Creativity and Wellness

"Art therapy is the deliberate use of art-making to address psychological and emotional needs. Art therapy uses art media and the creative process to help in areas such as, but not limited to: fostering self-expression, enhancing coping skills, managing stress, and strengthening a sense of self."

--The Art Therapy Alliance

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"Art Therapy is about using art as a tool for communication and through the therapeutic relationship, emotional, psychosocial and developmental needs are addressed with the intention of effecting lasting change."

--Hong Kong Association of Art Therapists (HKAAT)

Creativity and Wellness

How does art affect emotional and physical well-being? How does art therapy improve wellness. What about other arts-- music, dance, drama, and creative play? Learn more about the connections between creativity and wellness here.

From Psychology Today, "Humor: The Human Gift for Coping. Humor therapy [or laughter therapy] is officially both complementary and mainstream medicine—and it’s a thriving business for healthcare, too. “Clown care” is part of bedside treatment, using juggling, magic tricks, and gags and making “clown rounds” with novelty store rubber chickens and other paraphernalia to promote laughter in nursing homes, cancer units, and even hospice settings. There are “laughter coaches” and seminars teaching healthcare professionals how to use humor with patients. Research on the positive effect of humor on health and perceptions of wellness has helped to identify why laughter helps us cope. The late Norman Cousins, well-known author of “Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient,” watched old Marx Brothers movies in addition to traditional medical intervention and promoted the idea that laughter has a symptom-relieving affect on patients in the short and long term. Since the late 1980s, a number of studies support the idea that laughter stimulates the immune system and counteracts the effects of stress hormones, although results are mixed about exactly how. In brief, there’s agreement that it’s another way to arrive at the relaxation response. Read more here...

Watch a short film on " Laughter Therapy" in India with John Cleese here:

Books, Articles, and Other Resources

Check back soon for more information!

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