Arts-based strategies to support mental health

Mental health care increasingly recognizes the systemic value of arts-based engagement. Grounded in the landmark WHO scoping review (1), this presentation examines creative modalities as a core pillar of mental health, positioning arts engagement alongside diet, sleep, and exercise as a vital lifestyle modification. Both general arts participation and the targeted clinical benefits of Creative Arts Therapies (CATs) will be explored.

​The session highlights CAT-specific active therapeutic factors—including embodiment, concretization, symbolism, and aesthetic distancing—alongside common psychotherapeutic factors like non-verbal expression and emotion regulation. Synthesizing recent neurobiological evidence, key mechanisms such as stress modulation, HPA-axis regulation, and interpersonal synchrony via endogenous pathways will be outlined (2). How aesthetic engagement reduces allostatic load and enhances neuroplasticity during chronic stress will be discussed, alongside dance/movement therapy approaches to trauma recovery, interoceptive awareness, and somatic memory processing (3). Finally, the protective influence of artistic engagement on cognitive and physiological aging will be addressed.

​Ultimately, the aim of the session is to introduce how art-informed practices complement conventional psychiatric interventions, providing clinicians with an integrative framework for mental health care.

References

1. Fancourt, D., & Finn, S. (2019). What is the evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being? A scoping review. World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe.

2. Karkou, V., et al. (2019). Effectiveness of Dance Movement Therapy in the treatment of adults with depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 936.

3. Barnstaple, R., & Dieterich-Hartwell, R. (2022). Neurobiological considerations in the treatment of trauma from a dance/movement therapy perspective.

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