Creative arts therapy

Creative arts therapy has gained popularity in various health and medical fields because of its number of applications ranging from children to elders. The therapy is particularly used for psychiatric and mental disorders. Art therapy was first introduced in the year of 1942 by Adrian Hill mainly for moral strengthening and psychiatric help.  The therapy is defined to be an umbrella covering therapies like music therapy, movement and dance therapy and art therapy utilising visual arts objects. Art therapy is a mean to encourage mentally ill patients to both communicate and manage their emotions. Dealing the emotional requirements of mentally ill customers in for mental health nurses can be difficult. But by using art therapy these nurses can attain beneficial result because the therapy addresses—considerately, powerfully and meticulously—the emotional requirements of mentally disabled people. It offers remedy by providing collective link of people around as well as by giving the experience of rule and the prospect to both convey and manage sentiments. In addition, this therapy gives hope by making the use of nonverbal communication and offering opportunity to make connotation via life re-evaluations.

Considering a usefulness of the creative art therapy, the paper will critique its application for the betterment of a mentally disabled patient. This therapy is used to manage a mentally disabled person because this therapy has shown to heal emotional situations by developing an ability to self-reflect, facilitating a person to understand him/herself, diminishing symptoms and changing thinking patterns and behaviours (Camic, 2008). Creative arts therapy is not merely about special techniques but regarding the power of the arts to react to human distress. For this reason, the critique is based on this therapy for the mentally disabled individual.

Provide a more detailed overview of the intervention/therapy and its relevance to mental health nursing.

Art therapy is a higher level brain health focussed therapy that utilises the creative way of art making to augment and improve the physical, emotional and mental well-being of people of all ages. Art therapy has been demonstrated to be efficient in a wide array of health conditions. People with mental disability frequently have problems of speech, social adjustments, coping with daily life activities and reduced level of intelligence.  Conventional "bottom-up" psychotherapy focuses on the articulatory tools and is therefore not always efficient in helping these people. On the other hand, the art therapy helps mental health care provider with ingredients of logaoedic therapy enhances the ability of mentally disabled people to at least undertake purposeful conduct, including speech and language functions, especially intelligibility. Furthermore, this therapy involves visual arts (such as sculpture, drawing, performance, painting, etc); psychotherapy; creative procedures and counselling.  Puig, Lee, Goodwin & Sherrard (2006) stated that creative art therapy improves communication, and reinforces confidence since patients accept it easily. In another words art therapy is a three way process between the therapist, the customer and the artefact or the image.

Art therapists have a good understanding of art processes, underpinned by a sound knowledge of therapeutic practice, and work with individuals and groups in a variety of residential and community based settings, for example: adult mental health, learning disabilities, child and family centres, palliative care and the prison service. The diversity of these areas of work is reflected in the number of special interest groups that have developed in affiliation with the British Association of Art Therapists.