really clever thing about the report? It’s not asking the government (whoever that may be at any given time) for any more money. In fact it is saying that, by following their recommendations, they could even SAVE money! It is just asking for a shift in the way we think about the arts, and for policy makers, healthcare providers, politicians, practitioners and the general public to finally embrace the full potential and power of creative pursuits- for the many, not the few. For people like me who are just trying to break into the field of Creative Writing for Wellbeing, it means that there could potentially be more support (financial, social and practical) for this industry. It means there could be more opportunities available for practitioners using writing within a health or social care context. It means my timing could be just right. And for people suffering from both physical and mental issues (the entire population basically), it means that there could be an alternative way of improving their health and wellbeing that is neither invasive nor expensive, and is confidently ‘prescribed’ by their GP or other medical professional. In fact, no ‘prescription’ is needed. Anyone can pick up a pen, pencil or paintbrush; put on their dancing shoes; sing their heart out. Anytime, any place; alone or with company. Creativity is the ultimate self-help technique. Many people believe that, if creativity was a drug, it would have been bottled, branded and sold years ago, as the miracle cure we have all been waiting for. The ‘Creative Health’ report has given us a recipe to follow to make this ‘drug’ available to everyone, as a cure in its own right, and, as a Writing for Wellbeing enthusiast, I am perfectly placed to be a part of this exciting new era.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
The Pocket PoetI got 99 jobs and a poet ain't one. Archives
November 2017
Categories
All
|