Recovery-oriented approach to induce hope and a sense of identity through expressive arts

Abstract Description

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Authors (including presenting author) :

Siu BWM(1), Chan LSY(1), Lai ACH(1),Wong CC(1),Lam N(1),Cheung PP(2)

Affiliation :

(1)Department of Forensic Psychiatry,(2)Department of General Adult Psychiatry, Castle Peak Hospital

Introduction :

It is not uncommon that the individuals with mental illness might develop the sense of hopelessness and negative sense of self. This project aimed to facilitate the recovery process through expressive arts activities for the in-patients of the Department of Forensic Psychiatry (FP) of Castle Peak Hospital. The project used expressive arts as a media which consists of different forms including visual arts, body movement, drama, music, writing and other creative processes to foster personal growth and community development.

Objectives :

1. To facilitate recovery process through participation in art activities 2. To induce hope and a sense of identity 3. To enhance a greater connection with others 4. To induce sense of achievement

Methodology :

The project was held from October 2017 to March 2018 in the Multi-activity Centre of FP with support by the Hospital Authority Charitable Foundation fund. It consisted of an open group and a core group. In the open group, there were a total of 11 sessions with 223 participants. It provided art experiental workshops which included a painting skill laboratory, photography skill lab, music appreciation, body movement workshops, and educational talks. In the core group, 9 participants attended all 11 intensive & continuous art sessions which aimed at exploring a pathway to goals. Pre-project and post-project surveys were conducted. A total of 4 questionnaires were adopted to investigate the effectiveness of the project. (1) The comparison of Art and Non-art related activities about perception on the ways of well-beings (2) The Chinese Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (3) The Chinese Version of Hope Scale (4) Questionnaire of self-introduction

Result & Outcome :

Questionnaire(1) showed that the art-related activities including painting, music appreciation, and photo taking had a higher score in the elements of well-beings than non-art-related activities. It showed that this project might be an integrated approach to enhance well-being. There are mild improvements in well-being reflected in Questionnaire (2). Questionnaire (3) indicated that the project had enhanced the sense in hope of participants as reflected by the improvement of agency and pathway thinking. Questionnaire (4) revealed that most of the participants had a negative sense of self or identity before the project. They described themselves as mentally-ill, low in confidence or a useless person in the pre-project questionnaire. After the completion of the project, they could introduce themselves in a more positive way, and none of the negative descriptions mentioned in the pre-project questionnaire appeared in their self-introductions.