Reflections on arts-based research methods in refugee mental health: The role of creative exercises in nurturing positive coping with trauma and exile

• Published in: Journal of refugee studies 2024-06, Vol.37 (2), p.336-355
• Main Authors: de Smet, Sofie, Spaas, Caroline, Jervelund, Signe Smith, Skovdal, Morten, De Haene, Lucia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0951-6328; 1471-6925
• DOI: 10.1093/jrs/fead093

In the field of refugee mental health research, scholars have emphasized the ethical obligation for research practices to benefit participants. They have proposed that research participation itself can promote positive coping in the aftermath of migration. In this article, we aim to advance the understanding of the benefits of arts-based research methods (ABRM) in how they may nurture participants’ positive coping during their experiences as research participants. To do so, we depart from the findings from three drama-based mental health interventions conducted with refugee and migrant young people resettled in Europe on the role creative processes might play in fostering coping. We develop a reflection on how ABRM may tap into these processes to strengthen refugees’ coping and well-being, ultimately supporting ethical research practices. In the final section, we discuss the value of integrating ABRM in refugee mental health research that embeds similar creative processes in their methodological repertoire.