‘It’s like having a day of freedom, a day off from being ill’: Exploring the experiences of people living with mental health problems who attend a community-based arts project, using interpretative phenomenological analysis

To explore the psychosocial benefits of participating in a 2-year community arts project, eight people living with long-term mental health problems were interviewed. The project involved participants in selecting items of professional artwork, creating personal responses and curating a public exhibi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health psychology 2014-06, Vol.19 (6), p.765-777
Main Authors: Lawson, Jackie, Reynolds, Frances, Bryant, Wendy, Wilson, Lesley
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Aged
Anxiety
Art Therapy
Biological and medical sciences
Community Networks
Creativity
Depression
Female
Humans
Interviews
Interviews as Topic
Male
Medical sciences
Mental Disorders - rehabilitation
Mental health
Mental illness
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous
Mood disorders
Phenomenology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Qualitative Research
Quality of Life - psychology
Well-being
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Summary:To explore the psychosocial benefits of participating in a 2-year community arts project, eight people living with long-term mental health problems were interviewed. The project involved participants in selecting items of professional artwork, creating personal responses and curating a public exhibition. Interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Participants experienced the arts project as improving self-worth, emancipating self from illness labels, offering a sense of belonging, enabling acquisition of valued skills and offering meaningful occupation and routines. Some regarded their developing creative skills as improving their self-management of mental health. However, some anticipated the project’s ending with anxiety.
ISSN:1359-1053
1461-7277
DOI:10.1177/1359105313479627